Amato says his class is N.C. State's best ever
This year, there was no column and I don't know that more than two or three people noticed.
That's been a problem I've experienced frequently as a columnist. When writing about Virginia and Virginia Tech in the same column, I invariably fail to take a side.
After the recruiting period that ended last month, it was more difficult than usual to pick a winner because comparing the Hokies’ and Cavaliers’ classes was like comparing apples and oranges.
The five highest-rated players signed by UVa -- quarterback Kevin McCabe, tight end Jon Stupar, linebacker Jermaine Dias, and offensive linemen Jordy Lipsey and Ian-Yates Cunningham -- all were from out of state.
Tech's highest-rated recruits -- linebackers Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall, defensive end Chris Ellis and tight end John KInzer -- are from Virginia.
I don't think either staff would exchange its recruiting class for the other's.
Virtually every publication that rates recruiting classes has UVa's ahead of Tech's, but I'm not sure I wouldn't take Tech's because it reflects the staying power of traditional Hokies' in-state strongholds.
In addition to the players it did sign, Tech was second on Top 10 in-state prospects Chase Anastasio and Terrell Golden. The depth of Virginia's recruiting class was reflected by players such as Elizabethtown, Tenn., defensive end Vincent Redd.
Oddly, Redd was not listed among the top 12 prospects in Tennessee by SuperPrep ("Sometimes, it seems we leave out more players than we cover," publisher Allen Wallace said), but was rated the No. 2 prospect in the state by the Kingsport (Tenn.) Times in its Times-News Super 16.
Al Groh is entering his third season as Virginia's head coach (and Frank Beamer his 17th at Tech) but one question remains largely unresolved:
Are Tech's in-state connections insurmountable or have the last two years, with a host of Tech leagcies (Marcus Vick, Jonathan Lewis, Xavier Adibi, Brett Warren) following older brothers to Blacksburg, created a false impression?
Next year, with a shortage of little brothers, could be a good gauge.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE head coach Chuck Amato, described by Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News as the "nation's best recruiter," rode into his signing-day news conference on a motorcycle, clad in a black leather jacket and his omnipresent sunglasses.
"Without a doubt, it's the best recruiting class we've had since I've been here," said Amato, preparing for his fourth season in Raleigh, N.C., "and we've had a couple of good ones. "I'll guarantee it's probably the best one that's been had at this university, period."
The Wolfpack will welcome 28 scholarship newcomers, seven who enrolled in January, four after graduating from high school in December. One of the newcomers, 2001 first-team All-USA Today offensive tackle Derek Morris, signed with Ohio State in 2002 but never enrolled.
N.C. STATE GOT more than its share of the top prospects in North Carolina, where the situation is similar to what exists in Virginia. North Carolina has more of a presence nationally and got the top player in Tennessee, wide receiver Adarius Bowman from Chattanooga.
Bowman and another signee, Roselle Park, N.J., wide receiver Jesse Holley, have been told they will have an opportunity to play basketball for the Tar Heels.
"I never doubted my ability or this staff's ability to recruit," said UNC coach John Bunting, the victim of several decommitments in 2002. "The perception of last year's class is nowhere close to the reality, but losing those kids at the end like we did was a heartbreaker.
"So we turned the whole operation upside-down. Some things were fine. Some needed improving. We opened it up to new ideas."
REGARDING COACH Pete Gillen's comment that Virginia would turn to the high-school ranks in hopes of landing a point guard, Zirkle Blakey of virginiapreps.com said his sources say there is not an unsigned senior point guard in Virginia who is remotely close to ACC-caliber. Clemson snatched up the best one, Vernon Hamilton from Benedictine.
U.VA. NOTES
Mar 07, 2003
EARLY START? Barring an upset in Atlanta tomorrow or in Charlottesville on
Sunday, the Virginia men's basketball team is likely to land in the ACC
tournament's play-in game Thursday night at the Greensboro, Coliseum.
That game matches the tourney's No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, with the winner advancing
to play the No. 1 seed in the next day's quarterfinals.
Florida State (4-12, 13-14), which closed its regular season with a loss at Duke
last night, is the No. 9 seed. Tied for sixth are Clemson (5-10, 15-11), North
Carolina (5-10, 15-14) and U.Va. (5-10, 14-14), and each has one regular-season
game remaining.
Clemson closes the regular season tomorrow at Georgia Tech (6-9, 13-13). UNC
plays host to Duke (11-4, 21-5) Sunday at 4 p.m., and Virginia entertains
Maryland (11-4, 19-7) at 8 o'clock that night.
If Clemson wins tomorrow and Carolina and U.Va. lose Sunday, then the latter two
teams would finish tied for seventh. They split their regular-season series, but
Virginia would edge UNC on the next tiebreaker: performance against the top
teams in the standings, starting at the top.
The Cavaliers have wins over Wake Forest and Maryland, and the Tar Heels were
swept by each of those teams.
Virginia also could probably avoid the play-in game by beating Maryland again.
If Clemson, UNC and Virginia all lose this weekend, U.Va. would end up in the
play-in game against FSU. In the case of a three-way tie, the combined record of
each team against the other two is used to break the tie. U.Va. went 0-2 against
Clemson. The Tigers split with the Heels.
FOOTBALL: Virginia coach Al Groh said yesterday that he expects fullback Jason
Snelling to take part in spring practice, which begins March 28. Snelling, a
former L.C. Bird High star, missed two games last season, including the
Continental Tire Bowl, with an undisclosed medical condition.
Groh said the U.Va. staff continues to assess the progress of defensive back
Randy Jones, who hasn't played since suffering serious injuries in an October
2001 car wreck. Jones is "doing everything" physically, Groh said, including
running and lifting weights, but he hasn't been cleared to resume practicing.
"The key here will be to what degree he can do [football drills] and to what
level of endurance," Groh said.
GAME-DAY DECISION: Asked if his new offensive coordinator, Ron Prince, would
work from the press box during games, as predecessor Bill Musgrave did, Groh
said, "I don't know. We're going to make sure that the line still plays well."
Prince, who joined Groh's staff in January 2001 as offensive-line coach, will
continue in that position.
"We have had the last two years a very good line coach," Groh said, "and it's
important that we continue to have a very good line coach, so as we put things
together, that's a priority."
Groh, however, will definitely be on the sideline on game days. "Unless I'm
tailgating," he said.
RESCHEDULED: The bone-marrow registration and blood drive organized by
basketball player Todd Billet will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
University Hall.
The event, originally scheduled for Feb. 15, was postponed because of bad
weather. It is targeted at minorities, but people from all ethnic groups are
encouraged to register and/or donate blood. For more information, contact Billet
at tab4b@virginia.edu.
EXODUS: Virginia's 2000-01 basketball team included two freshmen: Maurice Young
and J.C. Mathis. Four freshmen joined the program the following season: Elton
Brown, Jason Clark, Jermaine Harper and Keith Jenifer.
Of those six players, only three remain in the program: Brown, Clark and Harper.
Young transferred to St. Bonaventure during the 2001-02 season, and Mathis
transferred to Michigan at the end of last school year.
Jenifer asked for and received a release from his scholarship this week. The
sophomore point guard hadn't played since being suspended from the team Feb. 3
for what the school called "conduct detrimental to the team."
TRIPLE THREAT: Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia's recruits for 2003-04
include one of the state's premier athletes: Robinson High senior Adam Fassnacht.
Fassnacht won the 215-pound title at last weekend's state Group AAA wrestling
meet. He previously helped Robinson win state titles in lacrosse and football.
He's an All-American in lacrosse - he plays midfield and attack - and twice was
an all-Group AAA defensive lineman in football. - Jeff White
If North Carolina upsets nationally ranked rival Duke Sunday in the last regular-season game for both basketball teams, many fans immediately will conclude that the win "saved" UNC coach Matt Doherty's job.
If Duke wins, many of the same fans will say Doherty should be fired.
The truth is that the outcome of one game, or even one season, has little or no bearing on the collaborative decision of an athletics director and the university's CEO to retain or fire a football or basketball coach.
Those who head businesses with multimillion-dollar annual budgets like a Division I athletics department cannot afford to make such whimsical decisions.
Three years into his six-year contract, Doherty's performance will be evaluated principally on the basis of one question: "How viable is the future of his program?"
In Doherty's case, the viability of his program hinges on his ability to retain the key players he has recruited in the last two years, particularly the freshman nucleus of point guard Raymond Felton, scoring leader Rashad McCants and center Sean May.
If those three return, along with most of the other sophomores and freshmen who dominate Carolina's roster, there will be ample reason for Tar Heels fans to believe that next season's team will a very good one. Such a team almost certainly would end the two-year drought that resulted in a horrific 8-20 record a year ago, followed by the current 15-14 record that places UNC on the bubble for NIT participation.
But if any of those players choose to transfer and sit out a season of ineligibility rather than continue to play for Doherty, the outlook for the '03-04 Tar Heels won't be much better than the past season.
In that case, UNC athletics director Dick Baddour and Chancellor James Moeser could find it necessary to buy out the remaining years on Doherty's contract at a cost of $500,000 and turn the program in a different direction.
Terry Holland, once Virginia's basketball coach and more recently its athletics director, defined his dilemma when he found it necessary to fire Jeff Jones, Holland's own former player and coaching protege, in 1998.
"We are in the business of selling hope," Holland said. "When there's no longer enough of it, we have to turn elsewhere."
To a considerable extent, Carolina fans have remained supportive of the program through its two leanest seasons in almost 40 years. They have continued to fill most of the Smith Center's 21,750 seats and react with enthusiasm to the shadowy on-court successes of two subpar teams.
But if next season's team is scarcely better, support probably will erode at an accelerated rate.
So now, near the end of a trying season for coach and players alike, Doherty's job security hinges on the feelings of three teenagers and their parents.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Felton, May, McCants and most of their parents have indicated publicly that they expect to return next season. One parent, former Indiana All-America Scott May, has stopped short of a full commitment but acknowledges his son's affinity for Carolina.
A fractured fifth metatarsal in Sean May's left foot ended his season after 10 of UNC's 29 games, and the absence of a quality backup no doubt affected the Tar Heels' record. He recently described his choice of Carolina as "the best decision I could have ever made."
Scott May probably envisions his son's pro potential as a power forward. But because Doherty has yet to recruit a high-quality center, Sean May might have to return to that position if he stays at UNC. If he transfers, his current layoff will extend to almost two full seasons.
McCants' on-court emotions tend to be transparent, and he and Doherty admittedly haven't always seen eye-to-eye in his erratic freshman season. Doherty has sat McCants down for stretches because of defensive shortcomings and perceived lack of hustle. McCants has questioned his coach's deliberate offensive approach in May's absence instead of the fast-breaking style he favors.
"I feel like I'm intelligent enough to gut it out," McCants said last week. "I'm not really worried about it. That's why I'm still strong, still standing, still here."
McCants' mother was more succinct.
"I'm sure he'll be back," Brenda Muckelvene said of her son.
Although Felton has experienced inconsistent success against opponents' steady defensive pressure on him, his season has been less eventful that those of May and McCants.
"I want to be one of the best players to play here," Felton said.
Regardless of what happens to Doherty's team in the regular-season finale against Duke, the ACC Tournament and possibly the NIT, Carolina's decision-makers are keeping an eye on whether the key players remain in the fold.
"I want to send the clear message that I'm supportive of Matt," Baddour said. "I think the kids are playing hard. I think the fans are into it. We're just trying to work through this."
But Baddour mentioned the importance of retention at a time when a recent NCAA rule restricts Division I programs to no more than five scholarships per year and eight in a two-year period regardless of player attrition.
"The new rules place a premium on retention and speculation on the future in recruiting," Baddour said. "It makes it harder for a program to rebuild."
Dean Smith, Doherty's former coach at Carolina and the winningest coach of all-time in Division I, recently reduced the issue to its simplest terms.
"If you have your team with you, that's the first thing," Smith said. "If you have your team with you, fans can say anything. If you have your players with you, then you're secure."
No doubt he has imparted that bit of wisdom to Doherty.
Scramble is on for ACC men
Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published March 8, 2003
This much we know: N.C. State has wrapped up fourth place in the conference
standings, and Florida State is bound for the play-in game for the third
consecutive year. Other than that, the ACC tournament seedings are up for grabs
going into the season's final weekend.
Wake Forest (22-4, 12-3 ACC) is the favorite for its first outright championship
since 1962, yet the possibility of a three-way tie for first exists. Three teams
- Virginia (14-14, 5-10), Clemson (15-11, 5-10) and North Carolina (15-14, 5-10)
- are tied for sixth place and one will fall into Thursday night's dreaded
play-in game.
Depending on this weekend's results, the tiebreaker procedure could get a
workout. Here's the situation:
If the Demon Deacons beat N.C. State (16-10, 9-6) today, they will finish first
and be the No. 1 seed. If Maryland (19-7, 11-4) and Duke (21-5, 11-4) remain
tied for second, the Terrapins would earn the second seed on a tiebreaker.
If the Wolfpack upsets Wake, and if Duke and Maryland win, that would create a
three-way tie for the top spot. In that event, since the three teams split
against each other, the next criterion would be how each did against the
remainder of the conference, starting with fourth-place N.C. State. Since the
Terrapins swept the Wolfpack, they would be the No. 1 seed. Duke would be second
and Wake third.
That part is fairly easy to take in. But the real mess involves the sixth
through eighth positions.
Of the three teams tied for sixth, one will be Florida State's opponent in the
play-in game, or "opening round," as the conference likes to call it. If the
three-way tie remains after this weekend's results, it would be broken by how
each team did against the other two. Boosted by their regular-season sweep of
Virginia, the Tigers would be 3-1. The Tar Heels would be 2-2; U.Va. 1-3. So
Clemson would be sixth, UNC seventh and U.Va. eighth.
If Clemson beats Georgia Tech (13-13, 6-9), North Carolina beats Duke and
Virginia beats Maryland, we would have a four-way tie for fifth place. The
Tigers then would emerge with a 5-1 record against the other three teams in the
pool. At 1-5, Virginia would fall to eighth. North Carolina would be seeded
sixth and Georgia Tech seventh.
The best Virginia can hope for is the sixth seed, which would happen if the
Cavaliers defeat Maryland and Clemson loses at Tech. Carolina-Duke wouldn't
matter. But if Clemson and North Carolina win, the Cavaliers' Sunday night game
would be a moot point.
Got all that?