GREENSBORO, N.C. — Duke freshman forward Shavlik Randolph, who is suffering from a high sprain in his right ankle, will be a game-time decision for tonight’s contest against Virginia. According to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Randolph’s ankle is tender enough that he hasn’t participated in any practices or drills this week. “He hasn’t practiced. It’s one of those high-ankle sprains. At this point, I’m not counting on him playing,” Kryzyzewski said. The 6-foot-10 Randolph is averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. He had 17 points in Duke’s first win over Virginia this season but did not play in the contest at University Hall. Homegrown? While Duke freshman guard J.J. Redick, a graduate of Roanoke’s Cave Spring High School, was peppered with questions Thursday about playing his home state team few knew that UVa is actually his former hometown team. Redick was born in Cookeville, Tenn., but moved to Charlottesville when he was two years old. Actually, Redick made the distinction that his family lived in Keswick, not Charlottesville. “We lived there for four years. We were out in the woods in Keswick,” Redick said. Redick’s family then moved to Roanoke when he was six-and-a-half years old. Back in Greensboro. The tournament has returned to Greensboro for the first time since 1998. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski certainly made it clear that he likes the city and the 23,500-seat Coliseum. “The people of Greensboro have always embraced this tournament in an incredible way. I think all the coaches are appreciative of that. I saw [former Georgia Tech coach] Bobby Cremins earlier and we agreed what Greensboro has done for the league has been incredible,” said Krzyzewski, whose team recorded two victories — Ohio State and N.C. A&T — in this building this season. For Virginia coach Pete Gillen it is his first visit to Greensboro and the Coliseum, but he was already impressed. “I’ve never been here, but it’s beautiful,” Gillen said. The UVa coach did express one opinion that nearly everyone commented on Thursday. While it was a 70-degree day in Greensboro, inside the arena it felt like a brisk 55 degrees. “It’s a little nippy,” Gillen said. Late night. Tonight’s Virginia-Duke game will begin at 9:30 p.m. and that’s assuming the Maryland-Duke game does go any later than scheduled. Gillen said he isn’t spending too much time worrying about that. “You have to go with what they give you. You have to play when they ask you to play. There are no complaints,” Gillen said. “We’re going to get up early and not let them sleep too late and get sluggish.” Gillen added that the team will go for a shootaround an undisclosed location this morning/early afternoon before heading to the Coliseum. The legend of Mark Newlen. UVa senior reserve Jason Rogers said he has heard comparisons to former UVa player Mark Newlen after his performance against Maryland on Sunday. Newlen, also a Staunton native, was a seldom-used reserve who started on Senior Night in 1977 and then was kept in the starting rotation as Virginia advanced all the way to the ACC final before losing to North Carolina. “I actually received a letter from Mark this week and talked to Coach Holland about that. They said they rode his shoulders all the way to the finals but lost,” Rogers said. “Hopefully we can find each other’s shoulders to the ACC title this time.” Family ties. Siedah Williams, the sister of UNC sophomore forward Jawad Williams, has committed to play basketball at Virginia next season. She is the third in the basketball playing family from Cleveland. The eldest sister, Nasheema Hillmon, played basketball at Vanderbilt. “I think my sister is going to be a great player in the ACC. She’s multidimensional and can do a lot of different things,” said Jawad Williams. Siedah Williams considered several schools including Connecticut, Tennessee and more notable, North Carolina. That latter school, however, was not considered too seriously. “She thought about Carolina, but I don’t think she wanted to come there and be Jawad Williams’ little sister,” Williams said. Getting defensive. Barry Jacobs’ fan’s guide to the ACC released its All-ACC defensive unit Thursday. The squads are voted on directly by the ACC coaches and is the only all-leagued team selected in that manner. The team consisted of Wake Forest’s Josh Howard, Duke’s Dahntay Jones, Maryland’s Steve Blake, Georgia Tech’s Chris Bosh and Florida State’s Tim Pickett.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Virginia coach Pete Gillen was asked two expected questions as his team finished practice Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. Oddly, neither was specifically about his team’s quarterfinal opponent, Duke. The first centered on his team’s postseason woes. The Cavaliers have lost seven straight ACC tournament contests and 12 straight postseason games overall dating back to 1995. “We try to be positive with the players. When I was at Providence, we won our first game of the Big East tournament each year. We haven’t won one here yet. … We’ve been playing great teams,” Gillen said. “Some conferences you play lesser teams in the first round, we’re playing Duke. That’s the way it is in the ACC and you have to deal with it.” And so Gillen and his staff are dealing with it, though they’re making some slight tinkering in preparation. “We’re trying to be positive with them and have not too long a practice. We’re just trying to emphasize the good things we do and work on our weaknesses,” Gillen said. In that vein, Gillen will probably put his team’s focus on its first loss to Duke this season rather than the second. On Jan. 15 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Cavaliers stayed with then-No. 1 Duke for most of the game before succumbing 104-93 as freshman J.J. Redick scored 34 points. In the teams’ second game in Charlottesville on Feb. 15, Duke dominated from the start en route to a 78-59 win. Or, as sophomore forward Elton Brown suggested, the Cavaliers shouldn’t put any focus on either game. “We don’t want to look at none of those performances. We just want to look at the performance we’re going to have. We beat Maryland and that’s a big momentum for us,” Brown said. While teams talk ad nauseam this time of year about it being a new season or being 0-0, these Cavaliers are almost insistent about the fact that their win over Maryland on Sunday gave them a newfound perspective. It has allowed them to apparently forget, at least somewhat, about the seven losses that preceded that game. “You really have to look at it as a new season. We have to have that approach. The score is going to be 0-0 tomorrow night. Duke doesn’t get five or 10 extra points because they were ahead of us,” said junior guard Todd Billet. “Everything is going to be equal.” The Cavaliers, however, should not expect the Blue Devils to somehow overlook them. Duke is aiming for its record fifth-straight ACC title and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is certainly leery of Virginia. “Virginia plays us tough wherever they play us. They’re coming off that big win over Maryland,” Krzyzewski said. The other question that Gillen and his players were asked frequently Thursday concerned senior center Jason Rogers. Rogers started the Maryland game and contributed a career-high 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. He also seemed to give Virginia a certain lift and Gillen noted later that Rogers had given his team the energy it had lacked over the last month. Gillen was asked if he plans to start Rogers again today and try to recapture some of that energy, the UVa coach, however, was unusually mum on the subject. “I have no comment on that. I’m not sure yet. He’ll play but nothing is set in stone in terms of the starting lineup,” Gillen said. Rogers did practice with the apparent starting unit Thursday and the 6-11 center made a veiled reference to getting the starting assignment. “I’m ready to get another shot and another chance to prove myself tomorrow night,” Rogers said. When asked if that meant he was starting, the Staunton native quickly backtracked. “He [Gillen] hasn’t said anything. I guess we’ll find out later,” Rogers said. If Rogers does again get the starting nod, it wouldn’t upset his teammates — even those he might be playing over. “We’d definitely like to see him start. He deserves it,” said senior forward Travis Watson. Added Brown: “Jason Rogers gave us a lot of energy. … It might affect my playing time but we’ll be moving to the next round.”
GREENSBORO, N.C. Ever since Keith Jenifer was suspended from Virginia’s basketball program in early February, coach Pete Gillen hasn’t missed an opportunity to blame part of his team’s tailspin on the former starting point guard’s absence. Since Jenifer got the hook and subsequently was granted his request for a release from the program, the Cavaliers won only three of 10 games. The chain of events turned a potential return to the NCAA Tournament into a struggle to qualify for the NIT. The landslide caused Virginia supporters to put Gillen under the microscope. With each mounting loss, they dissected every coaching decision, questioned his X’s and O’s. Every aspect of the Cavaliers’ program was scrutinized, analyzed and criticized. After each loss, after each win, on every teleconference, there was Gillen pointing out how he wasn’t coaching the same team without his starting point guard. Cop-out or good reason? Some fans considered the claim a cop-out, just a lame excuse from a coach who didn’t have any answers for his team’s collapse. After all, it’s not like we’re talking about Johnny Dawkins here. Jenifer didn’t even start the last four games he played in and didn’t make a single field goal in four of those last five games. And, don’t forget that three of UVa’s best wins this season (twice over Maryland and once over N.C. State) all came after Jenifer’s departure. So, why does Gillen keep insisting upon shouting from the rooftops that Virginia’s not the same team without the controversial guard? Does he have a valid point? Do we just not get it? Impartial judges Let’s go to some impartial judges and see what they think of the situation. Who better than tonight’s opponents, Duke’s Chris Duhon, Dahntay Jones and coach Mike Krzyzewski? So, what’s the difference in Virginia with KJ and Virginia without him? “They’re a different team but not necessarily a worse team,” said Coach K, who is looking for a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers in tonight’s ACC Tournament nightcap. “In some ways they’re tougher for us because they are putting more big guys out there.” Don’t let Krzyzewski fool you. True, his team’s weakness — the lack of size — can be exploited by a bigger Virginia team if Gillen chooses to do so. But all the while Coach K was wearing a canary-chomping, Cheshire cat’s grin. He plans to do what every team has done since Jenifer was shown the Rotunda door: press Virginia as soon as the Cavs step off the bus. “Virginia is definitely a better team with Jenifer at the point,” said Duhon. “He is more of a true point guard and they’re more vulnerable [against the press] without him. They have matchup problems with him out of the lineup.” Jones said that Virginia played much faster with Jenifer at the point. There was definitely a contrast in the Cavaliers’ first two meetings with Duke, both losses. In a 104-93 setback in Durham, Jenifer had 12 points, five assists and only two turnovers as UVa used its inside strength to throw a scare into the Blue Devils. In University Hall, without Jenifer, the Cavs had only two more turnovers against Duke than in the loss at Cameron but the result was much worse, a 78-59 outcome. Moments after UVa’s practice in the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday afternoon, Gillen defended his stance on the point guard situation. “It’s not an excuse,” said the coach. “It’s a fact that our starting point guard was suspended. It’s a fact that Roger Mason Jr. turned [pro].” “You might lose a player whether it’s for something like this or because of injury. Some things you can overcome, some you can’t,” said Gillen. “True, we’ve won three without him but we lost a dimension to our team. We lost his quickness and he was a great penetrator.” Quick teams have given Virginia fits without Jenifer to counter. Todd Billet had experience at Rutgers in bearing the responsibility of playing point guard and still finding ways to produce points, something that has given him trouble as Jenifer’s replacement. Majestic Mapp still isn’t 100 percent as the backup after well-documented knee trouble. There are no secrets in the ACC. Opponents know your weaknesses and how to exploit them. They have been attacking Billet on both ends of the floor, attempting to wear him down and force him into mistakes. Mapp isn’t blessed with quickness in the wake of his injuries. “Teams come at us now like a hurricane,” said Gillen. “When Todd plays the point he’s having to bring the ball up and because of those responsibilities, he can’t score the way he would like. He can’t get the looks because he has to rush his shot. He can’t be as effective.” Still, Billet has scored in double figures in six of the last 10 games. He was in double digits in 13 of the 19 games when Jenifer was around. “Sometimes it’s hard to just to get the ball upcourt and get us into our offense,” said Billet. For him to then work for an open 3-pointer, is easier said than done. He has to come off ball screens to get better looks at the basket and meanwhile has had to learn spots on the floor from where he can get open looks, which varies between a shooting guard and a point guard. “There’s a different mentality in playing the point and the off guard,” said Mapp, who has taken some offense at Gillen’s constant barking about how Virginia can’t play without Jenifer. “I’m a competitor, so I take everything personally,” said Mapp. “It’s nothing personal but at the same time, it is because it’s the position I play. I have to get better or we need to find a quicker point guard. Whatever I need to do to get better or quicker, then that’s what I have to do.” In the meantime, excuse or no excuse, Gillen goes against Duke, which has won 12 straight ACC Tournament games. Jenifer might be watching somewhere on TV and the coach must make do with Billet and Mapp. Now or never. Win or go home.
Gillen points to Duke's
All-Americas, says there's no way Devils are underdogs
Is Duke really an underdog? That hasn't been asked in quite awhile, especially when it comes to the ACC Tournament.
Despite winning the past four ACC titles, the 12th-ranked Blue Devils come into this year's tournament not as dominating as in years past. In a tournament that appears to be wide open, the Blue Devils are just one of several teams that thinks it can cut down the nets on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Devils, seeded third, will take on seventh-seed Virginia tonight at around 9:30. It's the first time the Blue Devils haven't been a No. 1 or 2 seed since 1996, when they were the fourth seed.
Don't count Coach Pete Gillen of Virginia as one of those who thinks the Blue Devils are any kind of underdogs.
"Please," Gillen said. "You didn't say that. They've got Hardee's All-Americas, McDonald's All-Americas, Wendy's All-Americas, Pizza Hut All-Americas. Please, underdog?
"They've got a hall-of-fame coach and just because they didn't win the league doesn't mean they are underdogs."
Casey Sanders, a senior center who was part of three of those ACC titles, said there's a different feeling surrounding this team than in past years.
"We feel a little bit like the underdogs," Sanders said. "And that's something that is new to me as a player since I've been here. I've never come into this tournament without a lot of buzz about us and how we are going to do in terms of winning games."
In past years, with the seemingly endless talent at Coach Mike Krzyzewski's disposal, the Blue Devils came in highly ranked with boatloads of confidence. But this season, after losing two of their final three games, things are different.
Duke arrives here with a 12-game tournament-record winning streak, which it hopes to extend tonight.
On the other side of the ledger is Virginia, which hasn't won a tournament game since 1995 and under Gillen is 0-4 in the tournament.
The Blue Devils not only lost two of three games to end the season at 21-6, they will probably be without freshman Shavlik Randolph, who sprained an ankle in practice on Monday.
"I don't expect him to play," Krzyzewski said.
Losing Randolph, who has shown flashes of good play in the post this season, puts a little more pressure on another freshman, Shelden Williams.
During the regular season, the 15-14 Cavaliers knocked off Wake Forest and Maryland, but were swept by the Blue Devils. Doing the damage in the first game in Durham was freshman J.J. Redick, who scored 34 points. Redick, from Roanoke, Va., also scored 15 points in the Blue Devils' win in Charlottesville.
He said yesterday that games against Virginia are a little more special because he is from there. "I like going against them," he said.
If the Cavaliers want to break their seven-game ACC Tournament streak, putting the clamps on Redick would be a good place to start.
Williams had one of his best games of his young career in Charlottesville, scoring 20 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
"We played really well there and Shelden had an incredible game," Krzyzewski said of the 78-59 win in Charlottesville on Feb. 15. "And we're going to have to do the same thing."
Travis Watson, a senior center for the Cavaliers, hasn't been on a winning team in a tournament game.
"We know about that and it's possible that we can break that streak," Watson said. "We just have to go out and do it. It's kind of surprising that we haven't won, but I don't look at the past."
Senior Dahntay Jones of the Blue Devils said despite their struggles at the end of the year with losses to St. John's and North Carolina, they are confident.
"We don't look at it like that," Jones said. "Because teams think we are vulnerable that's OK. We are the third seed, but we've been great at times, and even bad at times but we still have the potential to be great."
Whether the Blue Devils feel like underdogs or not heading into the tournament, junior Chris Duhon said he doesn't care.
"The feeling is still the same," Duhon said. "A lot of guys have done this before and this is something we've been good at the last four years so our seeding isn't going to change our mentality.
"We still feel like we are a great team and we just want to go out and prove it."
There is no next time
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Mar 13, 2003 : 7:50 pm ET
GREENSBORO -- In recent seasons, Duke has turned its trips to the ACC Tournament
into three-day weekends. Virginia hasn’t even made it to the weekend.
The Blue Devils are in the midst of the most dominating run in the 50-year
history of the event, having won four straight titles and 12 straight tournament
games — both records.
The Cavaliers are carving their own niche in the record books — a negative
niche. Virginia hasn’t won a tournament game since 1995, a string of eight
straight losses that ranks third in tournament history.
But while the Blue Devils have been dominating and the Cavaliers have been
dominated, recent history might as well be ancient history as far as the current
teams are concerned.
"We all start 0-0," said Virginia guard Todd Billet, who also isn’t losing sleep
over third-seeded Duke’s sweep of his sixth-seeding Cavaliers in the regular
season. "Duke doesn’t get 10 extra points because they finished ahead of us.
"We’re going to try to win the tournament. We feel we didn’t perform quite up to
our potential during the regular season, but we were able to knock off some of
the heavyweight teams, and that’s got to give us some confidence going into the
tournament."
Virginia (15-14) might actually have as much confidence as the Blue Devils
heading into tonight’s 9:30 tip-off. Virginia is the only team in the league
with three victories over the league’s top three teams. That third victory,
80-78 over Maryland on Sunday, ended the Cavs’ suffering at seven straight
losses and gave them a dose of hope for a happy ending to a sad season.
The Blue Devils (21-6), on the other hand, enter the postseason having lost two
of their last three games — the first time that’s happened since 1997. The Blue
Devils usually are playing their best basketball at this point, but now they’re
trying to return to the brand of basketball they were playing in February.
"We’ve just been soul-searching," Duke point guard Chris Duhon said. "The guys
have to realize that we’re only guaranteed two games [tonight’s game and the
NCAA Tournament opener], and we’re not going to be given anything — we have to
work for everything.
"We have to fight every game. We can’t rely on losing and then watching tape
afterwards and then trying to do it better next time. There is no next time."
Duke began its best stretch of basketball with its last game against Virginia, a
78-59 victory in Charlottesville that ended Duke’s four-game road losing streak
and signaled the arrival of freshman post player Shelden Williams as a force.
The Cavs still were considered a possible NCAA Tournament team at that point,
but the loss to Duke was their second of seven straight. The skid eventually led
Virginia coach Pete Gillen to bring senior post player Travis Watson off the
bench for three games, and when Watson returned to the starting lineup, he
returned to form, averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds the last two games.
Williams, for his part, said he was anticipating that Virginia would double-team
him in light of his 20-point performance in the teams’ last meeting.
Watson is anticipating even more from the Blue Devils.
"I don’t know what they’ll do — I’ll probably get triple- or quadruple-teamed or
something," Watson said. "But I’m just going to stay with the flow of the game
and just continue to rebound and just let everything else come."
If Watson is quadruple-teamed, the pressure might come from a pack of Duke
guards. Duke has gone with the same starting lineup since the last Virginia
game, but post player Casey Sanders said that he thought perimeter player Daniel
Ewing would start in his place tonight.
"Coach is shaking up the lineup just a little bit to give us a little more
quickness," said Sanders, who also predicted that little-used reserves Lee
Melchionni and Michael Thompson would get some playing time. "We know that
Virginia is going to come at us with a lot of rebounders and a lot of big guys,
and we feel like if they rush to the boards, we can get some fastbreak
opportunities."
Sanders said that even this late in the season, the Blue Devils still are trying
to find their comfort zone away from home, where they’re just 6-6. But Sanders
said the Blue Devils would take comfort in the fact that at the ACC Tournament,
no one will enjoy a homecourt advantage.
"Focusing in on the road — that seems to be our Achilles’ heel," Sanders said.
"When we get away from our comfort zone at Cameron, our homecourt, we really
have a hard time just executing our game plan.
"But the thing that I think is so different about being in the tournament is
that no one is really going to have a homecourt advantage. We played in this
building twice, so if you look at it from that perspective, we have an
advantage.
"It’s going to be a level playing field, and it’s going to be about who comes in
and plays great defense and scores points."
NOTES — Duke freshman Shavlik Randolph still hasn’t practiced on his sprained
right ankle. Randolph isn’t expected to play tonight, but Duke coach Mike
Krzyzewski said Randolph’s chances would increase if Duke advances. "He’s
actually progressed a little bit better [than expected]," Krzyzewski said. "If
we’re fortunate enough to advance, having a fresh body if you go all the way to
Sunday afternoon, he might all of a sudden give us a boost." ... Duke returned
to Durham after practicing at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday afternoon and
planned to practice at Cameron this morning before returning to Greensboro.
Anything’s possible for this Duke team
By FRANK DASCENZO : The Herald-Sun
fdascenzo@heraldsun.com
Mar 13, 2003 : 6:10 pm ET
GREESNBORO -- History won’t help Duke’s basketball team in this ACC Tournament,
but better defense, some leadership and good shooting will.
The Blue Devils have won four consecutive ACC Tournament titles and nobody has
won five straight. If Duke becomes the first to do it, senior Dahntay Jones
figures he’s got the formula for it.
"Chris [Duhon] has been doing a good job of leading this team so far but now he
has to be more outspoken," Jones said Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum
following an hour workout. "Chris needs to be more enthusiastic about this game
and about our team. He gets down at points. But lately he’s been very energetic
about what we’re trying to do."
Duhon was the preseason choice to become conference player of the year but he
slipped to third team all-league, and Jones was Duke’s only first-team choice.
There’s a theory that if Duhon delivers, Duke will win most games. But that
theory went down the drain on March 2 when the Devils were upset in Madison
Square Garden by St. John’s despite 15 points and six assists from Duhon.
Whether it’s fair, or even justified, Duhon seems to get knocked more than any
Blue Devils player. He said at the start of the season he wanted to be the
leader and took responsibility for it. His numbers — 182 assists to 78 turnovers
in 27 games — are impressive. He has four 10-plus assist games and his 6.7
assists per game rank second in the ACC, 10th in the nation.
"Bigtime players and great teams step up at tournament time and hopefully we can
do that," Duhon said. "But there have been times when we’ve been great and times
when we’ve played awful. Leadership is never easy and it can wear on you. I
think I played a little bit of mind games, trying to do it perfectly and not
giving myself any chance instead of just learning how to do this. I think I’ve
gotten better and now have a better mindset."
In the loss at North Carolina last Sunday, Duhon had nine assists to one
turnover and made 4 of 7 field goals. The statistics don’t look like they belong
to a player on the losing team, but as Jones mentioned, there’s more to it than
that.
"After the loss at UNC, we were down but when we came back into the gym we’ve
been on a mission," Jones said. "Guys have been more energetic. Guys have been
bringing an impact, playing at a faster pace."
Because Mike Krzyzewski has escorted the Blue Devils program into a dreamland of
success, which includes three NCAA championships and a method of operation that
demands passionate man-to-man defense, there’s been a skeptical look at this
team for good reason. Not only has Duke slipped to a No. 3 seed in this year’s
ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils have lost two of their last three games, and if
they don’t at least reach the final here on Sunday, their NCAA Tournament seed
might be downright shocking.
Expectations always are going to be high — Final Four high — for Krzyzewski. But
this year is different, if not strange.
"There’s no pressure on us," Duhon said. "Whatever happened in the past is in
the past and this is a fresh start."
Krzyzewski has a good team, not a great one. Just ask him and he’ll tell you
that he’s trying to make it good enough to make some noise later this month.
Unless that passion returns on defense and Duhon becomes the consistent leader,
just what are the chances of that happening?
"One of our points of emphasis is to go out and communicate better," Duhon said.
"When we’ve done that the best, we’ve played our best. But time is running out.
We have to play hungry and very hard. I have a good feeling we can do that. We
can play good defense and that comes down to communicating. We can’t lose and
then go watch tape to see what would have happened if we’d have talked here or
there. We have to do it now."
Jones offered another suggestion to get Duke back to swaggering instead of
wondering.
"We need to play a 40-minute game," Jones said. "We’ve been putting together
good halves here and there."
Duke teams in recent years had their personality well-stamped by the time ACC
Tournaments arrived. Last year’s team relied on Jay Williams’ all-court game,
Mike Dunleavy’s shooting and Carlos Boozer’s prowess inside. The national champs
of 2001 had Shane Battier to guide them through a tough East Regional, which
included UCLA and Southern Cal, and then to wins at the Final Four over Maryland
and Arizona.
Duke is 21-6, undefeated in Cameron Indoor Stadium, has beaten everybody in the
ACC at least once, but the Blue Devils also have fallen out of the Associated
Press Top 10, all the way to No. 12, and their string of five straight No. 1
seeds in the NCAA Tournament is likely to be broken come Sunday afternoon. Rumor
has it that the Iron Dukes can’t understand this.
Jones appeared mystified when asked just what is the personality of this team.
"We fluctuate," Jones said. "We can dominate when guys come out with a lot of
energey. Then in the second half, we back off. At points it has come from a lack
of leadership. I have to make sure I keep these guys up the whole game because
they are young and they do have, at times a way of losing their focus."
These are clearly different times for these Blue Devils. Once the dominator, now
a contender and not exactly the favored one. They were answering questions about
their defense, their late-season losses and their leadership.
"I think it’s exciting," Duhon said. "We know where we’re at and where we can go
and we know we can be so much better."
The truth is anything’s possible with these Blue Devils. Another run at the ACC
Tournament title and another run at the Final Four. Or early exits.
The Ferocious Rebounder as Family Man
U-Va.'s Watson Has A Large Circle Of Supporters
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, March 14, 2003; Page D07
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- As Travis Watson raised his framed jersey toward the roof of
University Hall and listened to the cheers of 7,301 fans on Senior Day, his
mother stood beside him at center court and beamed proudly.
In the stands, beaming as proudly as Carol Watson, were Patric Boggs and his
family. Near them were Steve Smith and his wife. They knew Travis Watson before
he became one of the best post players at Virginia and fixed his sights on an
NBA career. Over the course of seven years they helped a teenager with spotty
grades turn himself into a young man with a chiseled physique, three months away
from a university degree.
Boggs entered Watson's life in the summer of 1996, making him a part of his
family -- and a part of his summer traveling team -- when Watson was a high
school sophomore transplanted from Dallas to Brookneal, Va., in an attempt to
better his chances at a future in college basketball. The next year, Watson
enrolled at Oak Hill Academy and joined Smith's nationally renowned basketball
team.
"I'm real close with Coach Smith and Patric Boggs," Watson said. "They're people
that've been loyal to me, and I've been loyal to them. It's a real tight-knit
situation."
Those relationships helped mold Watson into one of the ACC's best players.
Listed at 6 feet 8, he earned a spot on the all-conference second team for the
third consecutive year by averaging 14 points and a league-high 10.6 rebounds
this season while also leading the Cavaliers (15-14) in blocks, steals and field
goal percentage. Heading into tonight's ACC tournament game against Duke, he is
13th on Virginia's career scoring list, second in rebounds and fourth in blocks.
It did not take long for Watson to develop a bond with Boggs, his wife and three
young children. Mandy Boggs and Carol Watson decided to change Travis's
itinerary. Instead of returning to Dallas, he would stay in Virginia, where he
had more basketball opportunities, and take Patric and Mandy as his legal
guardians.
Soon Watson was a full-fledged member of the Boggs family. He took out the trash
and washed the dishes. He potty-trained Sean-Patric, the youngest son.
"Travis has always been a part of our family," Patric Boggs said. "My 5-year-old
and my 9-year-old think Travis is their big brother and they're his little
brothers."
Watson spent the 1996-97 school year at William Campbell High School -- playing
only half the basketball season after sitting out the first semester to
concentrate on his grades -- before Boggs contacted Smith at Oak Hill. "I
remember Patric telling me, 'I don't know. My wife and I are so attached to
him,' " Smith recalled. They said, " 'We're thinking about sending him [to Oak
Hill]; we just don't know if we can do it.' "
Watson arrived at Oak Hill to find that Mouth of Wilson, Va., like Brookneal
(pop. 1,250), was nothing like Dallas.
"The only thing you could do is focus on academics and basketball," Watson said.
"There's nothing to do. There's the little school activities, but it's like,
'You're bored? Go shoot.' "
Watson's time at Oak Hill featured six teammates who would become well-known
college players. As a junior, he came off the bench behind the imposing front
line of Jules Camara (Kentucky), Kevin Lyde (Temple) and Antwan Scott (Wake
Forest). The next season, he teamed with Ron Slay (Tennessee), Steve Blake
(Maryland) and Cliff Hawkins (Kentucky) as Oak Hill finished 31-0.
Since earning a starting spot as a freshman at Virginia, Watson has become one
of the most widely respected players in the ACC. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said
he told Watson after the Cavaliers' and Blue Devils' final regular season
meeting "what an honor it's been to compete against him.
"He's a kid that I think everybody in our league would like to coach."
With that same sentiment in mind, Boggs and Smith brought their families to
University Hall last weekend for what could have been Watson's last collegiate
home game. The evening turned out almost perfect, as Watson scored 26 points,
grabbed 15 rebounds and led the Cavaliers to an 80-78 overtime win against No.
13 Maryland that lifted the burden of a seven-game losing streak and made them
eligible for a postseason bid.
Afterward, Watson laughed and joked with his extended family, holding 5-year-old
Dylan Boggs in his arms.
"They're just like my family," Watson said. "I'm the oldest one. I've got two
little brothers I've got to look after."
Supervision of Game Officials Under Scrutiny
By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 14, 2003; Page D07
GREENSBORO, N.C., March 13 -- After a season filled with controversy surrounding
game officials, ACC associate commissioner Fred Barakat today acknowledged that
there has been a drop-off in officiating performance and said the league plans
to reevaluate its agreement to share officials with the Southeastern Conference.
"I think we have had some slipping, to be honest," he said. "Maybe it's because
the program has gotten so big, with one guy trying to oversee so many officials
and so many games."
Previously, Barakat was the ACC's supervisor of officials. However, for the past
three seasons the conference has had an agreement with the SEC in which that
league's supervisor of officials, John Guthrie, coordinated officials for both
conferences. The arrangement, which was scheduled to be evaluated after its
third season, allows the ACC to incorporate more officials into games, but
Barakat said there has been less communication between administrators and game
officials.
Guthrie "has done a good job," said Barakat, who continues to oversee Guthrie.
"But he's by himself."
Additionally, Barakat said that he thinks that too much attention has been
placed on game officials.
"I think the coaches have made it a focus," he said. "Hopefully in our spring
meeting we'll get that straightened out. I really think we have to take the
focus off the officials. They're human beings and will make mistakes; we all do.
But we can't keep pointing out their mistakes publicly and undressing them
because we've got to bring them back.
"You can't knock them out of society, you know what I mean, and make it so bad
that they get demoralized and they lose their confidence. . . . Even the best
make mistakes."