Cavs come back from 'dead' to win
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 12, 2004

GREENSBORO, N.C.
Just about anyone watching Thursday night’s ACC tournament opener wouldn’t have given Pete Gillen or Virginia a snowball’s chance of hanging on. Down eight points with 3:12 to play, the corpse twitched.
So much was at stake for the Cavaliers. Senior point guard Todd Billet knew all about Virginia’s eight-game losing streak in the ACC’s version of Russian Roulette, a string of defeats dating back to 1995.

Survival instinct
But it was about more than just burying a jinx. It was about survival, something Virginia and Gillen have thrived upon for the past month. Gillen is fighting to keep his job. His team is fighting to keep it’s season alive.
Once again, the Cavaliers staged another dramatic charge in crunch time and sent their game with Clemson into overtime, then turned up the defensive pressure to pull off a three-game sweep of the Tigers, 83-79.
“We just came back from the dead,” Gillen said afterward.
He should have added “again” to his comment because it was the fifth time in the last seven games his Cavaliers have come from behind late in the contests to win.
Gillen’s terminology had a double meaning. Most experts believe if the Cavaliers upset Duke in today’s quarterfinals, they could be headed to the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, Gillen may have saved his own hide with the win.
Speculation entering the tournament was that the Virginia coach had to win a game in the event to keep his job in spite of seven years remaining on his contract. Gillen was Oh-for-five in the ACC tournament heading into last night’s opener as the pressure mounted.
“It’s good to get the monkey off my back,” Gillen said of the ACC streak. “We hadn’t played well in this tournament and I’ll take the blame for that. It’s nice to take that step.”

Postseason magic
Virginia came to Greensboro in hopes of performing some March magic, something that had escaped the program for nearly a decade. In the past nine seasons, only one UVa squad had experienced any kind of postseason success, last year’s first-round NIT victory over Brown.
But this particular team has refused to throw in the towel. It once stood at 2-8 in the ACC and Gillen’s future around the ivy-covered Rotunda walls looked gloomy.
It was at that particular moment that things changed. Following a home loss to N.C. State, Gillen’s team had a closed door, players-only meeting. The players were candid in what had to be done to turn things around.
They picked a heck of a time of the season to try to reverse their fortunes. Their next game was at then-No. 1 Duke.
“Most coaches would have given up on us then,” said Virginia center Elton Brown. “But I’ll never forget it. Coach
Gillen shocked us. Right before the Duke game, he told us, ‘We’re going to the NCAA tournament.’”
According to Brown, Gillen told his players that if they could beat Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and North Carolina, all ranked in the Top 15, then they had a shot at the NCAAs.
“He said that any of those three teams could be in the Final Four, so that if we beat them, we had a chance,” Brown said. “He could have easily turned his shoulder to us and we could have wound up 2-14. Instead, he kept us motivated.”
Now, Virginia is 17-11 overall and 7-10 against ACC opponents. Armed with a fairly healthy RPI, an upset over the Blue Devils would make it difficult for the selection committee to ignore.
You have to give Gillen just as much credit for the wins as the grief he took for the losses.
When he talked to his team prior to taking the floor against Clemson, he didn’t talk much about X’s and O’s. Instead he emphasized other factors that would be necessary to beat the Tigers for a third straight time.
Clemson’s players and coaching staff, incidentally, jumped for joy when they learned last Sunday night they would face Virginia. They believed they could beat the Cavaliers and were so confident that they packed for four days.
“We talked about determination, courage and togetherness,” Gillen said.
Even at halftime, after watching the Tigers reel off 11 unanswered points for a 35-29 lead, Gillen never surrendered. Throughout the second half and overtime, he kept fighting, kept motivating his team.
“He told us at halftime that we were going to be fine,” said freshman point guard T.J. Bannister. “He’s always like that. He’ll never give up. Even if we’re down 10 with two minutes to go, he’ll say, ‘C’mon guys, we’re going to win.’ He gives us a lot of confidence.”

Devin Smith said that at every opportunity, Gillen stressed that the Cavs had to step it up defensively to win.
“We knew that Clemson likes to play in the 50s and 60s, so we wanted to speed up the game and it worked because we created turnovers,” Smith said.
Virginia threw a fullcourt blanket over Clemson late in regulation and in overtime. The Tigers panicked, coughing up the ball and taking poor shots.
One of the biggest plays came with 53 seconds showing in regulation. That’s when Billet shot the gap out of UVa’s press and got a hand on the inbounds pass, deflecting the ball to a wide-open J.R. Reynolds, who promptly scored and was fouled, deadlocking it at 68-all and forcing the overtime.
“This was just desperation,” Billet said of the dramatic comeback. “Our backs were against the wall again. But there’s a trend in all of our comebacks and that is our defense stepped up.”
While there’s no guarantees that Virginia will survive today or that Gillen will keep his job, don’t tell that to the coach and his players.
“I’m crazy enough to think we have a chance to win,” Gillen said.
He hopes it’s contagious.

 

Cavaliers survive
UVa ends ACC tournament drought
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 12, 2004

GREENSBORO, N.C. – If anyone thought Virginia and Coach Pete Gillen would end their ACC tournament drought with a nice-and-easy, 15-to-20 point win, they should have known better.

The eighth-seeded Cavaliers, losers of eight straight ACC tournament contests, rallied from a seven-point deficit with just over two minutes to go in regulation and then edged Clemson 15-11 in overtime to notch the 83-79 victory Thursday in a first-round game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Virginia now advances - a phrase that hasn’t been used since it defeated Georgia Tech on March 10, 1995, in an ACC quarterfinal contest - to meet top-seeded Duke today at noon.

Todd Billet led Virginia (17-11) with 20 points while Elton Brown had 19. J.R. Reynolds had a career-high 18 and Devin Smith added 14.

Vern Hamilton had 19 points to pace Clemson (10-18).

“We were fortunate to win. Our guys played with tremendous courage and togetherness,” said Gillen, who had lost his previous five ACC tournament contests. “On more than a couple occasions, I just thought this might not be our day. … We just came back from the dead.”

One of those certainly had to be with 2:14 remaining when Clemson’s Sharrod Ford made a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 66-59 lead.

Reynolds, whose 18 points all came in the second half, ignited Virginia feverish comeback with a trey with 2:07 left.

The Cavaliers, however, could not cut the advantage below the three-point barrier until the final minute.

Trailing 68-65 after a pair of Billet free throws with 52 seconds remaining, Clemson inbounded the ball to Shawan Robinson in the corner. Robinson was promptly trapped and his pass was subsequently tipped by Billet and literally fell into Reynolds’ hands.

Reynolds went to the basket where he made a circus-like layup while drawing a foul from Chey Christie. Reynolds then made the free throw to tie the game.

“I saw Todd tip the pass and then I just reacted and went after the ball. I then just went in and made the layup,” Reynolds said.

The game would go to overtime tied at 68 when Billet, who has made three game-winning 3-pointers in the last month, couldn’t create such a shot this time at the buzzer.

Virginia would take the lead for good when Reynolds drilled a 3-pointer form the top of the key with 1:44 left to give UVa a 72-71 lead. Virginia would move the lead to four, 75-71, on a Smith trey with a minute remaining. The Cavaliers and Gillen still had to sweat out the game - quite literally in Gillen’s case - until Reynolds made a pair of free throws to seal it with 2.9 seconds left.

“J.R. was great down the stretch. He made a number of big plays and played with a lot of heart. I think he played with some jitters early on. He had a great second half and we don’t win without him,” said Gillen, whose team trailed 35-29 at halftime.

Now Virginia faces top-seeded and five-time defending champion Duke. The Cavaliers would certainly at least get back into NCAA tournament consideration with a victory.

“Duke is a great team and they will certainly be the overwhelming favorite. They certainly have a more polished record than we do. … They have great players but I think we have great players, too. The game is not measured just in points but in heart and giving it as much as you’ve got. I’m crazy enough to think we can win. The game is played between the lines and we are looking forward to the opportunity.”

Added Brown: “Our adrenaline is still pumping. I could and the rest of the guys could play again … right now. I know we need to sleep right now, but we’re ready to play Duke. It’s a game we can win.”
 

At last, a first for Gillen’s Cavs
Virginia’s Devin Smith celebrates after scoring in overtime against Clemson at the Greensboro Coliseum. NELSON KEPLEY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 12, 2004

GREENSBORO — Forget the fact that it took overtime for Virginia to finally finish Clemson 83-79 on Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Forget that the victory came in the ACC tournament’s “play-in” game. Forget that it came at the expense of a team that had won just two games since Jan. 13 .

Virginia (17-11) is in no position to be choosy about its ACC tournament victories, because this was its first since 1995. “It’s good to get that monkey off your back,” coach Pete Gillen said.

Virginia’s reward is a noon tip-off today against No. 1 seed Duke, which has won this tournament five years in a row. The Cavaliers will have about 12 hours to prepare.

“It’s not going to bother me,” center Elton Brown said. “I could play right now if I had to.”

Brown and his Virginia teammates were feeling frisky after rallying from eight points down to force overtime, then smothering Clemson (10-18) in the extra session. Todd Billet led Virginia with 20 points while Brown had 19 and J.R. Reynolds 18.

“Our guys just came back from the dead,” Gillen said.

The play that made it possible came with 49.6 seconds left, when Billet deflected a Clemson pass. The ball popped into the hands of Reynolds, who made a twisting layup as he was fouled. Reynolds hit the free throw to tie the game at 69.

Overtime was as ugly as regulation , with much of the action, such as it was, taking place at the free throw line. Reynolds hit a 3-pointer to put Virginia up 72-71 with 1:45 left.

Virginia built its lead to 78-73 after Billet made three of four from the line. It again was five, 80-75, before Vernon Hamilton made a 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

Clemson’s last gasp came with three seconds to play , when Hamilton intentionally missed a free throw with Virginia up 81-79. Reynolds grabbed the rebound and converted two free throws to turn the Tigers away.

It was one of the few times all night when Virginia grabbed a rebound it really needed. Clemson pounded Virginia on the boards, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to Virginia’s six and 42 overall to Virginia’s 32.

But the Tigers couldn’t sustain anything offensively, and by game’s end, their offense had broken down. Virginia’s pressure defense had much to do with that.

The Cavaliers forced Clemson into several crucial late turnovers.

“We really turned up the heat,” Billet said.

By doing so, Virginia, at least temporarily, reduced some of the heat on Gillen, whose job security has been a hot topic all season. A loss in the play-in game would have stretched Virginia’s winless ACC tournament streak to nine, six under Gillen.

Virginia still hasn’t won a quarterfinal game since 1995. And in Duke, the Cavaliers face a team that beat them twice this season, by an average of 20 points.

Gillen conceded that on paper Virginia doesn’t seem to have much of a chance. “The game is played between the lines,” he said. “I’m crazy enough to think we have a chance to win.”
 

Reynolds boosts Cavaliers
Roanoke's J.R. Reynolds ties the score in regulation and puts UVa ahead in overtime.
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Don't tell Virginia that the ACC Tournament "play-in" game doesn't mean anything.

The Cavaliers rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation and defeated Clemson for the third time this season, 83-79.

"Our guys just came back from the dead," said sixth-year UVa coach Pete Gillen, whose job status has been the topic of considerable discussion. "I thought they showed tremendous courage, tremendous determination and tremendous togetherness."

It was the first ACC Tournament victory for Gillen, and nobody played a bigger role than freshman guard J.R. Reynolds from Roanoke.

Reynolds converted the game-tying three-point play in regulation, hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime, grabbed a defensive rebound when Clemson was trying to miss a free throw in the closing seconds of overtime, then hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.

"I think he was a little nervous early, but we don't win without him," Gillen said. "He was tremendous."

Reynolds, scoreless at halftime, finished with a season-high 18 points.

"Numerous times he's stepped up and made big shots, even in high school," said Clemson freshman Vernon Hamilton, who played at Benedictine in Richmond when its big rival was Reynolds' Roanoke Catholic team. "He's a clutch player. I really have a lot of respect for him."

Virginia (17-11) had lost nine straight ACC Tournament games, eight of them first-rounders, and has the challenge of facing top-ranked Duke at noon today.

Virginia, which trailed 64-56 with less than 2 1/2 minutes left, tied the score on a three-point play by Reynolds with 49.6 seconds to go and had the ball at the end regulation before Jason Clark was tied up at the buzzer.

Virginia had beaten the Tigers (10-18) twice during the regular season and were on the verge of taking command several times in the first half Thursday before falling victim to the kind of half-ending blitz that has victimized them on previous occasions.

After the teams had combined for 40 and 48 points in the first halves of their two previous games, Clemson grabbed a 35-29 halftime lead Thursday, thanks to an 11-0 run over the final 4:08. It was 31-29 before the Tigers scored twice in the final 11 seconds, with Hamilton leaving Majestic Mapp in his wake for a jumper at the buzzer.

Hamilton celebrated his first start in 12 games by scoring 19 points, his college high.

Virginia took a 52-51 lead on a three-point play by Elton Brown with 9:45 left, then went more than seven minutes without a field goal before Todd Billet hit a 3-pointer with 2:25 left to make it 64-59. The Cavaliers scored 12 points in a span of 1:37 to force a 68-68 tie. The Tigers had turnovers on their last two possessions of regulation, then four more on the first six possessions of overtime.

"I think the constant in all these games we've won at the end is that we've really turned up our defense," said Billet, who might have added that UVa had one turnover in the last 11 1/2 minutes, counting overtime.

Billet had team highs of 20 points and seven rebounds.

 

Would timing be right for coaching change?
Rutledge told Groh he was coming to UVa
By DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Thursdays

In all the discussion of what it will take for Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen to save or lose his job, one issue needs to get more consideration: timing.

What if it's March 25 and the Cavaliers are in the second or third round of the NIT? Can you still make a move at that point?

I read where media gadfly Jeff White quoted a source as saying Gillen is not as safe as people may think, and I don't disagree with that. But, does Gillen lose his job if Virginia goes 18-13?

To go 18-13, Virginia (16-11) would have to beat 3/12-point underdog Clemson tonight in the ACC Tiournament -- no sure thing -- and win one game in the NIT.

UVa also could go 18-13 if it loses to Clemson and wins two NIT games, but I think the former scenario would be more beneficial to Gillen.

What if Virginia beats Clemson and wins two NIT games? That makes the Cavaliers no worse than 19-13 and Gillen certainly would retain his job at 19-13. Or would he?

If the gadfly's source is to be taken literally, maybe not.

I think there's another factor to be considered. How are the NIT people going to view Virginia? Would they like to see the Cavaliers get to New York? Is there somebody on the committee who would want to help Gillen and give him 2-3 home games? A couple opponents like 2003 first-round opponent Brown and anything would be possible.

Now, back to the timing.

UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage will be sequestered this weekend with the NCAA selection committee, of which he is a member. Next weekend, he will be assigned one of the first- and second-round sites as an overseer.

When Virginia last changed basketball coaches, following the 1997-98, then-athletic director Terry Holland also was on the NCAA Basketball Committee. That didn't prevent him from firing protege Jeff Jones, although it took him nine days.

Holland knew he was going to fire Jones but wanted to give him a window through which Jones could interview for the opening at Western Kentucky, not far from his Owensboro, Ky., home.

The postseason starts a week later than it did in 1998, when ninth-seeded UVa lost to top-seeded Duke 63-41 on March 6. That was one of the two years in which there were two first-round games.

Holland knew that he would be firing Jones after an 11-19 season. Unlike this year's team, UVa was slated to lose its two best players -- Norman Nolan and Curtis Staples -- and there was the potential for things to get worse before they got better.

While there were mitigating factors for the nine-day break since the end of Virginia's season and Jones' firing on March 15, that was an obvious move. I think a lot more deliberation would go into firing Gillen after a fifth straight season at .500 or better, especially given the absence of a buyout clause in his contract.

If Littlepage decides to let Gillen go, it could take place as late as April 1, which would automatically eliminate some coaching candidates. As I've written before in this space, don't make a move just to be making a move. Make a move because you KNOW you will get something better.

As late as Sunday night, I continued to find fault with Gillen's game management. I don't argue with his reasoning that Virginia needed to slow down, the basis for his first timeout, but not at the expense of a 3-on-1 fast break. You also have to wonder about his thinking when he instructed Devin Smith, his best player, to commit a foul when Smith already had four.

I disagree with the theory that Gillen is not a good fit for Virginia. Actually, I don't think you could find many coaches who would be a better fit in terms of appearance, background and commitment to the community. The issue is whether he can coach or whether he's the coach to take Virginia where it wants to go.

That still might take some time to figure out.

A CONVERSATION LAST WEEK with Montgomery Bell Academy football coach Jeff Rutledge marked the first time we had spoken since Rutledge was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and had been approached for a position under newly named Virginia coach Al Groh.

When Virginia took an oral commitment from Montgomery Bell Academy tight end Tom Santi, I assumed that Rutledge still had cordial relations with Groh but wondered what had happened when Groh hired Bill Musgrave, and not Rutledge, as his first offensive coordinator.

Apparently, the job was Rutledge's if he wanted it.

"I would have taken it," Rutledge said, "but I had a daughter who was a senior in high school and I didn't think it was the right thing to do, move her [in] her senior year. We talked about it and my wife said, 'You go,' and my daughter would stay here. I didn't think that was the right thing at the end.

"The timing wasn't good. I think a lot of coach Groh. There was serious [interest]. In fact, I called coach Groh and told him I was coming. Then, overnight, I slept on it and just didn't feel good about it. He was very understanding."


 

Cavs win play-in to play on
Reynolds rallies U.Va. to end tourney losing streak
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published March 12, 2004

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The third-longest losing streak in the ACC tournament's 51-year history is, finally, history itself.

Down eight points with 2:29 left in regulation Thursday night, Virginia rallied for an 83-79 overtime victory over Clemson in the first round - also known as the play-in game - of the ACC tournament in Greensboro Coliseum.

J.R. Reynolds scored 16 of his career-high 18 points after halftime as the Cavaliers kept alive their faint hopes of an NCAA tournament bid.

"We were very fortunate to win this game," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said. "The kids showed tremendous determination, tremendous courage, tremendous togetherness. That's what we talked about before the game. We didn't talk about X's and O's. We talked about determination, courage and togetherness."

The Cavaliers (17-11) needed all three in knocking off the ninth-seeded Tigers, who looked safe with a 66-59 lead at 2:14. But after Reynolds forced overtime with a 3-point play off a steal, he made a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Virginia the lead for good. The Cavs' pressure forced six turnovers in the game's final 51/2 minutes.

"Our guys just came back from the dead," Gillen said.

It was Virginia's first victory in the tournament since March 10, 1995, a span of 3,289 days during which the conference saw 12 coaching changes. The Cavs had lost eight opening-round games since, five under Gillen.

Virginia's reward for breaking the hex? A quarterfinal date against Duke (26-4) today at noon. Tip-off will come less than 15 hours after Thursday night's game ended.

The Cavs are just happy to be there, and they wouldn't be if not for Reynolds' play down the stretch. His first big moment came with 49.6 seconds left in regulation, when teammate Todd Billet deflected a pass in front of Virginia's basket. The ball went to Reynolds, who banked in a layup and was fouled by Clemson's Chey Christie. Reynolds' free throw tied it at 68, and neither team was able to get off a shot the rest of regulation.

With Clemson ahead 71-69, Devin Smith came up with Virginia's sixth offensive rebound of the night and kicked it out to Reynolds at the top of the key. Reynolds nailed his third 3-pointer with 1:44 left, putting the Cavaliers ahead 72-71. After another Clemson turnover, Smith hit a trey to push the lead to four.

"He was great down the stretch," Gillen said of Reynolds. "Early on he was out of sync. He was nervous. But in the second half, we don't win without him."

The same can be said about Elton Brown, who was the only reason Virginia stayed in contention to give Reynolds the chance. Brown had 19 points, none coming in the game's final 15 minutes. Billet finished with 20 points despite 4-of-12 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds.

"It's nice to win," Gillen said. "We hadn't won here in the five years I was here, so it's good to get the monkey off your back."

Now, if the Cavs can only get past Duke. Not much of a challenge there, especially on a short turnaround.

"That doesn't bother me," Brown said. "I could play now if I had to."
 

Duke-Virginia: A rousing beginning
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Mar 12, 2004 : 1:54 am ET

GREENSBORO -- The Duke Blue Devils are an advantaged team.

As evidenced by their status as No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament that shifts into high gear today, the Blue Devils have the advantage of being the top team in the top conference.

And, with the last five tournament-title trophies in their possession, they have a psychological advantage as well.

In today's quarterfinals, Duke also has the advantage of facing one of the few teams in the loaded league that isn't guaranteed to make the NCAA Tournament.

But believe it or not, that could be a disadvantage as well.

While the league's other eight teams spent the week preparing for a specific opponent, the Blue Devils didn't find out which team they would face until just before went to bed Thursday night.

"It's a little bit different not having a specific opponent to prepare for," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday afternoon, eight hours before he finally learned that Duke will face Virginia today at noon. "We've kind of focused primarily on us these last few days. Then right after the game tonight we'll do a scouting report with our kids and then get up in the morning and play."

The Blue Devils got their scouting report after 10 p.m. and went to bed soon after, but the truth is that Duke wasn't likely to lose sleep over either Virginia or Clemson, whose season ended with Thursday's 83-79 overtime loss in Thursday's play-in game.

The Blue Devils handled Virginia and Clemson by an average of 21.3 points during the regular season. Even so, Duke did know before Thursday that it would be facing a team that would be fighting for its season.

The Blue Devils, however, feel that they have something to fight for as well.

"It's very important. I wish we could just keep winning them for the rest of our lives," said Duke senior Chris Duhon, who is 9-0 in ACC Tournament games. "I think it just sends a message to the whole league, that we've dominated this conference over the last eight years, and we're just going to keep continuing to do it.

"It just sends a message to the rest of the league that they're always playing for second place."

Virginia is playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament -- something that once looked like a pipe dream but could become reality with an upset of Duke.

The Cavaliers looked nothing like a tournament team when they prepared to play in Durham a month ago. They came to town having lost four straight games and saw the streak grow to five against Duke. Still, it was a turning point for Virginia's season.

With Devin Smith -- arguably Virginia's best player -- out with a back injury that still is slowing him, the Cavaliers trailed Duke by just three points going into the game's final 12 minutes before falling 93-75. Big man Elton Brown played big, and freshman guard J.R. Reynolds emerged in Smith's absence.

Three days later, a more confident Virginia team knocked off Georgia Tech to start a season-ending streak of four victories in six games.

"It was the biggest turning point for our season because going into that game we had a team meeting," said Brown, who scored 19 points Thursday. "Everybody just sat down and said, 'Look, we're 2-7 [in the ACC], and right now there's nothing but NIT hopes.'

"So everybody did a self-check and said, 'Look, if we want to go to the tournament, we've got to turn it on. It's not over; it's not dead. We've still got hope to go to the tournament.' The team listened and we turned it around, and now a lot of people think we're a bubble team."

Brown said he didn't think the bubble would necessarily burst with a loss today, but the Cavaliers can't afford to take that chance. Brown also doesn't think fatigue will be a factor: Virginia will tip it off about 14 hours after the play-in game ended.

"We could play again; we could play right now if we had to," Brown said.

The Blue Devils, too, are ready to play -- even if they didn't know who they were going to play until the 11th hour.

"This week, we focused on us," senior Nick Horvath said. "We knew the two teams we could play, and we played them both twice, so I feel the coaches are prepared for both.

"In practice, we worked on how we're going to play Duke defense regardless of who we play and how we're going to play Duke offense no matter who we play. We can get prepared regardless."

 

Virginia takes ball, victory away from Clemson
By JON SOLOMON
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. —Clemson turned this one over.

Leading by eight points with three minutes remaining in regulation, the Tigers watched their ACC Tournament slip away as much of the season has. Turnover after turnover by Clemson gave Virginia an 83-79 overtime victory in Thursday’s play-in game at Greensboro Coliseum.

J.R. Reynolds drained a 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining that gave the eighth-seeded Cavaliers the lead for good at 72-71. Vernon Hamilton was then trapped on the Clemson sideline without a timeout and threw the ball to Virginia.

When the scoring in a flawed play-in game finally ended on two free throws by Reynolds with 2.4 seconds left, the Tigers (10-18) had fallen to 13-51 in ACC Tournament history. Virginia (17-11) won a conference tournament game for the first time since 1995.

Clemson committed 19 turnovers, including 10 between point guards Hamilton and Shawan Robinson.

Robinson made a critical mistake in the waning moments of regulation. With Clemson leading 68-65, Robinson was trapped in the corner near his own basket and tried passing into the center of the court to Chey Christie.

Reynolds intercepted the pass and made a layup while being fouled by Christie with 49.6 seconds left. Reynolds made the free throw to tie the game. Including the Robinson turnover, the Tigers turned the ball over on six of eight possessions between regulation and overtime.

The Tigers turned the ball over again on their final possession of regulation when Hamilton forced an entry pass that was stolen. Virginia played for the last shot, giving the ball to Todd Billet, who hit three game-winning shots near the end of the regular season, including one against Clemson on Feb. 21.

This time, Clemson made Billet drive and he got clogged up in the lane. Jason Clark collected the loose ball and could not get a shot up to the rim, forcing overtime.

Clemson led 71-69 with 3:28 remaining in overtime, but the mistakes kept cropping up. Olu Babalola threw the ball to a Virginia player while being trapped. Robinson tripped over his feet and lost the ball out of bounds.

The Tigers looked like they were in good position to avoid overtime.

They led by eight with 3:12 remaining, but Virginia traded consecutive 3-pointers by Billet and Reynolds with four Clemson free throws.

The lead was down to 66-62, and Purnell took a timeout. Robinson air-balled a 3-pointer with the shot clock running out, and T.J. Bannister made one of two free throws to pull Virginia within three points.

Clemson was becoming unglued.

Clemson began to slightly pull away with six consecutive points to go ahead 58-53 with 6:09 remaining.

Olu Babalola made one of two free throws to tie the game.

On the next possession, Shawan Robinson swished a 3-pointer from the corner for a three-point lead. Sharrod Ford added an outside jumper, and embattled Virginia coach Pete Gillen called timeout as the Clemson fans rose to their feet.

Meanwhile, Virginia was going cold on offense. After Robinson’s 3-pointer, Elton Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Bannister and Billet had shots in the lane rim in and out. Gillen pounded the floor in frustration after one miss.

Clemson went on an 11-0 run to end the half with a 35-29 lead and feeling good about itself.

Hamilton tossed in a floater in the lane with two seconds left. He finished the play in style by doing a somersault because of his momentum, then popping up and pumping his fist in the air.

The play typified the Tigers’ effort in the first half. Moments earlier, Babalola chased down his own miss for a putback, and then Akin Akingbala scored on an offensive rebound after collecting himself in the paint.

Virginia led 29-24 with 5:19 left in the half — the largest lead at the time for either team — but went the rest of the way without scoring. The Cavaliers missed their last five shots and committed three turnovers on their final three possessions.

Clemson held the first-half rebounding advantage, 18-11, and Virginia had only one offensive rebound. This despite Clemson getting only eight minutes from Ford, who collected two fouls in the first three minutes.

The Tigers still committed nine turnovers, but they were less costly than usual. In a rare instance, Clemson scored more points off turnovers than its opponent, 17-8.
 

Harrick Jr.: I took 'pride' in teaching
By ALAN JUDD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/11/04

ATHENS -- Jim Harrick Jr. thought he deserved an award — Teacher of the Year.

Students, he said, loved the course he taught at the University of Georgia: Principles and Strategies of Basketball. After all, he made attendance optional, just like the final exam. Every student enrolled in the fall of 2001 — all 39 of them — got an A.

"I got great reviews" from students, Harrick, an assistant basketball coach at UGA at the time, told the NCAA more than a year later. "I thought I was doing a great job."

Harrick's popularity as a teacher came at great cost. Amid allegations of academic fraud, Harrick lost his job a year ago, along with his father, head coach Jim Harrick Sr. University officials yanked the basketball team out of the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments. The school faces sanctions from the NCAA. And that infamous final exam, which posed multiple-choice questions about how many points a three-point goal earns and the number of halves in a game, made UGA the butt of jokes across the country.

Harrick's ill-fated venture into academia — as documented in court records and a 1,500-page report the university recently sent to the NCAA — hardly set standards in classroom achievement.

The coach awarded A's to three varsity basketball players simply for attending team practices and games, where they were required to be anyway. Asked by an NCAA investigator why he didn't go to class, basketball player Chris Daniels replied: "I just, you know — P.E. class, you know."

'Mickey Mouse classes'

Even a lawyer for the Harricks acknowledges the younger coach's course never was intended to challenge the athletes' intellect. Attorney Herman Kaufman contends that Harrick Jr.'s class was but a small part of a curriculum for athletes that is full of "Mickey Mouse classes."

"You can make a joke out of this test," Kaufman, of Port Chester, N.Y., said in an interview this week. "But what would you give a bunch of kindergarten students — an algebra exam?"

Neither Harrick would comment for this story, Kaufman said. Harrick Jr.'s version of events — including his assessment of his award-worthy classroom performance — is contained in a 103-page sworn statement he gave to university and NCAA investigators.

The father and son filed a lawsuit last month against UGA and several school officials, claiming they were defamed by the university's allegations that they violated NCAA rules. The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

Meant to train future coaches

University officials claim the class Harrick Jr. taught is part of a legitimate, long-standing academic program designed to train future coaches. It was Harrick, they say, who corrupted the course — a case they will argue next month before the NCAA's infractions committee.

In addition to academic fraud, UGA admits the Harricks provided improper financial benefits to a basketball player. The Harricks deny the charges.

In August 2001, the younger Harrick had just joined his father's coaching staff when administrators of UGA's Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies offered him the chance to teach the basketball coaching class.

"Being new, I thought it was an honor to teach," Harrick Jr. told NCAA and university investigators in March 2003, according to a transcript of his interview. "I enjoy teaching. . . . I took it very seriously. I've got great integrity for the university."

At first, several students have told investigators, Harrick Jr. conducted the class in standard academic fashion. He handed out a syllabus that laid out a timeline of classroom work and practical instruction in a gymnasium. The course plan said grades would be based on midterm and final exams, classroom attendance and activity, and outside assignments. It said Harrick would dock a student's grade by one letter for four unexcused absences.

Kaufman, the Harricks' lawyer, said a previous instructor, not Harrick Jr., prepared the syllabus.

Class attendance optional

Several students said Harrick Jr. outlined a new plan several weeks into the semester: Students could get an A, he told them, by attending "some" classes, along with at least one varsity basketball game and one team practice. Each time a student showed up at the twice-a-week class, at a practice or at a game, it counted 25 points; 425 points, or 17 such appearances during a 15-week semester, guaranteed an A.

Julie Raiskums, a varsity softball player enrolled in the course, said in an interview this week that the course became "slacker" under Harrick's new system. She gave investigators extensive notes she took during the first two months. But the notes stopped after the Oct. 16 class.

Another student, Phillip Miles, said in a statement to the Harricks' lawyers: "After Coach Harrick's explanation, classroom attendance declined." Most days, others taking the course said, no more than 10 to 15 of the students came to class.

Those who watched the team practice, including several athletes from other UGA teams, were supposed to sign an attendance sheet on the scorer's table in Stegeman Coliseum. Jimmy Weekley, a student assistant to the basketball coaches who was enrolled in Harrick's class, kept the roll. But he later told the Harricks' lawyers that "I somehow lost the sign-in sheets" and reconstructed attendance from memory.

Like several other students, Weekley said in a statement contained in court files: "There was no special treatment or favoritism extended to any of the varsity basketball players enrolled in the course."

Players rarely seen in class

Harrick frequently missed class himself, several students said, especially for recruiting trips that September. Other assistant coaches filled in when Harrick was traveling.

By the time Harrick gave his final exam, no more than half the members of the class showed up, students said. Those who did were rewarded for their persistence.

"Classes at Georgia aren't easy," Raiskums said. "When you see something like that, it's kind of like a breath of fresh air, almost. It was real easy."

Even so, the three varsity basketball players in the class — Daniels, Rashad Wright and Tony Cole — didn't take the exam, students said.

"They were there the first day, and that was about it," said Raiskums, now a graduate assistant basketball coach at LaGrange College.

Other students said they hadn't seen the players at all until mid-October, about two months into the semester, when they began watching the basketball team practice for the 2001-02 season.

Cole, who returned to his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., after failing academically at Georgia, told the NCAA he didn't even know he was enrolled until Harrick Jr. told him.

"He was just saying this is a class you don't have to go to," Cole is quoted as saying in a transcript of his statement to an investigator.

The investigator asked: "Did he ever say that you had to take a final?"

Cole answered: "Hell no, man."

Harrick told investigators that Cole "chose to come to practice every day, not have to go to class. . . . Once he knew how the class was set up, he realized he can get an A by going to practice."

"He could get an A by starting in October and ending in December?" an investigator asked Harrick.

"Exactly," Harrick said. "And Tony wasn't the only one to do that. We had several athletes, females, ordinary students that felt, hey, it's beneficial, plus it fits in my schedule better.

"I thought personally it was a great idea. I took great pride in that class. . . . Teacher of the Year award, I thought I was going to get."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time?" the investigator asked.

Harrick replied: "It seemed like a great idea at the time."

Comeback keeps Cavs' hopes alive
Freshman Reynolds comes up big as U.Va. advances to play Duke
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 12, 2004

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Several times in the second half, Virginia coach Pete Gillen admitted afterward, it crossed his mind that perhaps this just wasn't his team's night. U.Va. shots rolled in and out, and Clemson's lead grew.

But Gillen's Cavaliers never stopped battling, and their perseverance was rewarded with a breakthrough victory in the ACC tournament. No.8 seed U.Va., which trailed by eight with 2:25 left in regulation, stormed back to beat No.9 Clemson 83-79 in overtime in last night's play-in game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"I think our kids showed tremendous determination, tremendous courage and tremendous togetherness," said Gillen, whose chances of returning for a seventh season improved with the victory.

The win was the Cavaliers' first in the ACC tournament under Gillen. Virginia had lost nine straight ACC tourney games overall - the first four under Jeff Jones - since beating Geor- gia Tech in a first-round game on March 10, 1995.

"It's good to get the monkey off your back," Gillen said.

Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds, scoreless in the first half, forced overtime with a three-point play in the final minute. He put the Cavaliers ahead for good with a 3-pointer at the 1:43 mark of OT, then closed out the scoring by hitting two free throws with 2.4 seconds left. Reynolds finished with a career-high 18 points.

"He is a clutch player who I have a lot of respect for," said Clemson freshman guard Vernon Hamilton, a Benedictine High graduate who dueled with Reynolds when the latter starred for Roanoke Catholic.

Hamilton hit three 3-pointers and scored 19 points - both career highs - to lead Clemson, which self-destructed with a flurry of turnovers late in the game. The Tigers finished their first season under Oliver Purnell with a 10-18 record.

"It was just a very difficult loss for our team," said Purnell, whose Tigers outrebounded Virginia 42-32. "It was kind of a microcosm of our year in a lot of ways."

Virginia guard Todd Billet made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 34.5 seconds of overtime and finished with a game-high 20 points. Junior center Elton Brown hit 7 of 11 shots and scored 19 points. Junior forward Devin Smith, who's playing with a herniated disk, came off the bench to score 14 points and grab five boards.

U.Va. (17-11) advances to meet top-seeded Duke (25-4) in today's noon quarterfinal. The Blue Devils will be heavily favored, but Virginia has tremendous incentive. A victory today would earn the Cavaliers serious consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

"We're looking forward to the challenge," Gillen said. "The game's played on the court. Obviously they have a Hall of Fame coach, they have great players, but I think we have great players, too. And greatness is not measured just in talent and points and rebounds, it's in heart and giving the best of what you got."

With 2:29 left in regulation last night, Virginia had little reason to believe it would be around for today's games. Sharrod Ford made two free throws to give Clemson a 64-56 lead, and yet another U.Va. postseason defeat seemed imminent. But the Tigers, who had closed the first half with an 11-0 run, began to falter, and the Cavs pounced.

"Our guys just came back from the dead," Gillen said.

Freshman point guard T.J. Bannister passed to Billet, a senior, for a 3-pointer that made it 64-59. Ford sank two more free throws, but Bannister fed Reynolds for a trey that made it 66-62. With 1:25 left, Bannister made 1 of 2 free throws to pull Virginia to 66-63. Hamilton's two foul shots made it a five-point game, but Billet answered with a pair to cut Clemson's lead to 68-65.

Then came perhaps the game's biggest play. Clemson inbounded to guard Shawan Robinson, whom Bannister and Gary Forbes trapped in the corner. Billet deflected Robinson's pass out of the trap, and the ball ended up in the hands of Reynolds, who was fouled while converting inside. Reynolds' free throw made it 68-68 with 49.6 seconds left.

"J.R. has a lot of poise for a freshman," Gillen said.

Another Clemson turnover followed, giving Virginia a chance to win the game in regulation. But Billet, under pressure, had to pass inside to Jason Clark in the final seconds, and the junior forward couldn't get off a clean shot.

In overtime, Akin Akingbala's basket put Clemson up 71-69 with 3:28 remaining. The score hadn't changed 90 seconds later when Brown attempted a field goal inside. His shot missed, but Smith grabbed the rebound. He considered going up for a follow but spotted Reynolds alone at the top of the key. Reynolds caught Smith's pass and drained a trey that made it 72-71 with 1:43 left.

After the Tigers' fourth turnover of the extra period, Smith buried a 3-pointer to make it 75-71, and Virginia could begin to relax.
 

For Cavaliers, any ACC tournament win is good
BOB LIPPER
POINT OF VIEW: Mar 12, 2004

Well, it was a win. Kinda. Sorta. Whatever.

You stagger across the finish line a shade in front of a bumbling Clemson five in a matchup of your league's lowest-rated teams, you have not precisely hung the moon. Then again, when you are Virginia's Cavaliers and you have not managed even a change of clothes at the ACC tournament in just about forever and you are suiting up for a coach whose first name is Embattled, you takes your W's where you finds'em.

The Cavs uncovered this one in the ACC's ignominious play-in game - and they'll take it. They'll take it - this 83-79 ugly-duckling of an overtime decision - and tuck it under their pillows.

And wish upon a star.

By surviving last night, the Cavs now get top-seeded Duke at high noon today, and they'll take that, too. The turnaround time between final horn and tipoff is less than 14½ hours. Doesn't matter. The Cavaliers will take it. The Blue Devils have claimed the past five ACC titles and are favored to extend that run. Doesn't matter. The Cavs will take it. They've been drubbed twice by the Dookies this season and have dropped 18 of 20 in the series since 1996.

Doesn't matter (am I making myself clear here?). They'll take it.

They'll take it, partly because they have no choice - tourna ment brackets being somewhat non-negotiable - and partly because opportunity knocks (lightly). It knocks for the Cavs, who'd likely cement an NCAA bid with a show-stopping win over Krzyzewski U. It knocks for the embattled Pete Gillen, whose shaky job status would solidify if he's somehow still hitchin' and twitchin' in tomorrow's semifinals.

"The game's played between the lines," said Gillen. "I'm crazy enough to think we have a chance to win."

His crew looked semi-cooked when they fell behind by eight with 2½ minutes left in regulation. But this was Clemson, remember. Lone ACC entry with a losing record. Play-in regular. League's worst by miles in turnover margin. In other words, a meltdown waiting to happen.

The Tigers lost track of Todd Billet, who nailed a 3-pointer. They closed on a penetrating T.J. Bannister, who whipped a pass to J.R. Reynolds for another trey. They wasted possessions with horrible, buzzer-beating shots - an air-ball 3-pointer here, a wild runner there. They fumbled the ball away on their last two possessions in regulation and again on four of their first five of overtime.

Finally, there was Reynolds twisting in a layup and then a foul shot for the points that created overtime, later sinking the 3 that put U.Va. ahead to stay and - with 2.4 ticks remaining - draining the two free throws that concluded the scoring and extended Virginia's stay.

"We've been in tight games over the second half of the season," said Reynolds, who wound up with a personal-best 18 points. "We kept our poise. We put the pressure on them - forced some turnovers and hit some shots."

Gillen talked about his squad's determination, courage and togetherness. He could've mentioned tunnel vision as well. There wasn't much artistry to this 56-fouls, 33-turnovers piece of flotsam, but there was tension aplenty, particularly for the bunch in orange and blue.

"It was pretty remarkable the way guys were able to block things out," said Billet. "Don't worry about the score. Don't worry about the time. Get two points by two points, and get us back in the game."

And they did. And prevailed. They'll take it. They'd love to take ever so much more today.