Littlepage, Gillen continue discussions
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 24, 2004

Discussions and evaluations regarding the future of Virginia men’s basketball coach Pete Gillen are ongoing and any decision is not expected until early next week at the very earliest.

Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage, at the NCAA regional in East Rutherford, N.J., as part of his responsibilities with the NCAA Division I basketball committee, said he and Gillen spoke early Tuesday.

“It’s accurate to say that we have been discussing the situation and that will be continuing,” Littlepage said.

Littlepage said he and Gillen will remain in contact this weekend and will plan more of a “sit-down meeting” at the beginning of next week upon his return.

Littlepage labeled his initial talks with Gillen as “productive.”

The Cavs ended their season with an 18-13 mark after a second-round NIT loss to Villanova on Saturday.

Gillen, who has seven years left on his contract with the bulk of that money assumed to be guaranteed, finished 18-13 this past season and is 104-78 in six seasons in Charlottesville. Gillen has guided the Cavaliers to five straight postseason appearances, including a fourth NIT trip this past season.

The five straight postseason appearances are tied for second during any period in school history. Former UVa coach Terry Holland led Virginia to 10 straight postseason appearances (6 NCAA, 4 NIT) from 1977-78 to 1986-87. Gillen’s predecessor, Jeff Jones, also went to five straight postseasons (4 NCAA, 1 NIT) from 1990-91 to 1994-95.

Gillen, who has not had a losing season since his first in 1998-99, has not soothed any of his critics with a 3-11 record in postseason play during his tenure.

Other Gillen’s teams have been criticized for the failures in February and March but this year’s unit won six of its last 10 games, including three against teams ranked in the top 15. Two of those teams - Wake Forest and Georgia Tech - remain alive in NCAA play in this week’s Sweet 16 contests.
 

Best guess: UVa to keep men's coach
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 24, 2004

Scattershooting around the world of UVa sports, while wondering about the fate of Pete Gillen ...
You can’t go anywhere these days without the basketball coach’s job status becoming the chief topic of conversation. While UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage met with Gillen on Tuesday and will likely meet with his coach again early next week, this columnist would be surprised if the prolonged suspense meant doom for Gillen.
Had Virginia desired to buy out its coach, we think it would have happened by now. Dragging it out another week would have been over dramatizing the situation.
Howie endorsement
Virginia football coach Al Groh got a huge endorsement from Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, whose son Chris, signed with the Cavaliers a couple of months ago.
“I think it is important when a player and a parent makes a decision, it’s important that the person you’re committing to is also committed to you and is going to be there for four or five years,” Howie said of Groh. “I don’t know there are a lot of programs in college football where you can honestly say the coach will be there five years from now.
“I know the kind of relationship that Al has with former players and a tremendous sense of right and wrong,” the former Oakland Raider said. “When I hand my kid off, I know I will get back a better young man. When you look at Al’s coaching staff, they’re all of high character and are highly motivated coaches who genuinely have a passion for what they’re doing. You can go down the list and they’re the kinds of people I want my kid around.”
Recruiting rankings
SuperPrep’s spring issue takes an in-depth look at this past football recruiting class and gave Virginia and Virginia Tech high marks.
The Cavaliers were ranked No. 3 among all the ACC classes behind No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Maryland, while the Hokies ranked No. 3 among the Big East classes, slightly behind No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Boston College. Of course, Miami and Tech will be competing in the ACC this fall, with BC joining the following season.
Overall, SuperPrep ranked UVa’s class as the 18th best in the nation, behind No. 17 Virginia Tech. FSU was No. 3, Miami No. 4 and Maryland No. 11. No other ACC schools were in the top 20.
UVa and Tech did earn another distinction in the rankings. In the magazine’s super graph that ranked the nation’s best classes in terms of highly recruited signees from various positions, Virginia Tech’s class was ranked No. 1 in the country and UVa’s No. 2.
The good doctor
Frank C. McCue III is an icon in sports medicine. He has taken care of UVa athletes for more than 40 years and although he retired last year at age 72, he remains part of the Cavalier landscape.
Virginia will honor McCue
in a special event on Saturday, April 17 (same day as the football team’s spring festival), beginning at 6 p.m. in Memorial Gym. Seating will be limited for this barbecue dinner and special program.
For information, UVa’s contact number is (434) 982-5555. More will follow on the life and times of the legendary doctor as the event approaches.

Price of success. Clemson’s average home football ticket will cost $33 this season, which is less than Tiger fans will pay to see their team in most of its road games.
The exception will be $49 for the home game against rival South Carolina, an all-time high for that contest. Clemson charged the same price for home games against Florida State and Georgia last season.
The $33 average ticket isn’t that bad considering Clemson road tickets will cost more at Texas A&M ($60), Miami ($40), FSU ($38) and UVa ($35).

Free throws. ... Why don’t I like the NIT? Let me count the ways - the main one of which is that the event isn’t fair in how it conducts its business. The NIT takes care of Big East teams, giving them more home games than they deserve.
I found amusing NIT executive director Jack Powers’ retort to a question of why Virginia wasn’t given a second-home game after selling 6,700 tickets to an opening-round game. Powers said it was a committee decision, to which the person who asked the question replied, “John, you are the
committee.”...
I had my annual visit with Cavaliers’ great Ralph Sampson at the ACC tournament and I was somewhat stunned when “Stick” said that his
14-year-old son already stands 6-foot-9. I asked Ralph how tall he was at the same age and No. 50 said, “I wasn’t as tall as 6-9.”...
According to the University of Virginia, fans who come to town to watch the school’s athletic teams (and other UVa-related events) generate an estimated $58 million a year to the local economy and that fans spend an average of $45 per person per day while here. ...
The Cavaliers open spring football practice on Friday and will practice 15 times until the “spring festival,” which will be held April 17 at Scott Stadium.
 

Defense touted as one of best in ACC
Three top linebackers return along with star lineman Canty to defensive unit that helped Virginia win last three games of season, Redd, Dias will battle it out for final LB position, cornerback spot still up for grabs
Matt Trogdon
Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

Spring football has arrived, and with it the countdown to the gridiron season can officially begin.

The 2003 Virginia football team had an up-and-down season that produced great plays and exciting finishes. The 2004 Cavaliers should be even more fun to watch. Already, many analysts are predicting that the Cavaliers will finish in the top 20 and challenge Miami and Florida State for the league title in the newly-expanded ACC.

The strength of this year's team is its defense, which some are predicting will be the best in the conference. Virginia lost three starters from last year's defense; but if the right players can step into those roles, the 2004 squad will be the most dominating in almost a decade.

"We've been working very hard to become a significant defensive team," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "Certainly there's a process that has to be gone through to accomplish that, and we're moving down that process."

Most of the defensive firepower will come from the linebacking corps. All-ACC linebacker Ahmad Brooks and former National Rookie of the Year Darryl Blackstock will anchor the linebackers and will receive plenty of help from mammoth inside backer Kai Parham. This trio came together toward the end of the 2003 campaign, shutting down Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in consecutive games. The fourth linebacker spot in Groh's 3-4 scheme is up for grabs, but look for it to go to a redshirt freshman -- either New Jersey native Jermaine Dias or two-sport star Vince Redd. The early edge has to go to Redd because of his sheer size. He stands 6'7" and his height could make it difficult for quarterbacks to throw to the outside.

The defensive line also should be improved after another year of weight room training. Rising senior defensive end Chris Canty could have gone pro following the 2003 season but chose to stick around for his senior year. He will play the role of "superstar" up front. Nose tackle Andrew Hoffman and end Brennan Schmidt have performed well for two seasons despite being slightly undersized, and they'll be the starters going into spring ball.

Two names to watch for are end K'wakou Robinson and nose tackle Keenan Carter. Robinson was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school but has not blossomed like some thought he would. 2004 could be his breakout season. Carter weighs over 300 pounds, an attribute Groh has been looking for in a nose tackle. Regardless of who starts, the defensive line will combine with the linebackers into a scary front seven.

"I wish I was around to be on the defense with those type of guys, with the speed and power that they have," departing cornerback Almondo Curry said. "I wish I had another year just to hang around, now that they've been through the ropes."

Groh has said that any good defense starts in the secondary, and unfortunately for him, the Cavalier secondary has some question marks. At corner, look for Tony Franklin and Marcus Hamilton to step into the starting roles vacated by Curry and Jamaine Winborne. Franklin started some last year after Winborne moved to safety and played well enough to hold the starting spot into spring practice. Hamilton has the prototypical body of a good, strong corner. In the fall, these two will face a challenge from incoming freshman Phillip Brown. Groh has referred to Brown as a "shut down corner" and may look to him early if one of the starters falters.

Virginia's real question mark is at the safety spot, where the starters in spring practice might not be the starters in the fall. Virginia received a huge blow when Willie Davis suffered a neck injury in a Sept. 7 collision against South Carolina. Davis, one of Groh's most dynamic defensive players, may never play football again.

The injury bug also bit Jay Hardy, who played most of the 2003 with a torn MCL. Hardy had surgery after the Continental Tire Bowl and will sit out spring practice. If healthy, he should regain his starting spot in the fall.

The second spot is anyone's guess. Lance Evans and Robbie Catterton played well in limited time last season and should start in spring practice. Groh also is considering moving an offensive player to safety -- either receiver Ottowa Anderson or running back Marquis Weeks. Anderson led Virginia in receptions last season, so it is unlikely Groh will move him to defense. Weeks is somewhat buried under Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman on the two-deep at running back so a switch to safety might be his best way to see the field. In the fall, look for incoming freshman Nate Lyles to challenge for a starting spot as well.

If Virginia can solve its questions in the secondary, look for the Cavaliers to make a strong run into the ACC's elite.

"We will have to work harder in the offseason because we have new teams coming in," linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. "Our defense did good [in 2003] but will be better next year."