Groh names staff
Son named offensive coordinator
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 4, 2006

Virginia head coach Al Groh unveiled the new members of his coaching staff and announced some promotions during a breakfast at Scott Stadium's Bryant Hall on Friday.
The biggest news of the day was that Groh's son, Mike, is the Cavaliers' new offensive coordinator. Already the football program's recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Mike Groh, will succeed Ron Prince, who left UVa in December to become head coach at Kansas State.

Al Groh filled out his offensive staff with: John Garrett, now assistant head coach for the offense (he is also wide receivers coach); Dave Borberly, running game coordinator and offensive line coach; Bob Price, assistant recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach; and Anthony Poindexter, assistant special teams coordinator and running backs coach.

Defensively, Mike London is the coordinator and defensive line coach, and will be joined by the following: Steve Bernstein, assistant head coach and defensive backs coach; Bob Diaco, special teams coordinator and linebackers coach; and Leverne Berline, defensive assistant coach and assistant defensive line coach.

Ever since Prince's departure there had been speculation that Mike Groh or Garrett might be the new offensive coordinator, that the two might share the job, or that even Al Groh might assume those duties. Critics of the program wondered if Mike Groh landed the job that it might resemble Florida State's staff where head coach Bobby Bowden's son, Jeff, is the offensive coordinator, a move that hasn't been popular with Seminoles fans.

Asked about that issue, Mike Groh scoffed at the notion that it could become a problem.

"I'm just concerned about the relationship that we have here as assistant coaches," Mike Groh said. "I think I know what Coach [Al] Groh wants and he's going to be very clear with that. Under his direction and the experience we had in the bowl game, I think that will serve us all very well."

Asked if his son would make the offensive play calls in games this season, the head coach revealed how the system will work.

"No," Al Groh said. "It will continue to be as things have been. It has always been a collaborative effort here and will continue to be a collaborative effort. Eventually all the calls go through me. I think as a result of some things that transpired in December, I would anticipate maybe taking a bigger role in the overall structure of the planning in terms of what we're going to do on offense and defense."

When four assistant coaches left the program in December, Groh and his staff were left to prepare for the Music City Bowl short-handed, but managed to direct the Cavaliers to an upset over Minnesota. The postseason challenge turned into a positive experience for the staff.

"I never had more fun in my life coaching than in December because we worked together," Garrett said. "We just had a blast. We coordinated it all together, and the players executed it flawlessly. It's a collaborative effort and you all don't know this but the greatest call in the game was Coach [Al] Groh's call for the touchdown coming out in the second half ? the draw play that got us our first touchdown.

"That's what he means in collaborative effort. We all work great together. We had such good rapport from the booth to the sidelines."

 

UVa recruit looking to prove critics wrong
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 4, 2006

It's a good bet that if Virginia and Connecticut were to somehow meet in the next few years, the number of verbal bouquets exchanged between the schools' basketball coaches would be fairly high.
After all, UVa coach Dave Leitao's mentor is UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

The love fest, however, would not extend to Will Harris - one of six players in Leitao's incoming recruiting class.

Before signing with Virginia, Harris, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Brewster Academy (N.H.), committed to Connecticut. However, soon after he was told by Calhoun and company that he didn't really fit into the team's plans.

While Harris says he is thankful that Connecticut was up front with him, he's also still a little upset.

That much was evident when he was asked about the possibility of facing UConn someday.

"It would be beautiful," said Harris, during a telephone interview. "It would be beautiful to see them in the regular season and then in the tournament - and rip their hearts from them. That's what I'm looking forward to doing."

Competitive zeal aside, Harris is quite amiable. In fact, the New York City native was voted "Nicest" in Brewster Academy's yearbook superlatives.

"If you were to randomly pick up the phone and call anyone on our campus," said Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith, "they would just rave about his character and the type of person he is."

Harris' venom toward Connecticut stems, in part, from a strange recruiting odyssey.

Harris originally signed with Nebraska last year. However, when his mother became ill, he decided he wanted to play closer to home.

Unfortunately for Harris, Nebraska refused to release him from his letter of intent. That's when Harris elected to play a season of prep basketball at Brewster Academy - so that he could sign elsewhere for the 2007 season.

In July, Connecticut offered Harris a scholarship. However, the Huskies had a change of heart just a few weeks later.

The coaching staff told Harris they had recruited another player with a similar skill set. They said Harris could keep his scholarship, but the role they had envisioned for him had changed, for the worse.

Harris believes a brief slump on the AAU circuit hurt him.

"I'm guessing that's what happened," Harris said, "because they didn't even get a chance to see me play in the regular season with my school. They just went off July."

No matter now.

Harris said he couldn't be more pleased with the way things have worked out. Ironically, Harris will be playing for Leitao.

"A lot of people told me, 'Don't go to Virginia because Leitao and Calhoun are the same family,' but I don't really get that kind of vibe," Harris said. "I don't get the feeling that they would recruit me and then change their minds because I had one bad game.

"With coach Leitao and the staff at Virginia, I feel like I have a stronger relationship with them than the other coaches at the schools I committed to."

Harris said he can't wait to get to Charlottesville. He said it's been exciting to follow the team this season.

"Going from last in the ACC to [sixth] - it shows that the talent was always there," Harris said, "that with one minor change, they had the ability to do it. With a couple more players who have that winning attitude and really want to win - the sky's the limit."

As frustrating as the last year has been for Harris in trying to choose the right college, he feels the extra seasoning he's received at the prep level has been a huge advantage.

"I've become a more consistent shooter," Harris said. "My midrange game is much better than last year. I'm learning to put all my skills together into one total package instead of just being able to shoot, just being able to post people up, or pass. I'm learning to put it all together in one game."

The fifth-year senior averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds this season - very impressive numbers considering the caliber of competition.

"People don't have any idea of the level of play that goes on in the New England Prep League," Smith said. "I would say every team we play against has a minimum of five Division I players. It's not like you're going against a 6-foot-2 power forward. Every team goes 6-8, 6-9 6-10 across the front [line].

"For someone to score over 20 points per game is a statement in itself."

Smith expects Harris to make an "immediate impact" at Virginia.

"The best word to describe Will is his versatility," Smith said. "He's able to play a couple of positions well.

"He's a tremendous leader. I can't say enough positives about what type of person he is. He leads by example but is also very well-spoken. He has a great passion for the game and an ability to lead his peers."

Harris missed a few weeks of the season with some nagging injuries but returned to the lineup and scored 36 points to lead Brewster Academy to a win at Bridgton Academy - a team that hadn't lost at home in more than three years.

Brewster made it to the NEPSAC Class A quarterfinals before losing in overtime to Winchendon School on Wednesday.

Harris was far from a basketball prodigy. He was kind of "chubby" when he was younger, and received a lot of criticism.

"A lot of people used to tell me, 'Will, you'll never go anywhere. You'll always be a short, fat little kid. You'll never get a D-I offer or any attention.'

"When people would tell me that, I would say, 'OK, you have your own opinion,' and then I would go to the park and work on my game.' I just love to make people feel wrong."

Next on his list are the folks at UConn.

 

Two of the nation's top teams square off today
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 4, 2006

Moments after Virginia's 21-4 demolition of Virginia Military Institute on Tuesday, UVa coach Dom Starsia had a message for his players who were huddled around him.
"I told them that the fish are now getting bigger," Starsia said.

Way bigger.

After manhandling the likes of Drexel, Denver, Stony Brook and VMI in its first four games, Virginia will be taking on the lacrosse equivalent of "Jaws" today at Klockner Stadium as the third-ranked Cavaliers (4-0) play host to fifth-ranked Syracuse (1-0) at 3 p.m.

The Virginia-Syracuse women's game precedes it at noon.

Historically, the Syracuse men's program has been tantamount to the New York Yankees - dominant.

The Orange, whose most famous player was NFL Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown, boast nine NCAA titles.

Last season, Virginia won at Syracuse, 12-11. The Orange, who were the defending National Champions at the time, also lost by a goal to the Cavaliers at the Carrier Dome in 2004.

"They're always a great team," said Virginia senior attacker Matt Ward. "Our games with them have been high scoring and fun to watch.

"I think it will come down to ball control -whoever has the ball most. If our offense can get going and stop them from having transition [goals], I think we can be successful."

Syracuse opened its season with a 14-10 win over No. 15 Army last Saturday.

Starsia said Virginia and Syracuse are similar in many ways.

"They're a very good offensive team with most of their top scorers back and some very good young players," he said. "They're trying to find the right combination of personnel the same way we are."

In four games, Virginia has outscored its opponents 66-22. The Cavaliers have outshot their opponents 232-96.

"If we move the ball," Ward said, "I think we can put up a lot of points on anybody.

"They like to run and push it in transition. We need to get back in the hole and stop them."

Virginia goalie Kip Turner, who had 18 saves in last year's win over Syracuse, agreed.

"We need to slow down their transition," Turner said, "everybody stay in the holes, get tight and play smart defense."

Starsia expects the game to be won or lost at the defensive end.

"If we can play good defensively, move our feet and slow them down, and Kip can step up and have a good game for us - then we have a shot," Starsia said.

Ward, who leads Virginia with nine goals, can't wait.

"It's going to be a dogfight," he said. "Everyone's going to be going hard. It should be a fun game. I think the fans will be in for a treat."

Added Starsia: "This is why we do this - for games like this."

Virginia's women's team (2-1) is coming off an 8-7 loss at Richmond on Wednesday. The seventh-ranked Cavaliers, who beat Vanderbilt and Temple in their first two games, will be facing a 13th-ranked Syracuse squad that is 2-0, including a victory over No. 3 Dartmouth on Monday.

 

Cavs pick up a speedy defensive back
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 4, 2006

During an informal press conference Friday morning, Virginia football recruiting coordinator Mike Groh made a bold comment.
"I'm looking forward to [signing] the strongest class we've ever had," said Groh.

He was speaking of the 2007 recruiting class, which will consist of prospects that will be high school seniors this coming fall.

No sooner had the words left Groh's mouth did the Cavaliers gain their second early commitment this week: Dominique Joseph, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. Joseph, who has 4.5 speed, is the son of a former world-class sprinter from Temple.

With speculation that one of the nation's top-ranked quarterback's, West Springfield's Peter Lalich could cast his lot with UVa, Groh's statement could become reality. Lalich, who is visiting Miami today, is due to be at the Cavaliers' final home basketball game at University Hall on Sunday.

"I was going into the whole recruiting process thinking it was going to be a big, long process," Joseph told The Daily Progress on Friday afternoon. "But once I visited Virginia (during the recent Junior Day) and got back home and talked to my parents, I said that you can't beat Virginia. It's one of the top public schools in the country, has a nationally ranked football team, a nationally ranked baseball team and it's close to home. There's no place better for me."

Joseph, also an outstanding center fielder, said he would like to play both sports in college.

Roman Catholic High coach Jim Murphy said that, while Joseph plays both ways for his team, Virginia is interested in the prospect primarily as a defensive back, where he has good coverage skills and also plays physical football.

"We lock him up on the opponent's best receiver because that's the matchup we want and Dom basically erases the other kid from the game," said Murphy. "He's a free or strong safety - wherever we need him most - but when we go man-to-man, he goes to corner."

Virginia locked onto Joseph in a hurry. After receiving film on him two weeks ago, UVa assistant coach Bob Price paid a visit. Joseph decided Thursday he would commit to the Wahoos.

He was also receiving heavy interest from Pittsburgh, Boston College, Rutgers, Temple, Cincinnati and Villanova.

"Coaches like my intensity and how physical I play the game," Joseph said.

That intensity came out last season when Joseph was assigned to stop John Maddox, a 6-2 Philly receiver, who later signed with West Virginia.

"My coach always knows how to motivate me, and he told me this was a true challenge," Joseph said. "[Maddox] was tough, but I stuck with him. I took a reception out of his hands for an interception and he took an interception out of my hands for a touchdown. But we shut him down most of the game."

Joseph joins Jared Detrick, an interior linebacker from Newport News Woodside, as the first two members of UVa's 2007 recruiting class.

 

Groh promotes son to offensive coordinator
Ex-U.Va. QB Mike Groh still is quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 4, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden is a favorite target of Florida State football fans, many of whom don't like his play-calling and believe he rose to that position only because his father, Bobby, is the Seminoles' coach.

The possibility that the same situation could occur at the University of Virginia didn't deter Al Groh. The Cavaliers' sixth-year coach yesterday announced that his son Mike has been named the team's offensive coordinator.

"First of all, everybody knows what plays you should call, no matter who the offensive coordinator is," Al Groh said after a press conference at Bryant Hall in which his four new assistants -- Mike London, Bobby Diaco, Dave Borbely and Steve Bernstein -- officially were introduced.

"If every play doesn't gain 10 yards, everybody else knows what [the offensive coordinator] should do. So whether you're the head coach or the defensive coordinator or the offensive coordinator, what you know is that other people are going to have an idea of how you can do your job better. So you just dismiss that."

Mike Groh, 34, succeeds Ron Prince as offensive coordinator. Prince left U.Va. in December to become coach at Kansas State. Mike Groh and wide receivers coach John Garrett shared the coordinator's du- ties in the Music City Bowl, in which the Wahoos amassed 468 yards and beat Minnesota 34-31.

A former U.Va. quarterback, Mike Groh will continue as the team's quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. Garrett was among numerous U.Va. assistants whose additional titles were announced yesterday. He's now assistant head coach for offense as well as receivers coach.

"It's not going to be just me," Mike Groh said, a theme repeated several times yesterday.

Play-calling, Al Groh said, has "always been a collaborative effort here and will continue to be a collaborative effort, and eventually all the calls go through me."

The official responsibilities for U.Va.'s seven other assistants: London, defensive coordinator, defensive-line coach; Bernstein, assistant head coach for defense, secondary coach; Borbely, offensive line coach, running game coordinator; Diaco, linebackers coach, special-teams coordinator; Levern Belin, assistant defensive-line coach, defensive assistant; Bob Price, tight ends coach, assistant recruiting coordinator; and Anthony Poindexter, running backs coach, assistant special teams coordinator.

BROOKS UPDATE: Groh told The Times-Dispatch that linebacker Ahmad Brooks remains in classes at the university and could play for the Cavaliers this coming season. Groh said Brooks is dealing with health and academic issues, among other things.

The status of Tony Franklin and Nate Lyles, who began last season as U.Va.'s starting safeties, remains uncertain. Franklin, who last month was placed on probation for misdemeanor marijuana possession, is on track to graduate in May, Groh said, and might leave U.Va. after doing so.

Lyles, who suffered a serious neck injury against Georgia Tech in November, is "doing remarkably well" after a recent operation, Groh said. Lyles has participated in U.Va.'s winter conditioning program on a limited basis, Groh said, and doctors haven't ruled out the possibility that he'll play football again.

 

For Cavs' greats, last call at U-Hall
Sampson, others are expected for arena's finale against Terps
Richmond Times-Dispatch Mar 4, 2006
MARYLAND AT U.VA.
TOMORROW: 3:30 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Funny how the ACC schedule works out sometimes.

In the final men's basketball game at Cole Field House, Maryland's opponent was Virginia, which desperately needed a victory to bolster its NCAA tournament credentials.

Four years later, Virginia's opponent in what may be the final men's game at University Hall is none other than Maryland, which desperately needs a victory to stay in contention for the NCAAs.

The teams meet tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Numerous former U.Va. greats are expected back for the game, including Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith, Cory Alexander and Richard Morgan.

The Cavaliers can only hope their regular-season finale goes as well for them as the March 3, 2002 game went for the Terrapins. Before a sellout crowd and dozens of former Maryland players, including Buck Williams, Len Elmore, Albert King and Tom McMillen, the Terps routed U.Va. 112-92.

Maryland went on to win the NCAA title that season. The Wahoos ended up in the NIT, and they're probably headed back to that tournament this season. If Virginia were to make the NIT field, tomorrow's game might not be the last at home for first-year coach Dave Leitao's team.

U.Va. (7-8, 14-12) and Maryland (7-8, 17-11) are tied with Miami (7-8, 15-13) for sixth place in the ACC. - Jeff White
 

Hall of memories

The sadness in Richard Morgan's voice mail was unmistakable, as if some horrible misfortune had befallen his family or the Hampton basketball program he serves as an assistant coach.

"This is a bad time," Morgan said. "I'll be in mourning all week."

Eventually, a chuckle was detectable in Morgan's voice, but he expects a flood of memories Sunday when Virginia entertains Maryland for what is being billed as "The Last Ball in U-Hall."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," he said.

Starting next season, Virginia's basketball programs will play in the new 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena, and leave University Hall, hub of UVa's athletic programs for the past 40 years.

Few players have been as closely identified with University Hall as Morgan, who celebrated his final home game in 1989 by leaving the floor and running into the stands to hug his mother, Lola. Center court at U-Hall is also the place where Morgan proposed to his wife, Sherelle, at a celebrity game sponsored by ex-UVa football star Herman Moore.

Lola Morgan died suddenly in 2002 and Richard knows it will be difficult to look into Section 11 and not think of her or their 1989 embrace, which, in true Morgan fashion, was totally unplanned.

"Never talked about it; never discussed it with coach [Terry] Holland," said Morgan, previously a schoolboy star at Salem High School. "I just said to him, 'Am I coming out of the game for good?' He hit me with a puzzled look like, 'Yeah, why would you ask that?' I said, 'Cause I've got to do something.'

"I took off to the other end and he was telling people, 'I can't believe he's really going to do this.' Mark Cooke was my roommate. I never told him I was going to do it. It was just something, at the end, that felt like the right thing to do. I said, 'If I get in trouble, I get in trouble. I'm going up there to thank my mom for getting me through those four years."

Morgan's jersey isn't hanging from the rafters, nor was he an All-American, but he was about as good as it gets for a two-month span late in his senior year. By the time Morgan scored 34 points in his final home game, he already had hit for a career-high 39 points in a 106-83 romp over eighth-ranked North Carolina.

"That was a magical night," said Dave Odom, who coached the North Carolina game in the absence of Holland, who missed six games that season during one of his periodic bouts with stomach problems. "It was one of those nights when the stars were all lined up. It was truly a Wahoo night.

"Then, that last game [against Maryland], that was vintage Richard. He was always so uninhibited. I've seen tennis players run into the crowd after winning the U.S. Open, but, in basketball? In 41 years, I've never seen anything like that."

In this era of commercialization, when arenas change names with every stroke of a check, Virginia's home remained University Hall till the end. Nobody can remember exactly how the name came about, but it was almost immediately shortened to U-Hall.

"My first memory of the place was when Terry called me and said, 'Look, come up here, and we'll get together with [assistant] Jim Larranaga at U-Hall,'" said Odom, previously the head coach at East Carolina. "Honest, I thought he was talking about the rental place.

"He acted like I should know where it was, and I was too embarrassed to ask. I drove up with [wife] Lynn and we stopped at the 'Corner.' After we walked around for a while, I finally asked somebody, 'Do you know where the U-Haul is?' He said, 'Do you mean University Hall?

By then, University Hall was in its teenage years, having opened in 1965. The UVa men's basketball team had spent 42 seasons at Memorial Gym, which housed a variety of teams and still serves as home to the Cavalier volleyball and wrestling programs. Its seating capacity was listed as 2,800.

"We couldn't wait to get out of there," said Gene Corrigan, a former UVa athletic director who is now retired and lives in Albemarle County. "It was just totally inadequate for everything. University Hall was really big at the time; [Scott] Stadium still had only 23,000 seats. It was sort of a recognition that we were in the ACC."

University Hall was built for $4 million -- "That was a lot of money then," Corrigan said -- but that figure pales in comparison to the estimates of $129.8 million for the new building.

"At the time [University Hall] was going up, Steve Sebo was the AD and he was a football guy," Corrigan said, "and I don't think there was that much participation by the athletic department, not like they're having with the new building.

"The architects took it over and putting that [circular] roof on it like they did, it looked good but it meant you could never expand it. There was nothing you could do with it. There were a lot of things, if people had looked to the future, they might have been able to do then. People were more interested in that unique design than anything else."

Corrigan, who later became commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, was the sports information director at Virginia when Kentucky came to University Hall for the opening game Dec. 4, 1965. The Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and were led by current Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, who had a game-high 29 points in Kentucky's 99-73 win.

That Kentucky team had another distinction, it was the opponent when Texas Western became the first team to win an NCAA title with an all-black starting five, the story that was the subject of the movie release, "Glory Road."

Corrigan will be at Sunday's game, just as he was last Sunday, when his niece, Debbie Ryan, coached the Cavalier women in their last home game. Holland, now the athletic director at East Carolina, has a possible conflict with the ECU women's basketball team but expects to be on hand to greet more than 100 former players, parents, spouses and children.

One of the ex-players, late 1960s center Norm Carmichael, will be accompanied by his 98-year-old father. Long after Norm had completed his eligibility, Mr. Carmichael held onto his tickets.

"He had a distinctive whistle that you couldn't miss," said former Cavalier star Barry Parkhill. "Back then, there were doors on the aisles going down to the floor and his seat was right next to one. If he didn't like an official's call, everybody could hear him pounding the door."

Invited guests Sunday will include 2,000-point scorers Ralph Sampson and Bryant Stith; Seattle SuperSonics president Wally Walker, who was tournament MVP when UVa won its lone ACC men's basketball championship in 1976; and 1972 ACC player of the year Parkhill, an assistant AD who has been at the forefront of fundraising efforts for the new building.

Sampson, a three-time national player of the year, said he will be joined by his parents, his sisters and many of the same relatives and friends he ushered through the back door of University Hall when he played his final home game for the Cavaliers in 1983

"I probably could have let in another 10,000 if the word had gotten out," he said.

Sampson had played at Harrisonburg High School, which won three Group AA championships at a time when all the state tournaments were held at University Hall. One year, Harrisonburg and archrival Robert E. Lee of Staunton tied for the Valley District championship and held a playoff game at University Hall.

"U-Hall will always be a place I consider home," Sampson said. "I remember, when I came to UVa for my visit, [ex-player] Tommy Hicks had written Ralph's House on top of the building."

All former head coaches and assistant head coaches have been invited to the ceremonies today. Odom is having a tough year at South Carolina, which is 14-14 after losing four games in a row and he has mixed feelings about leaving his team -- however briefly -- after a Saturday game with Auburn.

"When the invitation came, I looked at it for days," Odom said. "I'd give anything to be able to come. My wife's mad as fire that I won't do it. I don't know. Maybe I will."

When Odom coached at Wake Forest and had Tim Duncan, reporters would joke that he "owned" University Hall. In the last game he coached at U-Hall, his South Carolina team beat Virginia in the 2002 National Invitation Tournament.

That UVa team was coached by Pete Gillen, who has not responded to his invitation, "but has as much to do with this as anybody," Parkhill said. Like Gillen, American University coach Jeff Jones was fired by UVa and will not be back Sunday.

"It's not out of negativity or bitterness," said Jones, who will bring his 2006-2007 team to UVa's new building. "It's not like I'm boycotting. The Sunday [in 1998] when the decision was made and I told the team that I was not coming back, I had my time in the dark at U-Hall. I said my goodbyes at that time."

Morgan was the first in a line of long-range shooters from Southwest Virginia to play for the Cavaliers. Curtis Staples from Roanoke set an NCAA for career 3-point field goals while playing for the Cavaliers, and another Roanoker, J.R. Reynolds, is a junior who this week went over the 1,000-point mark for his career.

U-Hall has a reputation of not being kind to shooters, "but I beg to differ," said Staples, who set a school record when he hit nine 3-pointers against Nevada-Las Vegas in a 1995 home game.

Staples said the magnitude of today's ceremonies hit home when he received an e-mail from athletic director Craig Littlepage, reminding him of an RSVP deadline.

"I had put it on the backburner for a while," said Staples, whose exploits were revisited this year when another Roanoker, J.J. Redick, broke Staples' 3-point record. "The latest I'm hearing is that now they want me to get up and stay something."

Nobody has ever had to beg Morgan to share his thoughts. While he is best remembered as part of the 1989 team that made the NCAA's final eight, he also was a member of the 1986 team that beat North Carolina when the Tar Heels were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country. It remains the Cavaliers' lone victory over a No. 1 team.

"I had a tip-dunk over Brad Daugherty," Morgan noted. "Don't you remember?"

Morgan's recollection is corroborated in the official play-by-play from that game. He came off the bench and hit his first four shots as UVa grabbed a 45-32 halftime lead, and he finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals in 24 minutes.

Lola and Sam Morgan were there to see every minute of it. Sam is weary from a battle from throat cancer and will not be able to make the trip Sunday, but Richard's older brother, Charlie, might come from Kingsport, Tenn.

"It's going to be tough for me Sunday," Morgan said, "It's going to be tough to go in the new building, too, knowing that all those memories will be across the street in a parking lot, if that's what they do with it. They've got to make sure and sprinkle some of the dust in the new place."
 

Groh passes offense to son
Former UVa quarterback Mike Groh has added the title of offensive coordinator to his duties.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Mike Groh was Virginia's back-up quarterback for more than two years before ascending to the starting job in 1995.

With the announcement Friday that he will become the Cavaliers' new offensive coordinator, he experienced many of the same emotions.

"I think, certainly, that I've stepped out of the background and into the foreground," said Groh, a Cavalier assistant for five seasons, the last three as quarterbacks coach.

"I've been like the back-up quarterback for the last few years. He's usually one of the most popular guys on the team.

"Everybody's excited about him when he goes in and throws his two passes, and when the other quarterback's not playing well, everybody thinks he's better. Clearly, people will be passing judgment on the job that I do and my performance."

Groh, 34, is the son of UVa head coach Al Groh. There is a similar arrangement at Florida State, where Bobby Bowden is the head coach and son Jeff Bowden is the offensive coordinator.

When the Seminoles went 7-5 this year, that connection was the subject of some grumbling.

"I certainly think that you're under more scrutiny," Mike Groh said. "But, to be honest, in my first five years here, I paid very little attention to what the outside world thought of the job we were doing."

Mike Groh recently wrapped up his first year as recruiting coordinator and will remain in that position, while continuing to coach the quarterbacks.

The 2007 recruiting campaign already is under way, with the Cavaliers taking a commitment Friday -- their second -- from Dominique Joseph, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.

"We're in the process of implementing some new ideas in recruiting," Groh said, "and, rather than disrupt the progress we've made, we just felt it was best to stay the course before eventually turning it over to someone else."

Al Groh announced that tight ends coach Bob Price will serve as assistant recruiting coordinator, one of several new titles that were awarded.

Receivers coach John Garrett will be assistant head coach for the offense, new offensive line coach Dave Borbely will be running-game coordinator and new secondary coach Steve Bernstien will be assistant head coach for the defense.

Bobby Diaco, who will coach inside and outside linebackers, also will serve as special-teams coordinator. Running backs coach Anthony Poindexter will assist Diaco with the special teams.

Levern Belin, the Cavaliers' defensive-line coach in 2005, will assist new defensive coordinator Mike London with the defensive line this year.
 

Groh’s choice of son follows a risky trail
Exodus of Virginia talent has parallels elsewhere
Doug Doughty

While there were numerous new football coaching assignments detailed in a news release distributed Friday by Virginia, the selection of Mike Groh as offensive coordinator was clearly the most significant.

In elevating his son to the coordinator’s post, five-year UVa head coach Al Groh is choosing a route that has caused problems at several other schools.

At South Carolina, Lou Holtz eventually had to relieve his son, Skip, of coordinator’s duties. At Florida State, critics of Bobby Bowden would say that Jeff Bowden has not worked out as the Seminoles’ offensive coordinator. At VMI, Cal McCombs lost his job two years after tapping his son, Will, as offensive coordinator.

In each case, there were charges of nepotism. The Grohs are facing a similar threat.

Reaction on a Virginia fans’ site, the sabre.com, was mixed and that’s putting it mildly.

One reason that I thought receivers coach John Garrett was a better choice was the fact that Mike Groh also served as recruiting coordinator. The news release issued by UVa on Friday indicated that Mike Groh will retain his recruiting-coordinator duties.

Offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. You don’t see that combination very often. Oh, yes, and he’s also the quarterbacks coach.

Tight ends coach Bob Price will be assistant recruiting coordinator, new offensive-line coach Dave Borbely will be the running-game coordinator, Garrett will be assistant head coach for the offense and running backs coach Anthony Poindexter will be assistant special-teams coordinator.

On defense, Levern Belin will assist new defensive coordinator Mike London with the defensive line and newcomer Bobby Diaco will coach the linebackers and serve as special-teams coordinator. Previously, Al Groh had separate coaches for the inside linebackers and outside linebackers.

New secondary coach Steve Bernstein will serve as assistant head coach – presumably for the defense, since there’s a separate assistant coach for the offense – but the release doesn’t say that.

The choice of Mike Groh adds to the perception that Al Groh is trying to establish his son as his eventual successor, but the new arrangement is going to have to work for that to be the case.

UVA RECEIVED its second football commitment from a junior Friday, Dominque Joseph, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound defensive back from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.

Joseph played safety at Roman Catholic, where he was a second-team All-Catholic League selection last year, but he expects to be a cornerback at UVa. That’s why it was surprising to hear him say that he runs a 4.68 40. Most cornerbacks run in the sub-4.5 range, or at least they say they do.

“I’m fast,” said Joseph, both of whose parents were track athletes at Temple. “I know that much.”

Joseph also plays baseball, where he is a centerfielder, and has an interest in playing both sports for the Cavaliers.

MUCH HAS BEEN written in this space about the football prospects leaving Virginia this year, but that sort of movement was not confined to the Old Dominion.

In North Carolina, where N.C. State has been a school of choice in recent years, the only top-25 prospect to sign with the Wolfpack was No. 16 Lamarcus Bond, a wide receiver from Hertford County High School in Ahoskie, N.C.

N.C. State’s next-highest-rated in-state recruit, according to SuperPrep’s rankings, was No. 28 Owen Spencer, a wide receiver from North Brunswick High School in Leland, N.C.

North Carolina did a little better, signing the state’s No. 2-rated prospect, defensive lineman Aleric Mullins (6-2, 285) from East Wake High School in Wendell, N.C.; but Mullins was headed to Auburn before changing his mind in the early hours on signing day.

Carolina did not get another top-five player from the state but the Tar Heels did sign the Nos. 7, 8 and 10 players on SuperPrep’s North Carolina Top 25, Havelock “athlete” Bruce Carter, Charlotte Independence wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and Asheville running back Johnny White.

Nicks did not have an offer before his August commitment to the Tar Heels, then went out and caught 93 passes for 1,819 yards and 20 touchdowns.

FEW ACC PROGRAMS fared as poorly in state as Maryland, whose highest-rated Maryland signee was Drew Gloster, a 6-2, 217-pound H-back who told people for months that Virginia Tech was at the top of his list.

Many analysts trace the Terrapins’ recruiting problems to the departure of former assistant James Franklin, now the offensive coordinator to Ron Prince at Kansas State after a one-year stint as receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers.
 

The night Morgan shot the lights out
This is the second in a three-part series on the most memorable moments at University Hall.
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 4, 2006

Hundreds of basketball players have come and gone through University Hall, but none of them have had more fun in the old joint than Richard Morgan.
Armed with a ready smile that was almost as quick as his trigger finger, the Salem native played his way into the hearts of Wahoo fans everywhere - especially on the night of Jan. 15, 1989. That's the night he shot the lights out in U-Hall.

A game for the ages

Each time the first-team, All-ACC shooter came down the court and launched a ball from Bonusphere it was sort of a Wahoo's joy buzzer, torturing North Carolina coach Dean Smith as he helplessly watched his eighth-ranked Tar Heels get blown out of the gym, 106-83.

The Virginia senior put up 39 points that game, the fourth-highest point total in U-Hall by a Cavalier and the fifth-highest by anyone in the arena's 41-year history. It was one of those Jordanesque performances that would leave even the best of shooters shrugging inexplicably over their success.

Each mounting basket stirred the frenzy in a raucous atmosphere. During one stretch of the game, Morgan unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers that fans could have sworn skimmed the ceiling on the way down as he sent the Tar Heels packing. He hit three straight treys that blew the game wide open.

Shootout at the OK Corral

On those three consecutive trips back down the floor, Morgan darted by press row a couple of times just laughing out loud to himself. The third time, he blew off his imaginary six-shooters and holstered them right in front of media.

"That's something Dawn Staley [the greatest women's player in UVa history] and I started," said Morgan recently when recounting that special game. "The six-shooters kind of started as a joke. She always teased me about shooting it up."

Staley, who attended every men's home game, would always be in the stands, and when Morgan heated up, she'd pull out the imaginary six-shooters and pretend to blow away the smoke.

Once Morgan started sending the scoreboard into astronomical gyrations, he couldn't help himself but to have a little fun.

"That's one of the things I prided myself on was to have fun out there," said Morgan, now an assistant coach at Hampton University. "People are coming to see entertainment, and I think that's what's missing in basketball now."

There was never a dull moment with Morgan around. The 6-foot-3 guard, who averaged 20.4 points per game his final season, definitely had a shooter's mentality - he never met a shot he didn't like.

He's still ranked 13th on UVa's all-time scoring list and ninth on the Cavs' 3-pointer list.

In his final home game against Maryland, another blowout win by a Virginia team that went 22-11 and finished as a finalist in the NCAA Southeast Regional, Morgan stunned the crowd and his mother when in the waning moments he dashed off the court and into the crowd to give his mom a loving hug of appreciation.

"Now that she has passed on, I'm so glad I have that memory to hold onto," Morgan said. "I did that because I felt like my mom helped me through so many things. That was kind of a thank you for all her blood, sweat and tears.

"I wasn't trying to show up anybody. I just asked Coach [Terry Holland] if I was done for the game and when he said 'Yes,' I just took off into the stands. I didn't tell anybody ... it was just a spur of the moment thing."

His mother would always come to Morgan's home games and he would never be comfortable until he looked up to catch a glimpse of her in the stands. More often, she would work her way down to give her son a big thumbs up.

So, you see, some of Morgan's moments in the building were serious, including another one of his favorite memories, the day he proposed to his wife during halftime of a Herman Moore celebrity game at U-Hall. She said 'Yes' and the couple now has two sons of their own.

While many people remember the Carolina game, most have probably forgotten the circumstances.

Holland had fallen ill with stomach problems and could not coach in the game. He was released from the hospital that day and spoke to the team in the locker room on the way home to watch it on TV.

Assistant coach Dave Odom had been given the responsibility of getting the Cavaliers ready to take on the mighty Tar Heels. The first thing Odom did was to turn Morgan loose.

"Coach Odom looked me in the eyes before the game and said 'Richard, you've got to take some shots because that's the only way we can stay in this thing,'" Morgan recalled. "I heard him, but he came back again and personally told me to have fun and to not hesitate to shoot."

Telling Morgan to shoot the ball is like leaving the fat guy to guard the pie. Telling him twice wasn't really necessary.

"People don't realize that I think I missed my first six or seven shots in that game, but Coach Odom looked at me and said that I've got to keep shooting," Morgan said. "I told myself that it couldn't get any worse, and after he said that I was all right. I told myself that I'd done this before. I started to relax and that's when I started to feel it."

So did the Tar Heels but not in the same way.

The win and the game ball were personally delivered to Holland's home after the game when the entire team went over to check on the coach.

"I was almost as emotional as Richard during the game, and he was definitely in the zone," Holland said.

Said Morgan, "I think that made Coach Holland feel a little bit better because he seemed excited. I think that's the reason we played the way we did that night."

Yet another U-Hall memory that Wahoo fans will never forget.

 

UVa Roundup
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
March 4, 2006

WOMEN'S GOLF: In Baton Rouge, La., Jennie Arseneault shot a 2-under par 70 on Friday as Virginia grabbed the first-round lead during the 25th Louisiana State Golf Classic.
The Cavaliers carded a 294 to lead 17 other college teams after 18 holes. Auburn is next at 297. Host LSU shot a 10-over-par 298. Kentucky is fourth at 303.

Virginia played in the morning, and Leah Wigger shot a 71 for third place on the 6,338-yard course.

Arseneault shares the lead with Garrett Phillips of Augusta (Ga.) State. Lauren Mielbrecht shot a 75 for the Cavaliers.

The 54-hole event resumes this morning. The final round begins at 9:30 a.m. Sunday with a shotgun start.

BASEBALL: Right fielder Tim Henry contributed six RBIs and four hits on Friday to help spark Virginia to a 21-0 romp over winless St. Joseph's at Davenport Field.

The Cavaliers (10-2) smacked 23 hits, and pitchers Mike Ballard and Josh Myers combined to throw a six-hit shutout. The visiting Hawks are 0-8 this season.

"I was very pleased with our offensive approach," said UVa coach Brian O'Connor. "We came out hitting the ball and maintained that approach throughout the game."

Ballard (3-0) pitched seven innings, and notched six strikeouts, Sean Doolittle added three RBIs and three hits for the Cavaliers. Brandon Marsh collected three hits and Brandon Guyer finished with three runs scored and two hits.

Beau Seabury had two hits, three RBIs and scored two runs.

Virginia built a 13-0 lead after four innings. Mike Campagna added three runs, two hits and two RBIs.

The 23 hits are a single-game high during O'Connor's three seasons. His teams show a combined 95-37 record. The 21 runs are most since dominating Virginia Tech 21-10 two years ago. Henry's six RBIs are the most by a single Virginia player since 2003.

The Cavaliers play host to St. Joseph's again today at 4 p.m.

SOFTBALL: in Marietta, Ga., the Cavaliers split two games during the opening day of the Buzz Classic. Freshman pitcher Madi Gore boosted her season record to 4-0.

After losing to Oklahoma State 6-3, Virginia rebounded to grab a 12-3 five-inning victory over St. Joseph's.

Senior second baseman Sara Larquier set a school record for career RBIs (161), and also established a new single-game mark with two sacrifice flies against St. Joseph's.

Senior center fielder Jessica Taylor blasted her first career grand slam against the Hawks.

The Cavaliers (7-3) will play South Dakota State and Evansville today.

TRACK AND FIELD: In South Bend, Ind., the Virginia men's distance medley team of Alex Tatu, Kellen Blassingame, Jordan Orr and Kevin McHale ran a 9:41.73, the second fastest indoor time in school history.

They earned an NCAA Provisional qualifying mark at the Alex Wilson Invitational.