UVa greats take one last shot
Players return for arena's close
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 6, 2006

The ball was being passed around like a hot potato by University of Virginia basketball legends.

Barry Parkhill passed to Wally Walker. He threw it over to Ralph Sampson. Sampson dished it back to Parkhill.

Parkhill lined up to take a 3-pointer, then shocked everybody and dished it back to Sampson, who was standing underneath the basket.

The three-time All-American tried to dunk the ball. It rattled around the hoop and went in, to the delight of the crowd.

However, the 7-foot-4 Sampson wasn’t satisfied. The former Virginia star proceeded to throw down another dunk, this time falling to the floor in the process.

“He was trying for the clean flush,” said Virginia freshman Mamadi Diane, smiling. “I don’t think he had the right shoes on.”

The final shot was all a part of a postgame ceremony celebrating University Hall, Virginia’s basketball arena since 1965. The school moves into the $129.8 million John Paul Jones Arena next season

The Virginia men’s team lost to Maryland, 71-70, in the last scheduled game, but you’d never know it by all the good vibes afterward.

“I could not be prouder of a group of Cavaliers than I am today,” Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage told the crowd, as he talked about the team’s resilience in coming back from an 18-point second-half deficit.

Littlepage also spoke about how much U-Hall has meant to the school over the years.

“This building has been a homecourt, a gathering place for the entire community,” he said. “This building has built memories. It’s been a classroom for young men. It’s been a building where individuals have come together as a team and developed into leaders.”

During timeouts of the game, Parkhill, Walker and former player Bryant Stith were honored with video tributes.

At halftime, former Virginia coach Terry Holland addressed the crowd along with Sampson and Curtis Staples, a former player who once set the record for most career 3-pointers in NCAA history.

“The people in this building and their interaction with the fans is what made this building magical,” Holland said. “Now we need to take that magic with coach [Dave] Leitao and move it across the street.”

Leitao also addressed the crowd.

“I wanted to win more than anything I’ve wanted in my whole life,” Leitao said. “Watching all the great players come through here over the years, I’m honored to be in the same building.”

Sampson drew the loudest ovations.

“I played with a lot of great guys and a lot of great coaches,” Sampson told the crowd. “I don’t know how much time I have [to speak], but I don’t really care.”

At that point, Sampson invited former teammates and friends to join him.

After the Sampson dunk, the ball was passed around the court by dozens of former players. Finally, the ball made its way up to the arena’s second level, where Leitao was standing.

As Leitao received the ball, he thrust an arm into the air. As he exited the court, the crowd roared and confetti streamed everywhere.

The ball will be used during opening ceremonies at the John Paul Jones Arena in the fall.

 

Terps crash U-Hall party
Cavs' rally falls just short
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 6, 2006

During the halftime ceremony commemorating the final regular-season game at University Hall, former Virginia coach Terry Holland used the word magic a couple of times as he addressed a sold-out crowd.
Holland was recalling his fondest memories from the building's 41-year history.

With less than 10 seconds left in the game and Virginia trailing by a point, Cavalier fans were hoping for one final bit of magic.

The crowd rose to its feet as guard J.R. Reynolds caught the ball about 22 feet away from the basket. Reynolds had been on fire all game.

However, his 3-pointer from the right wing clanged off the back rim. It spoiled Virginia's "Last Ball at U-Hall" and gave Maryland a 71-70 victory.

"It felt good when it left my hands," Reynolds said, "it was a clean look."

The loss was Virginia's third straight. The Cavaliers (14-13, 7-9 ACC) finished the ACC regular season in a three-way tie for seventh place.

Virginia will play 10th place Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers, who earned the No. 7 seed after winning the tie-breaker with Miami and Clemson, won both regular-season meetings with the Hokies.

Virginia probably needs to make it to at least the title game to have any hope of making the NCAA Tournament.

Against Maryland, Virginia showed resiliency in coming back but couldn't make the key plays down the stretch when it needed to.

"We fought, we scratched and we clawed," said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, "but we obviously came up short."

Reynolds played the best game of his career. The junior guard scored a season-high 30 points in 32 minutes. Almost single-handedly, he erased an 18-point second half deficit.

"For J.R. to take the game and put it on his shoulders, it was truly an example of how amazing it is to be around this group of guys," said Leitao, tossing a rare verbal bouquet at one of his players. "He willed us back into that game."

After being benched for a good portion of the last two games, Virginia big man Jason Cain was one point shy of a double-double. He had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Virginia's Sean Singletary, who was in foul trouble much of the game, finished with just eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Nik Caner-Medley led Maryland (18-11, 8-8) with 16 points. He shot just 2 of 9 from the field, but was 12 of 12 from the foul line.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game - even when we got up 18," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "To Virginia's credit, Dave Leitao has really got a good work ethic in this team."

Hard work aside, Virginia wouldn't have been anywhere without Reynolds and Billy Campbell.

It was Campbell, the senior walk-on, who ignited the Cavaliers' comeback. With Singletary on the bench with four fouls and Virginia in a major funk, Campbell started throwing his body all over the floor.

"He pressured the daylights out of the ball," Leitao said. "That really energized the guys on the floor. We had been in a fog previous to that."

Virginia was trailing by 14 when Campbell stole the ball from Maryland's James Gist. The ball was pushed ahead to Mamadi Diane, who drained a 3-pointer.

Reynolds hit two free throws to make it 57-48 with 10:31 left, then hit a 3-pointer on the team's next possession to make it 59-51.

At that point, the crowd, sensing the comeback, went nuts - and Virginia amped up its defense. Cain and Diane swatted shots by Ekene Ibekwe and Caner-Medley. That led to a Campbell 3-pointer, which cut the Maryland lead to five. As Campbell ran back on defense, he waved his arms wildly.

About two minutes later, Reynolds had a drive to the basket that would have made any playground player proud.

Reynolds dribbled hard to his left, jumped into the air and challenged at least two Maryland defenders. Reynolds hung in the air and hit a double-clutch layup to tie the game at 62.

"We were down, Sean was on the bench," Reynolds said.

"I knew I had to score and pick the team up."

Virginia took its first lead of the second half with 3:53 remaining on a Singletary fade-away jumper.

Reynolds hit two free throws to put the Cavliers up 70-68 with 2:09 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Mike Jones with just over a minute to play wound up being the game-winner.

"It was miscommunication for a split second between [Diane] and Sean," said Leitao of the defensive sequence.

Reynolds looked pretty upset as he talked about the loss.

"It was a critical game for us," he said. "For us to come back and then lose by one point is tough."

Leitao, who has been pushing his team hard all season, admitted that his players may have hit a wall.

"I don't think [the loss] was from a lack of desire as much as it is from the body and the mind not moving right now collectively, top to bottom, as well as it should be," he said.

"We've pushed and prodded this team with all of our limitations from Aug. 27 until today ? we're limping a little bit to the finish line because we've asked so much of them.

"We'll give them physical and mental time to regroup and then get back in the gym and start the second season."

 

Behind the hoopla, UVa showed grit
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 5, 2006

Ralph's House is now closed.
Forty-one years of Virginia basketball at University Hall ended on Sunday evening, ushered out the same way it all began in December of 1965 - with a loss.

But the same hopes and dreams for the Cavaliers' basketball program that existed four decades ago were renewed on this historic day as a young team lived to fight another day, yet only at a new address, across the street in the new John Paul Jones Arena.

Furious comeback

As legendary figures from UVa's illustrious basketball past and a jam-packed U-Hall looked on, today's batch of Cavaliers must have made them proud. Down 18 points (50-32) less than four minutes into the second half, and with starting point guard Sean Singletary sent to the bench with four fouls, this one had all the signs of another monumental landslide loss.

Virginia's youthful team, lacking depth with only eight scholarship players, had hit the proverbial wall a week ago at Clemson and paid the price with a lopsided loss. The team was running on empty when it arrived in Chapel Hill last Wednesday night and took a severe beating, UVa's worst loss ever to the Tar Heels.

So, how could the Cavaliers possibly bounce back from such a deficit against visiting Maryland?

Terrapin surge

Gary Williams' Terps were having their way with the Wahoos, bolting to the 18-point bulge with an eight-point flurry during a 71-second blitz that included two Maryland layups and two more dunks.

Maybe this old joint, the ACC's smallest arena, had one more night of magic reserved for its curtain call. The Cavs rallied behind J.R. Reynolds' shooting and walk-on senior Billy Campbell's grit and spirit to outscore Maryland 30-12 during the next 10 minutes to knot the score at 62-all just under six minutes remaining.

Virginia actually held leads at 66-64 (on a Sean Singletary jumper with 3:53 to go); 68-66 (on a Reynolds drive down the lane at the 3:02 mark); and 70-68 (on a pair or Reynolds' free throws with 2:09 to play.

That didn't stop Maryland's Mike Jones from launching a 3-pointer that found the mark for a 71-70 lead with 1:11 to play and setting up the final minute's drama.

Looking for a miracle

There had been so many Wahoo miracles in this building, Barry Parkhill's 12-footer that stunned No. 2 South Carolina, Ralph Sampson's

12-footer that beat Maryland in the All-American's home finale; Adam Hall's buzzer beater that upset Duke; Todd Billet's last-second heroics that stole victory from the jaws of defeat.

Certainly history was on Virginia's side when the Cavs broke the huddle from a timeout with 25 ticks left on the U-Hall scoreboard. How much more of a Hollywood ending could we have asked for?

Coach Dave Leitao called a play that he had used four or five times during the course of the game, sending Singletary on the wing toward the basket and suck Maryland's defenders in his direction, leaving Reynolds open. Leitao didn't want his team to take a last-second shot, but the Terps' defense threw UVa's plans a bit out of rhythm before Reynolds let go with a jumper with just a smidgen more than two seconds remaining, the ball caroming off the back of the rim.

"It felt good when it left my hands," said Reynolds, who scored a season-high 30 points. "It was a clean look."

Game over.

No Reaper Cheater for the Last Ball at U-Hall.

Instead, Maryland's party-poopers brought down the curtain with a disheartening Virginia loss. Leitao and his players wanted to give the grand old arena a happy send off. Instead, it was quite a bummer.

"It wasn't for the lack of desire," Leitao said. "We've pushed and prodded this team with all our limitations from Aug. 27 until today. At the end of the regular season we've lost three in a row ... but we're limping to the finish line because we've asked so much of these guys."

If exhaustion and a lack of bodies didn't prove enough of a handicap to the Cavaliers, the emotions of the week only piled on more pressure.

Not only did they need to win to enhance their own postseason possibilities, but they HAD to win for all their basketball bloodline, 100 Who's Hoos of UVa basketball, for the end of an era.

"There was a different smell around here [this week], so the aroma would have had to get in them," Leitao said of his team's exposure to all the hoopla.

The weary Wahoos were a step behind, a second late on crucial defensive situations, on failed inbounds attempts that resulted in key turnovers that cost them dearly.

But to fight back from 18 down in the second half to give themselves a chance left a strong impression.

"I could not be prouder of a group of Cavaliers than I am of this team today," said UVa director of athletics Craig Littlepage during a postgame ceremony attended by the current team. His words may have been little consolation but will have more meaning as the young team looks back on the moment.

Leitao could hardly believe his eyes as Reynolds put the team upon his shoulders and "willed us back into this game," he coach said.

Meanwhile, senior guard Billy Campbell's scrappy play, including two key 3-pointers and harassing defense, might have earned him the distinction of the best final game performance in U-Hall by a

walk-on.

"When they put me in I was hoping I could give us some energy," Campbell said later. "I tried to give everything I had in the building and hopefully people will remember me for that."

How could they forget such a valiant effort on such an unforgettable day? All the pomp and circumstance, the confetti and balloons, the speeches and hurrahs were fun, but what they will remember most was the effort.

But now, Virginia is prepared to move into another era. The curtain has closed on Ralph's House.

Rest in peace University Hall, rest in peace.

 

Unhappy ending
Virginia rallies, but Maryland hangs a loss on facility in finale
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With his somber players behind him on the court, Dave Leitao took the microphone. The disappointment was evident in his face and his voice as the University of Virginia's first-year coach addressed the fans and former players, coaches and managers who'd gathered to bid goodbye to University Hall.

"I wanted to win for you and our players more than anything I wanted in my life," Leitao said during a postgame ceremony that celebrated the memories U-Hall produced in its four decades as the home of U.Va. basketball.

The Cavaliers nearly pulled it off. From an 18-point second-half deficit, Leitao's team stormed back to take the lead against Maryland, and it seemed the final regular-season game in U-Hall might end as U.Va. had envisioned.

"We're supposed to win this game," junior guard J.R. Reynolds said. "We're playing at home, we had a great crowd. We couldn't ask for anything more."

But the Terrapins refused to cooperate. Maryland regained the lead on junior guard Mike Jones' wide-open 3-pointer with 1:10 left. That made it 71-70, and that's how it ended before an orange-clad sellout crowd of 8,392 that included former U.Va. greats Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith, Wally Walker and Barry Parkhill.

The Cavaliers, no longer locks to make the NIT, have to settle for the No. 7 seed in the ACC tournament. Virginia (7-9, 14-13) meets No. 10 seed Virginia Tech in a first-round game Thursday at 7 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C.

Maryland (8-8, 18-11), the ACC tourney's No. 6 seed, kept alive its hopes of advancing to the NCAAs with yesterday's victory, its sixth straight over Virginia. The Terrapins led 36-27 at halftime and 52-34 with 14:45 remaining.

"I thought our players did a great job the way we started out today, with everything that's going on around this particular game," Terrapins coach Gary Williams said.

University Hall opened in the 1965-66 season. Opposing players who faced U.Va. there that season included a Maryland guard named Gary Williams.

"The way I look at it, I outlived this building," he said.

In a game when star guard Sean Singletary played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble and missed most of the Cavaliers' comeback -- Reynolds carried the team, with an assist from the team's only senior, walk-on guard Billy Campbell. Reynolds scored 19 of his season-high 30 points in the second half.

"He willed us back into that game," Leitao said.

Singletary, who missed 9 of 12 field goal attempts and scored only eight points, picked up his third foul with 4:59 left in the first half. He was called for his fourth with 16:26 left and went to the bench, not to return until the 5:56 mark.

Virginia will long rue its late-game execution. With 3:15 left, freshman swingman Mamadi Diane threw away an inbounds pass, a turnover that allowed the Terps to pull to 66-66. Then, with 55 seconds left, U.Va. was called for a five-second violation when Singletary, unable to find an open teammate on an inbounds play, was late signaling for a timeout.

Even so, Virginia had an opportunity to win after Maryland's D.J. Strawberry charged into 6-10 junior Jason Cain with 30.9 seconds left. Leitao called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining. The plan was for Singletary to penetrate and then pass back out to Reynolds, who was to shoot with enough time remaining for U.Va. to foul if he missed.

But the Terps defended well, and Reynolds had to launch a heavily contested 3-point attempt with time running out. It bounced off the rim, and the final horn sounded.

"I thought that we should have taken the shot sooner, but to Maryland's credit, they threw us off our rhythm just enough to delay that," Leitao said.

And so Virginia heads into the ACC tourney with a three-game losing streak.

"We're a little bit limping to the finish line, because we've asked so much of these guys, and they've given us a lot," Leitao said. "For a guy like J.R. to take the game and put in our shoulders without his backcourt partner there, is truly an example of just how great it is to be around this group of guys."

 

A building of history is celebrated
In farewell to U-Hall, construction of hoops program is recalled
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - As senior days go, the University of Virginia put on quite an extravagant show for its lone senior player, Billy Campbell, yesterday.

Former Cavaliers from as far back as the 1940s were on hand. So were former coaches. There were speeches and several ceremonies.

When it was over, a dazzling array of colored confetti and countless blue and orange balloons fell from the ceiling.

Oh wait . . . that wasn't for Campbell.

Campbell, a walk-on from Atlanta, had to share his big day, not that he minded. Yesterday's game against Maryland was billed as the Last Ball in U-Hall. University Hall, Virginia's home since 1965, is closing after this season. The Cavaliers will move across the street to bigger and much more modern John Paul Jones Arena.

They said goodbye to the "U" in a big way.

"It's a great honor to be here as the last senior in the building," said Campbell, who started, played 13 minutes and made his only two shots - both 3-pointers.

"I knew it was going to be a very emotional day, an emotional game, not just for me but for everybody. It's the last game at this very historic building and it was especially important for me as a senior on Senior Day."

The day was business as usual in a lot of ways.

Workers, players and university staff arrived early to get ready. The smell of concession-stand pizza dominated the walkways. Campell was on hand at 1 p.m. for the 3:30 game, his standard. He always arrives 2½ hours early, and he always goes out and makes 100 shots from 3-point range.

He shot them and shot them and shot them and let his mind wander as he did.

"It was definitely a day for looking back, all those times I was here by myself. Or it was just me, [broadcaster] Mac McDonald and the dance team," he said.

The day had its highlights, especially the two Campbell 3-pointers.

"I always leave the court with a make in practice. I'm glad to go out of here with a make in a game, too," Campbell said.

It also had its lowlights. Virginia rallied from 18 down, led briefly near the end and had a chance to win with a final shot. It didn't and Maryland left with a 71-70 victory.

Campbell did have a season high with his six points in his final home game, and he earned praise from coach Dave Leitao afterward for his defensive work.

"I tried to give everything I had in this building. I hope people will remember me for that," Campbell said.

During timeouts yesterday, several former players were introduced. More came out at halftime. After the game, they came out on the court in force.

Four of the six players who have had their jerseys retired were on hand - Barry Parkhill, Ralph Sampson, Wally Walker and Bryant Stith. Missing were Buzzy Wilkinson and Jeff Lamp. Parkhill was supposed to take the last shot in U-Hall. Instead he passed it to the 7-4 Sampson, who struggled to get up for a jam. He then jammed it again and immediately fell on his back.

Campbell was among those to help him up. He was out among the stars when the final shot was being set up. Had the ball been given to him, he would have declined.

"Oh no, no, no," he said. "Those are the guys who have their jerseys retired, rightfully so. Those are the greatest players in the history of the University of Virginia. I was not going to take that shot."

University President John T. Casteen III gave a postgame speech.

"We've seen a national basketball program built on work done in this building," Casteen said. "This has been a great house for Virginia basketball. Let's celebrate that."

 

Cherish memories, not facility
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Mar 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE Not to be the grinch who stole nostalgiafest or anything, but the old building won't be missed. The memories? The moments? Yeah, those components of University Hall's history will be retained and embraced and properly chronicled. The foundation, the joists, the framing, the floorboards, the drywall, the plumbing - the place itself? Its passing should not be mourned.

With commemorative T-shirts and faces-from-the-past cameos in abundance, Virginia nearly created more magic in yesterday's farewell to U-Hall (well, unless it's booked for an NIT opener) and then staged a ceremonial curtain-closing that made the place sound like one of the grand venues of hoopdom.

Which is a bit of a stretch.

University Hall was never Reynolds Coliseum, spiritual cradle of what we know now as ACC basketball. It was never Cole Field House, home to Lefty Driesell's foot stomps and scene of Texas Western's "Glory Road" thunderclap. It was never Carmichael Auditorium, where Phil Ford and M.J. frolicked and Dean Smith fashioned a dynasty.

It isn't Cameron Indoor Stadium, Allen Fieldhouse, the Palestra, Rupp Arena, Pauley Pavilion, Freedom Hall.

It's never been, in other words, a college basketball jewel.

What it's been is a serviceable gym for 41 years and a reasonable home court for a mostly average-Joe program. The Cavs have won 62 percent of their ACC games in the building. They're shy of 46 percent all told against league rivals during that span. So they've gotten a nice bump from U-Hall. But only intermittently have they gotten a catapult.


The Cavs made their U-Hall debut on Dec. 4, 1965. Norm Carmichael was there as a U.Va. freshman. His father, Mike, was there as a sound effect. For years, Mike's shrill whistle was a staple for ticket-holders and ACC refs. He's 97 now and returned yesterday with his son and a confession.

"My whistle's gone," he said with a smile.

(Gosh, he's 97, he's entitled.)

Is this a sad day? I asked him.

"If Virginia wins, no," he replied.

Well, you know how that one went.

U.Va. lost its 1965 opener in U-Hall to a terrific Kentucky team. It lost this finale-with-a-disclaimer to one of Gary Williams' squiggliest Maryland entries. The score was 71-70 after J.R. Reynolds' under-duress 3-pointer clanged off the rim - but don't blame Reynolds for this setback. He was terrific and just about the whole show for a Virginia squad that wiped out an 18-point second-half deficit but couldn't close the deal.

There was no Barry Parkhill jumper that knocked off No. 2 South Carolina in 1971. There was no Ralph Sampson turnaround that beat Maryland on senior day a dozen years later. Parkhill and Sampson were in the house, but their vibe was missing. The Cavs could've used their sorcery. Or someone with the touch of Wally Walker, who took a look around and pronounced himself ready to move on.

"I'm old enough that when I got here, this building was state of the art," said Walker, the hero of U.Va.'s one and only ACC title of 30 years ago. "Now it's an arms race to get to the next level. I just got a tour of the new building. It's overdue for what's required to be competitive as an ACC basketball program."

Whether a $130-million palace is necessary for that push is a worthy talking point. Whether Keeping Up With the Joneses Arena will spawn remembrances like U-Hall, only time will tell.

"They can't erase the memories," said Richard Morgan, who scored 34 points in his 1989 U-Hall swan song and raced into the stands while the clock was still running to hug his mom. "The memories will always be there."

That's the best part. The rest is replaceable.

 

Ball deflated
Virginia loses its final regular-season game at University Hall.
By Jim Reedy
381-1673

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- If this was indeed the last ball in University Hall, the 41-year-old arena certainly went out with a bang.

With a host of former players and coaches amid the orange-clad capacity crowd, the Virginia men's basketball team mounted an 18-point comeback in Sunday's regular-season finale before Maryland escaped with a 71-70 win.

Mike Jones put the Terrapins in front with 1:13 left by hitting a wide-open 3-pointer and the Cavaliers failed to score on their last three possessions, including a chaotic final one that ended with the afternoon's best player, J.R. Reynolds, missing a tightly contested 3-pointer as time expired.

"We worked hard," UVa guard Sean Singletary said. "It just wasn't enough."

Back home after resounding road losses at Clemson and North Carolina, Virginia (14-13, 7-9 ACC) nonetheless dropped a third straight game that likely ended its slim hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Cavs, who might well return to U-Hall for a National Invitation Tournament game, will be the No. 7 seed in the ACC Tournament and play 10th-seed Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m.

UVa fell behind in the first half and seemed all but dead when Maryland led 52-34 with less than 15 minutes remaining. Singletary, Virginia's leading scorer and driving force, was on the bench with four fouls and would not return for more than nine minutes.

Reynolds took over, pouring in 16 of his season-high 30 points as the Cavaliers roared back with the full-throated support of 8,392 fans. He hit jumpers and free throws and a pair of 3-pointers -- and then with 5:57 left he capped a 20-5 run with a tough drive to the basket that tied the score at 62.

"It's the best game I've seen him play," said Singletary, who scored eight points on 3-of-12 shooting in just 21 minutes.

"Sean was on the bench," Reynolds said. "I'm the guy out there, so I knew I had to score and I knew I had to pick the team up."

Finally, the Terps (18-11, 8-8) stiffened.

Maryland tied it at 66 and 68 before Reynolds hit a pair of free throws after being fouled away from the ball with 2:09 left.

But Virginia's next possession ended with Singletary frantically attempting to beat the shot clock, and the Terps got out in transition. Somewhere in their defensive retreat, Singletary and freshman swingman Mamadi Diane got their assignments confused and Jones was left alone on the left wing. With a full second to gather himself, the junior guard drained a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 71-70 lead.

"A second late to this and a second late to that is really what costs you," said UVa coach Dave Leitao, whose squad will play next season in the new John Paul Jones Arena. "Even that last basket that we gave to Mike Jones, it was just miscommunication for a split second."

The Cavaliers squandered the ensuing possession when they could not get the ball inbounds in five seconds, but Jason Cain drew a charge on D.J. Strawberry with 30 seconds left.

Virginia called timeout and decided to have Singletary try to draw a double team that would free Reynolds. But the Terps guarded tough and Singletary found no room when he caught the ball on the right side of the floor. He probed for an opening and handed off to Reynolds with a few seconds left for a 3-point attempt under pressure from two defenders.

The Cavaliers were left drained, but Leitao made sure to heap praise on Reynolds, who finished two points shy of the career high he established against Miami in last year's ACC Tournament.

"It's not even the points, it's his leadership," Leitao said. "Once I blow the whistle to start practice, I can guarantee there's one guy whose eyes are beaming, right on every single word I say, and that's J.R. Reynolds."

 

Potential game-winner misses as U.Va. bids farewell to arena
By ED MILLER , The Virginian-Pilot
© March 6, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Call it the last pall in U-Hall.

J.R. Reynolds’ 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired and a stunned silence fell over 8,392 raucous, orange-clad fans on hand to celebrate the 545th and last men’s basketball game played at Virginia’s University Hall as the Cavaliers fell to Maryland 71-70 Sunday.

It was dubbed the “last ball” in U-Hall, and the party portion of the afternoon went swimmingly. About a hundred former Virginia players, including greats Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith, Barry Parkhill and Buzzy Wilkinson, turned out to fete the 41-year-old gym, which will be replaced next season by 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena.

The 7-foot-4 Sampson, national player of the year in 1981, 1982 and 1983, whipped up the crowd at halftime when he invited several of his former teammates out to midcourt with him.

“I don’t know how much time I have, but I really don’t care,” Sampson said.

U-Hall had 20 more minutes as a college basketball venue, and Virginia trailed 36-27. Soon the deficit was 52-34.

“The mood was terrible,” guard Billy Campbell said. “You could see it in everybody’s body language — defeated.”

Campbell, a walk-on guard and the team’s only senior, helped start a comeback by ripping the ball from Maryland’s Ekene Ibekwe, kicking off an 8-2 run. Campbell’s 3-pointer from the wing cut the margin to 59-54 with 9:06 remaining.

Virginia came all the way back behind 19 second-half points from Reynolds and led 70-68 before losing Maryland’s Mike Jones in the left corner. Jones hit a 3-pointer to make it 71-70 with 1:12 remaining.

Virginia had a final chance after taking a timeout with 25 seconds left. Reynolds’ shot was contested and hurried, though, and the Cavaliers (14-13, 7-9) lost their third straight game. Reynolds finished with 30 points, the only Virginia player in double figures. Nik Caner-Medley led Maryland (18-11, 8-8) with 16.

The loss left Virginia in a tie with Miami and Clemson for seventh place in the ACC. The Cavaliers won the tie-breaker by going 2-1 against the Hurricanes and Tigers and were awarded the No. 7 seed in the ACC tournament. Virginia will face No. 10 Virginia Tech Thursday night at 7 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Maryland, the No. 6 seed, will play No. 11 Georgia Tech.

For all the pomp, there’s a possibility Sunday’s game wasn’t the last that will be played at U-Hall. Virginia could receive a bid to the NIT and host a game next week.

But University officials understandably could take no chances and Sunday was designated as the formal send-off to a building that has been good to Virginia over the years. The Cavaliers won 74 percent of their games since the building opened in 1965.

The Cavaliers badly wanted one more victory, not wanting to spoil what amounted to a basketball family reunion.

“I wanted to win for you and for our players more than anything than I’ve ever wanted in my life,” coach Dave Leitao told the crowd afterward.

It wasn’t easy for Leitao to take the microphone just minutes after such a wrenching loss, but the show, or rather the ceremony, had to go on.

Players from seven decades were introduced individually after the game and surrounded the floor. After remarks by Leitao, Parkhill, class of ’73, lined up for a final shot, taking off his suit jacket and standing behind the 3-point line. Instead of shooting, Parkhill passed to Sampson, who had doffed his suit coat as well.

Sampson hopped high enough to squeeze through a dunk. Not satisfied, he tried another that was a little more emphatic, but he fell down after landing.

It didn’t matter. By then, the mood had lightened. A ball was passed from player to player around the court, and finally up the stairs to where Leitao waited, near the concourse. He held the ball high as the crowd roared. Leitao took the ball out of the building, where across the street, a new building awaits the dawn of a new era of Virginia basketball.

 

Virginia closes out U-Hall with loss
A storybook ending isn't in the cards for Billy Campbell and the Cavaliers in the final regular-season game in University Hall history.
BY MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
March 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In his mind, Billy Campbell was already marketing the script.

A four-year walk-on, the only senior on the floor in an afternoon filled with famous faces from a program's storied past. A key steal as his team fights back from an 18-point deficit, then a huge 3-pointer (to go with the one he hit to open the game) to cut the lead to five.

That part, Hollywood, is all true. But the rest of the story didn't go according to plan, as Maryland held off Virginia in the final regular-season game in University Hall history on Sunday. Mike Jones' 3-pointer with 1:10 left gave the Terps a 71-70 victory and sent the Cavaliers (14-13, 7-9) into Thursday's first round of the ACC tournament on a three-game losing streak while giving Maryland (18-11, 8-8) a .500 conference record and keeping alive its at-large NCAA hopes.

"We (had) a little lull there and they got some momentum," Terps coach Gary Williams said. "When you have momentum at home, that lead goes quick, and it really went quick. For us to hang on like that and win the game - that was big."

That's not the way the film unspooled itself in Campbell's head after his 3-pointer pulled the Cavs, down 52-34 four minutes into the second half, within 59-54 with 9:05 to play.

"I was thinking that I was gonna have, like, Jason Kidd or Chris Thomas star in the movie to play me," Campbell said.

He would've had to solicit another well-known NBA player to play the part of J.R. Reynolds, who scored a game-high 30 points with his backcourt mate, Sean Singletary, on the bench for much of the second half with four fouls.

Reynolds tied the game at 62 with a leaning bank shot with 5:54 to play. Five minutes earlier, his two free throws cut Maryland's lead to single digits at 57-48, and his head-faking 3-pointer on U.Va.'s next possession made it a 59-51 game after Nik Caner-Medley - 12-for-12 from the free-throw line on the day - hit two foul shots on the other end.

"He willed us back into the game," said Virginia head coach Dave Leitao, whose team had lost its previous two games by a combined 71 points but didn't go away after falling behind on Sunday. "... It was J.R., and it was Billy Campbell. ... We all of a sudden woke up and started to believe and chipped away and took the lead, but we didn't maintain it down the stretch."

Reynold's last-gasp attempt to lift the Cavs to a victory with the likes of Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith, Wally Walker and Barry Parkhill looking on, refused to follow the Sunday night movie-of-the-week formula. His 3-point heave with 2 seconds to play clanged off the right side of the rim.

"It felt good," Reynolds said. "It just kinda ... I don't know what happened. It wasn't a clean look."

The last-second drama was set up by some sloppy ballhandling by the Cavs. After Jones' 3-pointer, Virginia took a timeout, but turned the ball over when Singletary was whistled for a five-second call while trying to inbound the ball.

Then, after Jason Cain drew a charge on Maryland's D.J. Strawberry, the Cavs called timeout with 25 seconds to play. This time, Mamadi Diane had trouble inbounding the ball as Reynolds slipped coming to meet the pass.

The ball was knocked away from Cain and rolled out of bounds underneath the Maryland basket, where U.Va., now out of timeouts, inbounded it to Reynolds.

Reynolds brought the ball upcourt, passed to Singletary, then got it back as the game clock ticked down for the 3-point try that would have capped U-Hall's 41 years with a win.

"I thought it was going in," Campbell said. "He's got 30 at that point. I was hoping and praying."

Instead, Campbell, who turned down admission to Harvard to come to Virginia on an academic scholarship and play basketball, walked off the court Sunday knowing he'd suited up for his last ACC game in Charlottesville. The Cavs, who face Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday in the ACC tournament, will move across the street to the $130-million, 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena next season.

Everyone, that is, except Campbell.

"I have tried to give everything I have here in this building," he said, "and I hope people remember me for that."
 

No shame, but a win would have been nice
David Teel
March 6 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- He wore a blue Virginia warm-up top and an orange Virginia headband. His seat was front-row, behind the Maryland basket.

"It's not supposed to happen like that," this Virginia student muttered Sunday, moments after the Cavaliers' final regular-season game inside 41-year-old University Hall.

Not, indeed. Not after a weekend reunion that attracted dozens of former players and coaches. Not after a game that included two 3-pointers by the senior walk-on and a stirring comeback from a gaping deficit. Not after raucous salutes to the program's four most recent legends: Ralph Sampson, Wally Walker, Bryant Stith and the gentleman who coached them, Terry Holland.

But if you're looking for heartwarming reading material this morning, head elsewhere. Maryland defeated Virginia 71-70 in what may, depending on the whims of the National Invitation Tournament, be the final game at U-Hall.

If this dour script sounds familiar, there's good reason. The program staged a similar show 16 years ago for Holland's final game here as head coach. The Cavaliers lost that day to Wake Forest 51-50.

But there was a significant consolation prize back in 1990: a bid to the NCAA tournament, where Virginia lost to Derrick Coleman-led Syracuse in the second round at Richmond Coliseum, another joint that could stand a wrecking ball.

This Cavaliers squad (14-13, 7-9 ACC), barring an unfathomable four-day run at the ACC tournament, will not make the NCAAs. No shame there, given what first-year coach Dave Leitao inherited.

And no shame losing to Maryland on Sunday. You see, lost amid all the war stories and back-slapping among the orange-and-blue crowd, was this fact: The Terps had more at stake than the Cavaliers, who next season move across the street to 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena.

Lose, and Maryland was all but sentenced to a second consecutive year outside the NCAA tournament, a disturbing notion for a program and a coach, Gary Williams, only four years removed from a national championship. And for 25 minutes, the Terps played as if they understood the stakes perfectly.

They led 50-32, and Virginia's best player, sophomore guard Sean Singletary, was on the bench with four fouls. Why, some killjoys even dared boo the home team when Leitao called timeout with 16:01 remaining.

Ten minutes later, the game was knotted at 62. Walk-on Billy Campbell had ripped the ball from Maryland's James Gist and made his second 3-pointer; J.R. Reynolds was in the midst of his biggest scoring binge this season (30 points).

And so you thought, "Maybe this ol' gal will get the proper send-off."

It's happened elsewhere in the ACC. Maryland closed Cole Field House in 2002 with a 20-point rout of Virginia; North Carolina bid farewell to Carmichael Auditorium in 1986 with an 11-point victory over North Carolina State; and N.C. State exited Reynolds Coliseum in 1999 with an eight-point win over Florida State (the Wolfpack later played two NIT home games that season).

None of those games matched Sunday's, but those barns oozed history. Cole hosted NCAA tournament games, including the historic 1966 Final Four, where Texas Western's all-black starting five bested all-white Kentucky; the ACC staged its first 13 tournaments at Reynolds, which also served as a frequent NCAA venue; Carmichael was historic because, well, Carolina is Carolina.

University Hall saw many a memorable game - my personal fave is Richard Morgan's 39-point outburst against North Carolina in 1989 - but it's not in the others' league. "While there are a lot of memories, there's really no sadness," Holland said of the arena transition.

Still, a win would have been nice. The Cavaliers led at 66-64, 68-66 and 70-68, only to see Mike Jones bury a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining. Following an exchange of turnovers, Virginia took the last shot, a pressured 3 by Reynolds.

It missed. NCAA life for Maryland (18-11, 8-8), no classic ending for Virginia.

Williams, who played here for the Terps in U-Hall's debut season and coached his alma mater during the transition from Cole to the Comcast Center, put the afternoon best.

"It's a special day, believe me, and it gets more special the further you get away from it."
 

UVa ends regular season on low note
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
March 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Some of the biggest names in Virginia basketball history were in attendance, including Terry Holland, Barry Parkhill, Bryant Stith and Ralph Sampson.
An orange-clad sellout crowd had the building buzzing.

A senior walk-on and a shooting guard with a hot hand willed the Cavaliers out of an 18-point hole in the second half.

A Hollywood ending seemed all but certain.

Then Maryland went and spoiled the party.

Mike Jones hit the Terrapins' only 3-pointer of the second half with 1:13 remaining to lift Maryland to a 71-70 win over Virginia in the final regular season game in the 41-year-old University Hall on Sunday.

J.R. Reynolds, who scored a season-high 30 points, watched an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer miss as Virginia dropped its third straight game heading into the postseason.

"Our worst fears are starting to come true in that the things that we have been prepared for and have been talking about are the things that cost us," Virginia head coach Dave Leitao said. "And I don't think it was for lack of desire. The body and the mind are not moving right now collectively, top to bottom, as much or as well as they should be."

The Cavaliers (14-13, 7-9 ACC) will be the seventh seed in the ACC Tournament, which starts Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. They will play in the 7 p.m. game against 10th-seeded Virginia Tech, a team they swept during the regular season.

Nik Caner-Medley scored 16 points, going 12-for-12 from the free throw line, and Jones and Ikene Ebekwe added 13 points apiece for Maryland (18-11, 8-8 ACC), which kept its NCAA hopes alive. The Terps are seeded sixth in the ACC Tournament and open with 11th-seeded Georgia Tech.

Maryland, who closed Cole Field House in 2002 with a win over Virginia, put a damper on the weekend fanfare, blitzing the Cavaliers early on to build a 50-32 lead with 16:01 left.

UVa rallied behind Reynolds and its lone senior, walk-on Billy Campbell. Campbell, who got his second career start, hit the first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, and jumpstarted the Cavalier comeback with his hustle.

"The mood was terrible," Campbell said. "You could see it in everybody's eyes. The body language was just defeated. When they put me in I was hoping I could give us some energy and try to bring us back."

To wit, Campbell ripped the ball out of James Gist's hands for a steal and pushed it up to Mamadi Diane, who hit a jumper that trimmed Maryland's lead to 11.

After Reynolds hit a 3 to make it an eight-point game, Campbell made his second 3 of the afternoon to cut the deficit to five with 9:03 left.

"Every time he steps on that court, it's nothing but hustle and hard work," Reynolds said. "If it wasn't for his energy, I don't think we would even be in the game."

The same could be said of Reynolds, who carried the team offensively with point guard Sean Singletary on the bench with four fouls. The junior was two points shy of a career high, going 10-for-19 from the field and making four 3-pointers.

He capped a 30-12 UVa run and tied the game at 62 when he made a driving layup over two Maryland defenders with 5:57 left.

"For a guy like J.R. to take a game and put it on his shoulders without his backcourt partner, there is an example of how truly amazing it is to be around this group of guys," Leitao said.

The teams traded baskets down the stretch before a pair of Reynolds free throws gave UVa a 70-68 lead. With just over a minute left, however, a defensive miscommunication left Jones wide open on the wing. The 42 percent 3-point shooter canned the 3, putting the Terps up 71-70.

Virginia's Hollywood ending wasn't to be. After a timeout, Singletary, who scored just eight points and committed three turnovers, was whistled for a five-second violation on the inbounds pass with 47 seconds left. It was UVa's second turnover on an inbounds play in the final three minutes.

The Cavaliers got one more shot after Maryland's D.J. Strawberry was called for a charge. The play was designed for Singletary to feed Reynolds coming off a screen. Maryland played it well, though, and Reynolds had to collect a loose ball as the final seconds ticked off.

He got off a shot but not the one Virginia wanted. It caromed high into the air and the horn sounded before the Cavaliers had a chance at a putback.

It was a bittersweet way for UVa's last scheduled game at University Hall to end (though the Cavaliers could still host an NIT game). Players from throughout Virginia's history stood on the court after the game for a ceremony closing down the building.

Leitao, for one, felt privileged to be there.

"It's an extremely emotional time for me, both good and bad, to try and figure out the whys and wherefores about today, and from a history standpoint of what being a basketball coach here means," Leitao said. "If I never knew, or I thought I knew, I saw it before me all weekend."


 

Terps shut door, open up hope
Maryland holds on to win after leading by 18 in final game at University Hall
By Heather A. Dinich
Sun Reporter
Originally published March 6, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. // Maryland escaped an emotionally charged University Hall yesterday with a win despite blowing an 18-point lead and narrowly avoided closing the regular season with a third straight losing conference record, but senior forward Nik Caner-Medley said he is still not relieved.
That feeling will only come, he said, when he receives the traditional pin presented by the NCAA to teams that are selected to the NCAA tournament.

Suddenly, after the Terps' 71-70 win over Virginia, it doesn't seem so far-fetched.

"That's the crazy thing about college basketball," said Caner-Medley, who made all 12 of his free throws, including four in a tense final three minutes. "That's why they call it March Madness - things can change real quick."

On a Senior Day during which Virginia (14-13, 7-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) was also playing its final game in University Hall after 41 years, Maryland (18-11, 8-8) overcame the Cavaliers' timely three-point shooting down the stretch and clinched the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament. The Terps will face Georgia Tech, a team they have beaten twice this season, at 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the tournament, which will be held Thursday through Sunday in Greensboro, N.C.

With back-to-back wins heading into the ACC tournament, and a winnable game in the first round, the Terps changed their situation dramatically in less than two weeks. Maryland is suddenly in a legitimate position to plead its case for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament - a case that just two games ago was extremely difficult to make.

Asked after the game what an 8-8 record means, Maryland coach Gary Williams said, "Historically? The NCAA tournament."

This year, though, with the perception of the ACC as having a down year, combined with the success of other leagues, a .500 record might not cut it. What Maryland still lacks is a quality win over a program other than Boston College, and only in the second round of the tournament will it be provided with that opportunity. In fact, it's likely Maryland could meet the Eagles again.

"We're not satisfied with just being 8-8 in the league," Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry said. "I feel we're playing pretty good basketball right now. If we keep it up for 40 minutes, I think we're going to be a good team."

The Terps were unable to give that 40-minute effort last night. A lapse in defense allowed Virginia back in the game, but Maryland still came up with the big plays when needed.

With Maryland trailing 70-68 with just over a minute left to play, junior guard Mike Jones made a wide-open three-pointer that proved to be the game-winner.

"In that situation, when you're wide open, you have to make it," said Jones, who finished with 13 points and four assists. "We were in a good situation. We just had to play good defense."

They did.

Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds, who finished with a game-high 30 points and had made four three-pointers earlier in the game, had the final possession. He was unable to capitalize on it, though, because Sterling Ledbetter and Ekene Ibekwe didn't give him a good look from the top of the key.

"I was just hoping he wasn't going to make it," said Ibekwe, who added 13 points and three blocks. "I think we did a pretty good job on that last play."

Maryland started the second half with a 14-5 run that led to a cushy 18-point lead with 16:06 left to play. Virginia continued to chip away at it, though, and at the 9:51 mark started to reel off three-pointers that got the first true rise out of the orange-clad crowd.

With Maryland leading 59-48, Reynolds started a 14-3 run at the 9:51 mark with a three-pointer. Billy Campbell, the Cavaliers' lone senior, added another before Reynolds hit his fourth and last three-pointer of the night. With 5:57 remaining, Virginia had tied the game at 62, and one of those NCAA pins seemed as far away as Indianapolis.

"When they're in this kind of atmosphere - the last game here, and Senior Night - once you give them a couple looks and they make them, they feel more confident and keep on shooting the ball," Strawberry said. "You can't give a team like that confidence in this kind of atmosphere because they can play off of emotion."

The Terps, though, as Virginia coach Dave Leitao pointed out, were "playing for their life."

"People have been doubting us ever since I got to Maryland," Ibekwe said. "It's nothing really new. We've always been in a situation with our backs against the wall. People haven't really been on our side. As soon as we win, they jump on the bandwagon.

"It's my third year here," he said. "I'm kind of used to that."