Larranaga's career year too late to catch UVa's attention
Timing never good for ex-aide and Cavaliers
Doug Doughty

Having covered each of the Virginia men’s basketball coaching searches since 1990, I honestly cannot remember Jim Larranaga’s name ever being mentioned, either by the people conducting the search or by the media.

In considering his body of work, maybe he should have been.

That’s not to say that Virginia made a poor choice with any of its last three hires – Jeff Jones, Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao – although Jones, then 29, was the youngest head coach in the country at the time of his selection in the spring of 1990.

That was the year that then-athletic director Jim Copeland thought he had lured Rick Barnes from Providence and gave second and third choices Mike Montgomery (Stanford) and Bruce Parkhill (Penn State) the courtesy of removing their names from consideration.

When Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt laid a major guilt trip on Barnes, Copeland had to settle for Jones in what looked like a fiasco at the time, but nobody was complaining when the Cavaliers went 105-57 in Jones’ first five seasons. They had four 20-win seasons over that time, compared to one 20-win season in 11 subsequent seasons (three under Jones).

Unlike Jones, Gillen and Leitao had been established head coaches at so-called high-major programs and their selections were widely praised. Gillen enjoyed some early success and Leitao’s first team showed potential, so it’s not as if UVa’s selection teams made any huge mistakes.

But, when you think about Larranaga taking George Mason to the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA Tournament and defeating Michigan State and North Carolina along the way, it does make you wonder why he never got a sniff from Virginia.

Or, so we think.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Larranaga was on a short list, along with Boston University’s Dennis Wolff, if Virginia's athletic director Craig Littlepage had been unable to persuade Leitao to take the job.

Littlepage actually requested permission to speak to Wolff, who had been a popular UVa assistant in the early 1990s and a major factor in Jones’ early success. Littlepage also may have asked to speak to Larranaga, but nobody really bothered to find out.

Larranaga actually had a longer tenure as a Virginia assistant (1979-1986) than Wolff and those UVa teams were the most successful in UVa history, making two Final Four appearances. At the end of the 1986 season, Larranaga took the head-coaching position at Bowling Green, where he had a 170-144 record over 11 seasons.

Larranaga had ties to former Virginia athletic director Terry Holland going back to Holland’s head-coaching tenure at Davidson, when Larranaga was a Wildcats assistant, but when Holland tried to arrange a line of succession at Virginia, it was another UVa assistant, Dave Odom, whom he pushed with Copeland.

That was the spring of 1989, when Odom was being courted by Wake Forest, but Holland wasn’t ready to step down and Copeland wasn’t willing to promise a job that wouldn’t open for at least another year.

Larranaga and Odom had served as co-coaches in 1986 when Holland took a short leave to deal with stomach problem, with Larranaga technically serving as spokesman, although the media was quick to turn to Odom. It was Odom who single-handedly had taken an adversarial relationship between Holland and the media and turned it into a viable working relationship.

Larranaga was a little more standoffish with the media and it took a while for fans to forgive him for the technical foul he received late in the 1983 ACC championship game, in which North Carolina State beat the Cavaliers 81-78.

The most important variable in coaching searches is timing, however, and you’d have to believe, if Larranaga had been 25-7 and won two NCAA games last year, that UVa fans would have been clamoring for him.

Instead, when the UVa job came open last year, Larranaga was coming off a 16-13 season that was his worst, percentage-wise, in six years.

Besides, there is an element at UVa that wants no part of the Holland coaching tree and, therefore, did not want to hear about Larranaga or Odom, who is approaching his mid-60s, another issue. Larranaga is younger than you might think after 20 years as a Division I head coach, having turned 56 in October.

As bad as the timing was for Larranaga last year, it was even worse in 1997-98, when Virginia was looking for a replacement for Jones after an 11-19 season. At the time, Larranaga had just completed his first year at George Mason, whose eighth consecutive losing season ended with a 7-19 record.

That was followed by three straight 19-win seasons, but by then Virginia had moved on. Who knows if UVa would have looked at him anyway? It’s not as if a lot of big-time programs have been knocking on his door and it’s hard to tell if anybody is looking at him now.

One school that might have an interest is Cincinnati, whose athletic director, Mike Thomas, spent time at Virginia but not while Larranaga was there. If Holland or anybody else with Virginia ties were to call with a recommendation, Thomas might be inclined to listen.

In all likelihood, the closest Larranaga will get to Virginia is George Mason, located 100 miles from Charlottesville, but never has Larranaga’s coaching acumen been so widely respected. There’s a lot to be said for that.

 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Basketball
Numbers favor Cavs Leitao pleased with first season, but having more players next year should equal more success
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 24, 2006

His undermanned basketball team, picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ignored the prognosticators and tied for seventh, beating such teams as Boston College and North Carolina. It swept three games from rival Virginia Tech, including a first-round meeting in the ACC tournament, and earned an invitation to the NIT.

That part, University of Virginia coach Dave Leitao liked. But his first season in Charlottesville brought frustration, too.

The Cavaliers, who finished 15-15, had only eight scholarship players, five fewer than the NCAA limit. And for much of the season, Leitao had only seven scholarship players available, as reserve point guard T.J. Bannister recovered from a sports hernia.

The season "was enjoyable, because I think competing at this level is something that, for me personally, I've always wanted to be able to do," Leitao said yesterday morning. "There were many great nights that we had, some wins, and just being in the gym teaching or instructing, that's always rewarding to me.

"But it was frustrating, too, because you know that you're short-handed, and you see other teams in the league that you're competing against, and you feel as though if you had a full complement . . . you'd have a better opportunity to win more games."

Numbers shouldn't be a problem for the Cavs in 2006-07, when they move into the new John Paul Jones Arena. The team's only senior this season was walk-on guard Billy Campbell. Among those returning will be star guards Sean Singletary (17.7 ppg) and J.R. Reynolds (17 ppg). Singletary made the all-ACC first team, and Reynolds was named to the third team.

Joining Leitao's veterans will be at least four newcomers: 6-9 Jamil Tucker, 6-8 Andy Ogide, 6-6 Will Harris and 6-8 Ryan Pettinella, whose family will pay his way if a scholarship isn't available. Two other recruits - 6-8 center Johnnie Lett and 6-5 guard Solomon Tat - have eligibility issues that must be resolved if they are to enroll at U.Va. this summer.

Leitao looks forward to having something he didn't have this season: options. Often, he barely had enough to players to run five-on-five drills in practice.

"I think if nothing else, whether we drastically improve our talent level or not, we'll have many more options than we had this year, and that will help a ton," Leitao said.

The Cavaliers lost five of their final six games, and "I thought we got worn down towards the end," Leitao said.

Check the ACC stats, and U.Va.'s 7-9 record in league play seems more remarkable. The Cavaliers ranked last in the conference in scoring, last in field goal percentage, last in assists, last in steals and last in assist-to-turnover ratio. Moreover, the Cavaliers went 1-7 in conference road games.

Overall, U.Va. was 2-11 on the road, the final loss coming March 14 at Stanford in the NIT's opening round. Much work remains for Leitao and his staff, but he's pleased with the progress so far.

"Hopefully, everybody around the program understands a lot better than they did at this time last year what we mean when we talk about Virginia basketball and what it's going to stand for," Leitao said.

 

Cavs look for revenge against Wake Forest
Demon Deacons swept Virginia last year, but Cavaliers have won four straight ACC games
Jesse Spears, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

After two weeks of hunting down the top teams in the country, the Virginia baseball team has become the hunted. This weekend, the Cavaliers host Wake Forest in a three-game series with hopes of defending their newly acquired national ranking.

The No. 21 Cavaliers (20-4, 4-2 ACC) are coming off a 12-0 rout of Marshall. Wednesday's win made it six straight for Virginia and the fourth victory in the Cavaliers' 10-game homestand. More importantly, the victory marked the return of the dominant pitching that coach Brian O'Connor considers key to his team's success.

"It is important to have a good entire pitching staff," O'Connor said. "You have to have those middle guys to get the ball to the closer. Those guys are going to be key guys as we continue to move forward."

If Virginia plans to continue its winning ways against Wake Forest, the pitching staff will have to do much better than they did last year against the Demon Deacons. In their ACC series opener last year, Wake Forest swept three games from the Cavaliers. Virginia surrendered 35 runs, including seven unanswered runs in a game that ended 7-6 in Wake Forest's favor.

This year, Wake Forest (18-5, 4-2 ACC) comes into the weekend series having won five straight games, including a 7-0 thrashing of High Point Wednesday. Ranked 24th in the country, the Demon Deacons are not a team to be taken lightly.

"I think the Wake Forest series is going to be every bit as difficult as the Clemson one was," O'Connor said. "They're every bit as good of a team. They've done some really good things. If we come out and play like we did last weekend, with that same energy, then I believe we'll have success. But, I know it will be a tough series. They're much improved, even from last year."

The Wake Forest offense closely resembles Virginia's in that both feature talented freshmen. The Demon Deacons are led by freshman first baseman Allan Dykstra (.325 avg, .662 slg) and freshman infielder Dustin Hood (.367 avg, .436 slg).

While freshmen like Jeremy Farrell and David Adams have been in the spotlight most of the season, Junior College transfer Brandon Marsh is starting to gain attention. The Alpharetta, Ga. native is hitting .508 with a .651 slugging percentage in the 20 games he has played. This is not to say, though, that Farrell and Adams are on the decline. Farrell is hitting .446, with a .643 slugging percentage and Adams is hitting .370 with a .543 slugging percentage.

The starting rotation will remain the same as in last weekend's series against Clemson. Sophomore Sean Doolittle (4-0, 1.15 ERA), will take the hill Friday. Doolittle will face Wake Forest's Brad Kledzik (3-1, 2.43 ERA). Freshman sensation Jacob Thompson (5-0, 2.11 ERA) will start opposite the Demon Deacons' Charlie Mellies (4-1, 3.50 ERA) on Saturday. Senior co-captain Mike Ballard (3-1, 2.67 ERA) will make the start Sunday for the Cavaliers. Wake Forest's Sunday starter is still to be determined. Game times are 5 p.m., 4 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

 

Heated rematch on tap against Johns Hopkins
Blue Jays eliminated Virginia in semifinals of NCAA Tournament last year; Ward leads Cavaliers
Ben Gibson, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

It may have been almost a year ago, but the Virginia men's lacrosse team has not forgotten their painful 9-8 overtime loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA semifinals.

"Certainly everyone has what happened last year in the back of their minds," senior defensemen Michael Culver said. "But they're a completely different team than last year and we are [too]."

The Cavaliers have not lost since that fateful day in Philadelphia, Penn. Virginia is off to their best start in school history (8-0) and is ranked first in the nation according to all three major lacrosse polls. They also own the nation's longest home-winning streak at 16 games. If the Cavaliers are to keep their unblemished record intact, they will have to continue to excel in all phases of the game when they take on the tenth-ranked and defending national champion Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (3-2) on Saturday at Klöckner Stadium.

Offensively this season, the Cavaliers have proven to be extremely difficult to shut down. Their versatility seems to be their biggest advantage -- 22 Cavaliers have scored at least one goal this season, and four have scored over 14. One player who has shown a great deal of success against the Blue Jays is Matt Ward. The senior attacker led the team in scoring with four goals in each of the two meetings against Hopkins last year.

The consistency this season in scoring has been impressive too; the nation's top-scoring offense has registered at least one goal in every quarter it's played so far this season.

"It's been a little bit of everything this year," senior attacker Matt Poskay said. "We're finding those seams and finding those extra passes. That's our offense and that's how you win games."

Despite the offensive production, it is the defense that has been instrumental in Virginia remaining undefeated. Last Sunday against the fifteenth ranked Towson Tigers, the Cavalier first-line defense frustrated and confused the opposition, allowing only one goal on fourteen shots in the first half. But some wonder if Virginia's defense can shut down the nation's elite offenses. This Saturday's game will go a long way toward answering that question.

Johns Hopkins also had several questions to answer coming into this season. Despite winning the national title, the Blue Jays lost a great deal of leadership and scoring potential to graduation. The season got off to a rocky start, as Princeton broke Johns Hopkins' 37-game home-winning streak. Then, the team was manhandled by Hofstra on the road. A 14-9 victory over No. 13 Syracuse last Saturday, however, may have put Hopkins back on track.

The Blue Jays are led by sophomore attacker Kevin Huntley, who has 16 goals on the season. Huntley has had some success against the Cavaliers too, with three goals and three assists in his first two contests against Virginia. Despite the relative youth of the team, these players still have a great deal of experience and talent and have the potential to hand Virginia its first loss of the season.

Virginia has lost the last two meetings against Johns Hopkins in dramatic fashion, a trend typical of the series. The last five meetings between these two teams have been decided by a combined seven points. When the defending national champs come to town, there is no need for pep talks.

"It's a big game for both of our seasons," Culver said. "This is another step for us to hopefully win that national championship. I'm excited."

 

Time for Falcons to pick Matt Schaub is now
Will Searcy

Since the National Football League opened its free agency period March 11, there have been plenty of winners and losers.

Daniel Snyder has been doing his best George Steinbrenner impression and has brought in the likes of Antwaan Randle El, Brandon Lloyd, Andre Carter and Adam Archuleta for the Washington Redskins.

On the contrary, teams like the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have suffered heavy losses, with the Patriots losing Willie McGinest, David Givens, Adam Viniateri and, potentially, Tom Ashworth, while the Colts lost star running back Edgerrin James.

Perhaps the biggest story of the free agent period, though, has been the quarterback carousel. Drew Brees left the San Diego Chargers and signed with the New Orleans Saints. This move may potentially open up the second overall pick to the highest bidder looking to land Matt Leinart. Also, the New York Jets traded for Patrick Ramsey and the Miami Dolphins gave a second round pick for Pro Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

With all this movement, starting jobs have opened up across the league. The Chargers are set to start Phillip Rivers while the Redskins still have Mark Brunell and last year's first round pick Jason Campbell. However, there are several teams in need of quality quarterbacks. The Oakland Raiders recently signed former Wahoo Aaron Brooks, but his role with the team is to be determined. The Minnesota Vikings are also in need of a quarterback for the present and future.

One person that makes a lot of sense and has been rumored in several trades is former ACC player of the year and Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub. Unfortunately, it appears the Atlanta Falcons have all but ruled out giving Schaub a shot at starting.

Before trading for Culpepper and Ramsey, the Dolphins and Jets both expressed interest in Schaub. The Dolphins reportedly offered the same second round pick they sent to the Vikings in order to acquire Schaub. The Jets tried to work a deal to bring Schaub to New York for Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham, but the Falcons did not budge. The Jets eventually traded Abraham to the Falcons for a first round pick.

The Falcons do not seem very interested in letting Schaub go. This indicates that the Falcons either have less faith in the talents of super-star Michael Vick than they would like the public to know, or they do not trust him to stay healthy. Either way, the Falcons are keeping Matt Schaub shackled to the bench and holding him back from beginning what could potentially be a very successful career.

Schaub has shown flashes of brilliance in his limited playing time. This past season, he received significant playing time in four games and started one. Over this span, Schaub threw for 495 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions en route to a 98.1 passer rating. These numbers rank him with the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.

In his lone start, Schaub faced off against the Patriots and defensive guru Bill Belichik. He threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns with a completion percentage of 52.9 percent. He also drove the Falcons down the field and tied the game with only minutes left. The Patriots then got the ball and scored with only seventeen seconds remaining, leaving Schaub with too little time to answer.

Schaub has shown the capability to be an elite quarterback in the NFL and it is time he gets his chance to prove it. The Falcons have too talented a player in Schaub to keep him on the bench. Since they appear to lack trust in Vick, why not trade him?

Vick's trade value is extremely high right now, but if the injury issues persist, his playing career may be shorter than expected. At the very least, the period of time in which Vick will be an effective player may be quite short. Also, Vick does not fit the Falcons' west coast offense very well. His greatest assets (his legs and strong arm) are neutralized by the quick, short passes that the offensive scheme emphasizes. This also exposes his greatest weakness -- accuracy. Schaub, on the other hand, is the perfect quarterback for the Falcons' system: he is very accurate, smart and effective. In fact, it is the same type of offensive scheme that he ran while a member of the Cavaliers.

Whichever quarterback the Falcons choose, Vick or Schaub, it is a waste to keep so much talent off the field. The Falcons could improve their team through a trade of either player. More importantly, a trade would give Schaub his much deserved chance to show the National Football League exactly what he can do.

Poskay a scoring machine
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 24, 2006

Tangerine Dream and Bubblicious sound like they have something to do with smoothies, ice cream or maybe gum.
In the world of Virginia lacrosse player Matt Poskay, they're wardrobe flavors.

"He thinks he's cool enough to name his shirts," joked Matt Ward, Poskay's teammate. "He thinks he pulls it off, but I don't know if that's true."

Male fashion aside, what Poskay was able to pull off last season still has teammates and coaches buzzing.

The Virginia midfielder missed almost every practice because of a hamstring injury, but he still managed to play in 14 of the team's 15 games and score 29 goals, the fourth most in the nation by a middie.

"To be able to score that many goals, without practicing all week, speaks volumes about how gifted he is as a lacrosse player," Ward said.

The quirkiest aspect of Poskay's season was that he didn't register a single assist.

"He's a guy who's not practicing and only scoring goals," said Virginia coach Dom Starsia, with a chuckle. "You could see how that would be a recipe for disaster on a team, but he's just the most engaging fellow. Nobody begrudged the amazing statistic of being 29 and 0."

That doesn't mean Poskay didn't hear about it, though.

"He probably suffered as much good-natured ribbing from his teammates as he suffered physically," Starsia said. "[But] the fact that he got through the season and was so productive, you had to be impressed with that overall. It was really heroic what he was able to do."

Poskay, a 6-foot, 204-pound New Jersey native, injured his hamstring in the season opener. From that point on, the training room was his home away from home.

Typically, Poskay would arrive three hours before every practice to receive an assortment of treatments, which aimed to loosen his leg muscles.

Inevitably, Poskay would only be healthy enough by game day.

"It was pretty much miserable," said Poskay, who was aptly nicknamed "Game Day" by his teammates. "It was almost like every practice, take two steps forward. Then when I played [a game], take one step back."

During games, Poskay's hamstring was completely numb. Whenever he left the field, a trainer would apply a heat bag to try and keep things from tightening. However, Poskay's muscles were being pulled perpetually.

Poskay, a standout quarterback in football during his high school days, credits his teammates for helping him have the kind of year he did.

"I did my role as a finisher, per se, and other guys helped me with getting back on defense and stuff where I was struggling," Poskay said.

He added that the hardest part about last year was standing on the sidelines during practice.

"The guys were all like, 'Oh, you had the life last year,'" Poskay said. "I was like, 'It wasn't what you think it was.' You wanted to be able to do stuff with your team. You almost felt like you weren't part of the team. I couldn't do anything."

Poskay assumed managerial duties during practice. He picked up balls and helped move equipment.

This season, Poskay has been healthy. The senior glows like the signage at a Sheetz when he talks about being able to participate in practice.

"It's exciting to go out and have fun," he said. "It's not us going out there and Coach drilling us into the ground every day. Guys are having fun and really want to be there, and that's one thing I think is really important. We just carry it over into games."

Poskay leads No.1-ranked Virginia with 18 goals. The Cavaliers (8-0) play host to defending National Champion Johns Hopkins on Saturday.

"I think his performance on the field inspires a lot of kids on the team," Ward said. "I think the fact that he may not be the best dodger on our team but still gets so many goals is impressive. He just has a knack for getting into open seams."

In a home game against VMI on Feb. 28, Poskay finally dished out an assist when teammate Garrett Billings scored.

"When I came off the field, [Starsia] just gave me this look and started laughing at me," said Poskay, smiling. "Our whole bench enjoyed that."

Poskay made sure to give Billings, a freshman, some grief about ending his streak.

"I went up to him and was like, 'Why did you shoot that!'" Poskay said.

Ward said one of Poskay's best attributes is a jovial nature that keeps younger players loose.

"He's a goofball a little bit," Ward said. "He's just lively the day of a game, always making jokes. On the field, it's constant jabbering coming out of his mouth. Most of the time it's pretty funny stuff."

Especially when the subject turns to clothes.

 

UVa has Marsh Madness
Juco transfer turning heads for nationally ranked Cavs
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
March 24, 2006

A loyal Virginia baseball fan, one who was decked out in his best Cavalier-supporting duds, made an astute comment as he filed out of Davenport Field on Sunday.
With a three-game series sweep over then-No. 2 Clemson under his belt, the patron felt comfortable saying, "Whoever that Brandon Marsh kid is, I think, no, I know I like him."

So, just who is Brandon Marsh?

For starters, the Georgia native and junior college transfer is the top hitter in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .508 average.

While going 32 for 63 at the plate is obviously impressive, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Marsh - who will join his teammates on the diamond today for the first contest in a three-game home series with Wake Forest (18-5, 4-2 ACC) - is perfect example of what a coach looks for in a student-athlete.

"He really is a great story," said UVa coach Brian O'Connor. "He comes here from Young Harris Junior College in Georgia and gets accepted into the McIntire School of Commerce.

"For Brandon to get into the school of commerce here as a transfer is just amazing."

Marsh, 20, knows the association that is attached to JUCO athletes. It is one that typically does not include discussions about the Dean's List, which Marsh was on.

"I worked really hard in the classroom and on the field. I didn't want grades to hold me back at a school like Virginia," Marsh said. "If I had went to Young Harris and been slack, I wasn't going to be able to get through admissions here.

"I felt like I was in a good position and really represented what Young Harris is about and what student-athletes can do."

While at Young Harris, which is located in the Appalachian mountain chain of northeast Georgia and two hours from Atlanta, Marsh also had a controversial editorial published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"This one new recruit came into our program and quit after the first meeting, and then he wrote an editorial to the AJC talking down about the program, and it really offended a lot of guys on the team and all that we had worked for," Marsh said. "I felt like one of the players needed to speak up for the good things in the program. That kid didn't even know the program.

"I just felt like I needed to write something in rebuttal of his article to really represent what the meaning of playing college baseball at Young Harris was. I had the support of my team, my coach and my school behind me."

The road to Virginia

How Marsh landed at Virginia is just as remarkable as his courage to write a published piece in Georgia's largest newspaper.

Marsh first contacted his friend Bryan Steed, the second baseman at North Carolina, to get the phone number of Josh Darby, who played the last three years at Virginia before giving up the sport.

Marsh and Darby played Little League baseball together.

"I had some schools looking at me at junior college - my coach was real good about moving guys on to the next level - and I knew Josh Darby a little bit and I had heard how Virginia's program had turned around with the new coaching staff," Marsh said. "You could just tell by looking at the shear numbers that the program was on the uprise and the unbelievable education that this school offers - it was a combination of great baseball in the best conference with the best education that you can get."

Having never stepped foot in the state of Virginia, Marsh grilled Darby on the school and the baseball program.

"I asked him to tell me all the bad things, tell me why I shouldn't go to Virginia and he didn't have one thing for me," Marsh recounted. "He said, 'Honestly man, there's nothing bad. I don't have anything bad to say about the program, the people here or the school.'

"It was kind of hard to say 'No' at that point or think that I shouldn't come here."

Making the call

Marsh, of course, could not come to UVa without the approval of O'Connor and his coaching staff. So Marsh picked up the phone again.

"I actually called up Coach O'Connor and told him that if he didn't want me I was going to go somewhere else," Marsh said. "I had some other offers on the table. I told him, 'I want to go to Virginia and if you want me you can have me. And if not, I am going to sign with another school.'"

Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt were also recruiting Marsh.

Four days after Marsh's phone call, assistant coach Kevin McMullan watched him in action and came away with a great first impression.

"I thought he could hit," McMullan said.

Marsh committed later that night to UVa.

"Offensively, I thought initially when we signed him that he was going to be able to hit," McMullan said, "whether it was going to be in a DH role, in a pinch-hit role or in a starting role."

A 'lucky' break

Initially, it was as a platoon player in right field with Tim Henry. Marsh remained patient and it paid off when center fielder Mike Mitchell broke a bone in his hand.

"We came into the season feeling like we had four quality Division I outfielders," O'Connor said. "We were platooning Brandon a little bit, and unfortunately Mike Mitchell got hurt. That propelled Brandon into the lineup every day, and he has done a tremendous job.

"He has been a big spark to our lineup and our ball club."

Marsh has been hitting in a prime position in the order - the No. 2 spot - behind Henry and ahead of Sean Doolittle.

"I thought [Ryan] Zimmerman was impressive last year, but Brandon is an absolute machine," Doolittle said. "He has done well adapting to the pitching, he has an unbelievable approach and he has done well using the whole field. It is fun to watch.

"He can move the runners. He can handle the bat. He can bunt, so he has the versatility to hit in the 2-hole."

Marsh, who says he does not pay attention to stats or awards like the one he received on Monday when he was named co-Player of the Week in the ACC, is just happy to contribute.

"I just try not to keep up with that stuff," Marsh admitted. "Average doesn't matter. Who knows? You might be one of those guys that can go 4 for 4 when the team is up 20-0, but what it comes down to is if you can get the hits when the team needs them.

"As long as you are helping the team, that's all I really care about."

A realistic perspective

And of course Marsh cares about his academics. After Virginia whipped Marshall 12-0 on Wednesday some of his teammates invited him to go to dinner. Marsh had to pass. He had a date with a book in the library.

"I want to play baseball as long as I can, but I am also realistic," Marsh said. "Unless there is a need for 5-foot-9, slow outfielders, then I understand that an education is really going to carry me on for the rest of my life.

"I am going to cherish the baseball experience for the rest of my life, but I am going to utilize the degree that I get, and the effort I put into the classroom is going to pay off."



 

Raiders Agree to Sign QB Aaron Brooks
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders found their replacement for Kerry Collins, agreeing to terms Wednesday with former New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks on a two-year contract worth more than $8 million.

The 29-year-old Brooks gives new Raiders coach Art Shell a proven starter to compete with veteran backup Marques Tuiasosopo and second-year pro Andrew Walter. Brooks was cut last week by New Orleans when the Saints signed Drew Brees, one of the most coveted free agents available this year.

New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks (2) outruns the defense of Atlanta Falcons' Patrick Kerney, bottom, and Chauncey Davis (92) in the second quarter at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in this Dec. 12, 2005 photo. The Oakland Raiders found their replacement for Kerry Collins, agreeing to terms Wednesday with former New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks on a two-year contract worth about $8 million. (AP Photo/John Amis)
"It was a win-win scenario," said Brooks' agent, Mason Ashe. "They have a lot of potential, a lot of firepower. It looked like they were just missing the ingredient he adds — a quarterback of his caliber who has his skills."

The contract includes a number of incentives based on Brooks' performance. He started 13 games for New Orleans last season, completing 240 of 431 passes for 2,882 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw 17 interceptions.

"Oh, sweet," receiver Alvis Whitted said in a phone interview. "I'm glad that we do have a new quarterback. I'm sure he'll fit right in with what we're trying to get done here. I'm sure the coaches are excited. From what I've seen of him play, he's done some great things. He's very athletic, a mobile quarterback and very intelligent, too. He's a great fit for us, and we're happy to have him."

Brooks, who had started 82 straight games before being benched for the final three games of 2005, spent the past six seasons with the Saints after playing for Green Bay in his first NFL campaign in 1999.

Brooks, a fourth-round draft pick by the Packers out of Virginia, was one of few capable quarterbacks left on the market this offseason.

"Aaron gives us great depth at the quarterback position and provides us with a veteran presence," Shell said.

Oakland parted ways with Collins on March 10 in an expected salary-cap move that saves them $9.2 million against the salary cap once bonuses are factored into the figures.

The 33-year-old Collins went 7-21 record in two years as Oakland's starter and said at the end of the season he was willing to restructure his deal but would not play for "peanuts."

When the team cut Collins, Shell was left to consider Tuiasosopo and Walter as leading candidates for the position.

Tuiasosopo has just two starts in his five-year career. In 2003, he replaced the injured Rich Gannon to start against the Detroit Lions but suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee in the first half.

Tuiasosopo started one game last season against the New York Jets after Collins was benched but turned the ball over four times in the 26-10 loss and Collins regained the starting job the following week.

Walter, a third-round pick out of Arizona State last year, didn't play as a rookie. He threw for 85 touchdowns and 10,617 yards during his college career.

The Raiders scored only 51 points, with just six touchdowns, in their final five games and lost their last six overall and eight of nine despite an offense featuring Collins, Randy Moss, LaMont Jordan and Jerry Porter. At 4-12, they finished with one fewer victory than in fired coach Norv Turner's first season a year ago.

Perhaps the most glaring statistic is Oakland's failure to win a division game for the first time since owner Al Davis came aboard in 1963 to coach and eventually own the team. The Raiders went 1-11 against the AFC West during Turner's two seasons.

Brooks is ready to help turn things around for a franchise that has flopped since reaching the 2003 Super Bowl and losing to Tampa Bay.

"He respects the tradition of the team," Ashe said. "They treated him with a lot of respect and came out aggressively to get him. It's a pretty nice opportunity to be THE guy."