Cavs don't need any motivation
UVa out for revenge vs. Tech
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 1, 2007

The five worst performances by the Virginia men’s basketball team this season would have to be the three games in the San Juan Shootout, plus the losses at Virginia Tech and Miami.

Which showing was the ugliest is hard to say.

Which showing stung the most is not.

It would easily be the 84-57 loss to the Cavs’ in-state rival on Feb. 10.

As Virginia players exited the Cassell Coliseum court, they were serenaded with a chant of “Just like football,” a reference to Virginia Tech’s blowout win on the gridiron in the fall.

“How they beat us was the worst part about it,” said Virginia co-captain J.R. Reynolds. “They just took it to us and we didn’t have answers for them.”

“They took us by storm,” added Virginia co-captain Sean Singletary. “As a whole, we weren’t prepared.”

Tonight, UVa (19-8, 10-4) gets another shot at Tech (20-8, 10-4). This time, first place in the ACC will be on the line. Virginia, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are in a three-way tie.

Reynolds and Jason Cain, both seniors, will be playing their final home game.

“It’s hard to believe,” said Reynolds, who is second in the league in scoring behind Florida State’s Al Thornton. “The time went by real fast. I can’t believe this is the last one. Once I step on the court, I think that’s when I’m really going to feel it.”

In front of a national television audience on ESPN, could there be a better setting for Senior Night?

“Last year we were just treading water, trying to stay alive,” Cain said. “Now we got what we wanted. We’re at the top, fighting for first place - right where we wanted to be.”

A place not too many pundits thought either team would be. Virginia and Virginia Tech were predicted to finish eighth and sixth, respectively, by the media.

This will be the Hokies’ first visit to the new John Paul Jones Arena, where UVa has won 15 of 16 games. The lone blemish was a one-point loss to Stanford on Jan. 7.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the place,” said Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, whose team is ranked No. 21 in the AP poll. “I’ve heard it’s magnificent. Obviously there’s a great energy in the building. It seems like every tape I’ve watched, they make every shot, so they obviously like it.

“I think it will be a great atmosphere for college basketball. It’s two teams that nobody thought would be playing for something this important the last week of the season. It’s a testament to our kids and a testament to the kids at Virginia.”

If UVa has any hopes of exacting revenge, it will have to find a way to slow down Deron Washington. In the first meeting, Washington, a 6-foot-7 junior, went berserk on Virginia.

Looking like a young Dennis Rodman, he had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“We’ve got to do a 10-times-better job of identifying where he is because I think he plays off of other teams’ mistakes,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “He’s emerged as one of their primary or premier players. He commands special attention.”

In addition to revenge, Singletary said there are plenty of reasons to be up for the game.

“We also want to be ACC regular season champs and possibly make Coach Leitao the Coach of the Year,” said Singletary, who - even though he has steadfastly denied it - could also be playing in his final home game if he were to leave early for the NBA. “We want to go out on a good note at JPJ.”

Leitao said his team will need an improved effort all the way around.

“What they did to us down there - they beat us badly in terms of their focus, their energy, their preparation,” he said. “We had almost none of that.

“Hopefully if we bring more than they bring, that will be a major step toward being successful.”

Reynolds is confident things will be different this time.

“We’re going to be playing with a lot more emotions,” he said. “We’ll be at home and have our crowd behind us. We’re just going to feed off of them.

“Like Coach said, we don’t need any motivational speech. We just need to throw the ball up and let’s go play.”

Dunks

Virginia leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 77-47. … UVa leads this year’s Commonwealth Challenge, a competition between the schools in several sports, 9.5 to 5.5. … Singletary had five turnovers and two assists in the loss on Feb. 10. … Cain said his most memorable moment of Reynolds is of him passing out on the court after a series of wind sprints at 6 in the morning, just after Leitao took over as coach. “We got in trouble for something and it was going to go on until somebody passed out,” said Cain, laughing. “It figured that J.R., with his massive head, would be the first [one] to fall.”

 

This is going to be a good one
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 1, 2007

No matter where your allegiances fall in tonight’s basketball game between rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech, you might have wondered if you’d ever see this day come.

Except for a brief moment of glory over three magical nights in 1976 and for the last three years of a guy named Ralph’s career in the early 1980s, there have been very few other nights in March when Virginia basketball was a topic of conversation in terms of winning the ACC.

Virginia Tech basketball has had even fewer runs during its history, which makes tonight in John Paul Jones Arena arguably the biggest clash ever between the Cavaliers and the Hokies, at least on the hardwood.

Who would have guessed back on Oct. 15 that the March 1 meeting between the two crusty old rivals would actually be for anything but pride?

Tech was predicted to finish sixth in the ACC race, and Virginia eighth in the conference’s preseason media poll. Neither was given a snowball’s chance of being in the conversation this late in the campaign.

But tonight is for all the marbles, or at least a share of ’em.

The Wahoos and the Hokies are locked in a dead heat with North Carolina for first place in the ACC.

Now, stop and think about that for a few seconds.

For a UVa or Tech fan that’s a fairly euphoric thought as they’re chomping on their corn flakes this morning. In a league that is usually dominated by Carolina blue or the darker shade of blue from Durham, this is a pretty special day.

That’s not to say that UNC won’t hoist another regular season banner to the rafters of the Dean Dome, but at least the Hokies or the Hoos are serious players in the decision.

UNC has to get by a trap game at desperate Georgia Tech later tonight, then has to fight off Duke in Chapel Hill on Sunday.

For the winner of tonight’s UVa-Tech meeting, it’s not quite as challenging. The Cavs have to survive a road trip to Wake on Saturday, while the Hokies get Clemson at home.

Just like this past football season in the ACC, anything could happen.

Both UVa coach Dave Leitao and Tech coach Seth Greenberg, each a strong candidate for ACC Coach of the Year honors, realize all that’s at stake. Sean Singletary, J.R. Reynolds, Zabian Dowdell, all their reputations and postseason honors could be shaded by what happens tonight.

All of them, coaches and players, will tell you all that honors stuff is nice, but all they’re really concerned with is winning.

“I think one of the things that comes to light was that when I got here, part of my job was understanding from our vantage point, the way Virginia’s basketball program was perceived around the state,” Leitao said. “My chore was to enhance that feeling. Hopefully we have done a lot to change that perception.”

Hey, if Leitao thought he had a challenge in that department, what about Greenberg?

The Hokies had one trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1986 when Charlie Moir was still coach. Since then, Tech had gone through four coaches - Charlottesville native Frankie Allen, Bill Foster, Bobby Hussey and Ricky Stokes.

And you thought your Wahoos had experienced a drought?

Virginia has played in exactly one NCAA Tournament game since 1997 and lost. Two years earlier, Jeff Jones’ Cavs made it to the Elite Eight before bowing out to eventual national champion Arkansas.

Who has the edge tonight?

Good question. Virginia is the only ACC team that hasn’t lost a conference game at home this season, and has an overall 15-1 record in JPJ. The Cavs have a burning desire to avenge a beating they took at the raucous Cassell Coliseum a few weeks ago.

But the Hokies know they pummeled Virginia in that game, stripped them of everything the Cavaliers hold dear that first meeting.

As Leitao said about this second matchup, “It should be a fun night.”

The question is, fun for whom?

 

Virginia keeps rolling along
Cavs improve to 12-1 with wins over Old Dominion, Maryland
By Jerry Miller / jmiller@dailyprogress.com | 978-7258
March 1, 2007

The Virginia men’s tennis team took a step closer to postseason glory and a step further from the shadows of its predecessors’ by sweeping a doubleheader Wednesday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts.

The Cavaliers, eventually, out-muscled Old Dominion, 5-2, in grinding fashion - the match lasted 4 hours, 28 minutes - before dropping Maryland, in their ACC opener.

“Teams have nothing to lose when they play us,” said Marko Miklo moments after his 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Yakov Diskin at No. 6 singles clinched the victory over ODU. “That’s why we get their best game.”

Backed by three new faces in the top six, Virginia improved to 12-1 on the season entering a road doubleheader on Friday. The Cavs play Harvard at 11:30 a.m. and Boston College at 6 p.m.

UVa, the third-ranked team in the nation, found itself in a 2-1 hole against the Monarchs before Somdev Devvarman, Ted Angelinos, Miklo and Treat Huey rattled off singles wins.

Devvarman, ranked fourth in the country in singles play, had too much firepower for Harel Srugo, swiping a mentally draining three-set victory from the ODU sophomore.

“I played OK. I thought I came out well but lost my focus in the second set because I was up a break,” Devvarman said. “I need to start focusing on closing things out quicker. That’s what great players do. They close people out. I need to do a better job of that.”

Srugo, an Israeli native who’s ranked No. 8 nationally, was not impressed with his performance.

“I don’t think [Devvarman] played that well. We were both shaky,” said Srugo, who, along with Henrique Cancado, suffered an 8-4 loss to Devvarman and Huey at No. 1 doubles. “I’ve seen him play better but I’ve played a lot better, too. We played tight today.”

The loss snaps a six-match winning streak for the Monarchs, who climbed to No. 36 in the national polls. ODU falls to 7-3 overall entering a two-day tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday.

In the nightcap, Virginia handed No. 53 Maryland a 5-2 loss, its first of the season. The Terrapins, who host George Washington on Friday, are now 5-1 on the season.

After earning the doubles point, Devvarman, Huey, Houston Barrick and Miklo won their singles matches to secure the victory.

“I like to have high expectations,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland. “You just have to learn to deal with having a target on your back.

“This is the kind of schedule we want to have. It’s the best schedule in the country.”

 

Fighting for respect
Back in NBA, Mason carries UVa torch alone
By Sean McLernon / smclernon@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
March 1, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The orange sphere fell through the center of the cylinder, barely even touching the net. Roger Mason Jr. was getting into a groove and wanted his ball back.
The problem was nobody seemed to notice. A Washington Wizards ball boy picked up the rock, but didn’t see Mason waving his hands or hear him saying ‘Yo! Yo!’ He rolled the ball out to another player warming up for that evening’s game against Sacramento. Mason just sighed and found another ball at the top of the key.
He stepped up and drained a 3-pointer. Then another. And another. Mason was knocking them down with ease, but his pregame perimeter prowess was quickly forgotten once the horn sounded.
When the Feb. 22 game started, the combo guard - the only former Virginia basketball player currently on an NBA roster - was relegated to the last seat on the bench. He saw five minutes of action early in the fourth quarter with the Wizards up by double digits, but he missed his only shot of the game.
This is what the Virginia basketball legacy has come to. Once producing top draft picks and key contributors in the NBA - such as Ralph Sampson, Jeff Lamp, Bryant Stith and Courtney Alexander - UVa is left with Mason carrying the torch for a program that is fighting to earn back the reputation it had in the 1980s and ’90s.
“You see the model in Tiki Barber and how he is such a great representation of the University,” Mason said. “Obviously with more minutes and more notoriety, I’d like to do the same thing.”

Climbing back to the top
Mason’s rise and fall - and subsequent rise again - has mirrored that of his alma mater.
The prized Pete Gillen recruit had a breakout season his sophomore year, leading the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game and helping the Cavs earn a No. 5 seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Virginia rose as high as No. 4 in the rankings the following year with Mason garnering plenty of attention from NBA scouts.
A late-season freefall left the Cavaliers out of the NCAA Tournament, and a separated shoulder knocked Mason, who left Virginia after three seasons and expected to be a top-15 pick in the NBA Draft, out of the first round. He was eventually picked No. 31 by the Chicago Bulls.
As the 6-foot-5 guard struggled to recover from the ailment during his first professional season, missing half of Chicago’s schedule with the injury, Virginia wavered in ACC play and failed to make the NCAA Tournament again.
Mason dropped out of the league, heading to Europe. The Cavaliers dropped off the national radar screen and Gillen left the program.

Finding his true form
Now Mason is back in the league and the Cavaliers are poised to go dancing for the first time since Mason walked the Grounds in Charlottesville.
He’s been well-traveled since then, bouncing from Chicago to Toronto before stints in Greece and Israel. He returned to the NBA in the fall to try-out for a spot on the Wizards during the team’s training camp. Signed in September, the sharpshooter rode his sweet stroke to a roster spot.
“For a lot of guys it would be tough, but not for [Roger],” said Washington teammate Brendan Haywood. “He has a lot of mental toughness. He knew we needed a shooter and he knew he could shoot the ball and has confidence in his abilities. I knew things would work out fine for him.”
Mason turned down more money - he made $1.1 million in Israel - to fight for a spot on the Wizards roster and get back into the league.
“I felt like I was ready to take this new challenge,” Mason said. “My last time in the NBA, I wasn’t me. I was injured. I didn’t really get the opportunities I wanted. Obviously, now I want to make a mark in this league like I know I can. That’s really the bottom line.”
On a team with two All-Stars in Caron Butler and legitimate MVP candidate Gilbert Arenas, Mason hasn’t been able to crack the regular rotation. He scored a season-high 18 points on Tuesday against New Jersey, but averages only 2.4 points per game.
Mason is not too concerned. For now he’s just happy to be winning. Finally.
“It’s more about our team - working together and trying to win a championship,” Mason said. “Through that process, if it happens that my role expands, that’s great. If not, I’m only 26 and I’ll keep working.
“I’m just so excited about these playoffs. If we keep the course, we’ll be there and I’m excited about that. I didn’t win as much as I wanted to at Virginia. Hopefully the second chance with the Wizards will be sweet.”

Reveling in his guys’ success
Mason was in attendance for Virginia’s most memorable win of the 2006-07 season to date - a 68-66 overtime victory against Duke at John Paul Jones Arena. It was a familiar sight for Mason, who scored 22 points in Virginia’s last win over Duke before that one, an 87-84 triumph at University Hall in 2002.
This year’s victory came in the middle of a seven-game ACC win streak that propelled Dave Leitao’s club to the top of the ACC standings. With a 10-4 conference record and a share of first place, UVa is all but assured its first NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons.
“I’m looking forward to it big time,” Mason said of this year’s NCAA Tournament. “It’s always a little sad when everybody is talking about their team, and especially in the locker room.”
He gets the worst of it from Haywood, a 7-foot center who used to star for North Carolina.
“My record against UNC when Brendan was there - I have more wins than him,” Mason said.
An eavesdropping Haywood shot back: “No you do not. You went to the tournament one time. You stink.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” answered a half-exasperated and half-amused Mason.
The former UVa standout does have bragging rights over Haywood - the two went head-to-head four times between 1999 and 2001, with Virginia taking three of those contests. Haywood goes back to the pedigree of the UNC program, claiming Virginia can’t come close.
“At the end of the day, [Roger] knows Carolina and Virginia are on two levels in basketball,” Haywood said.
As of this day, however, the two teams are tied for first place in the ACC with Virginia Tech. And for the first time since he signed his first professional contract, Mason will get to fill out an NCAA bracket with Virginia included. He already knows he’ll have the Cavaliers going far.
“They’re already hassling me for my brackets,” Mason said of his teammates. “Brendan told me that I’m going to have Virginia in my Final Four. He can go ahead and book that. I’m rolling with my guys.”

 

Cavs avoid being twice bitten
UVa cruises past Richmond to avenge upset loss last season
By Drew Hansen / dhansen@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 1, 2007

The Virginia women’s lacrosse team wasn’t going to let Richmond sneak up on it Wednesday night at Klockner Stadium.

Last year, the Cavs admittedly got caught sleeping in Richmond, falling to the Spiders by a goal in an early-season upset,

That wasn’t going to happen this time. The Cavs knew what was coming and they had plenty of motivation.

“It was brought up a bunch of times,” said UVa sophomore Blair Weymouth of last year’s loss. “They kind of made us look like fools last year. They dumped their coach with a water bucket after the game last year. It was like they won a national championship.”

Weymouth scored three goals and recorded two assists as the Cavs erased the memories of last year’s defeat with a 13-5 win over the Spiders (2-2).

“It was really a good feeling to get back at them,” Weymouth said.

Virginia (2-0) was extremely patient on offense - holding possession of the ball for close to three-fourths of the game - and kept the ball away from Richmond’s top attackers on defense.

UVa defender Jessy Morgan made the most of her assignment on Richmond’s Mandy Friend, limiting her to one disputed first-half goal that actually glanced off a UVa player before finding the back of the net. Friend had netted 13 scores in the Spiders’ first three games.

“We really wanted to disrupt Richmond by not really letting them have the ball very often,” said UVa coach Julie Myers. “Teams get really tight when their key players don’t have the ball. What our defenders were able to do was play some pretty good defense against their attack and not let them get into the rhythm or flow of the game.”

Offensively, the Cavs were able to stave off the jitters that affected their play early in their season-opening win over Virginia Tech last week. UVa was crisp from the beginning, running plays out of the opening draw with precision.

Virginia also spread the ball around. Senior Kate Breslin matched Weymouth with three goals, while Megan Havrilla and Ashley McCulloch netted two apiece. Kaitlin Swaggert, Jess Wasilewski and Brittany Kalkstein each added a goal in Virginia’s win.

“We went into a lot of different attacks,” Breslin said. “I think the really good thing about our team this year is everyone is a threat. Everybody has the ability to score and feed, and that makes us so much stronger.”

The Cavs are getting a little bit more time to feel each other out and perfect their game. A contest scheduled against Temple this past Sunday had to be postponed because of inclement weather in Philadelphia.

The Cavs have played just two games, while many teams have already played more than twice that many. The result has given the Cavs more practice time and more time to tweak their offense.

“It’s weird,” Weymouth said. “I’ve read where some teams have already played five games. That’s absurd. Here we are only finishing our second game of the season. We’re definitely easing our way in.”

Things start rolling pretty quickly here on out for the Cavaliers. The team travels to No. 15 Syracuse on Saturday, then makes up the Temple game the following Wednesday, with a home date with Penn State just two days later.

“We have Syracuse Saturday and then we take off,” Myers said. “They’re very physical. Our defenders need to be ready for some big matchups, and our attackers need to get ready to be bumped around a little bit.”

Opening draw against the Orange is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

Ground balls

Virginia won 12 of the game’s 20 draws. … The Cavs outshot the Spiders, 27-25. … Goalie Kendall McBrearty had just two saves for Virginia. Richmond net-minder Jackie Swansburg recorded seven saves. … Allison Furstenburg led the Spiders with two goals in the loss.

 

No. 1 slot in ACC on line
League honors, top seed are questions big game will help settle
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 1, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- An ESPN audience and a capacity crowd at John Paul Jones Arena will watch a late-season ACC basketball game with a number of storylines tonight. It's not on the scale of Carolina-Duke, but the showdown between rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech is unusually compelling, and it will help answer these questions:

Who will be named ACC player of the year?

Candidates include the Hokies' Zabian Dowdell and the Cavaliers' Sean Singletary and J.R. Rey- nolds. All are guards.


Who will be honored as ACC coach of the year?

Front-runners for the award are Tech's Seth Greenberg and U.Va.'s Dave Leitao. The Hokies were picked to finish sixth in the 12-team ACC; the Cavs, eighth.

Which team will earn the No. 1 seed in next week's ACC tournament?

U.Va. (10-4, 19-8) and 21st-ranked Tech (10-4, 20-8) are tied for first in the conference with North Carolina. Like the Wahoos, the Hokies have locked one of the four first-round byes in the ACC tourney, which starts next Thursday in Tampa, Fla.

"It'll be a great atmosphere for college basketball, and it'll be a great stage," Greenberg said. "It's two teams that no one thought would be playing for something this important the last weekend of the season. It's a testament to our kids, and it's a testament to the kids at Virginia."

Two of those Cavaliers -- Reynolds and power forward Jason Cain -- will be recognized before tonight's game. They are Leitao's only seniors, and this will be their final appearance at home. And so it "becomes a bittersweet day," Leitao said.

Reynolds' mother, Laverne Alexander, is expected to attend, as Cain's mom, Sinnie Davis. Cain said this will be his mother's second trip to Charlottesville to see him play. He isn't worried that her presence will make him nervous.

"I'm hoping it'll make me play better," Cain said.

To win tonight, U.Va. will have to play considerably better than it did Feb. 10 at Cassell Coliseum. Before a roaring crowd, the Hokies led for the final 38 minutes and 45 minutes and won 84-57.

"I'm pretty sure that they were embarrassed," Leitao said of his players.

Dowdell said: "Because of the way we beat them last time, they're definitely going to be coming out trying to make a statement."

Tech hasn't beaten U.Va. in Charlottesville since January 1968, but that's deceiving. For much of the past three decades, games in this series were played at neutral sites. Since the series returned to campuses, each team has held a decided home-court advantage.

This season, the Hokies have a respectable record -- 4-3 -- in ACC road games. U.Va., meanwhile, is the only ACC team that hasn't lost a conference home game.

Two of the nation's top backcourts will be showcased tonight. At Cassell, however, Dowdell and fellow senior Jamon Gordon were not the story in the Hokies' romp. The contributions of forwards Deron Washington and A.D. Vassallo, who scored 22 points each, gave Tech the decisive edge.

By contrast, swingman Mamadi Diane and forward Adrian Joseph, two of U.Va.'s more talented offensive players, combined for two points on 1-for-11 shooting that night. Cain scored only two points in 21 minutes.

"It's not just Dowdell and Gordon and Singletary and Reynolds," Greenberg said. "It's all those other guys. If you're winning 10 games in this league, you've got other guys stepping up, and someone will step up for one of these teams and make a difference without a doubt [tonight]."

 

So you think you're pumped up for tonight's big game in Charlottesville? You think you can't wait until Virginia Tech and Virginia tip it off with at least a share of first place in the ACC on the line?
Aaron McFarling

So you think you're pumped up for tonight's big game in Charlottesville? You think you can't wait until Virginia Tech and Virginia tip it off with at least a share of first place in the ACC on the line?

Fine. Maybe so. Bet you're still going to work today, though.

Lifelong Roanoke resident Laverne Alexander, on the other hand...

"Are you crazy?" she said, when asked if she would be logging any labor hours at Elizabeth Arden in Roanoke today. "Are you out of your mind?"

Ahem. Debatable.

"First part of February, I told them my son's having senior day at UVa and I'm going down there," Alexander said. "I took Thursday and Friday off. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me."

Just put her in the long line of people eager to watch UVa guard J.R. Reynolds play another game of basketball. But in her case, it means a little more. She's his mother.

His emotional mother.

"I just told her she's got to try and hold her emotions down when we're walking on the court," Reynolds said Tuesday, two days before his final game at John Paul Jones Arena. "I know she's probably going to cry."

Alexander doesn't deny it.

"He knows me," she said. "I'm just a very emotional person. I cried at my daughter's graduation. I cried when J.R. went from kindergarten to first grade. I just can't help it."

Tonight's game means different things to different people. The coach who guides his team to victory tonight, be it Tech's Seth Greenberg or UVa's Dave Leitao, should emerge as the frontrunner for ACC coach of the year.

For the Cavaliers and their fans, tonight provides a chance at redemption after the embarrassing 84-57 loss in Blacksburg on Feb. 10. For the Hokies and their fans, it's a chance to revel in two straight wins over the Cavs following four straight defeats.

And of course, there's the whole matter of the ACC standings.

But for one mother, it's a chance to remember the journey, one more time.

It started when he was about 5 or 6: The thumping noise coming from upstairs, in J.R.'s room. Alexander sent J.R.'s older sister, Yudora, up to check on him, and what she found was J.R. taking a first step toward becoming one of the ACC's top players.

"He had a wire coat hanger and hung it on the back of his door," Alexander said. "Made a hoop out of that. And with a pair of socks, he's up there jumping, trying to dunk it through the rack."

She laughed.

"He's going to kill me for saying this."

Doubtful. Reynolds, who ranks fifth in the ACC at 18.5 points per game, said he talks to his mother "just about every day," and they've always been tight. The only time he has ever disappointed her was when he decided to transfer from Roanoke Catholic to Oak Hill Academy for his final high school season.

"I was kind of hurt then, disappointed because they had done so much for him and everything," Alexander said. "But then he explained. He said, 'Mama, there's not as much competition there.'"

In the end, she acquiesced, and Reynolds' decision certainly seems to have been the right one. Playing a higher level of competition helped him adjust quickly to the ACC, and he's flourished in his final season. Reynolds will get some consideration for ACC player of the year, and some Web sites predict he will go early in the second round of this year's NBA draft.

It's enough to make a mom proud. So it shouldn't be any surprised when Alexander is introduced with Reynolds before the game tonight, it's going to be a little overwhelming.

"Going out there with all those people I know. ... Gosh," she said.

Perhaps you can make her feel a little more at ease. No matter what colors you're wearing tonight, give Alexander a hand.

Her son's done pretty well, and so has she.
 

Coach of year race heads for final stretch
Doug Doughty

In his 18 seasons at Maryland, Gary Williams has been named ACC men's basketball coach of the year exactly once. Other one-time ACC coaches of the year have included the late Jim Valvano at North Carolina State, who, like Williams, had an NCAA title to his credit.

As Virginia Tech bids for an ACC title, media voters are debating whether to select Seth Greenberg as conference coach of the year for the second time in three years.

Many will look at the results tonight in Charlottesville, where the Hokies (20-8 overall, 10-4 ACC) face Virginia (19-8, 10-4) with at least a share of first place on the line.

If Virginia were to prevail, some voters might be persuaded to choose second-year UVa coach Dave Leitao, whose Cavaliers were a preseason choice for eighth. The Hokies were a sixth-place pick.

Virginia hasn't had the ACC men's basketball coach of the year since Terry Holland in 1982.

"If the Cavaliers were to win the ACC regular season outright, I can easily justify casting my vote for Dave," said Bob Thomas, ACC beat man for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla. "If I had to choose today, it would be Greenberg."

Thomas bases that on Tech's road wins at North Carolina and Duke, as well as victories over North Carolina, Boston College and Virginia at Cassell Coliseum.

"This is one case where the unbalanced schedule might favor the Cavaliers, but not Leitao," Thomas added. "However, I'm going to let this one play out just to make sure the Hokies don't have another one of those magical moments like the meltdown in Raleigh [N.C.]."

The reference was to Tech's 81-56 loss at North Carolina State -- five days after it had upset No. 4 North Carolina in overtime, 81-80, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

As opposed to the Hokies, who also lost to the Wolfpack in Blacksburg, UVa has beaten N.C. State twice. But in the third season since the ACC's adoption of an unbalanced schedule, the Cavaliers faced Duke and North Carolina only once each.

Nobody seems to mention the coach-of-the-year qualifications of North Carolina coach Roy Williams, whose Tar Heels join Tech and UVa in the first-place tie. But that's not to say Greenberg and Leitao are the only possibilities.

"If the season ended today, Greenberg would be my ACC coach of the year," said Dave Glenn, editor of the ACC Sports Journal, and, like Thomas, a voter for postseason awards. "But there's still four guys 'on the board' in my book."

The decision could go into the weekend. Virginia, which lost to 12th-place Miami in its last road game, visits Wake Forest on Saturday. The Hokies entertain Clemson on Sunday.

"At 12-4 in the ACC, which obviously would be good enough for at least a tie for first place in the conference, Greenberg or Leitao would be very difficult to beat," Glenn said. "At 11-5, depending on what happens elsewhere, it may not be so simple."

Boston College, at 10-5 in ACC play, is one-half game behind the front-runners.

"Al Skinner, with no post scoring and the midseason dismissals of two rotation players, would have a good shot against either of those guys at 11-5," said Glenn of the Eagles' coach. "Gary Williams at 10-6, and the seven straight ACC wins it would have taken him to get there, would have a shot against anyone at 11-5."

John Justus, executive secretary of the Atlanta Coast Sports Media Association, said Wednesday that he already had received a handful of ballots, but over half of the ballots "typically" are filed after the end of play Sunday.

There were 108 ACC men's basketball voters last year and he expects somewhere in the area of 100 this year. Participation in the ACC women's All-ACC selection dropped from 70 to 55.

The ACC coach-of-the-year award doesn't recognize the best coaching job or the best team so much as it recognizes the best story.

In the past three seasons, the team coached by the ACC coach of the year did not win the regular-season or tournament championship. The last regular-season ACC championship team to be coached by the ACC coach of the year was Wake Forest in 2003.

That Deacons' team, coached by Skip Prosser, was a preseason choice for sixth. Prosser can relate to the current fascination with Tech and UVa, both veteran-laden.

"When we have Operation Basketball, a lot of thoughts that go into that are gone by March," said of the preseason vote conducted in late October. "Perhaps this wasn't predicted but, at this point in time, it's a little more understandable."

1. Get production out of Mamadi Diane and/or Adrian Joseph. Virginia's third- and fourth-leading scorers were a combined 1-for-11 from the field in the Cavaliers' 84-57 loss at Tech. Diane, averaging 10.1 points for the season, has failed to reach double figures in UVa's past four ACC games.

2. Seize the momentum early. Virginia failed to hold onto a 22-6 first-half lead Saturday against visiting Georgia Tech, but at least that gave the Cavaliers a cushion. UVa wants to avoid a situation where the Cavaliers fall hopelessly behind early, as they did in Blacksburg, where Tech led 36-13 after the first 1212 minutes.

3. Neutralize Tech's shot-blocking. The Hokies had 11 blocks in the first game, six by senior center Coleman Collins, who has averaged fewer than one block in his other 26 games. Better shot selection would be the best solution.

-- Doug Doughty

1. Match UVa's intensity. The Cavaliers shouldn't lack emotion on their senior night, especially with revenge and an ACC title on their minds. At practice this week, Tech coach Seth Greenberg told his players to look up at the Cassell Coliseum rafters, and he spoke of putting up an ACC championship banner up there. The Hokies must keep that in mind.

2. Get moving on offense. Tech needs to rev up its fast break, just as it did in the first meeting.

3. Stop UVa in transition. Tech needs to again keep UVa's guards from driving to the basket.

-- Mark Berman

 

Same game, different planet for Virginia and Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech's Deron Washington (13) and A.D. Vassallo (40) apply pressure to Virginia's Jason Cain during last year's matchup. STEVE HELBER/AP FILE
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 1, 2007

It's been a long time coming.

It has taken 92 years for Virginia and Virginia Tech to play a basketball game with as much on the line as tonight's contest at John Paul Jones Arena. With a national ESPN audience watching, the Cavaliers and Hokies will meet for first place in the ACC, college basketball's top-rated conference.

"There has never been a bigger Virginia-Virginia Tech basketball game," TV analyst Dan Bonner said.

The Hokies and Cavaliers are both 10-4 in the conference. Both are headed to the NCAA tournament, Virginia for the first time since 2001, Tech for the first time since 1996. Both already are assured they'll receive byes to the quarterfinal round of next week's ACC tournament.

It's an unprecedented state of affairs for a state rivalry that tipped off in 1915, but in many ways began anew when Tech joined the ACC three seasons ago.

"This is exactly the kind of thing folks in the state were hoping would happen when Virginia Tech joined the ACC," said Bonner, a former Virginia player.

Eventually, sure. But this season? Few thought it would happen that soon. Virginia Tech (20-8) was picked to finish sixth in the ACC in preseason - two spots higher than Virginia (19-8).

If there was a showdown ACC game for first place in early March, it was expected to be between Duke and North Carolina. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have won eight of the last 10 regular-season titles and nine of the last 10 tournament titles.

North of Tobacco Road, Virginia and Virginia Tech played a series that barely registered outside the commonwealth. Even within the state, it shuttled from site to site for more than two decades, with neither team visiting the other's gym.

From 1977 to 2000, the game was played at neutral sites, usually Richmond or Roanoke, but the series also made stops in Hampton and Norfolk. Virginia dominated on the court, winning 17 of 21 games between 1989 and 2006.

The Cavaliers, who had a richer tradition and played in a better conference, expected to win. Cornel Parker, who played at Virginia from 1991-94, remembers sitting in the locker room after the only game the Cavaliers lost to Virginia Tech during his career.

"Coach (Jeff) Jones was like, 'Listen to them over there; it's like they just won the national championship.' "

For Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers were the one constant in an ever-shifting cast of opponents. The Hokies played in the Metro Conference from 1979-95, the Atlantic 10 from 1995-2000 and the Big East from 2000-2004. They had no real natural rivals in those leagues.

"It was really big when we played Virginia, because we all knew each other from high school and AAU ball," said Troy Manns, who played at Tech from 1995-97.

Heated as the backyard rivalry was, each team had its own conference race to run.

Now, with both teams after the same prize, each game weighs that much more.

"I can only imagine how much fun it would be now," Manns said.

Fun not just for the players, but for fans across the state, Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. Though traditionalists have decried expansion - particularly that resulting loss of double-round robin play - for at least one state, it has been a net gain.

"It's great for the commonwealth," Greenberg said. "When you talk about the big picture, we wouldn't be in this position in this league probably without the support of Virginia.... We wouldn't be in the conference and be in a position to play a game of this stature."

Virginia holds a 4-2 advantage over Tech in ACC games. The Cavaliers won three times last year, but by a total of only 13 points. The Hokies struck back in a huge way Feb. 10 with an 84-57 win in Blacksburg.

"I'm pretty sure they were embarrassed," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said of his players. "I'm sure I'll bring it up."

No need, said guard J.R. Reynolds.

"It'll probably be the biggest game of my career," he said.

No probably about it.

 

Cavaliers seek to avoid repeat against Tech
Virginia wants to keep changing perceptions tonight by avenging a blowout loss to Virginia Tech.
Darryl Slater
Daily Press
February 28, 2007, 9:28 PM EST

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Shortly after Virginia hired Dave Leitao as its men's basketball coach in April 2005, he made a point to see how people around the state perceived his program. Considering the Cavaliers hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 2001 and hadn't won a NCAA game since 1995, it's safe to say Leitao caught a few whiffs of apathy. "One of my chores and tasks was to enhance that feeling," he said. So far, so good. The Cavaliers (19-8, 10-4 ACC) are tied with Virginia Tech and preseason favorite North Carolina for first place in the conference heading into today's 7 p.m. home finale against the Hokies -- the regular season's penultimate game for both teams. It is one of the most significant meetings ever between the Cavaliers and Hokies, who are trying to shift the ACC's epicenter from North Carolina's Tobacco Road. Since the Cavaliers tied for first place in 1995, just two teams from outside North Carolina -- Georgia Tech in 1996 and Maryland in 2002 -- have finished first. Beyond building an NCAA resume, the regular-season title is unceremonious. The ACC tournament winner earns the league's automatic NCAA bid and is recognized as its champion, though the regular-season champ always gets in the NCAAs based on its record. Leitao takes issue with that perception, too.

"When you've got to grind it out over 16 games and eight or nine weeks, if you ask any coach, I think they would tell you that that's truly the measure of calling somebody a champion," he said.

Especially for Virginia, which went 15-15, 7-9 last year in its first season under Leitao. It was the Cavaliers' fifth consecutive losing ACC record. This year, they clinched a first-round bye in next week's ACC tournament, along with Virginia Tech and North Carolina. They also are 15-1, and 7-0 against ACC teams, at the new John Paul Jones Arena. They haven't gone undefeated at home against conference opponents since 1982.

"Last year, we were just treading water, trying to stay alive," forward Jason Cain said. "But now, we got what we wanted. We're here at the top, fighting for first place."

Cain is one of two seniors, along with shooting guard J.R. Reynolds, who will play their final home game tonight. Cain struggled more over the years than Reynolds, a potential all-ACC first-team selection. Cain even considered transferring after Pete Gillen, Leitao's predecessor, left.

"It was more frustrating that, 'Damn, I just can't get over this hump. I can't get over that hump,'" Cain said. But he carved out a niche as a serviceable and scrappy player. He ranks fifth on the team this season in scoring (6.8 points per game) and first in rebounding average (6.4). If Virginia wants to avenge its first game against Virginia Tech this season -- a 84-57 loss in Blacksburg -- Cain must play better. In Blacksburg, he had two points, one rebound and three fouls in 21 minutes.

"They just kept throwing punches and we just didn't punch back," Reynolds said. "We were just taking everything that they threw at us. It's not gonna be (tonight) like we played down there. It ain't gonna be that team."
 

Hokies seek sweep against Cavs
Virginia Tech has used big offensive runs this season to doom several opponents, including Virginia, which gets another chance tonight against Tech.
By Norm Wood
Daily Press
February 28, 2007, 11:20 PM EST

Virginia Tech's Jamon Gordon stared at his cell phone for a moment before he answered. It was Jan. 14, the day after Tech had shocked No. 1 North Carolina 94-88.

He was surprised to see the name popping up on his phone:

"J.R. Reynolds"

Before Gordon could even get "what's up?" out of his mouth, Reynolds was off and running. Gordon loved every second of it.

"What are y'all trying to do? Beat everybody?" said Reynolds, a starting guard at the University of Virginia.

"We'll see," Gordon said.

It was a Mr. Cool kind of response from Gordon, but how could he project anything else at that point of the season? Tech was summoning monster runs seemingly at will against everybody it faced. A 26-4 run propelled Tech to its first of two wins this season against UNC. Tech's ability to run and come up with highlight reel material hasn't changed since that phone call.

Reynolds got an up close and personal glance of Tech's explosiveness on Feb. 10, when Tech used runs of 21-6 and 19-4 in an 84-57 win against U.Va.

If No. 21 Tech can pull off the same kind of thing tonight when it plays at U.Va. (19-8 overall, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), it might be fair to assume there won't be another congratulatory call from Reynolds.

Tech is tied with U.Va. and UNC for first place in the ACC standings. Wins against U.Va. and Clemson in its remaining games would give Tech (20-8, 10-4) at least a share of the ACC regular-season title. If Tech loses tonight, the only way it would earn a share of the ACC regular-season title is if both U.Va. and UNC lost one more game.

UNC discovered how Tech has made big runs an art form this season. In 14 of its 20 wins, Tech has had at least one run where it scored 10 points or more than its opponent.

On Feb. 21, Tech went on a 30-4 run to start the second half in its 79-62 win against Boston College. Tech also had runs of 17-4 at Miami, 25-3 against UNC-Greensboro, 17-3 against Richmond, 14-0 against Campbell, 20-0 against Seton Hall, 22-4 against Appalachian State, 20-3 against Old Dominion, 10-0 against Iowa and Montana, 19-2 against West Florida and 24-4 against Coppin State.

While Gordon and guard Zabian Dowdell were often catalysts for those runs with their defense, there might not be a better finisher in the nation than forward Deron Washington. There are enough clips of one of Washington's dunks against BC -- where he took off from a few feet over the free throw line -- to provide proof of his high-flying ability. The dunk was the high point of Tech's 30-4 run.

"The dunks are just something I use to hype up my teammates and the crowd when we're on a run like that," Washington said. "I remember (last Saturday) against Miami, after I'd made like three or four dunks, (Miami forward Keaton Copeland) said, 'Man, I'm not going to let you dunk on us like that anymore. Next time, I'm going to grab you out of the air.' That's how I know it gets to people sometimes."

Contributions from players like Washington are what Tech coach Seth Greenberg believes his team needs to win tonight. A win would give Tech eight wins away from home this season, which would be the most for the Hokies since the 1995-96 season when it won 13 games away from Cassell Coliseum.

"It's not just Dowdell and Gordon and (Sean) Singletary and Reynolds," Greenberg said.

"It's all those other guys. If you're winning 10 games in this league, you've got other guys stepping up. Someone will step up for one of these teams and make a difference without a doubt (tonight)."

Cavs ready for VT clash
Virginia, in three way tie for first place in ACC with UNC, VT, seeks revenge over Hokies
Anders Sleight, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Tonight is payback time for the Virginia men's basketball team. In the second of two meetings between the teams Virginia faces Virginia Techtonight at 7 p.m. at the John Paul Jones Arena.

After a dramatic victory over Georgia Tech Saturday, Virginia will look to keep its home winning streak alive. But the results of Virginia and Virginia Tech's first match-up are still lingering in the Cavaliers' minds. Virginia Tech easily handled Virginia in the first meeting in Blacksburg; the Hokies won that game 84-57. Consequently, tonight's game has a little something extra added to the traditionally heated in-state rivalry.

"They really embarrassed us down in Blacksburg," junior guard Sean Singletary said. "We beat them three times last year. It's just a heated rivalry. It's always going to come down to who has the most emotion and who is playing with the most heart."

Virginia, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are currently tied for first place in the ACC; each program has a 10-4 conference record. Thus, tonight's game will be a first place matchup. The winner will move into sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Virginia Tech brings a tough defense to Charlottesville tonight. The Hokies are ranked second in the ACC total defense -- they give up an average of 64.2 points per game.

Additionally, Virginia Tech is led by an experienced backcourt duo. Senior guard Zabian Dowdell ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring; he averages 18.1 points per game. Additionally, senior guard Jamon Gordon, junior forward Deron Washington and sophomore forward A.D. Vassallo all average more than 11 points per game. The Hokies, however, still rank in the bottom half of the ACC in scoring offense.

Virginia will likely have to deal with a full court press defense from Virginia Tech tonight because Virginia has proven susceptible to the press defense throughout the season. In the first game, Virginia Tech used a suffocating and effective press defense to jump out to a 16-point, first-half lead. The Hokies kept up the pressure throughout the game and held a 29-point lead against the Cavaliers in the closing minutes of the game. To win tonight's game, Virginia will need to be able to handle Virginia Tech's press defense.

Another key for Virginia will be keeping Dowdell in check. Reynolds and Singletary were able to keep Dowdell in check in the first matchup; he was held to only five points. But the senior guard will likely be gunning for the Cavaliers tonight, given his sub-par performance earlier this year.

Regardless of the outcome of tonight's game, the Cavaliers have put themselves in excellent position to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. No team with 10 ACC wins has ever failed to receive a bid to the tournament, and with two ACC games remaining, the Cavs have a great chance to improve their standing. The Cavaliers have not allowed themselves to relax, however, and remain focused on exacting revenge against the Hokies tonight.

"We can't relax now because last time we relaxed we went down to Virginia Tech and got smacked," senior forward Jason Cain said. "We have to stay focused now."