Leitao named coach of the year
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 7, 2007

In December, fewer than 40 fans sat in the stands of a dingy arena in Puerto Rico and watched some very poor basketball. Competing in the San Juan Shootout, the University of Virginia men’s team was in the process of eking out a seven-point win over the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, a Division II team whose tallest player was listed at 6 feet 5 inches.

On the sideline sat UVa coach Dave Leitao with a blank look on his face.

The loudest cheers of the day had just come from Leitao’s young sons, who were sitting behind the Virginia bench.

At that precise moment, there couldn’t have been a person in the world who would have predicted what happened Tuesday.

Leitao was named the ACC coach of the year.

The Virginia coach garnered 64 points in the voting, easily defeating Maryland’s Gary Williams (19 points) and Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg (15).

Leitao, whose team had a remarkable turnaround after its trip to Puerto Rico and wound up winning a share of the ACC regular-season title, is the first UVa coach to receive the honor since Terry Holland in 1982.

“It’s obviously very humbling to receive this award,” Leitao said in a statement. “I have to give thanks to God first because he makes me a whole lot stronger than I know I am. Thanks to our players for listening and receiving direction. Really, it’s been more about them than that I could possibly ever do.

“Thanks also to my staff for the countless hours, the tireless work and for putting up with my ranting and my raving. I’m not always the easiest guy to get along with, and I want to give thanks to them.”

This season, Virginia was picked by the media to finish eighth in the ACC. UVa (20-9 overall, 11-5 ACC) wound up tying for first with North Carolina - the first time it has won a share of the league crown since 1995.

Virginia, which plays the Duke-N.C. State winner in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, lost just once in its first season in the John Paul Jones Arena.

“When you’re in a team sport, there really isn’t any such thing as an individual award,” said Leitao, who became just the third coach in school history to win the award. “This is something that’s shared in recognition of what everyone around our program has done.”

 

Is Tucker UVa's X-factor?
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 7, 2007

Like many freshmen, Jamil Tucker was pretty sure that he was ready to make the jump from high school to college basketball. Then, in October, came his first official day of practice.

After one drill, Tucker didn’t sprint back to the team huddle.

That’s when the California native got an inkling of what Dave Leitao would be expecting from him. The Virginia coach went loco on Tucker.

“From that day on, I realized I wasn’t in high school,” Tucker said, “and that this was the real thing.”

This season has been a steady maturation process for the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder, who grew up in Pasadena, Calif., before moving to Gary, Ind., to play his high school ball.

“You go through the season and get more accustomed to what your coach is looking for,” Tucker said, “and also what your teammates are trying to get from you.”

With Virginia taking on the Duke-N.C. State winner in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday night, Tucker’s assimilation couldn’t have come at a better time.

With opponents focused on shutting down the team’s top guns, Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, Tucker could turn out to be an X-factor.

“All of our players have the ability to come in and be the X-factor,” Tucker said, “but I believe that just doing my role and doing what coach asks of me, I can impact the game in a big way.”

There weren’t too many things to smile about for Virginia fans in Saturday’s loss to Wake Forest. But if there was a bright spot, it was the play of Tucker.

He had 10 points and two rebounds in 11 minutes of action off the bench.

“He’s playing with a lot more awareness,” said Virginia guard Sean Singletary. “He’s doing a lot of things that aren’t visible to the naked eye, like being in good position on defense and rebounding.”

In the second half, Tucker showed his full offensive repertoire. First, he freed himself with a pretty pump fake and drained a 15-foot jumper. A few minutes later, he drove hard to the basket and drew a foul. Then, he stepped outside to hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 58.

On Virginia’s very next possession, Tucker called for the ball and launched another 3-pointer. The shot didn’t go down, but the mere attempt showed that he still has plenty of confidence after being a DNP three times within a six-game span in early- to mid-February.

Tucker has also shown progress in his rebounding and defense - two areas that Leitao mandates excellence from all players in - but his biggest area of improvement has seemed to come in his approach to the game.

“You have to go from letting things come to you and being passive to being more aggressive,” Tucker said. “It takes aggression to go and get what you want. You have to realize that this rebound isn’t coming to you or this shot just isn’t magically leaving your hand and going in the basket. You have to realize you have to put forth the effort to go get it.”

Tucker says he owes his transformation to Leitao.

“He took away my passive attitude that I once had,” Tucker said, “and gave me a much more aggressive edge to myself as a human being.”

Just don’t ask Leitao if his freshman has turned the corner. You’ll get a Bill Parcells-on-Tony Romo type answer, “anointing oils” and all.

“I don’t know what ‘turned the corner’ means,” Leitao said, “but I think he has gotten more of an opportunity and has made the most of it. One thing that he has is that he’s conscious enough to know that he can make shots.

“He’s not affected by sitting on the bench and those kinds of things, but I’m not ready to anoint him and say he’s ready to be an all-league performer yet. He’s still working. He’s young and has got things to learn.”

Dunks

Leitao said not knowing who his team will play until late Thursday night is definitely a challenge. “The difficulty is that [the two possible opponents] have two different styles,” he said. “N.C. State plays a little more passive on the defensive end and doesn’t pressure you as much, whereas Duke does the opposite. We have to be prepared to do both.” Said Singletary: “We know if we play Duke, they’re going to come after us. We know if we play N.C. State, they’ll come after us because we beat them twice. The records don’t really mean anything because nobody wants to go home.”

 

Cavs top Dukes, extend winning streak
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 7, 2007

HARRISONBURG - Given his individual accolades at St. Anne’s-Belfield, most people link Casey Lambert to Central Virginia.

However, the most prolific closer in Virginia baseball history happily calls Harrisonburg home - a home with a new and lasting memory.

That was a moment James Madison almost dashed.

It took lone runs from the Cavaliers in the eighth and ninth innings, but Lambert managed to record his 35th career save and secure another come-from-behind win - UVa edged JMU, 6-5, on a brisk and chilly day in the team’s first road game in almost a month.

JMU, sluggish from playing its first nine games away from home, dropped to 1-9 with the loss. Thanks to Lambert and some timely hitting, fourth-ranked Virginia (15-1) won its 13th straight.

“I have only played one game here in my career here and I didn’t get in that one,” Lambert said. “It’s just nice to come over here to Harrisonburg and get a chance to do what I have been doing for four years.”

That “chance” was made possible after Virginia roughed up one of Lambert’s closest friends and former teammates.

Trailing 5-4 with two outs in the eighth, JMU senior Allie Swanson entered in relief only to give up an RBI single through the left side of the infield to Patrick Wingfield (2 for 4, 1 R).

In the ninth, Swanson, who also pitched at UVa and at STAB, gave up the game-winning hit. Brandon Marsh, as he did on Sunday against Delaware, singled to drive in a runner from second. Greg Miclat, who had walked and stole second, scored on Marsh’s hit without a throw.

“I was just looking for something to barrel up,” said Marsh, who had two of Virginia’s 11 hits. “You never want to guess curveball because a fastball will blow you away but it was in the back of my mind that I might be getting another one.”

With the count full, Marsh got the curveball.

“[Swanson] made a good pitch,” Marsh recounted, “luckily, I got a barrel on it and it made its way through.”

That allowed Lambert to seal the win.

“It wasn’t looking like I was going to pitch late in the game but we battled really well at the end of the game, got some clutch hits and Marsh came through with his second game-winning hit in a row,” Lambert said. “It is nice to see since we have been blowing a lot of teams out. To get two close wins like this helps as we head into the ACC.”

JMU led for most of the game. Third baseman Mike Fabiaschi capped off a three-run second inning and gave the Dukes a 3-1 lead in the second with a two-run homer to right off Virginia starter Jeff Lorick (2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER).

After rallying to take a 4-3 lead with lone runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, respectively, the Cavaliers gave the lead back when JMU designated hitter Browning connected on a two-out, two-run single to center off rookie reliever Neal Davis.

Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said the game proved how hard it can be to win outside of Davenport Field.

“We did some things baseball-wise that were not smart today: running the bases and in bunting situations,” O’Connor said. “You are not typically going to win on the road when you do that, but it was great to see another come-from-behind victory.

“We scratched and clawed and didn’t get any big hits to have a big inning, but we hung in there and found a way to win.”

Jake Rule (1-1) earned the win for Virginia after pitching scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth innings.

The Cavaliers return to action on Friday when they open ACC play at Wake Forest.

 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Mar 7, 2007

ROOM FOR NINE? Heading into the 54th annual ACC men's basketball tournament, which starts tomorrow in Tampa, Fla., all but three of the conference's 12 teams are candidates to make the NCAA tourney as at-large entries.

Six of those nine teams - North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Maryland and Duke - are locks to make the 65-team field, bracketologists agree. Each of the other three - Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech - may need to capture at least one game in the ACC tourney to win over the NCAA Selection Committee.

In the tournament's first game, No. 8 seed Clemson (7-9, 21-9) meets No. 9 seed FSU (7-9, 19-11). In tomorrow's final game, No. 6 seed Georgia Tech (8-8, 20-10) takes on No. 11 Wake Forest (5-11, 14-15) at 9:30 p.m.

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton believes his team has earned an invitation to the NCAAs, but he's taking nothing for granted. Hamilton, who could have been speaking for his counterparts from Georgia Tech and Clemson, said the Seminoles "don't have the luxury of feeling that we have accomplished anything. We need to make sure that we stay focused and win as many games as possible and put ourselves in the best position possible."

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION: When the ACC, after adding Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, decided to continue to have each team play a 16-game conference schedule, it was inevitable that some teams would get off easier than others.

This season, for example, Virginia played North Carolina, Boston College and Duke only one time apiece during the regular season. Duke, by contrast, played UNC, BC, Maryland and Georgia Tech two times each.

A lack of balance in a 12-team league - unless each team plays 22 conference games - is "something you just have to expect," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said. Monday. "You hope to a smaller degree, but I don't think you can avoid that."

Swofford said ACC members have discussed the possibility of playing 18 conference games "but have not decided anything on that. . . . We'll have to see where that ends up."

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt indicated last month that he would have no interest in playing two more ACC games each season.

NO PUNCHES PULLED: The ACC coaches' teleconference Monday featured a testy exchange between Gregg Doyel, a national columnist for CBS SportsLine.com and former Times-Dispatch summer intern, and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski said he holds his players to high standards of conduct and that, if he believed Gerald Henderson had intentionally tried to hurt Tyler Hansbrough in the Duke-North Carolina game Sunday night, he would have suspended Henderson for more than one game. After hearing that, Doyel asked Coach K how many games he'd suspended former Duke great Christian Laettner for "stomping" Kentucky's Aminu Timberlake in the 1992 NCAA tournament.

Krzyzewski: "Well, first of all, would you call that a stomp?"

Doyel: "Absolutely. I've seen it over and over."

Krzyzewski: "OK, well then my judgment and yours differ."

Doyel: "I've got some glasses. I mean, are you serious?"

Krzyzewski: "I'm not going to get in [it] with you, because you would always want something controversial."

Doyel: "I would just like the truth sometimes, that's all."

Krzyzewski: "Believe me, there's nobody who likes the truth more than me. After the season, we'll talk about 1992. I'd rather talk about 2007 right now."

WELL-REGARDED: Clemson point guard Vernon Hamilton, who was named to the ACC's all-defensive team as a junior, was not selected this season. But Hamilton, a Benedictine High graduate who is Clemson's career leader in totals, has many fans around the league.

"I think he's terrific," Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "I think Vernon Hamilton to them is Jamon Gordon to us. He's the heart of their basketball team."

FSU's Hamilton said Hamilton "brings that football mentality to the court. There's no doubt that he's the glue to that team."

What Hamilton doesn't do well is shoot free throws. He's made only 46.8 percent of his foul shots. That's still more accurate than Virginia center Ryan Pettinella, who's made only 9 of 37 attempts (24.3 percent) from the line this season.

"That'd be a good one," U.Va. guard J.R. Reynolds said with a smile Monday when asked about a Hamilton-Pettinella foul-shooting contest.

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL: In his senior season at Maryland, Mike Jones has proved to be more than a long-range bomber. Jones, a 6-5 guard who was a McDonald's All-American in high school, is averaging 13.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 rebounds. More than half of his 147 field goals are 2-pointers.

"Mike is starting to score this year by not just catching it and shooting it," Terrapins coach Gary Williams said. "He's doing a lot more as an offensive player in addition to being a good 3-point shooter." - Jeff White
 

Real 'bad' guy -- self-made -- in Duke-UNC fracas is Coach K
March 6, 2007
By Gregg Doyel
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist

I'm onto you, Mike Krzyzewski. I see exactly what you're doing, and it's brilliant. You are brilliant. Diabolical and infuriating, but brilliant.

Now then, enough talking to you. The rest of this column is written for everyone else, because everyone else needs to understand just how cold, how calculating, you really are.

In the 18 hours since Duke freshman Gerald Henderson seal-clubbed North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough in the final seconds of Duke's 86-72 loss Sunday, Krzyzewski has tried to redirect the heat from Henderson to that thermal shield Coach K has for a head.

First, quickly, the play and its aftermath:

With 15 seconds left and North Carolina on the brink of the win, Hansbrough elevates in traffic and has the ball knocked loose from behind by Duke's Steve Johnson. Henderson, challenging from the front with his right hand, sees the ball float past and tracks it by twisting his torso in mid-air. His right forearm follows through in a short, devastating arc that ends at Hansbrough's nose.

Hansbrough's nose is broken. Blood everywhere. Henderson gets an intentional foul, ejected, and suspended one game. Here's video.

Since then, Coach K has waged a public-relations war so inept, so disarmingly dumb, that it has to be intentional. He's mind-freaking us like he mind-freaked potential 2006 lottery pick Josh McRoberts into staying for his sophomore season. He wants everyone to be so busy hating him -- Coach K -- that we forget about Gerald Henderson.

Speaking only for myself ... it's working.

Starting Sunday, here's how Coach K has altered the physics of our mind:

• He indirectly blamed UNC coach Roy Williams by saying Hansbrough, an All-American, shouldn't have been on the court. "The game was over before that -- the outcome of the game, let's put it that way," Coach K said Sunday. "That's unfortunate that those people were in the game. ... I mean, 20 seconds left. You know what I mean. What I'm saying -- I'm not blaming anybody. It's unfortunate. We should have both probably had our walk-ons in. ... If they're still playing, we're going to play."

• Coach K implied -- oh, hell, he came out and said -- that the bigger victim was Henderson. Not Hansbrough, who might have to wear a protective mask during the ACC Tournament. Here's what Coach K said Monday: "I don't blame anybody. I'm just saying it's unfortunate, and the person it's most unfortunate for is 'G'. That wasn't his intent (to injure Hansbrough), and that's not what he was doing during that play."

• Coach K has spent most of his time with the media explaining Henderson's innocence, and very little expressing concern for Hansbrough. I counted 222 words on his version Monday of Henderson's foul, and two words -- "It's unfortunate" -- on Hansbrough's bloodied mess of a face.

• Coach K made it clear that a Duke player who plays dirty is subject to harsher punishment than anything the ACC could dole out. "I would suspend a player who would do that for longer (than one game)," he said Monday. "Because you would never want that conduct -- that's just unacceptable. I would hope we would have even higher standards on that."

A reporter on that ACC conference call Monday -- OK, me -- noted Coach K's tough personal stance on dirty play and asked how many games he had suspended Christian Laettner for stomping Kentucky's Aminu Timberlake at the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

"First of all," Coach K said to me, "would you call that a stomp?"

Absolutely, I said. I'd seen the replay many times.

"Well then," he said. "My judgment and yours would differ."

So there you have it. Laettner didn't stomp Timberlake, and Henderson didn't mean to hurt Hansbrough.

The thing is, Henderson didn't mean to hurt Hansbrough. Not in my opinion. I've watched it over and over, slowed it down, paused it. He was revved up to block a dunk, and when the ball popped free, all hell broke loose in mid-air. But there was no intent by Henderson to do anything more than challenge Hansbrough at the rim. That's what I believe.

What you believe will be colored as much by who you are as by what you saw.

On a Duke message board run by Scout.com, "WastnAway" wrote: "I honestly think if that ball hadn't been stripped on the way up you might have had one hell of a block. There was no way for GH to pull out of that once that arm got moving."

On Scout's UNC message board, "Dinguses" wrote: "Hans should file criminal charges against Henderson. A ball game is no excuse for an assault with battery."

How can two groups of people -- many of them educated at these top-notch schools -- have utterly different views of the same play? Because we're prejudiced. All of us. About everything. Show me a person who claims to be "objective," and I'll show you someone who hasn't paid enough attention to the topic to have a credible opinion. Or someone lying about their objectivity in the first place.

Me, I'm not objective. I wrote a fawning book on Krzyzewski in 1999, back when I was drinking the Coach K Kool-Aid. One of the worst books of all time. Don't buy it. Please.

No Coach K Kool-Aid for me. Not anymore. He's a great coach and recruiter, but is off-the-charts manipulative. He's eerily insightful, yet able to see no evil when the mood strikes. I'm not a Coach K guy. There's my bias. I admit it.

Which makes me an incredibly credible person to say this:

Gerald Henderson doesn't deserve your scorn, because he wasn't trying to hurt Tyler Hansbrough.

Coach K? Scorn him all you want. That seems to be his goal.

 

Leitao lands ACC top-coach honor
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Dave Leitao, who took the Virginia men's basketball team to a regular-season co-championship in his second season, was a landslide winner Tuesday in voting for ACC coach of the year.

Leitao, the first ACC men's basketball coach of the year since Terry Holland in 1982, received 64 of a possible 106 votes.

Maryland's Gary Williams was second, with 19 votes, followed by Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, who had 15 votes.

"It's obviously very humbling to receive this award," said Leitao in a statement released by the school. "Thanks to our players for listening and receiving direction. Really, it's been more about them than [anything] I could possibly ever do.

"Thanks also to my staff for the countless hours, the tireless work and for putting up with my ranting and my raving. I'm not always the easiest guy to get along with and I want to give thanks to them."

Leitao is only the third Virginia coach to be named ACC men's basketball coach of the year. Bill Gibson was the first, in 1972, and Holland was a back-to-back choice in 1981 and 1982.

Leitao took a Cavaliers team that was projected to finish eighth in October and guided them to a 20-9 record -- their first 20-win season since 2001 -- and an 11-5 ACC record.

A 78-72 loss Saturday at Wake Forest prevented Virginia from capturing sole possession of first place in the regular season for the second time in its 54 seasons as an ACC member.

"It was [Monday] morning before I could flip the switch," Leitao said on his radio call-in show.

"Regardless of what happened Sunday, I was still hurting."

Leitao tried to put everything into context in a subsequent team meeting.

"At the end, we had the right, with North Carolina, to call ourselves champions," Leitao said.

"It's very, very special. At this university and just about everywhere else but Duke and North Carolina, that doesn't happen very often. So, we have to embrace it, no matter how we feel about Saturday."

 

Q&A with former bracket boss
Outgoing NCAA tournament selection committee member Craig Littlepage muses on Billy Packer, technology and mid-major conferences.
BY DAVID TEEL | 247-4636
March 6, 2007, 9:21 AM EST

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage arrived in Indianapolis on Tuesday for his final NCAA basketball tournament selection meeting. He did so grateful for the privilege and its impending conclusion.

Littlepage's five-year term on the 10-member selection committee expires after the 2007 tournament. He chaired the panel last season, the first African-American to do so, and is the third Virginia athletic director to head the committee -- Dick Schultz and Terry Holland preceded him.

Sunday Littlepage and company will unveil the 65-team bracket for this season's tournament, and as always some choices will be contentious. Recently, Littlepage reflected on his committee tenure.

Daily Press: Are you afraid of having committee withdrawal next season?

Littlepage: I can honestly say this has been a wonderful experience, even with the challenges and struggles and details and everything else involved. It's been a labor of love for me, and it's been humbling to be at the epicenter of college basketball. But, five years is long enough. Five years is about the extent that I feel as though an athletic director … could do this without it completely disrupting one's entire operation. I've been able to do it because of the good people surrounding me. But I've missed, this is going on five consecutive ACC tournaments, and I don't like that. That also has been over the years family time for the Littlepages. … There are nights, particularly this time of year, where it's all I can do to finish up the work on my day job and then to get through maybe two or three games from around the country on TiVo or videotape or just watching them live on TV.

DP: The ACC will not have a representative on the committee next year. Should that concern the league's fans?

Littlepage: It depends on who you get that answer from. Personally I don't believe it's an advantage to have a member on the committee. Because the person that's representing a certain conference is not able to talk about peers in the league and is not allowed to vote on (his own) institution. … Last year as an example the Big East got eight teams in and didn't have a representative on the committee. The ACC got four teams in with the chair. It just depends on who you talk to, though I think the normal perception is, 'Boy we need to have somebody on that committee.'

[Littlepage and Princeton athletic Gary Walters will be replaced by Texas-San Antonio AD Lynn Hickey and Connecticut AD Jeff Hathaway. When an ACC representative will be appointed is uncertain. There is no set rotation.]

DP: How has the selection process changed and evolved during your tenure?

Littlepage: The biggest change is technology has greatly enhanced the committee's ability to process huge amounts of information, quantitative information, statistical information. Technology has also allowed us to go through our voting and procedures with a safety net that was not there when I came on the committee. For example, in Year 1 and Year 2 we did our voting manually, on pieces of paper that were passed around the room to a member of the NCAA staff for counting. Now all the voting is done electronically. … When you actually get into the grinding down of those last few teams that might be in contention for at-large positions, the ability, based on the technology, to have a visual comparison in front of everybody, that everybody is looking at (on their computer screens) of two or three teams that appear to be very similar. And then to be able to manipulate the comparison of last 10 games, road record, whatever the case may be. To have information at our fingertips.

If we're trying to pick between, let's just say Bradley, Drexel and Holy Cross. Obviously a hypothetical. To have those three teams side by side, to have that information. And then to have somebody say, 'Let's take a look at those three teams' last 10 games.' Push a button, boom, and the last 10 games comes up. 'Let's look at those three teams' road records.' Press a button, boom. … 'How'd those teams do against the top 50, top 100 in the country?' Punch a button and you can make those comparisons. 'OK, let's take Bradley out and let's put in Purdue and have that same sort of evaluation.'

DP: Last year as chair, was the hardest part the post-selection defense of the bracket to CBS and us other media knotheads?

Littlepage: No, the most difficult part was the five days and getting to the point where decisions can be made. It's a grind. … What made last year so difficult was we had something that at least in my opinion, and I think others agree, we had something that was truly unique to any previous year that I'd been around following college basketball. You had so many good teams that had previously operated under the radar screen that all of a sudden were being noticed. There was not, and still doesn't exist, a blueprint for how to compare this very good Southern Illinois team with a 25-3 record, again talking hypothetically, with a 9-7 Big East team that has a 17-11 overall record. Who's the better team and how do you decide that? Well, we not only had to make that direct comparison with two teams, we had about 12 teams that we were looking at. Maybe eight or so from the bigger conferences and four or five from the quote, mid-major conferences.

So we took huge amounts of time debating the qualities, debating the rationale of how you do that. Time was running out, we needed to put the field together so we could start the seeding and bracketing. … The media stuff following the selection process was nothing compared to the discussions, the debates, the disagreements and eventually the coming up with the decisions. I thought at the end of the selection weekend when we had those 65 teams, 34 at-large teams in particular, I was absolutely confident that we had made excellent choices. Controversial choices in some ways, choices that were not going to be popular with some factions of the basketball community, that's going to happen ever year. … Knock on wood, those teams performed well.

Now that's not to say, contrary to conspiracy theorists, that the same set of dynamics is in play this year. It might be. But there were those who felt like this is a trend, that mid-majors have unreasonable leverage or voice on the committee. I think that last year was truly unique in what we saw in some of the conferences or what we saw from some of the teams that prior to that time had been operating under the radar. And the point that I made on Selection Sunday was that, if there is a message that the selections made, was that there's good basketball played all over the country at various levels in different leagues that nobody ever hears about and that people don't see. Our selections were on the basis of we saw the teams, we studied the teams, we debated the teams. … Could you have made the case for one team in, one team out, two teams in, two teams out? Absolutely. It's going to be the same thing this year. I guarantee it. But the toughest thing was making the selections as opposed to having to defend them in the end.

DP: But if you look at how many at-large bids went to the so-called power conferences as opposed to the mid-majors, last year's numbers were not out of character from previous seasons. The alleged sea change was fictional, right?

Littlepage: Right. It was the perception. I think if you really took a look at it, the fact that one conference, the Missouri Valley, had four schools that were in. There was probably some level of scrutiny about George Mason, which had lost to Hofstra. What people wanted to make of that. First, the Colonial getting two teams and then to bypass Hofstra to pick George Mason. Here's the thing, I believe it was a radio talk show that was supportive of Hofstra, the analogy that I took them through: If this was Major League Baseball, and the Phillies and Atlanta tied for the division lead, but the New York Mets beat the Phillies 10-6 in head-to-head competition, that doesn't get the Mets into the playoffs. Right? …

DP: I'll use a kind word here. Did the intensity of the questioning surprise you, particularly from (CBS') Billy Packer? And have you ever talked to him about it?

Littlepage: I was a little bit surprised from the standpoint that I could not understand where he was coming from. He went into a long discussion about previous years and conferences' previous years' success. Now understand that this is an interview that lasts about three minutes. And he starts out this whole thing with a preamble that's about 45 seconds and there's not a question at the end of it. So I was surprised, not at the grilling if you will, but the lack of clarity in what he was trying to say or ask. … Billy and I have talked both one-on-one, and we have talked within the confines of CBS and the committee itself. The conversation was not anything along the lines of doing anything other than, are we, the basketball committee, and CBS, the messenger of what takes place during the tournament, are we doing the very best job of setting the stage for the tournament with the format that we have, this post-selection show with the committee chair? Or are there other ways that the show can be reformatted to give a better perspective about what has gone on? We have had that discussion, but it was more along the lines of how do we find a better way to put this show together that really is the appropriate start of the tournament as opposed to how can we pick apart the work of the committee?

DP: So will we see changes in this year's show?

Littlepage: We haven't answered any sort of questions that would change the format. It's more just an opportunity to say, is this what CBS wants? Is this what the committee wants in terms of the launch of the tournament? At least from the standpoint of the committee, that's not how we would like for the tournament to start. Again, it's not a matter of grilling or not grilling, but what is the best way to set the stage for what is a magical three weeks? Certainly we acknowledge the fact that there are going to be some people very, very disappointed. But on the other hand it's the start of a three-week celebration of college basketball and the tournament we have. Are there things we can do to make it much more celebratory in nature? But we did not come to any sort of conclusions on that.

DP: But wasn't it also surprising, and I'm not trying to slam Billy or CBS, but committee members and chairmen have been preaching that past seasons do not matter, that each season is a separate entity, and that your charge is to absolutely disregard past performance. So the whole premise of the preamble was flawed. It seemed bizarre that CBS wouldn't be more attuned as to how this is done.

Littlepage: I was surprised. Not only is past performance not a factor, conference affiliation is not a factor. The fact that in this case the Missouri Valley got four and the ACC got four is not an indication that the leagues are of equal strength or value. I know there were some people who tried to make the case for that from my own conference. No, it was four teams who are in the ACC that were chosen. There were four teams from the Missouri Valley that were chosen. End of story.

DP: You can't be in the room when Virginia is discussed, but won't it be more fun in Indy with Virginia on the board?

Littlepage: I think it'll make it a little more nerve-racking. … I have to admit, there have been times during the previous four years that I have wondered what it is like to have to leave the room.

DP: The tournament is returning to New Orleans for the first time since the 2003 Final Four. Is the committee confident that New Orleans is prepared, and might it return to the Final Four rotation?

Littlepage: There's a great deal of confidence the committee and the NCAA has in the city of New Orleans in terms of being able to pull together all the components of hosting the first- and second-round games. If you look back actually to the spring, NACDA (the national athletic directors' association) was the first major convention to go back to New Orleans, in June. And we were followed by the National Librarians Association. … Over the past several months the NCAA staff has conducted a number of site visits to New Orleans to check out everything from transportation to hotels to the facility, just the overall mood and spirit of the city and the citizens there.

And certainly the nation got a very good look at what New Orleans can do as a result of the NFL opener back in September. Although there is a long, long way to go for the city to recover fully, certainly there are great indications there is a spirit there. … Whether they're in the mix in the future for a Final Four is yet to be seen. … But New Orleans has been a great destination for the championship generally, both regionals, this year for first and second rounds, and for Final Fours, and I don't see why that would have to change.
 

Nothing will slow him down
Former U.Va. star Jason Snelling has overcome more than one hurdle on his football journey.
BY MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
March 7, 2007

As Jason Snelling performed drill after drill at last month's NFL combine, he knew at least one person was cheering for him.

Snelling's oldest brother, Matthew, was one of his most steadfast supporters. Their strong connection couldn't be completely severed by Matthew's unexpected death at age 28 in the spring of 2005.

"A lot of things I do, I just think about him and how big a fan he was of mine, and I try to go out there and strive and work as hard as he would want me to work," Snelling said. "He was always proud of me, everything I did, and I know that he's proud of me now."

Snelling, who led Virginia with 830 rushing yards as a senior in 2006, is trying to make his brother proud in the NFL. The combine was the latest step on a path that's been littered with more than one obstacle.

Along with Matthew's death - about which Snelling will only say, "He had some health issues" - Snelling has had to deal with the epilepsy that forced him to redshirt his second season at U.Va.

Snelling began having symptoms in high school. But he still started for the Cavs at fullback as a freshman, catching 31 passes for 314 yards. By the next season, though, severe headaches and seizures drove him to the sidelines.

"It was a difficult time coming into college, finding out you had epilepsy ... trying to play football and deal with the situation," Snelling said. "It made me more of a man and it really matured me as a person, taught me not to give up. It put a lot of fight in me."

Snelling now takes daily medication for his epilepsy and says, "I don't even really think about it." The topic came up occasionally at the combine, held from Feb. 24-27 in Indianapolis. Teams that know about his epilepsy know it's under control, Snelling said.

Of more interest to scouts may have been Snelling's performance in the three-cone drill, a twisting and turning running drill that measures a player's speed, agility and cutting ability. Snelling's time of 7.06 seconds ranked him 10th in a group headed by Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe (6.69) that also included Ohio State's Antonio Pittman (6.84) and Auburn's Kenny Irons (7.00).

Before the combine, Snelling trained in Orlando, Fla., with Tom Shaw, who has helped prepare more than 50 eventual first-round picks for the NFL draft. His workouts caught the eye of Frank Deyer, one of Shaw's top assistants.

"Jason is a powerful guy. He's very strong, very quick, and very smart, (and) very mature for his age," Deyer said. "He's a man. There's no kid left in him."

In Orlando, Snelling roomed with former Virginia Tech defensive end Noland Burchette. The two discovered that their families live close to one another in the Richmond area - and that they share a penchant for perseverance.

Burchette took part in just one drill at the combine, but it was an impressive one. Less than two months after his Jan. 2 surgery to repair the left arm he broke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, he benched pressed 15 times.

"A lot of the teams were impressed that I could even pick up weights," said Burchette, who broke the same arm during spring practice but didn't miss a game while making 44 tackles and 31/2 sacks for the Hokies in 2006. "I think that helped me a lot."

Gil Brandt, a senior analyst for NFL.com and former vice president of personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, watched many of the 300-plus invitees perform at the combine. He said Snelling doesn't have the speed to be an NFL tailback, but his solid build and good hands could make him a next-level fullback. Snelling ran a 4.79 40-yard dash at the combine, though he did have a strained left ACL, Brandt said.

That injury was just the latest hurdle Snelling had to overcome.

"Even though I have epilepsy, it won't hold me back from the things I love to do," Snelling said. "Now I look back and I just say it was a stepping stone in my life that I had to overcome. It's made me a better person."