Lend an ear, and we'll tell you why Leitao isn't quite perfect
March 17, 2007
By Gregg Doyel
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For two hours, Virginia's Dave Leitao coached in front of me -- I mean, 10 feet in front of me -- and managed to hide his secret. And what a secret it is.

For two hours Friday, I watched Leitao run his team like he was running a recital. From an emotional distance, he watched his fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers dismantle Albany 84-57 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He watched with his chin tilted, with the aloof pose of an academic. Or a Republican.

But after the game, I saw it. I saw his secret.

Dave Leitao, in his younger days, had at least one wild hair. He doesn't have one now, obviously. On the sideline he doesn't just look perfect. He is perfect. He's tall, he's crisp, his suit is a rich charcoal with a smart pinstripe. The handkerchief in his jacket pocket is fake, a piece of material cut into the shape of a perfectly folded hanky, because real handkerchiefs get ruffled and Dave Leitao doesn't do ruffled.

But he hasn't always been like this. And I've seen the proof.

An hour after the Albany game, Leitao walked back out to the court to scout Tennessee and Long Beach State. His jacket was gone, revealing a peach Oxford with stripes. On me or you, a peach Oxford with stripes would look ridiculous. On Leitao, it looks right.

But what I saw when he walked past ... it looked wrong.

Dave Leitao's left ear is pierced.

These are the things you notice when you're at the worst pod in the history of college basketball. There wasn't a No. 1 seed here at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Not a No. 2, not a No. 3, and frankly, not a deserving No. 4. Virginia and Southern Illinois are fourth seeds in name only, because if these are two of the best 16 teams in college basketball, I need to find a new favorite sport. Maybe dwarf-tossing.

This Southern Illinois team isn't as good as last season's Wichita State, a deserving Sweet 16 team, or last season's George Mason, a Final Four surprise. This season's Southern Illinois team looks about as good as Vanderbilt or Alabama or Syracuse. I'm aware that two of those three teams didn't make it into the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Painfully aware.

As for Virginia, the Cavaliers have one great guard (Sean Singletary), one great-or-gross guard (J.R. Reynolds, great against Albany), an awful frontcourt and some decent rotation guys on the wing. If that sounds like a Sweet 16 team to you, maybe you should find a new sport, too. Like Goofy Golf.

But Virginia apparently has one heck of a coach. He's definitely one of the most fascinating coaches in the business. Leitao isn't like his mentor, fire-breathing ogre Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Early against Albany the officials blew a call against Virginia, but when the Cavs bench erupted in anger, Leitao spun around and said, "Easy, easy, easy, easy, easy," as if all that negative noise was giving him a headache.

Nor is Leitao like his counterpart Sunday, manic attention hog Bruce Pearl of fifth-seeded Tennessee. Leitao isn't like many coaches on the sideline, because there aren't many mannequins coaching college basketball.

But his ear is pierced, which means he knows how to loosen up and have fun. Or knew how. Once upon a time.

"I think he enjoyed the whole college experience," Virginia assistant Rob Lanier says of Leitao.

College was 25 years ago. Leitao was a decent 6-foot-7 forward at Northeastern, averaging 6.0 points and 5.4 rebounds. He seems to be a decent coach now, having averaged 19 wins over five seasons at DePaul (2003-05) and Virginia (2006, '07). He earned ACC Coach of the Year this season.

His players, most of whom were recruited by goofball Pete Gillen, do not reflect Leitao's controlled temperament. Against Albany, Reynolds freelanced for shots. Singletary was all Philadelphia swagger. Power forward Laurynas Mikalauska ripped a rebound from an Albany player and flexed his biceps as he ran up the court. Senior center Jason Cain bounded to the bench for a timeout and screamed to no one and to everyone, "No way my m-----f------ career ends here! No way!"

Leitao doesn't freelance or swagger. He doesn't flex or curse. He doesn't even coach so much as he presides, empirically, over all that he sees.

Cool? He's almost cold. Early in the second half his All-American point guard, Singletary, collapsed in front of the Virginia bench after taking a knee to the temple. The crowd groaned as the brutal replay was shown on the scoreboard. Virginia trainers checked on Singletary for signs of consciousness. Leitao turned his back to the scene and asked his assistant coaches why the Cavaliers weren't running the offense properly.

Shiver.

Hey, it works. Singletary was OK, but even if he hadn't been OK, Leitao was sending a message to his team that the game would continue regardless.

He's fascinating, Dave Leitao. I've never had so much fun watching a statue.


 

Cavs ready to flex their muscles
UVa looks to contain high-octane Volunteers
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was in November, after Virginia upset Arizona in the first-ever game at John Paul Jones Arena, that UVa guard Sean Singletary claims he was misquoted.

“They don’t want to defend,” Singletary reportedly told several media outlets. “And I’m not sure they want to play physical.”

When Arizona players returned home, they plastered the quote all over their locker room for motivational purposes.

Luckily, Virginia didn’t run into the Wildcats in the postseason.

But on Saturday afternoon, Singletary may have ruffled a few feathers as he talked about facing Tennessee today in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

While he didn’t come right out and say it - you could tell what the Virginia guard was thinking: Like Arizona, Tennessee plays soft.

Singletary didn’t seem too impressed with the 121 points that the fifth-seeded Volunteers put up in their first-round thrashing of Long Beach State.

“They got [121] because there wasn’t any resistance at all,” Singletary said. “They allowed Long Beach State to get 86 points, but [today] is a different story because we offer up resistance.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, whose team was second-to-last in rebounding margin in the SEC (minus-4.7), seemed to support Singletary’s sentiments.

The very first sentences out of his mouth related to his squad’s ability to hang with fourth-seeded Virginia from a toughness standpoint.

“The two guards are special,” said Pearl, referring to Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, “[but] it’s the other eight and nine cast of characters and their physicality that concerns me. They have really, really good depth and they play a physical, solid style on defense.”

That style completely took Albany out of its game on Friday. Virginia (21-10) made even the simplest offensive movements a challenge for Great Dane players, who seemed like they had never faced that kind of pressure before.

However, Albany doesn’t hail from the SEC.

Tennessee (23-10) has certainly seen its share of quality teams this season. The Vols have beaten Memphis, Texas and Florida.

“I’d like to think that if we’re going to have a chance to be successful, we’ve got to keep the game manageable,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “We’re not going to slow it up because that’s not what we do. We’re not going to walk it up because that’s not what we do, but we can play open-court basketball successfully as long as we get back on defense and defend. That will hopefully be something that will allow us to keep the game out of the 120s.”

The Volunteers love to jack 3-pointers. They knocked down a school-record of 286 this season.

Junior guard Chris Lofton, the SEC Player of the Year, nailed 93 of them. The Vols’ leading scorer (at 20.6 ppg) will certainly be Virginia’s main focus of attention.

Against Albany, UVa did a great job of trapping Jamar Wilson on the perimeter and forcing him to give up the ball. Virginia will look to employ a similar strategy on Lofton.

“The leader and person that really makes that team go is Chris Lofton,” said Virginia forward Jason Cain, “so we have to try and contain him the best we can and also try and focus on defending the post. It’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do all season, but we’re going to try and make it work.”

Typically, Tennessee likes to force an up-tempo game via its full-court pressure defense. However, Pearl sounded leery of letting Singletary and Reynolds have so much open space in which to work.

“I don’t know that we’ll be able to [press like that],” he said. “You’ve got two NBA guards out there.”

After a mini-slump, Virginia hopes that Reynolds can build on his spectacular 28-point outing against Albany. UVa, which will be trying to make the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995, will need him to since it probably won’t enjoy the same advantage in the post that it did against the Great Danes.

Chances are, Tunji Soroye won’t be scoring nine points against the Vols (like he did versus Albany).

Soroye, however, will be counted on to bother Tennessee players with his length. The Vols have extremely small frontcourt players. They have just one player taller than 6-foot-6, and Dane Bradshaw, their starting 4-man, is only 6-4.

With that in mind, Singletary didn’t sound like he was banking on Tennessee scoring anywhere close to triple digits.

“We’re not really concerned because we play defense,” said Singletary, who should hope Virginia doesn’t run into the 49ers next season. “It’s not really going to be a shootout because we do our job and they’re not going to be able to get too many shots up or comfortable shots up. That’s our game plan. We’re here to win.

“We have to get up in their jerseys and play tough defense and not pay attention to anything else going on.”

Dunks

The winner advances to play Ohio State in the Sweet 16 in San Antonio. … Virginia leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 7-3. UVa knocked the Vols out of the NCAA Tournament in both 1981 and ’82. Virginia won the last meeting in 2001 at the Jimmy V Classic at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. … Cain was asked one of the toughest questions of Saturday’s Media Day about whether he had ever thought Leitao was recruiting over him. “After the first year, I was like, ‘Wow, the guy really hates me.’ But then I began to realize that, ‘Damn, he really does care about me and wants me to do well more than I want myself to do well.’” … Last month, Pearl and his wife announced a $100,000 scholarship in the honor of starting forward Dane Bradshaw. … The NCAA and host Ohio State announced that 550 tickets for today’s games in Nationwide Arena have been stolen. All of the stolen tickets have been invalidated and will not be accepted. New tickets have been printed. All fans are cautioned that any tickets remaining for purchase must be purchased only from the participating institutions or the Nationwide Arena ticket office.
 

Hoos have a shot with J.R.
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- He’s baaaacccck!

J.R. Reynolds, the sharp-shooting kid from Virginia who refuses to divulge his middle name, is back. And that could be a problem for any team standing in the Cavaliers’ way as he and his teammates stand on the verge of the NCAA’s Sweet 16 heading into this afternoon’s showdown with high-scoring Tennessee.

Reynolds came into the South Region in a horrific shooting slump, having connected on a mere 9 of his previous 44 field-goal attempts. The slump was a major contributor to Virginia’s puzzling finish, when the team blew a chance to win the ACC regular season outright, instead losing to last-place Wake Forest, then lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to bottom-feeder N.C. State.

A hip injury had foiled Reynolds’ and Virginia’s chance for glory. It affected everything he did or tried to do. Up until this week, Reynolds can’t really remember the last full practice he was able to participate in.

A week, two weeks? Three weeks, a month?

“I don’t know, something like that,” Reynolds said. “I really can’t remember.”

What the Virginia senior guard does remember is that awful feeling of playing the best basketball of his life and then suffering

through the frustration of losing his shooting rhythm because he couldn’t practice. We’re talking about a kid who had grown accustomed to taking hundreds of jump shots daily, not being able to do his thing.

“Prior to that injury, there was a stretch where there wasn’t a better guard in the league, this locker room included,” said UVa assistant coach Rob Lanier, just before Saturday’s practice at Nationwide Arena. “There wasn’t a guard in the conference and maybe not in the country that was playing at a higher level than J.R. Reynolds.”

Of course, all of this was not only frustrating Reynolds and UVa’s fans, but was driving head coach Dave Leitao crazy. Leitao, whom Lanier jokes is someone who always finds a dark cloud in every silver lining, someone who always believes the sky is falling, in turn was driving his staff bananas worrying about what would happen because of Reynolds’ condition.

“Dave would say, [Reynolds is] hurt, so he can’t practice ... if he can’t practice, he can’t play well,” Lanier said. “But what that does, is it motivates [Leitao] about how to think. We get into a room and find a way to make things work.

“Then Dave goes back into his ‘sky is falling’ mode again, the wheels starting turning, we brainstorm. That process, it challenges us as a staff. It keeps us thinking. It’s a sense of inadvertent brilliance.”

While the coaching staff kept coming up with ideas on how to remain competitive, they knew that time was on their side, that there was more basketball to be played. They knew there was the ACC Tournament and they knew they were in the NCAA Tournament. It was just a matter of finding time in there for Reynolds to heal.

Once he did, well we all saw the results. Reynolds single-handedly blew upset-minded Albany out of the South Region on Friday with a 28-point performance that could have been even more impressive. He had 23 at halftime. Albany only had 25.

His stroke was back. He was 9 for 13 and hit seven of his first nine shots. During one couldn’t-miss streak in the first half, following one 3-pointer, Reynolds almost looked Jordan-esque when his deep trey swished the net and the Cavalier just sort of held the pose, allowing his finger roll at the top of his shot to just kind of linger so that everyone in the joint knew where it came from.

“I try to hold the follow-through up there a little while, especially when I’m shooting well,” J.R. said with a grin.

He’s been grinning a lot since he stepped foot in Columbus. His first trip to the NCAAs has been everything he had hoped for. Media everywhere, spotlights, police escorts to the arena, getting his shot back. Priceless.

Everyone on the team is elated that Reynolds is getting sent out of his Virginia career on such a high note. There must have been a time in Reynolds’ career that he must have wondered if he’d ever see this day.

Recruited out of Roanoke Catholic, then Oak Hill Academy, former UVa coach Pete Gillen signed the shooting star to primarily be a scorer. He didn’t really become a complete player until sometime during his junior year, although some will argue that metamorphosis didn’t really occur until this season.

“My role before was mostly a scorer ... although I always drew the defensive assignment against the other team’s best player,” Reynolds said. “But the first couple of years it was really all about shooting 3’s.”

And with good reason. He once lit up the scoreboard for an Oak Hill-record 14 bombs.

But Leitao wanted more from this kid starting last season, Reynolds’ junior year.

The coach wanted Reynolds to take ownership of the team.

“I don’t think J.R. came into his junior season with that sense of entitlement that you want your upperclassmen to have, and Dave had to sell him on it,” Lanier said. “I think it started with the process of J.R. saying, ‘You know what? I can make mistakes. I’ve got the green light to shoot the ball and the demand is on my to be a leader.’

“Once he embraced that and realized the level that he could perform, then all the actual components of his abilities started to manifest themselves on the basketball floor.”

Virginia’s staff knew Reynolds had all the right stuff. He came to Charlottesville with it. Gillen knew it, too, when he recruited him. A lot of it didn’t unfold until he was challenged by Leitao, until he realized that he could let it all hang out and no matter what, Leitao was going to believe in him, trust in him.

Sometimes Leitao’s way of motivating a player isn’t for the faint of heart. The language can be blistering, personal, even hurtful.

But it has a point. It’s the coach’s way of challenging a player to raise his level of play, a way of drawing out the best in a kid if the kid doesn’t wilt under the intensity of the moment.

Reynolds showed that he had plenty of stuff early this season, when Virginia beat N.C. State in a rare December conference game. After being somewhat berated in the huddle during a timeout about when was the last time he hit a 3-pointer that meant something.

With 1:40 left in the game, the senior popped in a huge, go-ahead 3-pointer that turned the tide against the Wolfpack, and as he trotted back by Virginia’s bench on his way back up the floor, he pointed at Leitao and shouted something at the coach.

“It was something you can’t print in this newspaper,” Reynolds chuckled.

Leitao loved it.

That was part of taking ownership of this basketball team, of becoming a leader even with the likes of a natural-born leader like backcourt mate Sean Singletary in the same locker room.

“I felt everybody was looking up to me and feeding off my energy and the things I do on the court,” Reynolds said of stepping into the role. “I enjoy talking to the guys because of all I’ve been through ... teaching them the dos and don’ts.”

It was all there. Reynolds just had to have someone coax it out of him and Leitao was that person. It has all turned out rather nicely heading into what could be a special moment for Virginia’s basketball program today.

Yes, J.R. is back and he hopes he’s here to stay for at least a couple of more weeks.

 

When philosophies collide
Leitao, Pearl share background, not strategies
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - They grew up at the same time in humble surroundings near Boston. They both fell in love with basketball at an early age and decided to make the sport their profession. They’ve respected one another from afar all these years.

Today, the lives of Bruce Pearl and Dave Leitao collide with a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake in the second round of the NCAA South Region.

Pearl, who celebrates his 47th birthday today, is exactly two months older than Leitao. Pearl grew up in Sharon, Mass., while Leitao was raised in nearby New Bedford. Jim Calhoun took Leitao under his wing at an early age, paralleling the life of Pearl, who was more than just an apprentice to Dr. Tom Davis.

But that’s where the similarities seem to end.

Leitao grew up under one set of basketball philosophy taught by the eventual Hall of Famer Calhoun. That school of thought is all about toughness, physical play, rebounding and most of all defense.

Pearl, who studied under Davis, prefers the other route to winning: pressure defense, up-tempo basketball, score as many points as you can.

This afternoon’s clash offers a contrast in those strategies, those styles of the game, and the winner will be rewarded handsomely with a trip to San Antonio and a chance to play on.

“Dave was a great player [in college at Northeastern under Calhoun], I wasn’t,” said Pearl, who was a student-assistant to Davis at Boston College.

Leitao likes to stick it to Pearl about their college backgrounds and took the opportunity on Saturday afternoon to take a playful jab at his coaching counterpart.

“Best of my knowledge, what was he, a mascot more than a player?” Leitao chuckled.

Davis gave Pearl a chance to learn the game as a student-assistant at BC, then hired him after college and kept him on his coaching staffs as Dr. Tom moved on to Stanford, then Iowa before Pearl went out on his own.

“I didn’t know him that well because I was on the other side at Northeastern, while he was at Boston College,” Leitao said. “But him being around Dr. Tom Davis, he learned a tremendous amount. I respect him a ton for that.

“He’s the same guy that he was back then and he wants the same thing, with the same energy, the same convictions,” Leitao said. “His teams play the same way. He’s just doing it now at a big place on a big stage. He’s always been a guy that I’ve admired way back to the times when I just didn’t know him as well, but I knew Boston College basketball and what Tom Davis and everybody around that program was all about.”

Pearl said those days back in Beantown were a special time in college basketball in a city that’s more oriented toward professional sports.

You had Davis at BC, Calhoun at Northeastern, and a young Rick Pitino at Boston U., three of the best pressure defense coaches all in the same city competing against one another.

“It was a very exciting time as a student to be witness to a young Pitino evolving,” Pearl said. “Rick would come scout all the BC games, even after they played early in the season, just learning, and I always admired him for that.

“I think Dave has a terrific pedigree coming from Coach Calhoun and what you know of me, you know so much of what I’ve inherited comes from Dr. Tom Davis. So, Dave did it as a player and I did it as whatever in the world you’d want to call me.”

Pearl, who went on to become a successful head coach on the Division II level at Southern Indiana, then at UW-Milwaukee before taking over at Tennessee, almost at the same time Virginia hired Leitao, will showcase today what he learned under Davis.

The Vols follow Pearl’s high-scoring teachings, representing the top scoring team in the SEC in both seasons under his tutelage. In fact, Pearl’s teams have led their conference in scoring each of the last seven seasons.

Friday’s opening round 121-86 victory over Long Beach State was the highest-scoring NCAA Tournament game since 1990 when Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV team defeated Loyola Marymount, 131-101.

And the Vols believe in pressure defense, something that Virginia’s guards will have to adjust to throughout the game.

“We’re going to pressure the ball for 40 minutes,” Pearl said. “We’ll do it 94 feet most of the time. There are two ways to control tempo, pressure

defense or holding the ball. I prefer pressure defense.”

Virginia followers are certainly aware of Leitao’s penchant for defense and rebounding and has what Pearl classified as “two NBA guards” that can solve more presses blindfolded.

After all these years, the two men with so many similarities, with opposite beliefs on how to play the game, finally meet on common ground.

 

Lars back in the groove
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - There was a one-minute outing against FSU. A five-minute performance versus Miami. Then came DNPs against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

As recently as three weeks ago, Virginia crowd favorite Lars Mikalauskas was reduced to a bench-warmer - a total non-factor.

The 6-foot-8 Lithuanian looked like he might be - ever so subtly - getting pushed out of the Virginia program. (Unless Sean Singletary leaves for the NBA, UVa is already one player over the scholarship limit for the 2007-08 season.)

However, Mikalauskas has seemingly earned his way back into coach Dave Leitao’s good graces.

The sophomore was the first big man off the bench in Virginia’s first-round thumping of Albany on Friday.

“Lars came off the bench first by virtue of how he played in practice,” Leitao said on Saturday, “and we’ll probably do that again.”

Today, Mikalauskas could be a huge factor when Virginia plays Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Volunteers are under-sized and not known for being physical. Being physical is what Mikalauskas’ game revolves around.

“The only thing that I know about them is that they’re not a good rebounding team,” said Mikalauskas, referring to the Vols’ minus-4.9 rebounding margin. “We normally rebound pretty well, so hopefully that’s something we can take advantage of.”

The biggest thing you notice about Mikalauskas lately is the extra spring in his legs. Earlier in the season he was bothered by ankle injuries and was not jumping nearly as well as he is now.

“My ankles feel better, and I lost a little bit of weight,” he said. “I feel good, like I’m in good shape now.”

Virginia athletic trainer Jeff Boyer said Mikalauskas’ challenges have been more mental than physical.

“Lars’ ankles have been fine since November and December,” Boyer said. “It really was just a matter of him feeling more confident. I think he’s definitely feeling more confident.”

Mikalauskas’ teammates say they have seen a big difference lately.

“I just feel like he’s a lot more energetic because he’s a lot more offensive-minded instead of being such a passive player and just going about being an empty name in the game,” said Virginia forward Jason Cain. “I feel he’s just trying - he wants to make a good impression. He wants to play well. He doesn’t want our season to end early.”

Added forward Ryan Pettinella: “He’s running the court and finishing a lot better.”

As a freshman, Mikalauskas averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds. He was arguably the team’s best low-post threat. But this season, those numbers dipped to 3.8 and 1.9.

Mikalauskas, who had two points, three rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes against Albany, said his time on the pine was frustrating.

“It was really hard because I knew what I was capable of doing, but I just wasn’t quick enough,” he said. “My ankles were hurting. It just wasn’t easy to complete the missions that Coach wanted me to.”

Now, Mikalauskas feels as though he has earned Leitao’s trust again.

“I think he knows I’m ready to play and I’m in good shape,” he said. “He can see me running fast and scoring in practice inside. I think that’s why he’s started putting me in the games earlier.”

Mikalauskas, who was all smiles in the locker room, sounded like he couldn’t wait for today.

“I’m 100-percent ready to go,” he said. “This is the time to be ready - the NCAA Tournament.”

 

Cavs plate 5 in 11th for win
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 18, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In a game that mirrored an episode of “Survivor,” persistence ultimately paid off for Virginia’s baseball team.

Thanks to a five-run 11th inning, timely pitching from reliever Jake Rule and several outfield miscues by North Carolina, the Cavaliers pulled off a rare series-opening feat: They beat the Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium in a game that Robert Woodard started.

Virginia used the late-inning heroics to register a 7-2 victory over UNC, snapping the top-ranked team’s seven-game winning streak and giving UVa coach Brian O’Connor his 150th career win.

“This one will be a very important win,” said O’Connor, who ironically registered his 100th win during a victory over then-No. 1 Georgia Tech last season. “You don’t know how many opportunities you are going to have to win on the road when you have a one-run lead going into the back-half of a game. You have to take advantage of them when you have the opportunity to.

“Who knows what will happen [today in our doubleheader], but you take any win that you can get on the road, especially against the No. 1 team in the country.”

Virginia (18-3, 2-2 ACC) could have disposed of the Tar Heels (17-2, 3-1 ACC) in simpler fashion.

However, after taking a 2-1 lead in the seventh on an RBI double by designated hitter Greg Miclat, the Cavaliers gave the run back an inning later when UNC’s Tim Fedroff delivered a two-out, run-scoring single off Rule.

Virginia escaped further damage as the transfer from William and Mary worked out of the jam.

It was a sign of things to come.

In the 10th, Rule gave up a deep fly to the warning track in right-center that was miraculously chased down and secured with a head-first diving catch by center fielder Tim Henry, who channeled the spirit of Jim Edmonds.

“That is one of the best catches I have ever seen without a doubt,” Rule said. “I guess I’m going to have to buy Tim lunch.”

Rule, who was making just his second appearance in an ACC contest, got the second out in the frame before loading the bases with three consecutive walks.

Appearing rattled, Rule promptly fell behind pinch hitter Mike Cavasinni by throwing three straight balls, each of which was well out of the strike zone.

As the Tar Heel faithful grew louder, Rule took a slow stroll around the mound.

“In a situation like that you take a deep breath, step off, clear your head and get back in there,” Rule said. “Anything other than a strike and the game is over.

“I was just trying to get back on the mound and force contact and make them beat me, basically.”

After throwing a strike on the 3-0 pitch, Rule induced a game-saving ground ball to third baseman Patrick Wingfield.

“There were so many opportunities that North Carolina could have won the ball game and Jake just kept making big pitch after big pitch,” O’Connor said. “He was the story of the game.”

In opportunistic fashion, Virginia took the lead for good in the 11th.

UVa catcher Beau Seabury reached on a bloop single that fooled Cavasinni, who had just gone into center. After UNC coach Mike Fox pulled Cavasinni for Kendric Burney and a single by Wingfield, Tyler Cannon hit a fly ball to center that confused Burney. It also dropped in, giving the Cavs a 3-2 lead.

UVa added to its cushion with a two-run double by Henry, an RBI single by Miclat and a sacrifice fly from Sean Doolittle. Closer Casey Lambert sealed the win by retiring the Tar Heels in order in the 11th.

“That was such a team win and that is what makes it special,” said Miclat, who registered three of Virginia’s 13 hits. “We could have easily packed it in, but our pitchers met the challenge, and at the plate, well we just kept battling and fighting.”

Woodard, who entered with a 27-3 career record, went 6.2 innings, scattering four hits and allowing two earned runs, the first he had ever allowed against UVa.

Virginia starter Jacob Thompson, who went seven innings in his first game as the team’s No. 1 starter, did not factor into the decision but masterfully scattered seven hits while giving up just one earned run.

The two teams will complete the series today with a doubleheader that starts at noon. The nightcap, which is tentatively scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., will be broadcast locally on CSN.

 

Rubeor explodes for 7 goals in win
Junior adds an assist as UVa holds off Towson
By Sean McLernon / smclernon@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
March 17, 2007

A native of Towson, Md., Ben Rubeor followed the Towson University men’s lacrosse team growing up. On Saturday at Klockner Stadium, the Tigers were the ones following him.

Curling around the goal, breaking from the top of the zone, blowing by screens - Rubeor eluded the Towson defense throughout the game, scoring a career-high seven goals and leading No. 2 Virginia to a 13-9 victory over the 16th-ranked Tigers.

The Cavaliers (6-1) have now won six straight contests, which ties them for the nation’s longest winning streak with Fairfield and Navy. Virginia has also won 20 consecutive games at Klockner, going back to the 2004 season.

Rubeor’s seven goals are the most scored by a Virginia player since Doug Knight tied the single-game record with eight goals against Syracuse in 1996.

“Numbers-wise, it was a little startling,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “Ben seemed to make a good play whenever we needed it.”

With the Cavaliers up 11-9 and five minutes remaining in the contest, Rubeor scored the game’s final two tallies to secure the UVa victory.

He also scored the first goal of the second half, to give the Cavaliers a two-goal lead after going into the break with a slim 7-6 advantage.

Despite Rubeor’s offensive fireworks, Virginia was never able to pull away from the Tigers, leading by no more than four the entire game.

Led by Bobby Griebe’s four goals, Towson was able to get the ball behind the Virginia defense by passing over the top. Most of the Tigers’ goals came on early point-blank opportunities. The UVa defense adjusted accordingly after the break, allowing only one Towson score in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“We needed to be alert and attentive on defense,” Starsia said. “We needed to be on our toes, and I think we got better as the game went on.”

Goals from Rubeor, Jack Riley and Garrett Billings put the Cavaliers up 10-6 in the third quarter before a mini-run from Towson cut the UVa lead to 11-9. Rubeor then shut the door on his hometown team.

“I’m just glad we were able to get the win,” Rubeor said. “This was a quality team we beat today and we knew it was going to be a tough matchup.”

Face-off specialist Adam Fassnacht won a season-high 14 faceoffs with a 66-percent success rate. He won his first six faceoffs in the first half to keep the Cavaliers in the game when Towson was particularly hot.

“If we can win faceoffs, then we’re a team that can seize the momentum of the game because we like to get after you,” Starsia said. “This little run we’ve been on the last couple weeks as much as anything has had to do with Adam’s success facing off.”

Besides Rubeor, Billings was the only other Virginia player to score more than once, finishing with two tallies. Danny Glading, Steve Giannone, George Huguely and Riley each added a score and Glading finished with a team-high two assists. Rubeor also recorded a helper, giving him a total of eight points in the win.

Virginia jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Griebe scored three times in a span of seven minutes to put the Tigers up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Rubeor evened the score early in the second quarter and Fassnacht won his sixth consecutive faceoff to give Virginia the ball back immediately. Glading picked up a rebound from a Rubeor miss and quickly found Billings, who fired the ball into the back of the net to give UVa a lead it would not relinquish.

Not that Towson didn’t make it interesting.

The Cavaliers extended its lead to 7-4 late in the second quarter, but Towson’s Nick Williams managed to break free in front of the crease and fling the ball past Turner with 1:40 remaining. Virginia’s Will Barrow was called for a loose-ball push a few seconds later and the Tigers capitalized on the extra-man opportunity, with Justin Schneider finding Timmy Andre open at the edge of the crease for the easy goal just 44 seconds before halftime.

The score left the Virginia goalkeeper Kip Turner and defenders Ricky Smith, Matt Kelly and Ken Clausen watching the replay on Hoo Vision looking for answers.

There was little need for that in the second half, as the Cavaliers allowed only three goals in the final 30 minutes.

Turner finished with six saves, four of them coming in the second half.The Cavaliers do not play again until Saturday when they travel to historic Homewood Field in Baltimore to take on Johns Hopkins. Like the Cavaliers, the No. 3 Blue Jays (4-1) opened the season with a loss but have won four straight since then.

“It’s a special place for all lacrosse players to go and play,” Rubeor said. “It’s the hotbed and the figurative home for lacrosse. We’re looking forward to it.”

Ground balls

Starsia acknowledged that his team was not as sharp Saturday as it had been recently, but was proud of his team being able to pull out the victory: “It says a little something about us to win on a day when we’re not playing our best lacrosse. It’s not acceptable, maybe understandable, but not acceptable.” … The Cavaliers ousthot the Tigers (45-32), picked up more ground balls (46-40) and committed fewer turnovers (26-17)… Rubeor leads the Cavaliers with 26 goals, well ahead of Danny Glading, who is in second with 15 tallies. Next after that is Billings with 10. … Game time temperature was a frigid 37 degrees, but 2,823 people still showed up for the contest. ... Virginia has now won seven straight games against Towson, suffering its last loss to the Tigers in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.


 

Tempo an issue for Cavs today
UVa faces a Tennessee team capable of putting up big offensive numbers.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the 63 games that were required to complete the 2006 NCAA men's basketball championship, not one team scored 100 points and only two got more than 90.

When Tennessee hit the 100-point mark Friday against Long Beach State, more than 612 minutes remained on the Nationwide Arena clock.

"You don't start out looking at the clock," Vols coach Bruce Pearl said. "I know I didn't. All of a sudden, you get to the century mark and it's like 'OK. Wow!' "

The Vols didn't stop there, trouncing Long Beach State 121-86. It was the highest winning score in an NCAA game since 1991, when UNLV defeated Loyola-Marymount 131-101.

"Obviously, when you see a game like that, it's a pretty good wake-up call," said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, whose Cavaliers meet the Volunteers at 12:10 p.m. today in a second-round South Region game. "If you don't play, you're going to go home."

That would be the case at any tempo, but fourth-seeded Virginia (21-10) knows what its mission is today. Fifth-seeded Tennessee (23-10) will apply the kind of full-court pressure that UVa has seen only occasionally.

"We're not going to slow it up because that's not what we do," Leitao said. "We're not going to walk it up because that's not what we do.

"We can play open-court basketball successfully as long as we get back and defend. And that hopefully will be something to allow us to keep the game out of the 120s."

The truth is, Tennessee had not reached 90 points in its previous 17 games before Friday. The Vols entered the tournament as the No. 11 team in Division I scoring offense, with 79.7 points per game, but Virginia wasn't far behind at 76.8.

The Cavaliers won an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1995 when they beat Albany 84-57.

Senior J.R. Reynolds broke out of a shooting slump by scoring 28 points and the Cavaliers also got 23 from junior guard Sean Singletary.

Tennessee guards Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith and Ramar Smith had 25, 24 and 23 points, respectively, in the trouncing over Long Beach State.

The Vols had 11 steals, four by Lofton and three each by Ramar Smith and defensive-minded, 6-foot-4 freshman Josh Tabb.

"A lot of [ACC] teams press," Singletary said, "but they scout us. When we play them, they don't press much because they know we're at our best when we get into the open court. We'll be comfortable with the press."

Leitao conceded that some teams have pressed Virginia successfully in spurts, but those turnovers generally have come when UVa has had an inexperienced inbounder. Usually, that role falls to senior Jason Cain, provided he stays out of foul trouble.

"I think it's [Cain's availability] one of the keys to the game, not just as an inbounder but as a presence," Leitao said. "He's going to be the most experienced guy with the ball in his hands against pressure."

Virginia starts two legitimate post players in Cain (6-10, 225 lbs.) and 6-11, 245-pound junior Tunji Soroye. In addition to starting three guards, Tennessee uses 6-3 Dane Bradshaw at power forward.

Tennessee ranks 248th out of 325 Division I teams in rebound margin and Pearl admitted he is concerned.

"Terrifically," he said. "We struggle with it and it's going to be a big factor in the game. They understand when Reynolds and Singletary are going to shoot and they go, they charge to the boards and we're obviously going to be challenged to keep them off."

To be able to increase the tempo, Tennessee either needs to force turnovers or control the boards, as it did against Long Beach State, 43-28.

"We can harrass you," Pearl said. "We can be a pain, but we can't dictate. Yes, we're a team that plays better with big numbers, but if I do everything I can to up the tempo, then I'm liable to let Reynolds and Singletary run wild through our press. I don't know if I want to do that."

Like Leitao, Pearl is in his second year at his new school, but is one year further along in his reclamation process, having taken UT to the second round last year as a No. 2 seed before losing to seventh-seeded Wichita State, 80-73.

Virginia hopes to end the Volunteers' postseason run at the same stage this year, although the Cavaliers already have entered a rareified state. They hadn't even played in the NCAA tournament since 2001.

Virginia hopes it has a good-luck charm: The orange shoes donned by Reynolds for the first time on Friday.

Frontcourt reserve Will Harris was talking about making the conversion today.

"If Will wants to try them and thinks it's going to make him play the role of J.R., God bless him, because if he plays better, we'll play better," Leitao said. "I'm at the stage right now of 'whatever works for you.' "
 

Will the X-men be heroes or goats for Tech and U. Va.?
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - His two best-known teammates were out on a press conference podium, getting most of the attention, their every word recorded and transcribed, their images beamed to sound-bite-hungry TV stations across the nation.

Adrian Joseph sat in the Virginia locker room, listening to his iPod. A manager flung a Granola bar toward him from across the room. Joseph snagged it, and slipped off his headphones to answer a question.

No, he said, he doesn't mind being known as an "X Factor," one of the players whose contribution, or lack of one, is often an indicator of whether Virginia wins or loses.

The Cavaliers face Tennessee in a second-round NCAA tournament game today. Joseph, a 6-foot-7 forward, and Mamadi Diane, a 6-5 swingman seated across the room, have earned that label for their uneven play this year.

"J.R. and Sean, they're always going to come out and give you what they do, score a lot of points," Joseph said, referring to star guards J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary.

Joseph and Diane? It varies from game to game. Joseph cans five 3-pointers against Florida State, pumps in 13 points in 16 minutes against Maryland, and Virginia wins. Diane drops 25 on Arizona, 22 against Gonzaga and 26 against Maryland, and the Cavaliers roll.

The players go a combined 1 for 11 at Virginia Tech and post eight points between them at Miami, and Virginia loses.

The same holds true for the Hokies, who play Southern Illinois in the second game here today. An hour after the Virginia press conference, it was Tech's turn at the podium. While four of his teammates, including star guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon, answered questions under the TV lights, forward A.D. Vassallo sat in the locker room, watching the opening minutes of the Maryland-Butler game.

X Factor? Absolutely, Vassallo said. He and teammate Deron Washington both.

"I hear that a lot," Vassallo said. "When me and Deron play good, we're a good team. When we play bad, we lose. I heard that a lot. I guess its right."

For both Tech and Virginia, their guards are a given. Reynolds and Singletary often score in bunches, do virtually all of the ballhandling, create plays for others. Dowdell and Gordon run the offense, haunt the passing lanes, and score about 30 points a game between them.

Like Diane and Joseph, Vassallo and Washington have not been as reliable. Vassallo, a 6-6 swingman, scored 22 in Tech's win over Virginia, hitting four 3-pointers. He had just three points in a loss at Virginia three weeks later. He went 2 for 12 in a November loss to Illinois after scoring 26 in a win over West Florida.

Washington, a 6-7 forward, can energize the Hokies with his open-court athleticism, scoring 22 and 19 points in dunk-fest wins over Virginia and Boston College, but just five in losses to Marshall and N.C. State.

When both players are clicking, "it takes the pressure off me and Jamon," Dowdell said.

"With A.D. being able to spread the defense, that just gives us more room to drive the ball. It just opens everything up," Dowdell said. "Deron is a guy who can be all over the court, so it just does a lot for our team and makes things a lot easier defensively."

The high-flying Washington has worked on becoming a better half-court player. In a sticky, physical game Friday against Illinois, he scored a team-high 14 points, and hit three 3-pointers.

"The game showed me that I can actually help out in our half-court set knocking down shots," he said.

Tech needed the help, and could need it again today against a good defensive team in Southern Illinois. Similarly, Virginia coach Dave Leitao said he's looking for production from Diane and Joseph against a Tennessee team that averages almost 81 points per game.

"Especially in the open court, they're going to have to make some plays for us," he said.

Both are capable of big offensive games. Joseph's role is primarily as a catch-and-shoot player who drifts to the wings to wait for passes from Reynolds and Singletary. When he's knocking down shots, lanes open for the guards.

Diane, a 6-5 swingman, is more of a scorer than a pure shooter. His confidence has waned at times. Diane said his defense fuels his offense. When he guards well, he shoots well.

"Having that third scoring option makes us a tough threat," he said. "Whenever there are three threats, you can't extend out on one or two players."

Diane scored 10 points in Virginia's win over Albany Friday, while Joseph had just four. The Cavaliers got an unexpected bonus of nine points from center Tunji Soroye. But like Tech, which got 13 points from Coleman Collins, the Cavaliers haven't been able to rely on low-post scoring.

Which makes each team's "X Factors" that much more important.

 

Trips to the line rare for Joseph
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Adrian Joseph seemed to take a little extra time as he stepped to the free-throw line Friday -- as if he hadn't been there for a while.

Actually, he hadn't.

Joseph hadn't attempted a free throw in 21 games before he swished a pair Friday in Virginia's 84-57 victory over Albany.

"It's a stat that's pretty amazing if you look at it," UVa coach Dave Leitao said Saturday. "I thought, as a result, he may not make them because he's been to the line in game situations so infrequently."

Joseph has attempted free throws in only three of Virginia's 31 games -- two in November against Maryland-Eastern Shore, two in December against Utah and two Friday with 6:19 remaining and UVa leading 69-47.

"When it happened, all I did was start laughing," he said. "We joke about it all the time in the locker room, Mamadi [Diane] and me."

Keep in mind, Joseph is not a bit player. He averaged more than 19 minutes per game during his absence from the free-throw line.

Over his three-year career, Joseph has attempted more 3-point shots (295) than 2-pointers (246). He doesn't go inside very often; however, he spent considerably more time at the free-throw line last year, when he was 31-of-42.

"Going to the free-throw line is important to the basketball team and to me," Joseph said. "But, wherever I score, it's OK with me."

After starting 19 games last year, Joseph, a 6-foot-7 junior, has served as the Cavaliers' sixth man this year.

He has started only three times but is fifth on the team in minutes played with 22.2 per game.

"Sometimes, it's frustrating," said Joseph, who averaged 28.6 minutes last year. "I'd definitely rather be a starter, but I know my time's going to come."

Joseph was 1-for-6 from the field Friday and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He seemed amused that Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, whose Volunteers meet UVa today at 12:10 p.m., had used a device called a "rim checker" to determine that one rim had considerably less bounce than the other.

"Doesn't matter to me," Joseph said. "My favorite gym ever for shooting was University Hall but we don't play there any more."

Past target

When Leitao was named Virginia coach in the spring of 2005, one of the first prospects he contacted was Duke Crews, then a junior at Bethel High School in Hampton.

Not long thereafter, Crews committed to Tennessee and contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds Friday in the Vols' 121-86 victory over Long Beach State. A 6-foot-7, 233-pound freshman, Crews is averaging 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds while playing 20 minutes per game.

"We had some quality conversations," Leitao said, "but before we could put our best foot forward, there were some things we had to overcome with that senior class.

"You're talking about what they already knew about Virginia and that wasn't as appealing as what we were talking about."

Gillen reunion

The good feelings produced by Virginia's first-round game made it easier for several of the Cavaliers' players to exchange pleasantries with their former coach, Pete Gillen, who was doing radio commentary on Westwood One.

"I talked to him before and after the game," said J.R. Reynolds, who previously had confirmed that he had not had any contact with Gillen since the latter's 2005 departure as UVa coach. "It was good to see him."

Another milestone

Reynolds' 28-point performance enabled him to move past John Crotty into 10th place on UVa's all-time scoring list at 1,657. Reynolds is exactly 100 points behind No. 9 Curtis Staples, whose every move Reynolds would mimic as a youngster at the Downtown Roanoke YMCA.

Also making a swift move up the charts is junior point guard Sean Singletary, whose 1,407 points has him eight points behind Mel Kennedy for 20th place on UVa's career list. Singletary already ranks eighth in assists (Reynolds is 10th).

The odds

Fourth-seeded Virginia (21-10) was an early two-point underdog today against fifth-seeded Tennessee (23-10). The Cavaliers, who have been the favorites in their last eight games, were underdogs in victories earlier this season over Arizona, Duke, Clemson and Maryland, twice.
 

Opposite styles today
David Teel
March 18 2007

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Today's fare of NCAA tournament basketball showcases Virginia teams playing back-to-back second-rounders in Ohio's capital city. If that geography seems odd, wait 'til you get a load of the games.

They'll be as different as Appalachia and Alexandria.

Up first is Virginia versus Tennessee in the South Regional. Pedal-to-the-medal speed worthy of the state's NASCAR roots.

Then we have Virginia Tech against Southern Illinois in the West Regional. Grinding pace more unsightly than Newport News' coal-dusted freight yards.

Friday's first-round games here served as precursors.

Virginia raced past Albany 84-57 and posted its best shooting percentage of the season. Tennessee ran Long Beach State ragged 121-86, the most points scored in the tournament since Nevada-Las Vegas' 131 in 1990.

Cavaliers guards J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary combined for 51 points, 10 assists and seven 3-pointers; Volunteers guards Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith and Ramar Smith - all three start - produced 71 points, nine assists and 10 3-pointers.

Lofton and Singletary alone are worth watching.

"Chris Lofton is crazy," Vanderbilt guard Dan Cage said after the teams played this season. "He shoots from halfcourt with three people in his face and doesn't even look to see if it goes in. He knows it's in."

Everything Lofton and friends hoisted against Long Beach seemed to go in. But as Singletary sagely noted, the 49ers' defense was invisible.

"Tomorrow's a different story," he said Saturday, "because we will offer up resistance."

Virginia resisted plenty against Albany, shading its defense throughout to swarm Great Danes guard Jamar Wilson. Tennessee's balance mandates an adjustment.

Lofton "does command some special attention," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said, "but both Smiths, JaJuan and Ramar, can easily hurt you, as well as a couple other guys. ...Yesterday we talked about how many different sets of eyes we had to put on Jamar Wilson. We can't do that with Lofton."

Nor can Tennessee, as it was Friday, be content to defend passively. Singletary and Reynolds are too good, and the Cavaliers' front line is too big - the Vols start one player taller than 6-foot-4.

Indeed, many defensive missteps from either side and a Mavs-Suns game will break out, Singletary impersonating Steve Nash, impossible to contain off the dribble, Lofton draining 3s like Jason Terry.

Virginia Tech and Southern Illinois produced no such elegance Friday - the Hokies edging Illinois 54-52, the Salukis besting Holy Cross 61-51. Nor do they expect any today.

"If you thought the game was ugly yesterday," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said, "this is going to be doubly ugly."

Greenberg knows of what he speaks. The Salukis beat the Hokies 69-64 at a Florida tournament in November, with neither team racking up any style points.

Nothing wrong with that. Tech and Southern Illinois feast on man-to-man defense that Hokies' center Coleman Collins compared to "smash-mouth football."

Tech held Illinois scoreless for the final four-plus minutes, while Southern Illinois harassed Holy Cross into missing two-thirds of its shots. The Hokies score 72 points a game, while the Salukis haven't yielded more than 70 in any game this season.

Southern Illinois boasts three selections from the Missouri Valley Conference's all-defensive squad, including defensive player of the year Randal Falker; Tech's Zabian Dowdell made the ACC's all-defensive team for the second consecutive year, Jamon Gordon for the third.

Gordon, the conference's defensive player of the year, has seven steals in each of the Hokies' last two victories. He owns Tech's single-season record with 93 and is six shy of matching Dell Curry's career mark of 295.

"That's what he loves to do," Dowdell said. "A lot of guys rest up on defense, and use all their energy on offense. But (defense) is all he talks about."

"He's got great instinct," Greenberg said of Gordon. "A John Stockton or Nash, they see plays offensively before they happen. I think Jamon sees plays defensively before they happen."

What happens today is Virginia and Virginia Tech seek to extend already successful seasons by reaching regional semifinals - the Cavaliers' first since 1995, the Hokies' first since 1967.

And that's eye-catching no matter the aesthetics.
 

Cavs out to stop high-scoring Vols
Defense expected to be key vs. Tennessee, fresh off a 121-point effort in opener
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For sheer entertainment value, the second NCAA tournament game Friday at Nationwide Arena was difficult to surpass. Even so, University of Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds didn't seem overly impressed yes- terday when asked about a game in which 207 points were scored.

"There wasn't a whole lot of defense being played," Reynolds said.

That was especially true on the part of Long Beach State, which surrendered 121 points. Tennessee scored at will in its first-round win over the 49ers "because there wasn't any resistance at all," U.Va. guard Sean Singletary said.

The Cavaliers also like to push the tempo - they scored 84 points in their first-round rout of Albany, with Reynolds and Singletary combining for 51 - but the Volunteers can expect to encounter more resistance today.

Virginia (21-10), the No.4 seed in the South Region and a team known for its rugged halfcourt defense, meets No.5 seed Tennessee (23-10) at 12:10 p.m. The winner's reward?

A trip to San Antonio, Texas, for a third-round date with No.1 seed Ohio State.

To reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995, the Wahoos will have to keep the Vols from staging a repeat of their Friday afternoon score-a-thon. U.Va. averages 77.1 points per game; Tennessee, 80.9.

"If we're going to have an opportunity to be successful, we've got to keep the game manageable," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said. "We're not going to slow it up, because that's not what we do. We're not going to walk it up, because that's not what we do, but we can play open-court basketball successfully as long as we get back on defense."

Three Vols scored more than 20 points against Long Beach State, led by Chris Lofton with 25. Lofton, a junior guard, was The Associated Press' choice as the Southeastern Conference player of the year, and he averages 20.7 points.

"I think we know we're not going to score 121 points [against Virginia]," said Lofton, who's made 97 treys this season. "We have to push the fast break and try to get open looks."

These teams last met in December 2000 at East Rutherford, N.J., where U.Va. romped 107-89 in the Jimmy V Classic. Like Leitao at U.Va., Bruce Pearl is in his second year at Tennessee, and neither knows much about that 2000 game. But they're contemporaries who attended rival colleges - Pearl graduated from Boston College, and Leitao is a Northeastern alumnus - and each knows a lot about the other.

"Dave was a great player. I wasn't," Pearl said. "I was at BC practicing, and he was at Northeastern playing."

Pearl, who's from Boston, turns 47 today. Leitao, from New Bedford, Mass., turns 47 in May. Pearl's mentor in coaching is Dr. Tom Davis. Leitao's is Jim Calhoun.

Before moving to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001, Pearl built a Division II power at Southern Indiana.

"He is the same guy that he was back then," Leitao said, "and he wants the same thing, with the same energy, the same conviction. His teams play the same way. He's just doing it, obviously, now at a big place on a big stage."

U.Va. and Tennessee have one common opponent this season: North Carolina, one of the No.1 seeds in the NCAA tourney. UNC whipped Tennessee 101-87 in New York City on Nov. 24. U.Va. lost 79-69 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 10.

Tennessee's "power forward" is 6-4, 205-pound Dane Bradshaw, and Pearl starts only one player taller than 6-5: Wayne Chism, a 6-9, 245-pound freshman. The Vols compensate with superior speed and quickness, and they're known for their full-court pressure.

With Singletary and Reynolds, Pearl said, Virginia "will be a tough team for us to press, but it's part of our identity, and I'm sure we'll try to press some. I don't know how effective it's going to be."

 

UVa faces small, but explosive Vols
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
March 18, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Will Harris watched the points pile up, the 3-pointers drop from every angle and the pace never wane. Tennessee was running Long Beach State off the court, tying an NCAA tournament first-round record by racking up 121 points.
"I've seen a couple of teams score 121 points in a game," Virginia's freshman forward said Saturday, a day before he and the fourth-seeded Cavaliers play the fifth-seeded Volunteers with a Sweet 16 appearance in the balance. "The Phoenix Suns. The Mavericks. The (Harlem) Globetrotters."

In other words, prolific, unique offenses, just like the one the Volunteers (23-10) will unleash on the defensive-minded Cavaliers at 12:10 this afternoon at the Nationwide Arena.

Virginia (21-10) hasn't faced a team too similar to Tennessee this season. SEC Player of the Year and All-American candidate Chris Lofton (20.7 ppg) is an even bigger headache than Albany's Jamar Wilson. The Vols start one player over 6-foot-4. They push the tempo whenever they can, averaging over 80 points a game. And they shoot 3-pointers without a conscience.

When those shots are dropping, the result is similar to the Long Beach State game. Put simply, watch out.

"Obviously, when you see a game like that, it's a pretty good wake-up call," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "That is, if you don't play, you're going to go home."

Of course, the Cavaliers, who had the second-best field goal percentage defense in the ACC, don't anticipate letting Tennessee walk all over them.

"(Sunday will be) a little different story because we offer resistance," UVa point guard Sean Singletary said.

Tennessee's style isn't without its drawbacks. The Vols' woefully undersized, three-guard lineup puts them at an enormous disadvantage at rebounding, which happens to be a UVa strength.

And while the Volunteers can score in bunches, so can Virginia. The Cavaliers are 12-0 this season when topping 80 points, which changes how some of the players viewed Tennessee's run-and-gun, 121-86 rout on Friday.

"I saw more a team giving up 90 points than a team scoring 120," UVa forward Mamadi Diane said.

The Vols rely on a frenetic style of defense, pressuring teams fullcourt and living off turnovers. Virginia has seen the press sporadically during the ACC season, countering it with varying success. Maryland, Georgia Tech and Clemson had stretches where they puzzled the Cavaliers by applying some fullcourt defense, but UVa still prevailed, finishing 4-0 against those teams.

"Those teams were not able to affect us over the course of the game. (The press) affected us for moments," Leitao said. "We got sloppy more than anything."

Virginia also has an X-factor in the press break. Rather, two of them: Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. Either of the Cavaliers' experienced guards are single-handedly capable of negating a team's ball pressure.

"Singletary is as good a point guard as we're going to see," Vols forward Dane Bradshaw said. "It's going to be tough to press because he is so quick to get to the ball."

As a result, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl is unsure how much he'll be able to go fullcourt today. Some? Definitely. The whole game? Not a chance.

"If I do everything I can to up the tempo," Pearl said, "then I'm liable to let Reynolds and Singletary run wild. ? We're not athletic enough or big enough to dictate tempo. We can harass you. We can be a pain. But we can't dictate."

Translation: fans wanting to see another 121-point game are better off buying Globetrotter tickets.


 

Despite His Many Rants, Cavs' Leitao Draws Raves
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 18, 2007; Page E01

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 17 -- Dave Leitao would watch Jim Calhoun, his college coach at Northeastern, lambaste another one of his teammates and just observe. Then Leitao would wait for the right moment, put his arm around the teammate and softly say, "Coach is only trying to get the best out of you."

"My players would never believe it, but I was very introverted," Leitao said. "It was in my character, and I grew up that way."

Despite what his volcanic sideline demeanor suggests, Leitao hasn't changed, only evolved. The abrasive, almost maniacal persona Leitao shows the world during games rarely surfaces at other times, according to those closest to him. He is measured and never panics, "as deep a thinker as I've ever been around," Calhoun said.

Leitao has combined those opposing qualities -- poise flecked with rage -- while stewarding fourth-seeded Virginia to its first NCAA tournament victory since 1995 and a second-round game Sunday against fifth-seeded Tennessee in the South Region. The Cavaliers also propelled him to the ACC coach of the year award and a share of the regular season conference title, also the school's first since 1995.

During games, Leitao regularly can be seen unleashing expletive-laced tirades at his players. During Virginia's loss to Wake Forest on March 3, he barked, "Why should I put you back in the game?" at center Tunji Soroye before inserting him. His missives can be brutal and stinging, but he had to grow into the role of drill sergeant, a stark change from the slender kid Calhoun first met at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford, Mass.

"I don't know if Dave could chastise a kid then," Calhoun said. "It was not a natural thing."

Calhoun criticized Leitao as a player more than anyone "because his shoulders were strong enough to handle it," he said. Leitao earned the nickname O.D. at Northeastern, short for over-diagnose; each time Calhoun explained a concept, Leitao would ask two more questions. The first time Calhoun met Leitao, he was 16 and carried a rare maturity for his age.

At 23, Leitao was exactly what Calhoun wanted for an assistant, and he offered him a job. Leitao received the call one morning right as he got out of the shower, preparing for a day of work as a manager of a record store in California.

After he graduated, Leitao decided, painfully, to leave basketball behind and pursue a corporate career. But Calhoun's offer pulled him back to the sport, and he accepted the position the next day.

"I saw things in Dave that maybe he didn't see in himself," Calhoun said. "I saw that he should be a coach."

Leitao spent 14 years with Calhoun in two stints, and he watched Calhoun with an analytical eye. He learned the teaching power of rant, and knew he would have to intensify part of his personality to be a head coach.

Virginia assistant coach Rob Lanier believes Leitao still yearns to play, and that competitive nature overtakes him during games. Leitao carefully considers how to challenge each of his players, but his emotions win out at times. In one game this season, he splintered a clipboard over his knee ("We've been through some clipboards," Lanier said). He stares down players. He curses them out, inches between his face and theirs.

"Sometimes it's emotion, but I try to be conscious about it," Leitao said. "You don't want to destroy them when you're trying to challenge them. There's a thought process that goes with it."

Mamadi Diane sometimes wonders why Leitao is yelling at him. Soroye never had met anyone so intense. But his players, by now, understand. He makes a point to take players aside after a game or practice and explain his tongue-lashing.

"After my first year, I was like, 'Wow, the guy really hates me,' " senior Jason Cain said. "Then I just began to realize that, damn, he really does care a lot about me. He wants me to see me do well more than I want myself to do well."

The day Leitao arrived in Charlottesville and met Sean Singletary, they chatted in Leitao's office as an introduction. Singletary was enduring difficult family trials, and he confided in Leitao immediately. The conversation lasted two hours.

This offseason, Florida, the reigning national champion, offered Lanier a position as an assistant coach. Lanier spoke with Florida Coach Billy Donovan several times a day for nearly a week, and he was leaning toward accepting the offer.

"You're going to get a call from Billy Donovan," Lanier told Leitao. "How do you want me to handle it?"

Leitao briefly considered Lanier's question.

"It's not about me," Leitao said. "It's not about the program. It's about what's best for your career and for your family."

"It was profound to me how loyal he was being," Lanier said. "You're the head coach, and you expect guys to be loyal to you. But that's really got to be a two-way street. And he was really being true to the whole loyalty thing."

Leitao thirsts for opinion and seeks and shares ideas with a fraternity of friends in coaching. He called Calhoun this season as Connecticut struggled through its worst season in years, just to ask if he was all right.

"In this profession, where there's enough animosity, jealousy, Dave seems to have more friends than most people I know," Calhoun said. "Karl Hobbs, for example. Karl's not really as interested in doing all the little extra things that Dave would do. Great guy. But I don't think Karl -- and nor would I do -- would do some of the small things that Dave does.

"I always say, there are guys who kick down doors, there are guys who walk away from doors. And then there are Dave Leitaos, who talk down doors. Dave was always smooth enough, smart enough, to talk down a door. Now, Dave has the ability to either talk the door down, or kick it down. Either way, it's going to come down."