UVa hopes to bounce back in Atlanta
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 3, 2008

Heading into Saturday’s game at Miami, Sean Singletary was still clinging to the belief that if Virginia won its remaining four regular-season games, then all it would need was a couple of victories in next week’s ACC Tournament to qualify for the Big Dance.

But after UVa’s 95-93 loss to Miami, Singletary finally acknowledged what many people have figured to be the case for quite a while.

“We just have to get hot and see if maybe we can run the table in the ACC Tournament,” Singletary said.

Given that, Virginia coach Dave Leitao, if he felt so inclined, could choose to treat tonight’s makeup game in Atlanta against Georgia Tech - which comes about 48 hours after the loss to Miami - like an exhibition. After all, one more regular-season loss isn’t going to make a huge difference at this point.

He could go with a starting lineup featuring freshmen Mustapha Farrakhan and Jeff Jones in the backcourt, and a frontcourt of Jerome Meyinsse, Solomon Tat and Mamadi Diane.

The alignment would allow key players (like Singletary who has a bruised right knee) to get some rest and younger players (like Farrakhan and Meyinsse) to gain valuable experience while maybe providing Diane the confidence he needs to find his game.

The chances of seeing this happen, however, are about as likely as another postponement because of a leaky roof. Leitao is far too competitive to concede anything.

But with Virginia (13-13, 3-10) in the midst of a three-games-in-five-days stretch, Leitao might play some of his regulars a little less than usual. He could also give more minutes to players who have seemed to earn them - namely Jamil Tucker and Lars Mikalauskas. Both had career scoring highs against the Hurricanes despite only playing 20 minutes apiece.

Mikalauskas called the loss to Miami “disappointing.”

“It just felt like we ran out of time because we had that final spurt at the end,” Mikalauskas said. “We needed an extra minute, but a loss is a loss. Now we just have to go to Georgia Tech. Somebody is going to have to pay.”

It was on Jan. 27 against Georgia Tech when UVa’s season began to unravel. Playing at home, the Cavaliers blew a 13-point lead before succumbing in overtime.

Tech big men Gani Lawai and Zack Peacock combined for 27 points and feisty senior Matt Causey went off on Virginia, scoring 12 of his 18 points in OT, including nine straight as the Yellow Jackets outscored UVa 16-6 in the extra session.

But Georgia Tech (12-15, 5-8), like Virginia, hasn’t done very much since. The Yellow Jackets lost six of their next seven games, including five in a row before snapping the streak with an 87-79 overtime win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Meanwhile, with Duke looming on Wednesday and Senior Day versus Maryland on Sunday, Virginia could be staring at its worst regular-season finish since the 1997-98 season when it went 3-13.

Before UVa boarded its plane for Atlanta, Singletary was able to find a positive when asked about the team’s hectic late-season schedule.

“I guess it’s good preparation for us going into the [ACC] tournament,” he said, “because we’ll have to play back-to-back games when we get [there].”

Dunks

Georgia Tech leads the series, 37-28. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 of the last 20 meetings, including four straight. …Take away the Boston College game in which he scored 20 points and Diane is averaging 6.0 points since the loss to Clemson on Feb. 7. …Adrian Joseph, who didn’t score against Miami, hasn’t scored in double figures since his 19-point outing against Clemson. …Starting shooting guard Jeff Jones was also scoreless against the Hurricanes for the fifth time in the last 10 games. …Causey didn’t play in Georgia Tech’s win over Wake Forest. He was still suffering from a concussion that he sustained in the Yellow Jackets’ previous game to Duke. His status for tonight’s game is not known.

 

Singletary stays focused on ACC play
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
March 3, 2008

ATLANTA - If there were a Mount Rushmore of Virginia basketball legends, they would have already started carving Sean Singletary’s mug into the landscape.

With time running down on his career as a Cavalier, Singletary is hoping to go out with a bang. Not necessarily from scoring, even though he drilled in a career-high 41 points at Miami two days ago, but rather from winning.

Anyone who knows Singletary also knows that winning is all that matters to him.

“I would do anything legal to win,” the two-time, All-ACC point guard said recently when he sat down with sports writers to talk about his illustrious

career.

Most often described by UVa coach Dave Leitao and opposing coaches as simply a warrior, Singletary would gladly set aside all his personal accolades just for another shot at the NCAA Tournament. In order for that to happen, it’s gonna take a miracle, as in winning the ACC Tournament two weeks from now in Charlotte.

No quit in this senior

When the Cavalier senior steps into Georgia Tech’s “Thrillerdome” tonight for a makeup game that was postponed due to a leaky roof nearly two weeks ago, it will be the last regular-season road game of his career.

One thing we can all be sure of is that even though Virginia enters tonight’s game in the ACC’s cellar, Singletary hasn’t given up. When he packed his bags for the extended road trip to Miami, then Atlanta, he packed his confidence, too.

When he became the first Wahoo to score 41 points in nine years the other day in Coral Gables, it inched him closer to the exclusive “Virginia 2,000 Club,” which consists of some of the school’s elite players. There’s only four members - Bryant Stith, Jeff Lamp, Buzzy Wilkinson, and Ralph Sampson, all career 2,000-point scorers.

Ready to join elite club

Singletary stands at 1,940 with at least four games to play, meaning he should get his membership card if he scores 15 a game, well below his average.

Ask him about it, and it’s nothing he’s concerned with at the moment.

“Down the line it will hit me and it will be like, ‘Wow, I did something great,’” Singletary said. “But right now I don’t care if I score another point as long as we get to the tournament.

“Right now, I don’t pay much attention to the records or what I’ve done,” he continued. “I’m just focused on the games coming up and making it a season to remember.”

Tried as they may, the best interviewers in the state couldn’t get Singletary to talk a lot about his deeds or the moments he will most remember, like say that dagger he thrust into Duke in the waning seconds of last year’s game at John Paul Jones Arena.

No, he would have none of that with games to be played. In a way, talking about the past was almost like waving a white flag in Singletary’s mind. There’s no quit in him.

“Hopefully [the Duke shot and memorable dead stare captured by cameras] won’t be the last memorable thing that has happened in my career,” the Cavalier co-captain said. “We have four games left, so I can’t answer that question yet. I’m so into finishing this season the right way.”

The right way is the only way Singletary has operated throughout his career as a Cavalier.

Portrayed as the savior of the program when he was recruited from the mean streets of Philly, Singletary’s reputation preceded him. He hasn’t let anyone down in his four-year stay, having been a model athlete, student, and person.

But there’s only one thing on his mind, and it’s not having his jersey retired or scoring 2,000 points or any of that stuff. It’s all about finding a way to beat the Yellow Jackets tonight, then finding a way to upset Duke on Wednesday, and Maryland over the weekend.

Then, it’s all about doing the unthinkable in Charlotte, something that only one team in Wahoo history has ever done.

“I’m a firm believer in that we still have a shot,” Singletary said. “Even when we’ve been losing, as a leader I’ve been trying to show the guys that it’s not over. We still have four games. I definitely think we have a shot and I’m trying to make everybody else believe that, too.”

The Cavaliers nearly pulled off the upset at Miami on Saturday afternoon, but once again, their defense proved to be the Achilles’ Heel.

Certainly they scored enough. Ninety three will usually put you in the winner’s circle.

But not when you give up 95.

Unless they get that part of the game down as Leitao constantly reminds them, even Singletary’s strong will won’t produce a magical finish by a team that has lost seven games by either two points or less or in overtime.

You know what they say about close and cigars. Nobody is going to be there at the end handing out invitations for close.

Regardless, Singletary’s jersey, at some point in time, whether it be a la Chris Long and have it done moments before his last home game, or somewhere down the road, will be hoisted into the rafters of JPJ in a glorious ceremony that will join him with Wahoo immortals.

“I would appreciate it. It would be an honor that I had my jersey retired with the likes of Ralph Sampson, Barry Parkhill, Wally Walker and those guys,” Singletary said when the subject came up. “I think highly of it, but right now it goes in one ear and out the other. I got a lot of basketball to be played.”

 

Jackets have a shot at saving season
Three more wins and Tech can be .500 overall and in the ACC
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/02/08

Thanks to a recent run of wackiness, Georgia Tech could move into a tie for seventh place in the ACC Monday. The Yellow Jackets play Virginia in a game that was postponed from Feb. 21 by a leaky roof in Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Maybe it figures.

Saturday's 87-79 overtime win over Wake Forest snapped the five-game losing streak that dropped the Jackets all the way to ninth place. It was the first of three straight home games, including Thursday's regular-season home finale against Clemson.

"Turned out it could be a bit of a break for us given the streak that we've been on to have two games at home back-to-back," coach Paul Hewitt said. "Our fortunes can turn pretty quickly if we come out and play well against Virginia."

The Jackets (12-15, 5-8 ACC) played well at Virginia (13-13, 3-10) on Jan. 27, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit to win in overtime. Reserve point guard Matt Causey scored 12 of his 18 points in OT.

Causey's status will be determined Monday night. He suffered a mild concussion Wednesday at Duke, and did not play against Wake.

That led to a lot more playing time for starting point guard Moe Miller, and D'Andre Bell slid over from shooting guard to play point as well.

"Moe definitely stepped up on Matt's absence, and D'Andre stepped into Matt's role," said Jeremis Smith, who scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds. He also tipped the ball away from Wake point guard Ishmael Smith at the end of regulation before Wake's Smith could attempt one final shot.

"Everybody pretty much came together. You could kind of see it in practice [Friday]; everybody had everybody else's back," Smith said.

If Tech wins out in the regular season, which ends Saturday at Boston College, the Jackets will be .500 overall and in the ACC.

Tech beat Wake by not turning the ball over in overtime and converting both of Wake's turnovers into points. Tech also made 9-of-14 free throws, Wake 1-of-5 in what Hewitt called, "one of the strangest games I've ever been involved in."