Lars, Cavs make Jackets pay
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 4, 2008

ATLANTA - It was in Virginia’s home loss to Virginia Tech back in January when UVa guard Calvin Baker had the chance to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds.

The ball felt great coming out of Baker’s hand. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, it rimmed out.

“After you miss that shot,” Baker recalled, “it hurts.”

The overtime setback wound up being a microcosm of Virginia’s season - until Monday night.

Baker’s two hoops in the game’s final half-minute propelled Virginia to a 76-74 win over Georgia Tech in front of 9,191 fans at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The win moved UVa out of the ACC basement, and undoubtedly gives the Cavaliers (14-13, 4-10) some momentum heading into their clash with Duke on Wednesday night.

Before Monday’s victory, Virginia had lost three games in overtime and three other games by a combined five points.

“Coming down the tail end of the year, we’re continuing to put forth better effort game in and game out,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “It hasn’t always been pretty or equaled a ‘W,’ but on the road - especially against a team that is very talented and beat us before - to have the stick-to-itiveness to come through at the end and in the clutch is good.”

Trailing by a point with less than 45 seconds to play, Virginia’s Sean Singletary stole a Zack Peacock pass and dribbled the length of the court. Singletary, who was converged upon by at least three Yellow Jackets, couldn’t get a reverse layup to go down, but Baker was there for the tip-in to put UVa up 73-72 with 29.1 seconds to go.

“I really didn’t know what Sean was going to do because he was going so fast,” said Baker, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, “but I knew if he missed, it was probably going to come off to my side. I was just on my toes and ready for anything.”

Tech (12-16, 5-9), however, retook the lead on a driving reverse layup by Jeremis Smith with 11 seconds left.

But before the Yellow Jackets could call timeout, Virginia inbounded the ball to Singletary. Virginia’s senior captain, who said he felt fatigued all game, zoomed up the court.

“I was going to call timeout,” Leitao said. “I thought about it. We had, over the last few weeks, sort of worked on some situations. I’ve been asked that question, ‘Do you or don’t you call timeout?’

“I decided to let Sean’s speed work for us. I thought - just because it’s happened almost every time in practice - that he was going to go coast to coast and try to lay the ball in. It was a very intelligent play on his part because he drew a ton of attention and spotted Calvin.”

The walk-on Baker nailed the game-winner from right in front of the Virginia bench with 4.2 seconds remaining.

“They had like three or four people in the lane and Calvin was wide open for the shot that he takes everyday,” Singletary said. “He works hard on his game every day. It’s not a mystery why that shot went in.”

Added Leitao: “Calvin had the wherewithal to confidently step into the shot and make a huge, huge basket for us.”

The Yellow Jackets’ last gasp, which came after a timeout, was a Maurice Miller 3-pointer from about 22 feet out that fell way short of the rim.

Until the last few frantic minutes, the game was bogged down by a ton of fouls.

Singletary was not himself in the first half. He said he was mentally and physically worn out from the loss to Miami on Saturday - a game in which he scored a career-high 41 points.

The senior captain had just two points heading into the break as Virginia trailed 42-38.

UVa looked ready to wilt after a Jeremis Smith fastbreak dunk gave Tech a 47-42 lead.

However, that’s when UVa was able to turn things around - all in one trip down the floor.

Lars Mikalauskas, who had his second straight strong performance - 15 points and seven rebounds - scored on an offensive put-back as he was being fouled for a 3-point play. After the basket, Tech’s Anthony Morrow was hit for a technical foul. Singletary knocked down two free throws and then found the junior forward underneath for a layup off some pretty penetration. The one possession resulted in seven points as Virginia took control, 49-47.

After that, the lead changed numerous times before Baker’s late-game heroics.

Baker said he didn’t hesitate at all when he got the pass from Singletary - despite his earlier miss versus Virginia Tech.

“After [that] game, everybody told me, ‘You miss some, but you make some,” Baker said. “You have to have the confidence to keep taking them. That’s what I did.

“After I missed it, the managers and I went to the gym and I shot at least 1,000 shots the next day before practice from that same spot.”

Baker’s hard work paid off in a big way on Monday.

“I’m very, very proud of our guys,” Leitao said, “and their ability to bend but not break today.”

Dunks

Georgia Tech students who were sitting beneath the baskets on the baselines wore bright yellow rain ponchos - a jab at the Feb. 21 contest that was canceled because of a leaky roof. Prior to tipoff, the arena scoreboard gave a weather forecast that said “Clear and dry inside of the Coliseum.” …The Yellow Jackets Matt Causey, who killed Virginia in the first meeting of the season, didn’t play due to a concussion he sustained in the team’s loss to Duke.
 

Virginia big man brings the nasty
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
March 4, 2008

ATLANTA -

For 13 straight games from December through mid-February, Virginia’s most experienced big man sat on the bench, pining for the days when he made a difference.

A banged up left shoulder that kept popping in and out made it nearly impossible for 6-foot-8, 246-pound Lars Mikalauskas to be effective. So, he sat, and sat, and hoped his rehab would pay off.

Only surgery would totally repair the damage, essentially the same operation that teammate Sean Singletary had after his freshman season. But that would have to come in the offseason, as did Singletary’s.

Slowly, the condition healed enough for the big man to hit the hardwood with all the energy of a freight train. He wears a brace, just like Singletary did, which is supposed to help. Mostly, he just sucks it up and plays.

Presence with authority

Monday night in Atlanta, Mikalauskas brought all the nastiness he has acquired during his three seasons at Virginia to the table and Georgia Tech felt the wrath as he helped the Cavaliers turn the tables on their snakebitten history, stealing one from the Yellow Jackets, 76-74.

For the first time in a long time, the Virginians (14-13, 4-10) will wake up in Charlottesville this morning knowing that they’re not in last place in the ACC, having passed N.C. State (4-11) and having tied Boston College (4-10). As far as tiebreakers go, the Cavs swept BC and beat the Wolfpack, so in reality they’re 10th in the 12-team league.

Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere, and that brings us back to Mikalauskas, the Pride of Lithuania.

After putting up career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13) in a close loss at Miami on Saturday, he came back with 15 and 7 to help wreck Tech.

If there’s any doubt about how important his role is on this team, just ask Singletary.

“Without him, I don’t think we have a chance of winning,” Singletary said.

A new Bad Boy?

Certainly his absence was felt during that 13-game streak and even in the early games after his comeback, when he was attempting to return to playing shape. Still, he has averaged 10 points and five rebounds during the five-game span since he returned to action.

“He’s come back with a vengeance and given us a huge lift,” UVa coach Dave Leitao said after the team’s second ACC road win of the season. “Scoring the basketball, being a presence, playing and trusting defense, rebounding the basketball, particularly on the offensive end ... he had five (offensive boards) tonight and nine in the last game.

“He gives us extra possessions and it gives us another weapon where, after being here a while, we can say ‘Get the ball inside,’” Leitao said.

Mostly, Virginia has missed his presence on the defensive end of the floor, the backline of the defense that Leitao has often pointed out. But lately, the big Lithuanian has indeed made a difference on the offensive end, something he said he took notice of during his time on the bench.

“When I was injured I got a chance to see our team play a lot and by watching, I feel like I learned a good amount,” Mikalauskas said. “Watching practice, I said to myself, what can I do for this team? I determined I could get open, get better position and give confidence to the guards to pass it inside and finish or get fouled. It was easy to see we didn’t have that many options.”

While the biggest part of Leitao’s motion offense is all about the guards drilling jumpers, somebody has to do the dirty work and the wide-body said he doesn’t mind that assignment.

“Hopefully, that’s my job from now on,” said Mikalauskas, who tends to favor the bruising basketball style of the Detroit Pistons of the ‘Bad Boys’ days. What else do you expect from a guy whose role model is Bill Laimbeer?

“I got to meet him in Puerto Rico last year,” Mikalauskas said. “I loved it. Dirty guy, throws elbows, starts fights. Somebody who sends a message that, ‘Hey, we’re not going to be soft.’ We have nothing to lose now and we’re going to show people that we’re going to play tough.”

Must have been music to Leitao’s ears to have heard that line. He’s all about toughness, something that critics often question about the Cavaliers.

That’s the mentality that won this game for Virginia. Leitao talked to his players about that during the final timeout, that enough was enough, and it was time to stop these close-game collapses.

Tech coach Paul Hewitt, who was in no mood to talk after the nailbiter in the ThrillerDome, said that Mikalauskas was one of the reasons Virginia was in the game at the end.

“We got down in the second half and Lars got a couple of put-backs,” said Singletary, who led the team with 17 points. “He just does all the scrappy stuff and that’s someone you need on the court. He’s really important to us. He’s not the most athletic person in the world but he has so much heart. I love playing with him.”

Trailing 42-38 at the start of the second half, Mikalauskas was indeed a force inside. He scored three baskets down low and gave UVa a 49-47 lead by the 17:20 mark.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me if I score two points or 15 points as long as we’re winning,” Mikalauskas said. “It’s hard for me to get shots, but I can get some offensive rebounds, put-backs and get fouled.”

After the game, it was the Lithuanian sensation who got the TV interview with analyst Dan Bonner, who asked him about the Cavs finally winning a close game (seven of their 13 losses have come by two points or less, or in overtime).

“Like I said after the Miami game, somebody had to pay and today it was Georgia Tech,” Mikalauskas said with a smile as wide as his native Baltic Sea.

It’s his mission to make sure this wasn’t the last payday.

 

Baker buoys U.Va.
Late 3-point shot lifts Cavs over Jackets and out of last place in ACC
Tuesday, Mar 04, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 12:31 AM
By STAFF REPORTS

ATLANTA -- The biggest shot of sophomore guard Calvin Baker's college career lifted the University of Virginia men's basketball team out of the ACC cellar last night.

Baker took a pass from senior guard Sean Singletary, around whom Yellow Jackets were swarming in the lane, and without hesitation launched a 3-pointer from the deep left wing, directly in front of the U.Va. bench.

It dropped through cleanly with 4.2 seconds left to silence the Georgia Tech fans at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The Yellow Jackets called a timeout to set up a final shot, but Singletary shadowed point guard Moe Miller, whose 3-point attempt was off the mark, and U.Va. ran off with a 76-74 victory.

"The plane ride home is going to be way better than it was coming [to Atlanta] from Miami," Baker told Virginia radio analyst Jim Hobgood.

Close games generally have not been kind this season to the Wahoos, who lost 95-93 at Miami on Saturday afternoon. They've dropped three games in overtime, three others by two points apiece and one by one point. And so the Cavaliers will savor their victory in a game originally scheduled for Feb. 21, when a leaky roof at the Jackets' arena forced a postponement.

"I've got to give our guys credit," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "Through all the things that they've been through, they've maintained themselves and played hard for us all year long."

With 11 seconds to play, senior forward Jeremis Smith had put the Jackets (5-9, 12-16) up 74-73 with a reverse layup, after which Leitao started to call a timeout. But he changed his mind and decided instead to "let Sean go."

Singletary took an inbounds pass from Mike Scott and raced up the court. When Georgia Tech defenders converged on him, Singletary spotted Baker, and the transfer from William and Mary -- who's still not on scholarship at U.Va. -- buried his second trey of the game.

That wasn't the first time Baker (10 points) put Virginia back on top last night. His tip-in of a Singletary miss with 32 seconds left had made it 73-72.

And now, with two regular-season games left, Virginia (4-10, 14-13) is tied with Boston College (4-10, 13-14) for 10th place in the 12-team ACC. N.C. State (4-11, 15-14) replaced U.Va. in the basement.

The Cavs have won three of their past four games, a surge that "will give us a lot of confidence going into the ACC tournament," Baker said.

Singletary, slowed by a knee injury he sustained against Miami, scored only two points in the first half, one reason U.Va. trailed 42-38 at the break. But he finished with 17 points and three steals, the last of which led to the Baker basket that put the Cavaliers up 73-72.

Stellar again for U.Va. was junior center Laurynas Mikalauskas, who had 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Two days earlier, against Miami, the 6-8 Lithuanian had posted career highs in points (16) and boards (13).

Zach Peacock, a 6-8 sophomore who came in averaging 8.5 points, scored a career-high 23 to lead Georgia Tech.

 

Well worth the wait for Cavaliers
Virginia returns to the scene of its rained out game and pulls out an ACC win in the final seconds.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

ATLANTA -- Ten days after it arrived at Georgia Tech in search of a rare ACC road victory, Virginia emerged victorious Monday night.

Calvin Baker knocked down a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, lifting the Cavaliers past Georgia Tech 76-74.

The teams originally were supposed to play Feb. 21, but a leaky roof resulted in a postponement.

UVa coach Dave Leitao said he didn't feel poorly on the ride home following the rainout, so he had to be ecstatic Monday night, even though the Cavaliers (14-13, 4-10 ACC) had less than 48 hours to get ready for a 7 p.m. home game with sixth-ranked Duke.

That will be Virginia's third game in five days, a stretch that began Saturday with a 95-93 loss at Miami.

"The way we felt after that game was, 'Somebody's got to pay for this,' " UVa junior Laurynas Mikalauskas said.

Entering Monday night's game, Virginia had lost seven games decided by one or two points or in overtime. That included a 92-82 overtime loss to Georgia Tech in Charlottesville, Va.

"It's something we talked about in the last timeout," Leitao said. "We said, 'We've been there and done that too many times. To heck with it. It's not going to happen anymore.' "

Georgia Tech (12-16, 5-9) had gone ahead 74-73 on a driving layup by Jeremis Smith with 10 seconds left, and it was Jackets coach Paul Hewitt's wish to call a timeout in order to set his defense.

"I thought about calling one myself," said Leitao, but the Cavaliers got the ball inbounds to Sean Singletary before the coaches could get involved.

"I thought [Singletary] would go coast-to-coast and try to lay the ball up and in. It was a very intelligent play on his part. Nine times out of 10, Sean was going to take that shot."

Instead, Singletary could see that three or four Georgia Tech players were in his path and kicked the ball to Baker on the left wing.

The Cavaliers were 3-of-18 on 3-pointers to that point and their fourth 3-pointer of the night matched their season low, but no one was talking statistics after the game.

"I had the same shot against Virginia Tech," said Baker, who missed a 3-point attempt late in regulation when the Hokies defeated the Cavaliers 70-69 in Charlottesville. "Same position on the floor and everything. The guys were telling me, 'You make some; you miss some.' If it ever comes up again, you've got to feel confident."

Baker, a sophomore who spent his first season of eligibility at William and Mary, said he could remember making a game-winning shot in college.

"A big shot like that, no matter how many games you play, you're always going to remember it," said Baker.

Baker finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals on a night when the Cavaliers had four double-figure scorers, three off the bench.

Singletary, fighting fatigue and a bruised knee, had 15 points in the second half and finished with 17.

Mikalauskas had 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.

"Energy equals productivity and he's come back with a vengeance," said Leitao, who recently regained Mikalauskas' services after a shoulder injury kept him sidelined two months.

Georgia Tech substitute Zach Peacock had 23 points.

A key sequence occurred after Georgia Tech had taken a 47-42 lead early in the second half. After fouling Mikalauskas on a layup that resulted in a three-point play, Anthony Morrow was called for a technical. The Cavaliers scored seven straight points with no time running off the clock.

"We had two lane violations and a technical foul," Hewitt said. "If we eliminate those mistakes, we're walking out of here with a three- or four-point win. In an ACC game, you just can't do those things."

 

Last-place Virginia beats Georgia Tech
Peacock lone bright spot in ugly loss to Cavaliers
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/08

Rarely is it pretty when Georgia Tech plays at home, and Monday night's makeup game against Virginia wasn't a work of art unless you counted the work of Zack Peacock.

He scored a career-high 23 points, but the Yellow Jackets were cooked, or Baker-ed, when Virginia sophomore Calvin Baker made a 3-point shot with a little more than five seconds left to propel the last-place Cavaliers past Tech 76-74 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The Jackets (12-16, 5-9 ACC) are now 5-7 at home, despite five of those losses coming by a combined eight points, and are assured of just their third losing season in the history of the Coliseum.

Their final home game is Thursday against Clemson.

Tech took a 74-73 lead when Jeremis Smith drove the left baseline to score with 11 seconds left.

But Virginia's stellar point guard, Sean Singletary, quickly took the inbounds pass upcourt, and fired cross-court to Baker on the left side, in front of the Cavs' bench.

Baker finished with 10 points, junior reserve Laurynas Mikalauskas had 15 and Singletary led Virginia (14-13, 4-10) with 17 points and six assists.

Monday's game was a makeup of the one these teams were supposed to play Feb. 21. It was postponed when the roof leaked on a rainy day.

Singletary picked off a Peacock pass in the final minute, drove the length of the court, and missed a layup. But Baker tipped the ball in to give the Cavs a 73-72 lead with 29 seconds left.

Tech senior reserve point guard Matt Causey missed his second straight game after suffering a mild concussion Feb. 27 at Duke. His status for Thursday's regular season home finale is uncertain.

The Jackets, though, welcomed back Peacock. The sophomore forward made nine of 12 shots, and grabbed seven rebounds.

Big contrast there.

He scored a total of 13 points in the previous three games, when he grabbed a total of three rebounds.

Late in Monday's game, he went flying out of bounds under Tech's basket to save a ball and whipping it to Moe Miller before landing. Moments later, he scored on a drive to give the Jackets a 72-69 lead with 2:19 left in the game.

Singletary, who was slowed at times by a right knee injury made two free throws with 58 seconds left to pull the Cavs within 72-71.

Morrow scored 13 points for Tech, the only other Jackets player in double figures.

The Jackets led 47-42 when the game turned on Virginia's seven-point possession.

Morrow fouled Mikalauskas as he made a shot from beneath the basket. A split second later, Morrow drew a technical foul for making contact with Mikalauskas after the play.

He made his free throw (for the foul) to pull within 47-45 of Tech with 17:38 left in the game, and Singletary made both free throws (for the technical).

Moments later, after the Cavs inbounded, Singletary fed Mikalauskas in the paint for an easy layup, and Virginia led 49-47.

The Cavs pushed the lead to 53-47 before Tech began chipping away.

Peacock made a pair of free throws with 9:13 left to tie the game at 60, and then Moe Miller drew a charge at the other end. Peacock's 14-foot jumper gave Tech a 62-60 lead with 8:31 left.

The Cavs went in front again on Singletary's shot with 6:40 left, and the Jackets went in front on two free throws by Gani Lawal - Tech's seventh and eighth straight made free throws after an eight for 15 start - to lead 70-69 with 4:11 left.

 

Cavs take on Keydets
By Bart Isley / risley@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 4, 2008

After beating Vermont 15-4 last Tuesday, Virginia’s Dom Starsia complained that there wasn’t “an edge” to how Virginia was playing. The Cavaliers just didn’t seem to be playing with a purpose.

That wasn’t a problem Saturday in Baltimore.

Virginia played with that edge from the opening faceoff on against Syracuse at the Face-Off Classic and found a way to knock off the Orangemen on a Brian Carroll goal with 1:29 left in overtime. The 14-13 thriller should be a good springboard for Virginia in the early stages of the season.

The Cavaliers will look to move for 4-0 tonight at 7 p.m. against Virginia Military Institute. VMI (1-3) has one win in the early season, a 15-4 trouncing of Presbyterian, a school in its first year of Division I lacrosse.

The contest will have to serve as a tune-up for Saturday’s road test against No. 5 Princeton, who fell 14-9 to Johns Hopkins in the second installment of the Face-Off Classic.

What should help the Cavaliers as they enter the middle part of their regular season schedule is the return of Ben Rubeor. The senior, who was a finalist for the Teewarton Trophy as a junior, gave Virginia a sense of calm against the Orange.

“He’s our best player and he’s our leader, almost from the first day he set foot on campus,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “We were certainly glad to have him out there.”

In fact, Rubeor saw a little more action than even Starsia expected, but that’s no surprise considering the circumstances.

“He probably played more than I anticipated he would, but you’re standing there on the sideline in a close game and it’s like, sorry, you’re not coming out,” Starsia said.

Rubeor had a goal and a pair of assists and he also set a nice pick for Danny Glading on a third quarter tally.

Thriving in transition

Virginia capitalized well on fastbreak and transition opportunities against the Orange. The Cavaliers had several fastbreak goals and were able to strike quickly when chaos broke out on loose balls.

“We seemed to be better in the unsettled game than we were in a settled situation,” Starsia said. “Even the winning goal, with Shamel [Bratton] dodging on one side, you force them to slide and you get them spinning around and it’s sort of an unsettled opportunity.”

Bratton drew the Syracuse defense and made a nice pass across the box to an open Carroll for the winner.

Glading’s run

Glading had a hand in three-straight third quarter goals in less than four minutes. The junior knocked in his first on a run from behind the cage, then followed with another unassisted score.

A few minutes later he found an open Garrett Billings, who cranked in the shot to tie the game at 8-8.

“I think we kind of knew that we had to pick it up on offense,” Glading said. “Everybody was moving around really hard and occupying their men and the slides came a little later for me.”

 

UVa moves into poll
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 4, 2008

Sunday’s heart-stopping double-overtime victory over Georgia Tech did more than secure the Virginia women’s basketball team a tie for third place in the ACC standings. It landed the Cavaliers in the national rankings for the first time in four years.

Virginia (22-8, 10-4 ACC) slid into the Associated Press poll at No. 25, replacing Wyoming, by receiving 117 votes.

But becoming ranked for the first time since the start of the 2003-04 season did not set off a celebration in the staff’s plush offices inside John Paul Jones Arena.

“I will be honest with you, I really don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “For us, at this point and time, everybody is good. Everybody you are going to play now is good.

“It is one and done and you can’t be thinking about what other people are thinking. You just have to go out and prove yourself.”

The Cavaliers, who are the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament, will enjoy a first-round bye before drawing the winner of the event’s opening contest between No. 5 Georgia Tech and No. 12 Miami on Friday at 11 a.m.

Ryan said she places a far greater importance on the program’s strength of schedule, which she credited to the work of assistant coach Jeff House, and the RPI.

After beating Georgia Tech 103-101 on a shot from sophomore Monica Wright with 2.6 seconds left, the Cavaliers’ RPI climbed to 17th and only 13 teams in the country have played a tougher schedule.

Landing a national ranking does have its obvious benefits.

“The poll is more of a thing that helps you in recruiting and your national exposure and things like that, which is great because it helps foster more interest and more people are looking at you,” she said. “But for the most part, [not being ranked] didn’t really bother me at all. I just thought the more that we level in anonymity is fine with me.

“Everybody could see us coming and the people that needed to know knew. I didn’t need the accolades to feel like we had accomplished something because I knew what we were doing.”

Being ranked will also help Ryan’s biggest fan.

“My mother will really like it,” she chuckled. “That way she will know what is going on.”

Getting honored

Four Virginia players landed All-ACC honors Monday by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Wright, who was also named the ACC player of the week, was named to the league’s second team, forward Lyndra Littles and point guard Sharnee Zoll earned third team honors and center Aisha Mohammed was an honorable mention selection.

Wright, the 2007 ACC rookie of the year, finished the regular season ranked second in the ACC in scoring and fourth in steals. The sophomore averages 17.8 points per game.

 

Cavaliers' Brown arrested, accused of posting stolen goods on eBay
By Barney Breen-Portnoy and Jay Jenkins / bbreen-portnoy@dailyprogress.com | 978-7277 | jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 4, 2008

University of Virginia football player Mike Brown has been arrested by UVa police and charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell, altering serial numbers and possession of marijuana.

Brown, a 21-year old from Newark, N.J., who plays cornerback, was released on a secured bond after being charged Friday.

“We take allegations of this nature very seriously,” Virginia coach Al Groh said Monday in a released statement. “At this time we are currently gathering the facts. In view of the nature of the allegation, Mike Brown is not participating with the program at this time.”

The charges stem from a Feb. 6 incident in which a music mixer, mixer box, camcorder and microphone were stolen from a car owned by UVa student Brendan Downey in the Central Grounds Parking Garage, according to a search warrant filed on Feb. 19. The stolen items were worth more than $3,400.

On Feb. 9, Downey saw three of the items stolen from his car listed on eBay, according to the search warrant. The seller’s eBay identifier was tied to Brown’s roommate, a former member of the UVa football team.

Downey notified police and also arranged to purchase the mixer, using Paypal. The mixer was not delivered. Downey left negative feedback for the seller on eBay.

Police searched Brown’s apartment, in the 1200 block of Preston Ave. According to the search warrant, university police confiscated a Canon 2R70 camcorder, a Compaq Presario, a Yamaha AW2400 mixer and mixer box, three smoking devices with residue, a plastic bag containing possible marijuana and records of 13 eBay transactions.

No charges have been brought against Brown’s roommate, said UVa police Lt. Melissa Fielding.

“Through the course of the investigation, the investigator determined that [the roommate] was not responsible,” Fielding said.

Brown’s Charlottesville-based attorney, Scott Goodman, would not comment on the charges against his client, who has had at least one prior run-in with the law.

In March 2006, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor trespassing in connection with a fight at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house on Rugby Road. Brown was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and stay on good behavior.

Brown played in every game as a freshman and sophomore, earning four starts, but received a medical redshirt this year after tearing his ACL during a summer workout. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

For his career, Brown has registered 31 tackles and played an even greater role on special teams. An accomplished gunner, Brown also returned 14 punts as a sophomore over the season’s final eight games. He averaged a team-best 9.6 yards per return.

“Mike Brown really did a great job on the punt team [in 2006],” former punter Chris Gould said in January. “He was one of those guys that ran down there and it seemed like he was always making a big hit on the punt returner.”

The news regarding Brown only adds to what has been a roller coaster offseason for the Virginia football program.

In the days leading up to the Gator Bowl, cornerback Chris Cook was deemed academically ineligible to play in the season-ending contest.

Following the loss to Texas Tech, third team All-American offensive lineman Branden Albert declared for the NFL Draft, bypassing his final year of eligibility.

On Jan. 17, the university issued a press release stating that four players, including starting quarterback Jameel Sewell and Cook, were not enrolled for the current semester. While all four eye a return to UVa in 2009, their respective two-semester academic suspensions will impact the program next season.

Two days after the announcement, Virginia lost defensive coordinator Mike London, the program’s most consistent recruiter. London left to become the head coach at the University of Richmond, his alma mater.

Groh made a splash in hiring London’s replacement, pulling former Marshall coach Bob Pruett out of retirement on Feb. 14.

But that news was soured on Feb. 24, when it became official that defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, a rising junior and a two-year starter, was no longer enrolled at the university and would not be allowed to return.

Having fully recovered from surgery, Brown was expected to enter spring practice March 21, potentially pushing for a starting spot at cornerback alongside sophomore Ras-I Dowling or junior Vic Hall. The Cavaliers do have some depth at cornerback, albeit unproven players, with sophomores Mike Parker and Trey Womack and redshirt freshmen Dom Joseph and Chase Minnifield.

Virginia opens the 2008 season at home against the University of Southern California on Aug. 30.

The date of Brown’s next court appearance could not be determined Monday.