Cavs try to tame Tigers on Senior Day
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 3, 2009

When Virginia defeated Clemson on Feb. 15 to snap an eight-game losing streak, the sense of relief among the players, the coaching staff and the fan base was palpable. After UVa coach Dave Leitao grabbed the courtside microphone and asked fans for their continued support, it seemed as if the team might be turning a corner.
But a little over two weeks later, the Wahoos are essentially back to square one. The relief has given way to a new wave of anxiety. Virginia, having lost three straight, is in the midst of another dismal stretch.
“Obviously, you’re the one who’s driving the bus, so a lot of times it starts and ends with you,” said Leitao, when asked about how he personally was dealing with the team’s latest slide. “It’s difficult, but, at the same point in time it doesn’t shake my confidence that we’re doing the right thing and going in the right direction.”
Tonight, Virginia fans probably won’t get that feeling. UVa (9-16, 3-11) will be heading into shark-infested waters when it takes on No. 18 Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Tigers (22-6, 8-6) will be looking to get Virginia back for the overtime loss last month at John Paul Jones Arena. In addition, it will be Senior Night at Clemson, and the Tigers figure to be pretty amped up for that event.
“We just have to do what we’ve been doing — coming out with energy and playing hard, things like that,” said Virginia sophomore Jeff Jones. “[The win over Clemson] definitely gives us confidence, but another thing is now they have a chip on their shoulder and we know that we’re going to have to play that much harder.”
Clemson, after starting the season 16-0, has been up and down of late. The Tigers are coming off losses to Virginia Tech and Florida State.
In those games, Clemson turned the ball over far too much for coach Oliver Purnell’s liking.
That was also the case in the Tigers’ February loss to Virginia. In that contest, Clemson had 21 turnovers.
“[We] got ourselves down in the first half,” Purnell recalled. “We came back in the second half and got a little bit of a lead, then went right back to being a little sloppy with the basketball.
“We expected them to play hard and like their basketball life depended on it, but us turning the ball over so many times really hurt.”
Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg forced overtime when he scored on a strong drive to the basket. UVa outscored Clemson, 11-6, in the extra session.
In the last few games, teams have developed a much better game plan for defending Landesberg. The guard scored just 10 points, nearly eight below his season average against Wake Forest.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Leitao reinsert senior Mamadi Diane into the starting lineup to help take some of the pressure off of Landesberg. While junior Solomon Tat may provide nice energy, he has scored just four points in his seven starts. You wouldn’t think Virginia could afford to get down big on the road early.
However, Leitao didn’t commit to giving Diane any more minutes, despite his better showings of late.
“His emergence or reemergence into games has been a byproduct of how he’s went about his days in practice,” Leitao said. “His days of practice have helped him be more productive in games. We’ll continue to judge him and everybody else in that way.”
Dunks
Leitao wasn’t optimistic about the return of Assane Sene (sprained ankle) to the lineup tonight. Sene injured the ankle against Miami and did not play versus Wake Forest on Saturday. “It’s gotten significantly better,” Leitao said, “but it’s still not at the point where he can put his sneakers on and get out there.” … Virginia leads the all-time series, 65-48, including its last trip to Littlejohn in 2006-07. In that game, UVa overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to shock the 19th-ranked Tigers thanks to a late bucket by Jason Cain.

 

Key for Tigers? protecting ball
March 3, 2009 12:35 am
BY RICH CAMPBELL

Clemson was within range of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference less than a month ago. But as one might expect in this season's balanced ACC, the Tigers have fallen to fifth place in the standings and are in danger of missing out on one of the four opening-round byes in the upcoming conference tournament.

The Tigers are 6-6 since beginning the season with 16 straight wins, and they have lost four of their last seven ACC games.

Coach Oliver Purnell believes he has pinpointed the problem and revealed as much during yesterday's ACC coaches' teleconference.

"We're really causing ourselves some problems by turning the ball over too many times," he said. "It digs a hole. When the other team has 10 or more shot opportunities than you do in a half, it kind of puts you at a huge disadvantage. We've got to fix that."

Clemson is known for forcing turnovers with its renowned defensive ball pressure, but it recently has been committing too many for Purnell's liking.

The Tigers averaged 19 turnovers in losses to Virginia Tech and Florida State last week after entering the week averaging 14 turnovers per game. They were ranked second in the ACC with an average turnover margin of plus-3.6 per game, but their margin in those two losses was minus-5.

Purnell analyzed film of those two defeats and concluded there was no common thread regarding the miscues. Sometimes the Tigers' perimeter players turned the ball over with failed entry pass attempts to big man Trevor Booker. The frontcourt players were the culprits on other occasions.

Purnell understands that his players will never eliminate turnovers entirely, but he prefers their turnover totals to range somewhere between 10 and 15 per game. Anything more than 15 is unacceptable.

To remedy this problem, Purnell plans on emphasizing the need for ball protection. He recalled a stretch earlier this season when Clemson was rebounding poorly and how the team overcame that problem because of constant focus on it.


"We've got to value each possession and understand that that's hurting us now," he said. "So let's have more of a concerted effort to take care of the ball and not be as loose with it."

Against Clemson, Sene likely to be missing for Virginia again
By Staff Reports
Published: March 3, 2009

Still short-handed
Virginia, which plays tonight at Clemson, is likely to be without center Assane Sene again.

Sene, a 7-0 freshman from Senegal, sprained his right ankle Thursday night in the first half against Miami. He was on crutches Saturday, his foot in a protective boot, and didn't play against Wake Forest.

U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said yesterday that he wasn't optimistic that Sene, who'd started six straight games before getting hurt, would play against the Tigers.

"It's gotten significantly better, but it's still not at the point where he's able to put his sneakers on and get out there," Leitao said.

Virginia (3-11, 9-16) closes the regular season Saturday against Maryland, and Sene, one of the ACC's best shot-blockers, is more likely to play in that game.

Seeking revenge
When U.Va. and Clemson met Feb. 15 at John Paul Jones Arena, Sene started but played only seven minutes. The Cavaliers won that game in overtime, so the 18th-ranked Tigers (8-6, 22-6) won't lack motivation tonight at Littlejohn Coliseum.

It's senior night for Clemson, which will honor starters K.C. Rivers and Raymond Sykes, among others. Moreover, the Tigers are looking to end a two-game losing streak.

"I can almost guarantee you with all that I know that they're going to come in as focused and ready to play as any game they've played all year long," Leitao said.

In Charlottesville, Clemson forced 20 turnovers with its trademark full-court pressure. But the Tigers turned over the ball 21 times themselves, and similar sloppiness has marred their recent efforts, too.

Grinding it out
Wake played at home Thursday night against N.C. State. The Demon Deacons visited Virginia on Saturday. Tonight, they play at Maryland, with a 9 o'clock tipoff.

"Like I said the other night, I'm not sure who schedules these games," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said in Charlottesville. "Three games in six days during midterms, I don't know."

He shook his head. "Nine o'clock at night. School night," Gaudio said.

Honor roll
The ACC yesterday honored Duke's Gerald Henderson as player of the week and Florida State's Solomon Alabi as rookie of the week.

Henderson, a 6-4 junior, averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2 blocked shots in road wins over Maryland and Virginia Tech.

Alabi, a 7-1 redshirt freshman, averaged 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3 blocks as FSU lost to Boston College and then beat Clemson.

Unsung hero
In Miami's win at Virginia on Thursday night, Jimmy Graham scored no points. But the 6-8 senior had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block and anchored the Hurricanes' zone defense.

"He's been our most important guy," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "I cannot tell you how much he's done. He didn't even score a basket the other night, but what he did in that Virginia game won us the game. . . . He was remarkable."

Still sidelined
Sophomore point guard Nolan Smith, who missed Duke's game at Virginia Tech on Saturday because of a concussion, won't play tonight against No. 24 Florida State.

"He's coming along," Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said yesterday. "He still has not done any physical stuff yet, but he's getting better."

Smith suffered the concussion Feb. 25 at Maryland. No. 7 Duke closes the regular season Sunday at No. 2 North Carolina. -- Jeff White
 

Cavaliers Travel To Lexington to Face VMI
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/02/2009

Following Friday night’s 13-12 thriller in the Dome, Virginia stays on the road tomorrow with a rare in-state road game at VMI in Lexington. The game is set to begin at 3:30 pm on the Keydets’ Sprinturf Field, located behind Foster Stadium. This is believed to be the first time in 16 years VMI has hosted the No. 1 team in the nation.

The Keydets are 1-3 so far this season after falling to Bellarmine 14-6 last Saturday at home. Bellarmine scored six goals in the third quarter to break open a tight game and seize command.

Junior midfielder Tim Moran leads the team with four goals, while junior middie Brett Leonard and junior attack Jacob Weimer each have three; Weimer scored twice in last year’s game against Virginia. Junior Sean McCoy is in his third year as the starter in the cage. He has allowed an average of 12.38 goals per game, while recording a .448 save percentage.

Virginia has won 15 previous match-ups against the Keydets, including last year’s 24-5 win in a driving rainstorm at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers’ 11-10 win in the first game in 1949 is the closest of the series as the Cavaliers have won by an average of 18.0 goals.

The Cavaliers moved into the top spot in the coaches poll this week by virtue of the win over Syracuse; they were already No. 1 in the media poll.

Midfielder Shamel Bratton was named the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the week after scoring a career-high four goals and adding an assist to pace the offense against the Orange.

As one of the most dynamic players in the country, Bratton had the type of breakout game that Syracuse coach John Desko feared. During the early part of the season he was creating plenty of shots, but was having trouble getting any of them into the back of the net as his 13.8 percent shooting attested.

“He is an extremely talented player, he's very athletic and very hard to cover,” Desko said after the game. “We knew that it was our worst fear. He creates a lot of opportunities for himself, and if he hits the cage, he becomes that much more dangerous.”

Bratton scored three of his four goals in the second half, as well as recording his assist, as Virginia turned a 4-all tie at halftime into a 13-8 margin midway through the fourth quarter.

The cushion was needed, as everybody in the Dome knew a big Syracuse run was bound to happen. And it did.

“One of the first things I told the team as we thought about playing Syracuse (in the Dome),” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia, “was you need to play Syracuse for 60 minutes, that the game is not over till the final whistle blows.”

With the clock under five minutes, middie Dan Hardy got things started for the Orange. Attackman Kenny Nims scored back-to-back goals to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to two at 13-11 with 2:25 to play. Syracuse had a golden chance to draw closer following a penalty on Mike Timms and converted on Tim Desko’s only goal of the game with 78 seconds remaining.

Syracuse claimed the ensuing faceoff, only adding to the hysteria of the 16,595 fans screaming for the Orange to complete the comeback. With everybody thinking back to Syracuse’s comeback in the final four last year, Cavalier defender Matt Kelly turned in the play of the game. First he checked Nims’ stick preventing him from catching a pass from Tim Desko, then raced 25 yards to knock the ball from Scott Kahoe’s stick. Max Pomper snared the ground ball for Virginia, as the Cavaliers were able to run out the final 30 seconds and win.

“Matt Kelly made a great play on that last possession to keep that ball loose so Max Pomper could pick it up,” Starsia said, “and that’s how we ran it down and killed the clock to win the game. That was a real hustle play by Matt Kelly.”

QUICK STICKS
** Virginia is 15-0 all-time against VMI
** This is the first time since 1997 Virginia has played in Lexington; Virginia is 5-0 on the Keydets’ home turf
** The Cavaliers’ average victory margin in the series is 18.0 goals
** Based on available records going back to 1988, the Cavaliers have only trailed in one game (VMI scored the game’s first two goals and led for five minutes and 33 seconds in the 1994 meeting, a 22-7 Virginia win)
** Virginia has an 18-game winning streak going back to 2001 in reguiar-season midweek games
** Under head coach Dom Starsia, Virginia is 40-2 (.952) in mid-week games since 1993
** The Cavaliers’ win over Syracuse was the 290th of Starsia’s career, tying him with former Syracuse coach Roy Simmons, Jr., for fourth in Division I history
** Virginia has not trailed in any game this season
** Attack Garrett Billings leads the nation with 17 goals and 25 total points, and is tied for sixth (with teammate Danny Glading among others) with eight assists


 

Shamel Bratton Named ACC Player of the Week
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/02/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA –Shamel Bratton has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s lacrosse player of the week for his play in leading Virginia to two victories last week.

Against Mount St. Mary’s last Tuesday night he scored twice and added an assist as the Cavaliers gained a 10-2 win. His three points shared the team lead, while his two goals were the team’s second-highest total. He also led the team with a career-high six ground balls.

As one of the most dynamic players in the country, Bratton had the type of breakout game that Syracuse coach John Desko feared as he helped Virginia topple No. 1 and previously unbeaten Syracuse Friday night in the Carrier Dome. Bratton scored a career-high four goals and added an assist as Virginia upset the top-ranked Orange 13-12. It is the first time this season he has led the team in goals.

Bratton scored three of his four goals in the second half, as well as recording his assist, to help Virginia extend its lead from 7-5 to 11-6 in the fourth quarter. The lead grew to as many as five at 13-8 before Syracuse made its final push in the final five minutes, but the Orange could get no closer than the one-goal final margin.

Bratton is currently third on the team with eight goals this season.

With the win the Cavaliers jumped past Syracuse and moved into the No. 1 spot in this week’s coaches poll; they remained atop the media poll where they have been all season. Virginia received every first-place vote in both polls.

The Cavaliers hit the road again tomorrow for a game at VMI in Lexington, Va. Faceoff is set for 3:30 pm.



 

Virgina double dips in All-ACC
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 3, 2009

After they were snubbed in the past from the ACC’s ultimate award, the voting panel rewarded Lyndra Littles and Monica Wright.
On Monday, both of the upperclassmen for the Virginia women’s basketball team were named to the All-ACC first team. They were joined by Maryland’s Kristi Tolliver and Marissa Coleman, as well as Duke’s Chante Black.
Virginia senior center Aisha Mohammed was named as an honorable mention selection.
It marked the first time that Littles, a senior, and Wright, a junior, had landed on the first team. The duo also became the first Cavaliers to land on the first team since Schuye Larue was named to the squad in 2001.
Littles, who returned to the team after the first semester, does not qualify to be ranked for the league’s scoring title. Yet the Wasshington, D.C., native did rank as the ACC’s leading scorer during the 14-game ACC schedule, averaging 22.7 points per game.
She also posted the league’s best shooting percentage from the free-throw line, making 96 of 107 shots from the charity stripe against ACC teams.
Wright led all players in the ACC in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game and has already set the program’s single-season record with 633 points.
The Woodbridge product also ranked third in steals, 12th in assists and 20th in rebounding in the league.
Mohammed, who leads the ACC in rebounding with 9.9 per game, was also an honorable mention selection last season. The native of Nigeria ranks No. 17 in the ACC in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game.
Virginia (22-8, 8-6 ACC) plays Thursday at 8 p.m. in the opening round of the ACC tournament against Virginia Tech (12-17, 2-12). The winner will face third-seeded Duke (24-4, 11-3) on Friday at 8 p.m.

 

Teel Time: All-ACC logjam
Schools are closed, and the roads are a freak show. So stay warm and dry this morning and offer me your counsel.

Ballots for the all-ACC basketball teams are due in less than a week, and in 27 seasons of covering the conference, I can’t recall a year with more worthy candidates.

One reason is expansion. More teams should, and often do, translate to more quality players. A second reason is talents such as North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson elected to remain in school rather than head for the NBA.

Combine the elements and you have a 12-team league in which only Georgia Tech is below 110th on the RPI. The Big 12, Pacific 10 and Southeastern Conference have three such teams, the 16-member Big East four. Only the Big Ten, also with one below 110, matches the ACC’s depth.

Anyway, enough with the wind-up. Let’s look at some of the ACC’s best.

Florida State guard Toney Douglas: Locked onto my first team. League’s No. 1 scorer in conference games, No. 2 overall, and arguably its best on-the-ball defender. Also a serious player of the year candidate along with …

North Carolina guard Ty Lawson: Another first-team must. The college game’s fastest point guard, he leads the ACC in assists and steals and is third in shooting percentage. Steals aside, if only he defended on the ball like Douglas.

North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough: Would it be sacrilege to suggest that the reigning national player of the year and the ACC’s soon-to-be career scoring leader isn’t a certain first-teamer? Perhaps, but while he leads the league in scoring, he’s only fifth in conference games. He’s eighth in rebounding, where he’s well off his pace of last season. I’ll probably vote him first-team, but the questions are worth asking.

Duke guard Gerald Henderson: Closing with a rush, scoring at least 17 points in 15 consecutive games, including a career-best 35 a week ago Sunday against Wake Forest. Far and away the best athlete on the conference’s second-best team and a capable defender. Someone will need a helluva last week to bump him off my first team.

Miami guard Jack McClinton: Shooting a stunning 48 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, where he’s more accurate than inside the line. Averages 22.2 points in league games, second only to Douglas’ 22.9.

Wake Forest guard Jeff Teague: Has struggled some of late but made a clutch 3-pointer in the Deacons’ taut victory at Virginia on Saturday. Just an eyelash slower than Lawson, whom he outscored 34-9 in the teams’ only meeting. The ACC’s No. 4 overall scorer, sixth in league games. Also second to Lawson in steals.

Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney: Plays the wing and point, and usually defends the opponent’s top shooter. His first-team chances dimmed with a recent shooting slump, but you can’t overstate his importance to the Hokies. Averaging a third-best 20.4 points in conference games.

Boston College guard Tyrese Rice: Picked by us media wizards to finish 11th, the Eagles appear headed for a 10-6 league record. Rice is the primary reason, leading the team in scoring and assists.

Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez: Too mercurial for my tastes, and based on total body of work, most likely a second-teamer at best. His triple-double against North Carolina (35 points, 11 boards, 10 assists) almost became a quad with seven turnovers, but he is fun to watch. Torched North Carolina State for 33 last night. He’s ninth overall in scoring and fourth in assists.

Clemson forward Trevor Booker: Finally! Another big man! And you can add Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal here, too, because their numbers are virtually identical. They are 1-2 in overall rebounding and shooting percentage, and both average near 15 points.

That’s 11 players, and we haven’t even mentioned North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington, Virginia Tech’s A.D. Vassallo, Virginia’s Sylven Landesberg and Duke’s Kyle Singler.

So give me your fave five. This isn’t Little League, where everyone gets a trophy.

Mine, as of this morning: Douglas, Lawson, Hansbrough, Henderson and McClinton.

Full disclosure: Vasquez and Ellington are part of my ACC points-only rotisserie squad. Alas, Team Teel stands a lowly seventh among 11 and is looking at an early NIT exit.

Posted by David Teel