U.VA. NOTES

SHOWDOWN LOOMING: Unlike the Carrier Dome, Virginia’s Klockner Stadium can’t accommodate crowds much bigger than 8,000. But men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia still expects a first-rate atmosphere Sunday when top-ranked U.Va. (6-0) hosts No. 4 Cornell (2-0) at 2:30 p.m.

After losing to Virginia for the sixth time in seven games, Princeton decided last year to pull out of that series. That created an opening on the Cavaliers’ schedule that Cornell has filled. The teams will meet in Ithaca, N.Y., next year, and Starsia hopes the series will continue after that.

“The Virginia-Cornell game might not have the same cachet [as Virginia-Princeton],” Starsia said, “but Cornell’s been the dominant team in the Ivy League the last four or five years … This is going to be a great game.”

U.Va. played a classic Friday night at the Carrier Dome, edging then-No. 1 Syracuse 13-12. The crowd of 16,595 was the third-largest to witness a regular-season lacrosse game at the Dome.

“I think for our players what happened on Friday night is one of those moments you take away from your college career,” Starsia said. “In that building, with that noise, it’s even different from a final four setting.”

Virginia is coming off a 19-3 rout of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. U.Va. played without two injured starters Tuesday – sophomore goalie Adam Ghitelman and sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton – but both should be available Sunday.

HITTING THE WALL: Nothing has come easily for U.Va. basketball standout Sylven Landesberg recently.

In the second half against ACC rival Miami on Feb. 26, the 6-6 freshman was held to two points. Two days later, Landesberg failed to score in the first half against Wake Forest. The same thing happened Tuesday night at Clemson.

Landesberg finished with 13 points against Miami, 10 against Wake and three against Clemson. He was 6 for 23 from the floor in those games, all losses for U.Va.

With opponents keying on Landesberg, Virginia coach Dave Leitao said after the Clemson game, “I think he feels as a young guy… a little bit of pressure to have to do things, because he’s been doing them 80, 90 percent of the year, and now they’re not as easily available to him. So it’s a mental adjustment to him as much as physical. It’s just part of the process of learning the game.”

Landesberg and Wake freshman Al-Farouq are the top candidates for the ACC’s rookie-of-the-year award, whose winner will be announced next week.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES: This has been a difficult season for Leitao, but he’s made at least one wise move, if belatedly.

In U.Va.’s 19th game, sophomore Jeff Jones started for the first time this season. Jones, a 6-4 shooting guard, scored 19 points in that game, a loss at North Carolina, and he’s remained in the starting lineup.

Jones has averaged 11.4 points and 2.1 rebounds as a starter. During a freshman season in which he averaged 4.8 points, Jones started 25 games.

ON THE MATS: U.Va. hopes to host the ACC wrestling tournament in 2010. This year’s championships are Saturday in Blacksburg, and that should help host Virginia Tech.

“I remember in 1999 we had the ACCs here at U.Va., and it was such an amazing advantage,” said Virginia coach Steve Garland, who was a star wrestler for the Cavaliers then. “You get your own bed, your own wrestling room, you know the places around to eat and and then you have your core group of people supporting you. When you’re at home, there’s definitely an energy in the gym, rooting you on.”

The favorites Saturday, Garland said, are Virginia Tech and North Carolina, with Maryland and injury-ravaged Virginia hoping to “make it an interesting tournament.”

A year ago, U.Va. finished second at the ACC tourney – two points behind host Maryland – after placing third or better in nine of the 10 weight classes. The Cavaliers’ title contenders Saturday include 174-pounder Chris Henrich, 157-pounder Jedd Moore, 141-pounder Nick Nelson, 197-pounder Brent Jones and Rocco Caponi, the two-time defending ACC champion at 184.

-- Jeff White
 

DOUG DOUGHTY’S UVA INSIDER FOR MARCH 5, 2009

You know what I was thinking while I was watching Virginia men’s basketball recruit Tristan Spurlock miss 10 consecutive shots Wednesday at North Cross?

He’ll fit right in.

Then, Spurlock scored eight points in the final 3 ½ minutes and completely altered my impression of him. Spurlock’s Springfield-based Word of Life team beat North Cross 65-56.

I don’t think Spurlock is as big as his listed 6 foot 8 and 220 pounds, but he’s more of a small forward than anybody Virginia has now.

Actually, that’s not fair to Cavaliers’ freshman Sylven Landesberg, who certainly rebounds like a small forward. But, particularly now that Landesberg is starting to make some 3-pointers, his ball-handling makes him a more natural big guard.

Spurlock isn’t the ball-handler that Landesberg is, but he’s not a bad ball-handler. Even if he’s not quite 6-8, it appears he’s close to 220 and has the combination of strength and quickness that should make him a good defender. He’s also more of a leaper than Landesberg.

But, I should get away from the Landesberg comparisons. Landesberg will be in the lineup for as long as he’s at Virginia; even on a night when Landesberg was scoreless from the field Tuesday at Clemson, he played 35 minutes (nobody played more).

If Landesberg is at the #2 and Spurlock is at the #3, then what becomes of Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan? I don’t know that Farrakhan will stay around, considering the way his stock has tumbled, but Jones has played a lot better of late, averaging more than 11 points since returning to the starting lineup.

Could you play Spurlock at the #4? I would think UVa would want to keep Mike Scott at the #4, but that assumes that 7-foot freshman Assane Sene would handle the #5 spot better than he has this season.

Sene has a sprained ankle that kept him out of Tuesday night’s game and he has played with a bandaged left (shooting thumb). He has made one free throw since November and three of his last four field goals have been dunks. He demonstrated a nice-looking half-hook early in the season – not that it was going in – but he seems to be flinging the ball at the basket nowadays.

Put Scott at the center in a lineup that included Spurlock, Landesberg, Jones and a point guard, and would that lineup be able to hold its own on the boards? I would say that UVa goes into the 2009-2010 season with Sene as the starting center and Spurlock as the sixth man.

Spurlock’s minutes probably would come at the expense of 6-9 rising senior Jamil Tucker, at least the way Tucker has been playing of late. I can’t remember how many times Tucker was dunked on at Clemson, but he is 0-for-7 on 3-pointers and 5-for-16 overall during UVa’s current, four-game losing streak.

I remember Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg saying before the first UVa-Tech game that Tucker was the “x” factor for the Cavaliers. Never was that more the case than at the second Tech-UVa game Feb. 18, when Tucker had 13 points and nine rebounds in a 75-61 Cavaliers’ victory over the Hokies.

Since then, Tucker has averaged 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing nearly 20 minutes per game. He has played 17, 15 and 17 minutes in the last three games and produced a total of five points and five rebounds. I could see a Mamadi Diane-like finish to Tucker’s career, although Tucker’s has started a year early.
 

The (Kyle) Long and short of it
Jeff White
Mar 05, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – It’s premature to call it a done deal, because Kyle Long must do well at Piedmont Virginia Community College to pull it off. His plan, though, is to enroll at U.Va. for the 2009-10 academic year, as Jamie Oakes reported this week on CavsCorner.com.

If all goes well for the middle Long brother, he would sit out the 2009 football season at U.Va. as a transfer – while practicing with the team – and then have three years of eligibility starting in 2010.

Kyle, as many U.Va. fans know, is the son of former NFL great Howie Long, the younger brother of Chris Long and the older brother of future Virginia lacrosse player Howie Long. Speculation has been rampant about Kyle’s plans since the news broke in early January that he’d withdrawn from Florida State, where he’d enrolled last summer on a baseball scholarship.

In a statement, FSU said that after “falling behind academically, Kyle and his family have decided that it is in his best interest at this time to be closer to home while he tries to get back on track academically.”

Since then, I’ve tried repeatedly to get on-the-record comments about Kyle’s plans, with no success. His parents want Kyle to focus on his schoolwork and see no need for him to state his intentions publicly at this time, and his former coaches at St. Anne’s-Belfield School want to respect the family’s wishes. Still, based on multiple conversations I’ve had with people who know Kyle, it’s clear that his goal is to enroll at U.Va.

He’s been released from his scholarship at Florida State and is enrolled at PVCC in Charlottesville as a part-time student. If he gets good grades at Piedmont this spring and this summer, he’ll be admitted to U.Va. in the fall. For now, at least, it appears his baseball career is over, and he’ll focus on football.

Technically, Kyle is Chris Long’s “kid brother,” but he’s actually the biggest guy in the family. Kyle has carried about 280 pounds on his 6-7 frame, and he was one of the nation’s most-coveted offensive linemen as a STAB senior. Assuming he makes it to U.Va., he’s expected to play offensive tackle for the Cavaliers and could contend for a starting job in 2010.

 

The midnight ride of ...
Our preferred caffeine sources in hand, Comrade Wood and I fired up the DP chariot shortly after the witching hour for the journey home from Virginia Tech's loss to North Carolina.

Lacking seniority, Wood drove. Lacking a life, I parsed ACC tiebreakers -- dome light aglow.

At 2:50 a.m., according to my scribbles, some conclusions.

Virginia will play either Florida State or Boston College at 9:30 p.m. in Thursday's opening round of the ACC tournament at the Georgia Dome. The Cavaliers are seeded 11th among 12 teams regardless of how they fare in Saturday's regular-season finale against visiting Maryland.

Florida State will fall to the sixth seed and face Virginia only if it loses at home Sunday to Virginia Tech, Clemson wins at Wake Forest on Sunday, and Boston College defeats visiting Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Seminoles swept the Cavaliers during the regular season.

In all other scenarios, Boston College is the sixth seed. The Eagles defeated the host Cavaliers 80-70 in early January.

Virginia Tech will face either North Carolina State or Miami on Thursday. If the Hokies upset FSU on Sunday, and Maryand loses at Virginia, and Boston College loses to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech becomes the seventh seed and plays the loser of Saturday's N.C. State-at-Miami game at 7 p.m. in Atlanta.

In all other permutations, the Hokies are the eighth seed and play the winner of Saturday's State-at-Miami game.

Confused? Me, too. But I'm pretty darn sure this is accurate, and to confirm I'm forwarding a link to conference HQ.

Also close to certain: Virginia Tech's flickering NCAA tournament hopes hinge on Sunday's game at Florida State.

With other "bubble" teams such as Kentucky, Florida, Maryland, Miami, Georgetown and Cincinnati spitting the bit this week, a quality road victory would all but lock the Hokies into the NCAA field. But a defeat would likely translate to them needing two wins at the ACC tournament.

And since that second game would be against a rested No. 1 seed, either North Carolina or Duke, you can't like the odds.

Virginia Tech faces more favorable odds at FSU, already assured an NCAA bid. But it's Toney Douglas' final home game, and after watching the Seminoles win in Blacksburg two weeks ago, I'm thinking they repeat.

Can you say NIT?

Posted by David Teel
 

Mohammed steps up
UVa's Aisha Mohammed has a double-double and the Cavaliers send the Hokies home early.
By Katrina Waugh
981-3127

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Monica Wright and Lyndra Littles are the top scorers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and combined the two have accounted for 76.6 percent of Virginia's scoring in ACC play.

Until Thursday.

Aisha Mohammed scored 16 points and yanked down 16 rebounds to lead No. 24 Virginia to a 66-57 win over rival Virginia Tech in the opening round of the ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday.

"We all talk about it ... we all have to step up and play the game, not just Lyndra and Monica doing all of the job," Mohammed said. "So we have to contribute. I made a promise to myself that I'm going to make sure I contribute."

Mohammed did more than contribute. She was a veritable ball hog in the paint, particularly in the first half when she had 10 rebounds and 10 points before the Hokies were ready to play.

"She was the difference ... you saw why she is the number one rebounder in the league," said Hokies coach Beth Dunkenberger. "She is hard to stop and hard to keep off the boards. Granted, we could have done a better job boxing her out, [but] when she plays hard, it's hard to stop her."

The sixth-seeded Cavaliers will play third-seeded Duke tonight at 8 in the last of four quarterfinal games.

The Blue Devils, ranked eighth in the country, beat Virginia 81-67 on Feb. 5 at John Paul Jones Arena.

"We're really going to have to take care of the basketball," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "They are a great defensive team."

Ryan was pleased with her own team's defensive effort in the first half, and between the Cavaliers' defense and rebounding, they were off and racing to a 39-21 halftime lead.

The Hokies had "come out very flat," coach Beth Dunkenberger said.

Tech's Utahya Drye had 13 points in the first half, but the Hokies as a team had 11 rebounds to Mohammed's 10.

Tech point guard Laura Haskins, who normally doesn't get into any sort of foul trouble, picked up a foul in the first five seconds and said she got "a little tentative" after that.

The Hokies regrouped at halftime, played stronger defense, forced 11 turnovers and outrebounded the Cavaliers 23-15 in the second half to trim the lead to nine points with five minutes to play. But Littles hit a pair of jumpers, and Mohammed intercepted a pass and grabbed a defensive rebound to rebuild the Virginia lead to 13 and threat was averted.

Littles finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Wright had 11 points and Ariana Moorer had nine for Virginia (23-8).

Drye led Virginia Tech (12-18) with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Lindsay Biggs had 10 points and Haskins had nine. Brittany Gordon had six points and six rebounds and Shanel Harrison had nine points.

"It's a shame we didn't play the same in the first half the way we did in the second half," Haskins said.

"That's like the story of the whole season though, one minute one team shows up and then the next minute another team shows up."

 

Cavs rebound to beat Hokies
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 6, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. — If it is supposedly hard to beat an opponent three times in a season, in theory it should be considerably tougher against an in-state rival.
It only took 20 minutes and a rebounding clinic for Virginia to dispatch that theory on the opening day of the ACC tournament.
Facing Virginia Tech, the event’s 11th-seeded team, for the third time proved little challenge for Virginia as it recorded a 66-57 victory, the biggest margin of victory in the series this season. It marked the Cavaliers sixth straight win over the Hokies.
With the victory, the Cavaliers (23-8) advanced to play third-seeded Duke (24-4) tonight at 8 p.m in the quarterfinals. The loss ended a trying season for Virginia Tech (12-18) that included only one victory over an ACC foe since February.
The positive outcome came just four days after the Cavaliers blew a chance to claim the No. 5 seed in the tournament with a loss at Georgia Tech.
“I was pleased. Our kids played like they should have at Georgia Tech,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “I was really pleased with the whole atmosphere.
“I think we probably played some of our best defense of the year the first half. I was very proud of our performance the first half.“
Virginia senior center Aisha Mohammed dominated the glass in the contest, grabbing 16 of the Cavaliers’ 46 rebounds, and scored a team-high 16 points. Lyndra Littles and Monica Wright added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
“Before the game, Coach [Ryan] said just go in there and play like you are 6 years old,“ Mohammed said. “She told us not to think about anything and to just play. The whole game we were just playing.“
“Lyndra, Aisha and Moni set the tone so well early and yet they shared the ball so well,” Ryan said. “Everybody was involved the whole time. They did a great job of leading the way for us tonight.”
To Virginia Tech’s credit, it tried to mount a momentary comeback in the second half. The Hokies managed to cut its deficit to single digits in the late stages of the second half, but Virginia regained its form as Mohammed scooped up a loose ball and kissed a lay up off the backboard. Mohammed’s shot came as the shot clock expired with 5:28 remaining, and Littles then nailed back-to-back jumpers, the last of which put the Cavaliers up 64-51.
The Hokies, who hit 12 free throws in the second half, could not get their deficit under nine points after the break.
One reason Virginia Tech was able to trim into the Cavaliers’ lead centered around the inability for Ryan to play forward Kelly Hartig extended minutes. The sophomore played only 14 minutes, including just six in the second half, after she was plagued with foul trouble as she picked up two in each half.
“I have to have Kelly Hartig play with less fouls every night,“ Ryan said of Hartig, who had five rebounds.
Virginia fans can credit a pair of lesser known scorers: Britnee Millner and Ariana Moorer. The duo combined for three 3-pointers in the second half, each of which seemed to shift the emotion to the Cavaliers’ side.
“I felt like in the second half we let up a lit little bit and let them back in the game for a couple of segments,“ Ryan said. “But overall I was pretty proud of my team’s performance. Every time they made a run we had an answer. We did a fairly good job on the offensive end, so I was pretty pleased with the game all the way around. But Tech is always a hard game for us. It’s an in-state rivalry, a very fierce in-state rivalry and the games are never easy.“
In the first half, Virginia scored 17 second-chance points as it grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and took a 39-21 lead. During the opening session, the Cavaliers owned a staggering 31-11 rebounding advantage at halftime.
“They were just beasts on the boards and manhandled us,“ Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said. “The first half we came out very flat and Virginia played like a team that lost their last regular season game and was trying to make a statement.“
Virginia also showcased solid defense early as Virginia Tech struggled from the field, shooting just 30.8 percent (8 of 26). Shanel Harrison, who was called for a technical in the first half, and Nikki Davis had the biggest troubles, combining to make just 1 of their first 10 field goals.
After both teams showed early signs of jitters and Virginia Tech took a 4-2 lead, the Cavaliers took command of the game with a 12-4 run capped by a lay up from Mohammed with 12:24 left.
Virginia continued to build on its lead as the first half progressed as Mohammed and Wright each scored 10 of their points before the break. Mohammed also had 10 first-half rebounds.
“I didn’t know I had a double-double in the first half because Coach [Ryan] didn’t say anything,” Mohammed said. “I was just out there playing and trying to contribute from anywhere.”
Virginia Tech was paced by a 21-point effort from forward Utahya Drye, who made seven of her 16 shots from the field.
“As far as my individual play, I was trying to let my shot, let it go because I felt like I was on for a little while, and whenever they stopped falling, that’s when I knew I had to pick it up on defense,“ Drye said. “You just do the other little things - just because my shot is not falling doesn’t mean I need to take a play off on defense.“

Lay ups ...

Mohammed 16 rebounds are the most in an ACC tournament game for a Cavalier since Jenny Boucek collected 17 rebounds in 1995 against Duke. … UVa last played Duke in the ACC tournament in 2007. The Blue Devils won 79-58. ... The Cavaliers have lost 15 straight against Duke, a streak dating back to Jan. 30, 2000. ... Littles (ankle) played with less pain and did not appear to be bothered by the injury as she did in recent weeks. “I was really pleased with Lyndra being able to recover and she wasn’t so tender on that foot,“ Ryan said.
... Moorer finished with nine points for UVa, including seven in the second half. The rookie point guard also added three assists, three rebounds and two steals. “I thought Ariana gave us really good minutes at the point position,“ Ryan said. “She really played intelligently. She was able to find the open man sometimes and she really knocked the ball down for us when she was open and that’s what a good point guard does; being able to knock the ball down the way she did was very good. She is getting better with each game ... almost had double figures tonight. But I’m real pleased with the way she is playing right now. We just keep on working on all of the aspects of her game.“


 

Freshman Brandenburg makes his presence felt
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 5, 2009

CLEMSON, S.C. — John Brandenburg’s technical foul in the waning moments of the lopsided loss to Clemson on Tuesday night definitely fell under the category of “silly freshman mistake.”

With under seven minutes left in the game and Virginia trailing by 16 points, Brandenburg made a nice defensive play when he swatted the shot of Tigers guard Demontez Stitt. He drew the technical foul after celebrating the block.

“He rotated, had a good block, showed some overexuberance and then stared the guy down,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “I didn’t see it, but one of the referees said to me that he didn’t say anything, he just yelled.”

Brandenburg’s display was definitely uncalled for, but you can bet there was a large contingent of Virginia fans that was excited by it. The word “overexuberance” hasn’t exactly gone hand in hand in with many UVa players this season.

Leitao gave Brandenburg his first playing time since the Jan. 15 game at North Carolina.

“Without Assane [Sene], we needed to go deeper into the depth of the frontcourt,” Leitao explained. “With their physicality and size, Solomon [Tat] had been an option but he hadn’t been much of an option, especially when you get deeper into the game. We needed some more help.”

Brandenburg didn’t light up the stat sheet in his eight minutes on the court. He had just two points and one rebound.

But you can say this about the St. Louis native — he didn’t look the least bit scared or intimidated in the hostile Littlejohn Coliseum environment. In fact, he looked quite confident.

“It’s nice to get a little time, even if it’s in a bad situation,” said Brandenburg, who guarded Clemson beast Trevor Booker on a couple of defensive sequences and wasn’t embarrassed. “But I’m more frustrated by the game than happy for playing.”

The 6-foot-11, 241-pounder nailed both of his free throw attempts after drawing a foul on a fast break.

“I think those were my first two consecutive free throws made in a college game,” Brandenburg said, “so that helps my confidence, but it’s mostly frustration coming out of this one.”

Leitao, clearly not thrilled with his team’s latest poor showing, seemed encouraged by Brandenburg’s cameo.

“We’ve been trying to get John ready all year long,” he said. “I thought he didn’t play great, but he didn’t play bad. He held his own a little bit. Hopefully that will allow him, at least psychologically, to take a little bit of a step forward.”

 

Assessing Landesberg’s NBA potential
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 6, 2009

Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg has never openly talked about leaving school early for the NBA or given any hints to the local media that he might be exploring the option.
(Wahoo Nation, that’s your cue to exhale.)
However, if Landesberg did declare for the draft, he would have a chance of getting selected in the first round, according to one NBA scout.
“I think he could be [a first-rounder],” said the scout, who was granted anonymity because he isn’t permitted to talk about players, “but he’s going to have to make himself a little more well-known to the general managers and have good individual workouts.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a lock at all.”
Speculation as to Landesberg’s intentions first surfaced on ESPN.com last week when Chad Ford called Landesberg his “Top Sleeper” of the 2009 NBA Draft. Ford also said sources had told him that Landesberg was thinking about going to the NBA.
Landesberg, following last weekend’s loss to Wake Forest, said he had not seen Ford’s report.
“I haven’t really talked about that [with my family],” Landesberg told The Daily Progress, when asked about whether he had thought of declaring for the draft. “I just want to finish out the season — focus on the season.”
As a freshman, Landesberg has established himself as one of the best offensive players in the ACC. The former McDonald’s All-American has been even better than advertised.
While Landesberg wasn’t exactly in the mood to discuss the NBA rumors, he admitted that attention from an ESPN draft guru was flattering.
“I guess I’ve been having an OK season,” Landesberg said, “but I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. I want to be able to go to the NCAAs, make it far in there, have a successful ACC season. I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything yet.”
Landesberg is the leading freshmen scorer in the ACC. Only North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough has more 20-point games among conference freshmen in the past decade.
Landesberg is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points and is second in rebounds and assists.
The scout warned that Landesberg has put those numbers up on one of the weaker teams in the country, but on the flip side he cited plenty of players who didn’t put up statistics nearly as impressive as Landesberg who went on to be first-round picks. The scout used current New York Knick Wilson Chandler – a player whom Virginia coach Dave Leitao actually recruited when he was at DePaul — as an example.
“Most of us thought that he was drafted way too high,” the scout said, “but he’s worked very hard and done well.”
Of course, declaring for the draft and actually staying in the draft are very different things.
A player may declare for the draft, get an evaluation from NBA personnel about his status and then return to school — a path that Virginia star Sean Singletary took following his junior season. That could be an option that Landesberg looks into.
A new twist to the NBA predraft camps this season may help keep players like Landesberg in school. Instead of playing in 5-on-5 games, prospects will be put through a series of drills. “There’s no place to shine or really stand out in front of the decision makers,” the scout said.
The scout’s biggest concern about Landesberg on the pro level is his perimeter game. Landesberg is shooting just 31 percent from behind the college 3-point line.
“If you don’t have to respect his ability to shoot [the 3-pointer], then how is he going to get that first step on guys who are bigger, stronger, quicker — NBA-type two-guards,” he said.
Right now, Landesberg’s best attribute is his ability to get to the rim and score, although “he drives right every single time,” the scout said.
Landesberg scored just three points in the loss to Clemson on Tuesday night. Recently, opposing defenses have figured out that the 6-foot-6 Queens, N.Y. native is the Cavaliers’ only offensive weapon and have made stopping him their top priority.
This year’s draft is not considered as deep as last year’s, but there is still a ton of talent. Hansbrough being talked about as a late first-round pick is certainly testament to that.
“I think he’s a kid with a future,” the scout said, referring to Landesberg, “but I wouldn’t say him being a first-rounder is a slam dunk.”

 

Hultzen opens for UVa
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 6, 2009

In high school, Danny Hultzen expected to see his catcher flash one digit on his hand.
Any pitch called that was not a fastball was out of the norm. At that point, however, it did not matter.
Tonight at 6 p.m. against Wake Forest (6-1) in the ACC opener for both teams, Hultzen will be asked to be a “pitcher” and not a thrower for Virginia (9-0).
Thus far, it has worked for the left-handed rookie from Bethesda, Md. Hultzen (2-0) has fanned 17 batters and did not allow an earned run in his first two starts, which covered 12 innings.
“He has really good command. You are going to have to beat him,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “We will see how things go, but he has multiple pitches that he can throw for strikes and, shoot, the guy is left-handed and throws up to 92 miles per hour.
“I think the kid is a really good competitor. You throw all those things together and you have a good pitcher.”
Hultzen, who was drafted in the 10th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been aware of the differences that pitching in the college ranks have provided.
“In high school you could just throw fastballs and blow everybody away,” said Hultzen, who has walked just one batter. “Up here you have to mix in different pitches and actually pitch a little bit more, but I feel really good about where I am.”
His teammates have expressed similar feelings.
“I really enjoy catching Danny,” junior catcher Franco Valdes said. “He is a young guy but he lets me take him by the horns and he follows my lead. He settles down and does what I ask him to do.
“It is so much easier defensively to know that a guy is going to be shoulder-to-shoulder. It makes my job so much easier.”
O’Connor’s said his decision to start Hultzen on a second-straight Friday gives the pitcher a day of rest before taking the mound and gives the two-way player the luxury of focusing on hitting as he plays first base in the final two games of the series.
“Pitching is probably the most stressful part of the weekend so it is good to get it out of the way,” Hultzen said. “To a certain extent it is good to know that it is the day that I am going to throw and I don’t have to worry about anything up until that point.
“I guess that helps a little bit.”
Hultzen has had limited success at the plate thus far, hitting .294 with a double and six RBI, but O’Connor expects the rookie to make adjustments as the season progresses.
“I think Danny is really going to hit for us,” the coach said. “I think he is going to be a clutch hitter, a productive hitter. Maybe he is pressing a little bit, but we are asking him to do a lot.
“He is an 18-year-old that we are asking to start on Friday night and also swing the bat.”
Hulzten told scouts from Major League teams that his price tag was rather expensive to forego the chance to play three years of college baseball, hence the reason he slipped in the draft.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but I think he knew what he wanted,” O’Connor said. “He expressed to our coaches that he really wanted the college experience for as much as what is off the college baseball field as on it. Some kids just want that and there is a high value in that for him.
“We are glad Danny is here.”
Wake Forest may not share the same opinion tonight.

 

Cavaliers Host ACC-Rival No. 3 Maryland Friday
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/04/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 2 Virginia women’s lacrosse team hosts No. 3 Maryland in an Atlantic Coast Conference game this Friday at Klöckner Stadium. Opening draw is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the game being broadcast on ACC Select. Live stats for the contest can be found on VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers enter the contest with a 4-0 record after upsetting No. 3 Syracuse, 14-11, on the road last week. Junior Brittany Kalkstein led Virginia in the contest, winning eight draw controls, while senior All-American Jenny Hauser and redshirt junior Whitaker Hagerman each tallied four goals. In goal for the Cavaliers, redshirt junior Lauren Benner stopped nine shots, while holding the Orange to their lowest point total of the season.

Benner was honored as the womenslacrosse.com Defensive Player of the Week for her play in Virginia’s wins over Richmond (16-7) and Syracuse.

Maryland (3-0) is also coming off an upset win, in which the Terrapins defeated then-No. 2 Duke, 15-13, to remain undefeated on the season and pick up their first conference win. Laura Merrifield led Maryland in the contest, scoring a career-high five goals.

Karri Ellen Johnson and Caitlyn McFadden lead the Terps this season, tallying 14 points each. Johnson has recorded a team-high 12 goals and has won 11 draw controls.

Senior All-American Ashley McCulloch leads the Cavaliers and the ACC in points and assists per game this season, while sitting second nationally. McCulloch has distributed 15 assists and scored 14 goals for a team-high 29 points. Senior All-American Blair Weymouth also has 14 goals, ranking them both 22nd nationally.

Junior Kaitlin Duff has collected 12 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers – the 10th most among all NCAA players – while Kalkstein sits tied for sixth on the national lists, winning 18 draw controls.

In goal, Benner ranks ninth nationally, giving up just 7.50 goals per game, and 12th nationally with her league-best .544 save percentage.

With 47 all-time contests played between the Cavaliers and Terrapins – one at least every year since 1982 – Maryland is Virginia’s most played opponent. The Terrapins hold the advantage in the series, 30-17, but the Cavaliers have won eight of the last nine meetings. Virginia has won the last six meetings in Charlottesville, including a come-from-behind 10-9 overtime upset win over the Terrapins in last season’s ACC Championship title game.

The Cavaliers will face a quick turnaround following the game, playing host to Penn State in a non-conference match on Sunday. The game is slated to begin at noon and will mark the first of a double-header with Virginia’s men’s lacrosse team.