Cavaliers stunned by Leitao’s dismissal
By Jeff White
Published: March 18, 2009
CHARLOTTESVILLE --

Mike Scott didn't last long at the hastily arranged team meeting Monday afternoon. When he heard the stunning news -- that the University of Virginia had fired men's basketball coach Dave Leitao after four seasons -- Scott kicked a trash can and stormed out of the home locker room at John Paul Jones Arena.

"I know I had a lot of anger," Scott said yesterday. "Personally, I felt we had something to do with [Leitao's dismissal]. He gets the blame for it, because he's coach, but we definitely could have won some of those games."

The Cavaliers won only 10 games this season. They lost 18 times. Four days after the last defeat, to Boston College in the ACC tournament's first round, U.Va. parted ways with Leitao.

"I think it took us all by surprise," Sammy Zeglinski said.

According to the official version, Leitao resigned, but he told his players Monday that it "was a decision the university made to go in a different direction," Zeglinski said.

Yesterday at the JPJ, four U.Va. players Scott, Zeglinski, Jeff Jones and Sylven Landesberg answered questions about the unexpected departures of Leitao and assistant coaches Steve Seymour, Bill Courtney and Drew Diener. The players choked up at times and blamed themselves for letting down the staff.

"If we would have pulled out those four or five games that we definitely could have, I don't think this [news] conference would be going on right now," said Landesberg, the ACC rookie of the year. "I'd be upstairs talking to Coach in his office about what's going on this summer. A lot of the blame, I would say, is on us, but he's the coach, so he gets most of it."

Leitao was known -- and widely criticized -- for his stern demeanor and, occasionally, foul mouth on the sideline, but there was another side to him, according to the players.

"Not everybody saw Coach Leitao off the court," Scott said. "Most people see the coach yelling, or whatever, during the games, but when you go upstairs and talk to him, he's calm, he's cool, you laugh, you joke. Me and him used to joke around all the time."

Scott was often the target of Leitao's in-game outbursts. But Scott said he never felt "disconnected" from his coach.

"I just think that he was like a second father to me," Scott said, "and he challenged me a lot, wanted me to compete."

All four players said they plan to return next season. Scott, a power forward, and Jones, a shooting guard, will be juniors. Zeglinski, a point guard, and Landesberg, a swingman, will be sophomores.

"We all have a team to lead," Scott said. "Leaving is definitely not an option."

Whether the two recruits who signed with Virginia in November -- forward Tristan Spurlock and point guard Jontel Evans -- will enroll as scheduled this summer is uncertain. They wanted to play for Leitao, and they might want to look elsewhere now.

"We definitely have to reach out to them," Landesberg said, "make sure they're OK, let them know that this is still a good decision to come here. It's a great school to be at."

Jones said the players would miss Leitao, "his presence around here, in the locker room. But I think this team is motivated. We're going to work hard for the new coaching staff that's going to come in. We're going to welcome them with open arms."

Scott said: "We just gotta stay strong, stay as a team, stay whole and don't let this break us up, because it's not the end. It's definitely not the end. This will give us a lot of motivation to work harder in the offseason so we can prove everybody wrong."

 

Brunson takes the reins—temporarily
Jeff White
Mar 17, 2009
By Jeff White
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE – After Pete Gillen stepped down as the University of Virginia men’s basketball coach in March 2005, more than four weeks passed before the school hired his replacement, Dave Leitao.

It may not take U.Va. as long to hire Leitao’s successor, but don’t expect an introductory press conference this week.

The coaches who most interest Virginia, including Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel and Minnesota’s Tubby Smith, are in the NCAA tournament, which starts Thursday. Until the teams of its targets have completed their seasons, U.Va. will not initiate formal contact with their coaches.

In the meantime, U.Va.’s players are under the supervision of Rick Brunson, Leitao’s director of basketball operations in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

“You can’t leave these kids out in the cold,” Brunson said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Athletic Director Craig Littlepage declined an interview request Tuesday but confirmed that Brunson will “handle duties in the office and with the players” during the coaching search.

“His background, around both college and NBA basketball, gives us some great qualities to handle things for the future,” Littlepage wrote in an e-mail, adding that assistant coaches Bill Courtney, Steve Seymour and Drew Diener “will not be on the job.”

Brunson, a former Temple star who played nine seasons in the NBA, said he spoke with Leitao before agreeing to stay on until a new coach is hired. Leitao resigned Monday under pressure after four seasons at Virginia.

“I wouldn’t have done it without Dave’s approval,” Brunson said. “Coach Leitao has been nothing but good to me and my family.”

Brunson said he planned to meet with the players Wednesday. He said he’ll tell them it’s time “to get over the B.S. and get back to work. The new coach coming in, he needs a team that’s ready to go.”

Since Leitao’s dismissal, Brunson said, he’s tried to make sure the players are “going to class and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. This is a tough time for them, but they’ve got to get through it.“

Brunson said he isn’t interested in remaining at U.Va. after Leitao’s replacement is hired.

“I’m not here to stay on,” he said. “I’m here because these kids want me, need me. My stuff’s already packed. I’m going to grab my keys [when the next coach takes over] and head out.”

Brunson said the players will start their offseason conditioning soon.

“From an 10-18 record, there’s no time for rest,” he said. “They have to get back in the gym.”
 

Leitao had fan in alum Staples
The former PH standout appreciated what UVa's now-former coach had done with the program.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Scan the crowd at a University of Virginia basketball game and you might see Curtis Staples sitting in the stands.

It has been more than 10 years since Staples was setting 3-point records at University Hall, but he has not kept his distance.

"I've probably been as close to the program as any former player," said Staples, who operates several businesses in the Lynchburg area.

Former backcourt mate Cory Alexander might have inherited that distinction since taking over analyst duties on the UVa radio network, but Staples felt a kinship under the Leitao regime.

"He made a point to reach out," Staples said. "He was great with that."

That's one of the reasons for Staples' sadness upon learning that Leitao had been let go on Monday after four seasons as the Cavaliers' head coach.

Leitao was the first black head coach of a varsity sport at Virginia.

"As a fellow African-American, you would like to see him succeed," Staples said. "You pull for him, but, in the end, it didn't matter who it was. It boiled down to winning and losing.

"It's mostly on a friendship level and because of the relationship I had with him that I hated to see it."

Yet, Staples doesn't criticize UVa's decision to relieve Leitao of his duties following a 10-18 season that represented UVa's lowest winning percentage since 1966-67.

"In big-time college sports, they pay outrageous salaries to coaches and they expect results," said Staples, a one-time Patrick Henry High School star. "There's a whole lot of money out there and not a lot of time. They can't wait on you."

Because of business obligations, Staples didn't get to many games this year, but he was a regular in previous seasons. He thinks that Leitao is a good coach.

"Recruiting, obviously, is the biggest sore spot," Staples said. "As a head coach, you're only as good as you can recruit. And, you can only recruit as good as your staff is. That's how it works. That's the name of the game.

"Guys that win, recruit. It's not a mythical formula. Everybody can't go to Carolina or Duke. The field is 64 and that's what you're shooting for every year. Other people are getting it done. Other people are getting players."

Leitao was hired in 2005 to replace Pete Gillen, who went 20-9 and took the Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament in 2002, his third season. Gillen coached at Virginia four more seasons without making another ACC trip.

"Look at the past two coaches at Virginia," Staples said. "Pete Gillen had done a great job everywhere he'd been because he had Bobby Gonzalez. Bobby Gonzalez was one of the best recruiters out there. Everybody knew that. When he left, things started sliding. With Leitao, Rob Lanier left. That was a big blow."

When he was at Virginia, Staples played for Jeff Jones, who had unprecedented success in his first five seasons. However, there was slippage following the departure of top aide Dennis Wolff.

"One of the things that played against Leitao and what ended up being one of the biggest issues later is that he did a good job the first couple years," Staples said. "Those weren't all his players, but he did a good job of coaching the talent he had. He got coach of the year one year.

"He was at a high peak. Then, all of a sudden, that third year falls in there and they start losing and everybody says, 'What's going on?' "

If not for a lackluster UVa performance against Boston College in the ACC Tournament, Leitao might have gotten a fifth year.

Did he deserve one?

"It's a matter of opinion," Staples said. "I'm not sure there's a right answer. You would think you would see some type of growth. He did bring [Sylven] Landesberg in. He's going to be a good one for us. But, overall, you see what you saw before with Virginia.

"There's potential there, but at the end of the day in the ACC, potential doesn't get you a 'W.' Potential is just a word if you don't live up to it. It's unfortunate, but you knew it was coming. You just didn't know when."

As for a successor, Staples doesn't think UVa can afford to take chances.

"If you don't go after a big-name guy who has the reputation of winning everywhere he goes and has the reputation of being a great recruiter, like a Tubby Smith, you're basically rolling the dice again," Staples said.

Staples' idea of a great recruiter is a coach who can spot talent, not necessarily a coach who can sign players that everybody is recruiting.

"Hey, look at Virginia Tech," he said. "They might not get the most refined players, but [Seth] Greenberg has an eye for the kind of kids he needs. They keep on finding a way and we've got to find a way in Charlottesville of finding these kids that other teams are picking up and we're passing on."
 

Players react to Leitao news
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 18, 2009

When Virginia players received a text message early Monday from the coaching staff requesting their presence at a meeting in the locker room at John Paul Jones Arena, they figured it was time to go over offseason goals or workout routines.

Never did they expect to hear the words that came out of Dave Leitao’s mouth.

“He just said that he was no longer the coach at the University of Virginia,” said Virginia freshman Sammy Zeglinski, “and that it was a decision that the university made to go in a different direction.”

At that point, several Virginia players became emotional. One player, sophomore Mike Scott, kicked a trash can and stormed out of the meeting.

“There was a lot of anger in the locker room,” Scott said. “I know I had a lot of anger.

“Personally, I felt like we had something to do with [Leitao’s departure]. Sometimes we didn’t show up in games. If we had won some of those games, we probably wouldn’t be here talking right now.”

On Tuesday, Scott and Zeglinski, along with teammates Jeff Jones and Sylven Landesberg, met with the media.

The quartet’s emotions ran the gamut as they discussed Leitao’s abrupt farewell. The players seemed most affected when asked what it would be like without Leitao next season.

After that question, Scott became emotional despite clashing with Leitao this past season. Scott was removed from the team’s starting lineup for the final nine regular-season games.

“It may seem sometimes like we were having our feuds on the court,” Scott said, “but what coach and player don’t do that?

“He was like a second father to me. He was always challenging me and wanting me to compete.”

For Wahoo fans, the best news to come out of the session came when all four players definitively stated that they would return to Virginia, no matter who the new coach is.

“When I signed to come here, coach Leitao and the staff definitely played a big role,” Landesberg said, “but I also came here to play for this school, so I definitely will be coming back. I don’t think transferring or anything is on my mind.”

“I have a team to lead,” Scott added, “so leaving is definitely not an option in my book.”

Landesberg took things a step further, saying that he planned on talking to Virginia’s incoming recruits, Tristan Spurlock and Jontel “Bub” Evans, who may be wavering in the wake of Leitao’s departure.

“They’re about to come in and be part of our family,” Landesberg said. “We definitely have to reach out to them and make sure that they’re OK and let them know that this still a good decision to come here. This is a great school to be at.”

Zeglinski echoed those sentiments, particularly as they pertained to the new head coach.

“I think whoever does take the position is really coming into a great situation,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of great guys on this team and a lot of young talent. I think we’re ready to win and are willing to do whatever it takes.

“We want to put in the work and we want to be great.”

Added Jones: “We have some unfinished business to do. I think our down season was this season. I see some good things in the future.”

All four players, though, made sure to express their gratitude to Leitao, who told his former players at the conclusion of Monday’s meeting that he would always be just a phone call away.

“I would just like to thank coach Leitao for giving me an opportunity to come here and play at this great school — I think I can speak for all of us when I say that,” Zeglinski said. “I was his first recruit when he got here and the first to sign, so it’s tough to see him go, but he’s taught me a lot and I’m going to keep what he taught me with me throughout my entire career and just get better.

“His competitiveness was really unmatched. He really taught me how to compete.”

 

March 16, 2009
Littlepage's job on line

Virginia fired men's basketball coach Dave Leitao today, and athletic director Craig Littlepage will follow if the next coach doesn't succeed.

Yes, the school is calling the divorce a resignation, but no one's buying that jive. Leitao was summoned to a meeting today, and he departed with $2.1 million in severance, certainly a better parting gift than the home version of "Jeopardy!"

Littlepage is a basketball guy, a former coach and chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Leitao, a former head coach at DePaul and Northeastern, and a protege of hall of famer Jim Calhoun, was his choice to succeed Pete Gillen.

Four seasons and one NCAA bid later, Leitao is history. His teams were 55-60, and this year's 10-18 mark is the program's worst since 1967.

That's a serious dent in Littlepage's reputation.

Five weeks ago, when Virginia was mired in an eight-game ACC losing streak, logic said Leitao's security was shaky. But Littlepage and others insisted otherwise.

When the Cavaliers won three of their final seven regular-season games, Leitao's return seemed set. So what in the name of Henry Lannigan happened?

Did some monied boosters get in Littlepage's ear at the ACC tournament, where Virginia fell immediately and predictably to Boston College? Has some coach with gold-plated credentials whispered through back channels that he'd listen to overtures from Virginia?

And what of a football backlash? Are donors so angry about football coach Al Groh's continued employment, and the overall malaise surrounding Virginia's two marquee sports, that they wanted someone's, anyone's, head on a sabre?

Undisputed truths rarely emerge in these circumstaances. But I suspect that were Virginia football in a better place, Dave Leitao would still be employed.

Since he's not, you tell me: Whom should Virginia hire? Is the job attractive enough to lure high-profile types such as Oklahoma's Jeff Capel? Or must Littlepage target less-accomplished coaches such as VCU's Anthony Grant? Does Littlepage's aborted courtship of then-Kentucky coach Tubby Smith in 2005 preclude another run now that Smith is at Minnesota?

Like most if not all newcomers, Leitao's successor will have fences to mend. For example, on his Facebook page today, Virginia's best player, freshman Sylven Landesberg's status update read: "WTF!! I came to play for him, didn't think I would feel that way ..."

Will the ACC's rookie of the year ponder a transfer? Or is he just a kid blowing off steam?

This much is certain: Littlepage better have the new guy locked-and-loaded soon. And he'd better be good.

Damn good.




 

March 17, 2009
Virginia's Plan Bs

Coaching searches often go awry. Even when a school or team has a handshake deal with its top candidate, stuff happens.

Remember Billy Donovan with the Orlando Magic, Bobby Cremins with South Carolina and Dana Altman at Arkansas?

Since this is about Virginia, old-schoolers will recall that 19 years ago then-Providence coach Rick Barnes agreed to succeed Terry Holland, only to bail upon returning home. Jim Copeland then hired Holland assistant and former Cavaliers point guard Jeff Jones.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that Virginia's current search for a head basketball coach may not end with one of the high-profile names we media meatheads are floating.

Tubby Smith: Maybe two years at Minnesota have made him fond of ice fishing. Seriously, perhaps he feels obligated to the Gophers for more than two seasons. Unlike, as Comrade Wood points out, when he bailed on Georgia after two years for Kentucky. Not that Wood, a Georgia grad, is bitter or anything.

Jeff Capel: What if he guides Oklahoma to the national title and the school doubles his salary to more than $2 million?

Sean Miller: What if Jamie Dixon leaves Pittsburgh for Arizona? Wouldn't Miller, who's winning large at Xavier, be the natural choice for his alma mater?

Anyway, if not them, who?

Jeff White's piece in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch mentioned an interesting name that hadn't crossed my radar: Nevada-Las Vegas' Lon Kruger.

A 2-plus-season stint with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks excepted, Kruger has been successful at each of his stops, including Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV. He's 14-11 in the NCAA tournament and led Florida to the 1994 Final Four.

My only question about Kruger would be his lack of ties to the ACC region.

Other quality coaches who might fit at Virginia:

Davidson's Bob McKillop, 58, hit the lottery last season when Steph Curry shot the Wildcats into the Elite Eight. But he's been at Davidson 20 years, his reputation with the basketball community forged years ago.

Davidson's academic profile compares to Virginia's, and the Cavaliers have a history of hiring coaches from there: the aforementioned Holland.

Speaking of whom, one of Holland's former Virginia assistants, 59-year-old Jim Larranaga, continues to churn out first-rate teams at George Mason. His Patriots' run to the 2006 Final Four remains one of the great stories in NCAA tournament annals.

Good as McKillop and Larranaga are, I wonder if they're too removed from major Division I recruiting circles. Moreover, it's fair to ask how long someone in his late 50s intends to continue working.

During Virginia's search four years ago, athletic director Craig Littlepage told me he considered head coaches at rival ACC schools off limits. I don't know if Littlepage -- he's been unavailable for comment -- has changed his thinking, but if so, Clemson's Oliver Purnell could surface.

Purnell, 55, coached at Radford, Old Dominion and Dayton before heading to Clemson in 2003, so he has all the state, conference and regional ties you'd want. The Tigers were 9-7 in the ACC this year, 10-6 last, making Purnell the first coach since Bobby Roberts in 1966 and '67 to guide Clemson to consecutive winning league seasons.

The one void on Purnell's resume: a NCAA tournament victory. He's 0-4, and his Tigers face Michigan in a first-round game Thursday.

One final name that doesn't make sense to me but that others have mentioned: Memphis' John Calipari.

His won-loss record is impeccable, and he signs NBA-caliber recruits. But he has never recruited the type of student-athletes Virginia prefers.

Thoughts and other names more than welcome.

 

Ups and downs: Defensive problems helped end Leitao era
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 18, 2009

When Dave Leitao was hired by Virginia in the spring of 2005, it was expected that if he only brought one thing with him from his previous coaching stops, it would be his defensive teachings.

Defense had been Leitao’s bread and butter. His hallmark. His calling card.

“If you look at any sport, defense is what wins championships and wins at the highest level,” said Leitao, shortly after he came aboard. “If you have good pitching and good fielding, you’re going to win a lot of games in baseball. The greatest coaches in football have had great defenses. Those go down in history. It’s the same in the sport of basketball. It’s what I learned and what I believe in.”

Yet it’s something Leitao couldn’t get his team to do very much of in his last two years at the helm.

There is a litany of reasons why Virginia is currently searching for its fourth head coach in 15 years, but Leitao’s failure to get his players to consistently stop teams certainly ranks pretty high on the list.

It was defense (and great guard play from Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds) that enabled Virginia to win a share of the ACC regular-season championship in just Leitao’s second year at the helm.

But things started to head south — quickly.

The first major sign that players weren’t buying into Leitao’s emphasis on defense came in a brutal

38-point loss at Xavier last January. Virginia allowed the Musketeers to shoot

64 percent from the floor, including 16 3-pointers — the most surrendered in school history.

“[The] first play we gave up a dunk,” said Leitao in the postgame press conference. “All five guys were in violation of where they were supposed to be and it went on from there.”

It never seemed to stop.

Virginia’s porous defense was a recurring theme during the 2007-08 season — a major reason why the Cavaliers slipped from first to 10th in the ACC standings and failed to qualify for both the NCAA tournament and NIT.

UVa finished second-to-last in points allowed (74.8), opponents’ field goal percentage (.449), steals (5.79), and last in blocked shots (2.36).

In eight of Virginia’s 16 ACC games, opponents shot 50 percent or better from the field.

A year earlier, UVa — thanks to stingier defense — had lost just once in the new John Paul Jones Arena. But in 2007-08, the Wahoos dropped seven home games, including a shocking 31-point bloodbath to Clemson.

After losing its last game of the season at home to Bradley in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, Leitao flat out said that if there was one thing he was going to fix in the offseason, it was going to be his team’s defense.

Leitao stated bluntly that if his players didn’t make a better effort on the defensive end, they weren’t going to play.

“His last words were, ‘We’re going to play defense,’” said guard Jeff Jones after the Bradley loss. “He said that starting in our next practice, whenever that is, we’re going to be a defensive team again.”

Leitao spent his offseason reexamining some of his defensive philosophies. For his first three years, his teams had played by the book, “conservatively and based on percentages, like a baseball manager would do,” said Leitao in October.

The approach entailed forcing opponents to shoot from the perimeter, preferably with hands in their faces, while putting a strong emphasis on rebounding the ball to eliminate second-chance opportunities from in tight.

This season, Leitao had some new wrinkles.

Virginia played more zone than it had any point in the preceding three seasons. Leitao also incorporated more full-court pressure.

With a new shotblocking 7-footer in freshman Assane Sene, Leitao figured he could also have his team play more aggressively in its man-to-man.

At times, the adjustments helped. But in the end they couldn’t overcome the excuse that Wahoo fans heard time and time again from Leitao and his players — a “lack of energy.”

Virginia finished about as poorly in ACC defensive statistics as the year before.

UVa was second-to-last in points allowed (72.5), last in opponents’ field goal percentage (.438), ninth in steals (6.4) and 10th in blocked shots (4.0).

In Virginia’s loss to Boston College in the first round of the ACC tournament last Thursday — a game that would be Leitao’s swan song as head coach — UVa committed 28 fouls to BC’s 19. The Eagles were in the double bonus for a good portion of the game.

“That’s a byproduct of not being ready as much as you need to be,” Leitao said. “You’re standing up in your stance as opposed to being in the stance and on the balls of your feet.”

If Virginia players still didn’t understand that concept, it just might have been Leitao’s time to go.

 

See you Leitao
Paul Montana
Published: Wednesday, March 18 2009

While players like Sylven Landesberg and Sean Singletary may have been able to handle former Virginia coach Dave Leitao’s confrontational style, Leitao’s methods may not have been beneficial to everyone. “We’ve gotta grow through improvement — team-wise, individually, through recruiting. Through all those things, you get to the place that you need to be ... It’s happened already for us, and now it’s [going to] happen again.”

These were the words of former Virginia men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao following one of his team’s numerous follies this season, a 79-54 loss against Duke Feb. 1. With Leitao’s resignation Monday — and with many reports revealing that he actually may have been fired — Athletics Director Craig Littlepage apparently did not think Leitao would be the one to make that happen.

I don’t know about you, but I was shocked. With the way that Virginia had played toward the end of the year, taking three of its four conference wins after Valentine’s Day, I thought he had saved himself for at least another year. And, talent-wise this team frankly shouldn’t have won more than three or four games in the conference — and it won four. It was a lousy season, for sure, but in Leitao’s first season without Sean Singletary, I thought Littlepage would cut him a break.

I was searching for answers, and Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress turned out to be the man with the answers I wanted. Ratcliffe has been covering both Virginia football and men’s basketball for the Progress since 1982, and is one of the most well-respected reporters not only in the Charlottesville area, but in the ACC.

I would love to say that Jerry and I put our heads together and bounced some theories off each other, but, true to form, Jerry had all the answers. Unlike yours truly — the naïve student reporter — Ratcliffe was not surprised that Leitao is gone.

“I think it all boils down to the perception that [Leitao] just didn’t fit what they were looking for,” Ratcliffe said. “I don’t think [the administration] had the confidence that he was ever going to take Virginia basketball to greater heights on a consistent basis.”

So, based mostly on Jerry’s thoughts, here are some of the factors that contributed to Leitao’s getting fired.

1. Demeanor

If Dave Leitao is a charming, patient person, you’d never know it from watching him coach. He mercilessly hollered not only at the team as a whole, but at individual players. A typical Leitao coaching sequence included pulling a player after making one simple mistake and yelling at him nose-to-nose on the bench while said player stared off into space.

Certain players can handle this kind of abuse — but not all.

“I think on the guys who were really tough, like Singletary and [Sylven] Landesberg, who grew up on the playgrounds and who weren’t intimidated by anything, I don’t think it bothered them a bit — they maybe even thrived upon it,” Ratcliffe said. “I think the other guys, the majority of them had a lot of problems with it. You can’t play basketball tense, and you can’t play basketball with one eye on the court and one eye looking towards the bench.”

Perhaps that’s why sophomore Jeff Jones, a McDonald’s All-American nominee in high school, has instead found DNP next to his name after some games. Perhaps that contributed to senior Mamadi Diane’s awful senior season; Diane’s father Mori Diane told The Washington Post that Leitao had been “demeaning” toward his son, telling the Post that Leitao acted like “Mamadi did not exist.” Perhaps Leitao’s demeanor also contributed to the up-and-down seasons of Mustapha Farrakhan, Sammy Zeglinski and numerous others who fluctuated during their performances throughout the season.

What’s more, Ratcliffe said Leitao’s attitude problems also could have put off alumni.

“Some of the older players told me they just felt unwelcome being around the program,” Ratcliffe said. “There’s a lot of guys who live here who were [at U.Va.] as far back as in the 50s, and they just felt uncomfortable. They felt like they were not welcome around the program anymore, and a lot of ‘em decided not to be around the program anymore. I think that’s not a good thing.”

2. Results

Virginia had two bad years in a row, there is no denying that. Two years of five and four conference wins, at the very least, merits conversation about where the program is headed.

But that’s just the beginning; Leitao’s method simply wasn’t working. The plan from the beginning was that Leitao would get his guys to be defensive-minded, that Leitao’s hardened coaching style would toughen them up. Instead, the Cavs have finished 10th or worse in field goal percentage defense the last two years and finished 11th in rebounding margin this past season.

“The reason he was hired was on the premise that he was going to make Virginia a tough out every game,” Ratcliffe said. “The defense, rebounding and toughness was gonna be the foundation of his program, and that was rarely the case.”

Littlepage Turns

The one aspect that did surprise Ratcliffe is something I had heard, too — I thought Littlepage was a Dave Leitao fan. Despite Leitao’s demeanor, that was no mystery when he was hired.

“I had heard that the athletic department was divided on whether or not to do it, and that Littlepage was the last road block that was in Leitao’s corner,” Ratcliffe said. “In that respect I’m a little surprised he changed his mind.”

In the end, though, Littlepage obviously turned.

“I’m not surprised he got fired,” Ratcliffe said.

Dispelling myths

Those are the reasons why Leitao was fired. Now, here are some reasons you might think of — and, that admittedly, I considered — that probably don’t hold true.

First, this probably had nothing to do with the football team’s similarly mediocre season. Littlepage issued a statement in February in which he assured fans that it was a priority to improve both teams, which would indicate that he felt the pressure to make a move in the revenue sports. Even if the football team had gone 10-2, however, Ratcliffe said Leitao’s fate likely would have been the same.
“I think they came to the realization that things weren’t gonna change that dramatically in basketball — obviously they felt like that wasn’t the case in football,” Ratcliffe said. “I would agree with both those scenarios — I think that football is gonna turn around, I don’t think basketball was.”

Then, there is the idea of a hypothetical “line” that Leitao didn’t hit. If Leitao had advanced a couple more rounds in the ACC Tournament, would he still be at Virginia? What if he had won six conference games this season instead of four? And what if one of those two extra wins was, say, against North Carolina at Chapel Hill? Would any of those scenarios have saved his job?

Maybe — but not for long. It may have saved him for a year, Ratcliffe said, but whether it was this year or in the near future, Leitao had cemented his fate.

“I imagine there’s probably a number that probably would have saved his job for a year, but I still think it was prolonging the inevitable,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s kind of like when [Leitao’s predecessor] Pete [Gillen] was in trouble his next to last year, and he won like three or four in a row and knocked out a couple ranked teams; they just couldn’t fire him then, it just wouldn’t have been right. But I think they realized they probably were gonna have to do it the following year, and I have a feeling that’s the same thing that would have happened here.”

 

Cavaliers top Tribe in overtime
By Bart Isley
Published: March 18, 2009

Whit Hagerman’s next shot for Virginia desperately needed to find its way to the back of the cage.

“I just knew the next one needed to go in,” Hagerman said.

After the junior attacker took five shots, including several near the end of regulation, and couldn’t come up with a score, Hagerman finally connected on a quick move around the cage during the second overtime to help give No. 7 Virginia a 10-9 victory over William & Mary.

But not without a little help from the Cavaliers’ defense.

“I wanted to celebrate, but my immediate reaction was to look at the clock,” Hagerman said.

Her game-winner came with 1:19 on the clock in the second extra period, and because women’s lacrosse doesn’t go to sudden death until the third overtime, Virginia had to hold off a hungry, energized William & Mary squad to preserve the win. The Cavaliers did just that behind a strong effort by reserve Sara Hairfield in their cage. UVa’s defense created some critical turnovers down the stretch and halted a Tribe fast break as time expired in the second overtime.

Hairfield held the Tribe scoreless in almost 19 minutes of play that included a wild, back-and-forth finish to regulation as well as the two overtime periods. The senior goalie had three saves during that stretch.

Virginia clawed its way to the tie at the end of 60 minutes because of Ashley McCulloch’s performance down the stretch. McCulloch, who has been bottled up of late with just two goals in Virginia’s last three games — well below the All-American’s usual output — posted a hat trick, burying all three of her shots, including a game-tying goal with 3:27 to play.

“Even in practice and in warm-ups, her pep was back in her step,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “We worked in practice on getting it through and making sure [McCulloch] touches it several times because that generates a lot of our offense.”

Even with McCulloch finding her rhythm again, it wasn’t an easy road for Virginia. William & Mary attacked Virginia relentlessly and from all different angles, with four different players notching two goals each. That left the Cavaliers down 5-4 at the half, an advantage the Tribe stretched to 9-6 with just under 13 minutes to play on a Clare Dennis goal.

The Cavaliers (6-2) didn’t begin their rally from the deficit until the 8:15 mark. That’s when Jenny Hauser kickstarted the comeback with a one-on-one goal, and after that McCulloch made her mark. The senior won two straight draws, the first of which she quickly moved to classmate Blair Weymouth, who buried a shot to pull the Cavaliers within one just 10 seconds after Hauser’s tally.

The second draw control ended up changing hands four times, during which Hairfield came up with a monster stop at the 6:10 mark. Shortly after that a William &Mary player was called for an offensive foul, giving the ball back to Virginia. McCulloch capitalized again, this time scoring to tie the game at 9-9 when her defender slipped and fell.

Hagerman’s tally in the second overtime followed and allowed Virginia to escape with a victory. It was a much-needed win after losses to Maryland and North Carolina and squeaking by previously unranked Penn State in overtime at home during the last three game stretch.

“Against in-state teams you need to make sure you’re winning for your own mojo,” Myers said. “This is a big win, and it makes practice that much easier.”

Virginia also needed the momentum for this weekend when the Cavaliers take on Princeton at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

 

Cavaliers trump Tribe in overtime squeaker
Hagerman’s goal with 1:19 in OT caps 4-0 run en route to one-goal win against W&M
Ben Gomez, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Wednesday, March 18 2009

Senior midfielder Ashley McCulloch scored a team-leading three goals against William & Mary last night, including one in the second period during a 4-0 rally that gave Virginia a 10-9 overtime victory. Thanks to a run of four unanswered goals beginning in the second period and ending with the game winner in overtime, the Virginia women’s lacrosse team was able to escape with a 10-9 overtime victory last night against William & Mary at Klöckner Stadium.

After being behind most of the game, the Cavaliers (6-2, 1-2 ACC) overcame a weak performance in the first half against the Tribe (3-4) to force overtime with the tying goal with 3:27 remaining in regulation. Virginia then won the ensuing draw in overtime but was unable to capitalize during the overtime’s first three minutes. The Cavaliers won another draw to begin the second half of overtime, however, and junior attack Whitaker Hagerman capitalized on the possession, scoring the game-winning goal with 1:19 remaining in the period. The score completed the team’s late 4-0 run to close out the game.

“We had our moments and we had our ups and downs, but the biggest part was that we kept pushing and we kept fighting,” Hagerman said. “No matter what we were going to play until we won.”

Virginia was lucky to come away with the win after playing poorly in the first half. The Tribe got on the board first with a goal 52 seconds into the game. William & Mary also was able to dominate the draw controls early, winning seven to the Cavaliers’ three, and converted on four out of its first five shots on goal to take a 5-4 halftime lead.

In the second half, though, Virginia played like a different team, dominating the draw controls 7-3 and scoring the first two goals of the second half to take a 6-5 lead.

“Draw controls in every game this season have been game changing,” senior midfielder Blair Weymouth said. “We were lucky to come away with them.”

The Tribe would not fold easily, scoring two goals in a 19-second span following Virginia’s two-goal run. Virginia coach Julie Myers then replaced sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Benner with senior Sara Hairfield. The switch proved beneficial for the team: Hairfield played the remaining 18:50, only allowing one goal while collecting three saves en route to her first collegiate victory.

After scoring its lone goal on Hairfield at the 12:50 mark of the second period, the Tribe did not find the back of the net for the rest of the game. The Cavaliers rallied back with goals from All-American midfielders Weymouth and senior Ashley McCulloch and All-American senior attack Jenny Hauser to force overtime.

“We had our ups and downs, but the biggest part was that we kept pushing and we kept fighting,” Hagerman said. “No matter what, we were going to play until we won.”

By Virginia standards, the game was a defensive battle, as the Cavaliers posted their lowest offensive output of the season. McCulloch led the Cavaliers with three goals, Hauser and junior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein contributed a pair of goals each, and Weymouth added one goal and two assists to round out the Virginia attack.

On the defensive side, Kalkstein led Virginia with four draw controls and senior defender Katie Shannon forced four turnovers.

The Tribe handled its scoring by committee, with four different players scoring two goals.

“I would not have wanted to play defense for an extra second than what we had to tonight,” Myers said.

 

Virginia staves off upset with seventh-inning rally
Published: Wednesday, March 18 2009

Junior pitcher Matt Packer earned his first win of the season yesterday with three scoreless innings of relief against Marshall. The Cavaliers rallied from a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Thundering Herd 5-4 and remain the only unbeaten team in the nation. After cruising to 15 victories to open the season, the Virginia baseball team finally had a near miss, against the most unlikely of teams.
In a midweek battle against Marshall at Davenport Field, the Cavaliers trailed 3-0 through five innings before rallying for five runs in the sixth and the seventh, which included Marshall balking home the winning run en route to a 5-4 Virginia victory. With the close win, the No. 7 Cavaliers survived as the only remaining undefeated team in the nation.

The Cavaliers (16-0, 4-0 ACC) finally broke through in the seventh inning after trailing 4-1, thanks to a timely hit and some mistakes by Marshall (7-9) on the mound. Marshall’s starting pitcher, freshman Greg Williams, allowed two hits and got just one out through the first three batters faced that inning, forcing Marshall coach Jeff Waggoner to go to his bullpen. Entering reliever sophomore Arik Sikula then hit his first batter and struck out another, before he was relieved by senior Andrew Blain, who walked home a run and gave up a two-run single to junior Tyler Cannon, knotting the game at four runs apiece. Marshall then looked to sophomore Ian Kadish to keep the score tied, but Kadish walked the bases loaded and then balked home a run before retiring the side.

Virginia could not figure out the lefthander Williams to start the game, as he allowed no runs and only one hit through the first five innings of work. On the Cavaliers’ side, freshman Will Roberts faced the brunt of Marshall’s offensive attack, making a relief appearance in the fourth and allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits.

Junior Matt Packer, usually the Cavaliers’ closer, came in for Roberts in the fifth and allowed one run on three hits in three innings as Virginia retook the lead, earning his first win of the season. Sophomore Kevin Arico earned his first career save with two scoreless innings to secure the close win.

Usual weekend starter Andrew Carraway also got some work on the mound after the weekend game he was scheduled to start against Florida State was cancelled; the senior started and threw three scoreless innings before he was relieved by Roberts.

Virginia retakes Davenport Field tomorrow for a doubleheader against Canisius and Wagner.

—compiled by Paul Montana

 

Balk lifts Cavs over Herd
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 18, 2009
By Jay Jenkins
jjenkins@dailyprogress.com| 978-7250

Of all days, it appeared that St. Patrick’s Day would provide Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor with his first loss in nine months.

Trailing by three runs with just six outs left, the Cavaliers mounted their most impressive rally this season, keeping their perfect record intact.

Virginia, ranked No. 14 in the country, scored four two-out runs in the seventh inning, including the game-winner, as it dispatched Marshall 5-4 at Davenport Field.

“I think our guys showed a lot of character tonight,” O’Connor said, “and the players showed us that they are able to come from behind and win a game.”

With timely hitting in the seventh and one of the rarest calls in baseball, Virginia (16-0) kept the nation’s longest winning streak alive with the win.

Marshall (7-9) appeared in line to snap the Cavaliers’ winning streak early, scoring three runs in the fourth off three hits and a costly error by Virginia shortstop Tyler Cannon.

It certainly helped that the Thundering Herd received a stellar start from left-hander Greg Williams, who baffled Virginia’s hitters well into the seventh frame. In fact, Williams allowed just three hits over the first six innings.

“That kid they ran out, a big left-handed pitcher, he filled the zone up and was throwing 88 to 90 miles per hour,” O’Connor said. “He is good and he attacked the lead-off hitters every inning early.”

During the comeback in seventh as UVa trailed 4-2, Cannon delivered the contest’s biggest hit with a two-run, two-out single to right field.

“That is what a veteran does,” O’Connor said. “He has been in that situation a lot in his career and I know he was disappointed that he made a big error earlier in the game, but he came up and got a clutch hit for his team.

“We needed somebody that was willing to pick another teammate up. He did that tonight and it was a big hit for us.”

After Cannon stole second, Virginia scored the game-winning run on a balk called on Marshall reliever Ian Kadish.

Virginia reliever Kevin Arico sealed the win over the final two frames, scattering two hits and a walk. The right-hander was also saved from a basket-catch at the warning track from center fielder Jarrett Parker with one out and a runner at first in the ninth.

“Arico went out there and threw a good eighth inning and I decided to stay with him,” said O’Connor, who had pitched closer Matt Packer earlier in the game by design. “It was big for Kevin’s confidence.

“I was happy to see him throw the ball the way he did to close the game out.”

Packer, who pitched three innings, earned his first win of the season and Arico recorded his first career save with his two-inning performance.

“A lot of guys kept saying that we needed this and I am just glad that we could pull it out in the end,” Arico said. “It is not something to laugh about, but it was a good reality check. It is going to put us in good shape for this weekend [against Miami].

“For the games coming up, we are exactly where we want to be offensively, defensively and pitching. We are exactly where we need to be.”

Virginia will play two games today — the Cavaliers will host Canisius at 4 p.m. and face Wagner 45 minutes after the opener has concluded.

 

School record seven wrestlers head to St. Louis for NCAAs
ACCs yield six automatic bids; Bonson earns at-large birth with strong season
Ben Gomez, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Wednesday, March 18 2009

Junior Brent Jones earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler en route to a victory at the ACC Championships. Jones is one of seven Cavaliers who will compete at NCAAs. The Cavalier wrestling team has had one of their best seasons to date, qualifying seven wrestlers — the most in program history — to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.

The Cavaliers (11-11, 2-3 ACC) qualified six matmen for their performances at the ACC Championships: sophomore Nick Nelson (141), junior Kellon Balum (149), freshman Jedd Moore (157), sophomore Chris Henrich (174), senior Rocco Caponi (184) and junior Brent Jones (197). Freshman Matt Bonson (133) became the seventh Virginia selection by earning an at-large bid after finishing 17-7 and defeating two wrestlers in the top 12 in the nation at the time of the matches.

After starting at No. 23 in the polls, the highest ranking in school history, Virginia has been flying under the radar for most of the season. The Cavaliers’ record may be lackluster, but much of that can be attributed to injuries throughout the year, including a season-ending injury to junior Ross Gitomer, the 2008 ACC Champion at 125 pounds. The team’s second-place finish at the ACC Championships this season showed the team’s talent; even without anyone in the 125-pound class, Virginia finished just two points behind Maryland for the second straight year.

The Most Outstanding Wrestler of the match was Jones, who was the No. 3 seed at 197 pounds. Jones won three bouts to capture the individual title and earn a bid to the NCAA Championships. His performance against the No. 1 seed Maryland junior Hudson Taylor was one of the highlights of ACCs; Jones pinned Taylor in an impressive 38 seconds.

“If Brent Jones pinning Hudson Taylor didn’t prove to the rest of the guys that you can beat anybody on any given day, then nothing ever will,” Virginia coach Steve Garland said. “That was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was emotional, I cried like a baby afterwards. I’ve coached guys into national championship matches, I’ve coached guys to a fourth-place team finish, I’ve been at the top of our sport, and that was right up there with any match I have ever been a part of.”

With the bids to NCAAs, Virginia has several contenders who could win individual titles and become All-Americans. Every Cavalier who qualified has shown that he can beat top-notch competition, knocking off several top-ranked wrestlers throughout the season. Moore won the Eastern Michigan Open at the beginning of the season, taking five straight matches to win the tournament. Bonson had several key wins this season, including victories against junior Danny Mitcheff of Kent State Jan. 10 and junior Tyler Shinn of Oklahoma State Nov. 29, who were each ranked No. 11 in the country at the time of the matches. Nelson also has proven he can beat top-notch competition, defeating No. 11 senior Drew Lashaway of Kent State and senior Joe Caramanica of North Carolina State.

“We are at that point now where teams straight up fear us for having the U.Va. singlet on,” sophomore Chris Henrich said. “They know we are a team that they don’t want to go toe to toe with on the mat.”

Caponi will be making his school-record fourth NCAA appearance, and Henrich will be making his second straight trip to the national championships. Henrich said he is confident the team will finish in the top 15 or even the top 10, which would be its best performance since 1957 when the grapplers finished the season tied for 10th.

“Once you step on that mat, you just have to stick to your training and stick to what you know,” Jones said. “A lot of people freeze and lose the mental battle out there and crumble under the pressure. We have had the training to go the distance.”

 

Reach for the (Hu)sky
Dan Stalcup
Published: Wednesday, March 18 2009

Selection Monday came and passed in unexciting fashion for the Virginia women’s basketball team, who landed a slightly-disappointing fifth seed in the Trenton region. Though the Cavaliers spent most of the season ranked in the national polls — peaking at No. 11 — and played considerably better than they did last year, their placement in the NCAA Tournament actually is one seed worse than last season.

Virginia comes into the tournament on a losing streak; the team has dropped two of its past three games, including a loss to Duke in the second round of the ACC Tournament; the Blue Devils were given a one seed in the NCAA tournament. Virginia kicks off the tournament with a matchup against 12th-seeded Marist, which has put up an impressive 29-3 record out of the MAAC.

Should Virginia advance past this first round, the Cavaliers will take on fourth-seeded California — a matchup that could be in Virginia’s favor. The Cavaliers have seasoned themselves against some of the best teams in the country and have a star-studded roster and a reasonable chance at upsetting the 25-6 Golden Bears who finished second in the Pac 10.

The Cavs are a very long shot to advance past the Sweet 16, though. Beyond the first two games of the bracket looms a match-up with the undefeated, No. 1 Connecticut. The Huskies are having a historic season and are considered heavy favorites to win it all this year. They also have sophomore forward Maya Moore, the most dominant player in women’s college basketball.

But let’s suppose for a moment that Virginia has a chance against the Huskies. If Virginia pulls what could be considered its biggest win of the decade, the sky’s the limit. With that sort of momentum and confidence, nothing’s stopping the Cavaliers from making a run through the Final Four. Fifth seed or not, Virginia has proven that they can be one of best teams in the country when they’re hot.

Though the selection committee made the best picks for the first seeds that they could have, I like Stanford and UNC pulling upsets against Duke and Oklahoma, respectively. A UConn-Stanford-UNC-Maryland Final Four would be some top-tier basketball, even though I thoroughly expect the Huskies to tear through the tournament and emerge with the title.

It’s a shame to see the Cavaliers’ promising season dwindled into a placement in the tournament that’s about the same caliber of last year’s. I’d love to see Lyndra Littles and Aisha Mohammed leave Virginia in a blaze of glory. Though I’m realistic enough to see that the Cavaliers probably aren’t talented enough to take out Connecticut — and not even dominant enough that I should be taking wins against Marist and Cal for granted — I’ve seen them play with enough fire and brute force that I know they can put up a fight against the Huskies.

On a side note, I just want to take a moment and compliment junior Monica Wright on her absolutely phenomenal season. She started out playing as well or better than anyone in the country; look no further than her career performance at Tennessee — 39 points, 8 boards, 5 steals — when Virginia upset the then-No. 5 Volunteers. Although her scoring average fell once Littles rejoined the team after being academically ineligible to start the season, Wright continued to perform as the best player on the team and as one of the best in the conference. She’s on the short list for some national player of the year awards and was selected as a first-team All-ACC player. She also broke Virginia’s single season scoring record and is on pace to shatter quite a few records by the time her final season concludes next year.

Though the odds are against Virginia advancing more than a few games in this year’s NCAA tournament, they’ve provided fans with a riveting and exciting year full of big upsets and dramatic moments. What more can we ask for?

Well ... being able to add another year to that Final Four banner in JPJ would certainly be nice.

 

Zimmerman's golden goal is award that proves he's the best
The Washington Post
© March 18, 2009
By Barry Svrluga

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.

In the forgettable first inning of a meaningless game Friday night, a subtle play gave the Washington Nationals reason to be thankful they have Ryan Zimmerman.

With runners at the corners, Houston's Carlos Lee hit a ball to third base. Joel Guzmán, manning the position while Zimmerman took the day off, stumbled at the ball, awkwardly corralled it, and eventually lobbed it to second.

The Nationals recorded the forceout, and there was no error. But it wasn't a double play, as it should have been. Thus, in what could have been a scoreless frame, a run came home.

There is, of course, no significance to such a play in March. But it serves as a reminder of what Zimmerman brings nearly every single day: Defense at third base that not only saves runs, but is among the best in baseball.

"He's a shortstop playing third base," manager Manny Acta said. "He's got the best agility out of all those guys. He comes in on balls incredibly well. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm the one who gets to see him every single day, and I won't hesitate to say that he's the best third baseman defensively."

Zimmerman, a graduate of Kellam High in Virginia Beach, wants this to be the year in which those outside his own dugout start to form the same opinion.

He is entering his fourth full major league season, and does not yet own a Gold Glove, given annually to the best fielders at each position in each league. He has been beaten by one of the best defensive third basemen of his generation, Scott Rolen of St. Louis in 2006; and by a complete player whose stage is the world's largest media market, Hickory graduate David Wright of the New York Mets in 2007 and '08, a season in which Zimmerman played only 106 games because of injury.

There are lots of factors involved in the voting, which is limited to managers and coaches, and a player's offensive accomplishments are sometimes subconsciously factored in. Still, when Zimmerman is asked whether a Gold Glove is a personal goal, he quickly answers, "Absolutely."

"I take a lot of pride in my defense, and you want to be the best at everything you do," he said. "And if you're the best, you're going to win the Gold Glove most of the time. I know hitting gets involved, but if you're head over heels better, you'll win. And that's my goal. I want to be way better than everybody else."

Zimmerman's defensive reputation preceded him in Washington. When the Nationals selected him with the fourth pick in the 2005 draft out of the University of Virginia, then-general manager Jim Bowden raved about his ability, unabashedly comparing him to the greats who ever played the position, Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt among them.

"You heard Jim and (assistant GM Bob Boone) just talking about him so much, saying, 'Oh, this is one of the best guys ever,' " said Mets catcher Brian Schneider, a former National. "They were comparing him to 'Schmitty,' and it's just like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.' But then he came up, and I can't say he did anything less than that. Zim has held up his end of the bargain, because he's only done stuff to support everything they said."

The numbers, though, don't always support Zimmerman. His fielding percentage of .961 over the last three seasons combined ranks only ninth among third basemen in that time. Old-school scouts argue that it's hard to quantify defense with statistics. That doesn't mean people haven't tried. John Dewan, the developer of the database Baseball Info Solutions, publishes an annual book called "The Fielding Bible." He and his staff watch every play in every game each season, awarding pluses and minuses on each one.

Over Zimmerman's first three big league seasons, he rates as plus-33, fifth best in baseball. Of the four players ahead of him, Philadelphia's Pedro Feliz is the only full-time National Leaguer.

"If he's not the best," said Houston Astros first baseman Aaron Boone, a National last year, "he's at worst in the discussion."

It's a discussion Zimmerman believes he can end if he improves. In 2007, he might have beaten Wright for the Gold Glove had he not made 23 errors, tied for the second-most in baseball. Most of those, as well as his 10 errors last year, came on throws. A shortstop in high school, Zimmerman said he occasionally thought like one at third.

"It's hard for me to not throw balls sometimes, because I think I can get everybody on every play," he said. "But sometimes you've got to realize that if it's a really tough play and you dive and bobble it a little bit, you don't have to pick it up and fling it."

This winter, Zimmerman spent less time at his Arlington home and more back in his home town of Virginia Beach, where he bought a condo "literally two minutes away" from the beach house in which he grew up. He said he ate better, and dropped a bit of weight around his waist.

"I think it helped to get away from D.C., where you go out to eat dinner every night, have some drinks, hang out with your friends every night," he said. "Even if you don't have drinks, you're eating dinner at 9 o'clock at night. At home, I just had a healthier lifestyle."

Now, he said, movements in the field are the slightest bit easier, more fluid. He figures that may save an error or two deep in August, when the length of the season weighs on players. And those saved errors could help him wrest the Gold Glove from Wright.

"Would I like to win it over him this year? Hell, yeah," he said. "I have no problem telling him that, and he knows it."