Never saying never is convenient
By MYRON P. MEDCALF, Star Tribune
Last update: March 30, 2009 - 12:55 AM

On Saturday morning, Joel Maturi worked in his office, a typical weekend shift for Minnesota's athletic director.

In recent weeks, he's spent some of those extra hours wondering whether his men's basketball coach, Tubby Smith, will be on the sidelines for the team in the coming years. Last weekend, Smith called in to a local radio show to say that he plans to stay with the Gophers for "a long time," as rumors persisted that Virginia wanted Smith to fill its coaching vacancy.

Based on conversations he's had with the second-year coach, Maturi doesn't think Smith will bolt for another job. But he also knows how quickly coaches can change their minds.

"I do know that [Smith could leave], and to say that I'm not nervous about that would be dishonest," Maturi said. "If he left tomorrow, I'd be surprised and certainly disappointed. ... If he were to leave, he's leaving this job a much better job for someone than what he inherited."

After I caught up with Smith in a Target Center hallway on Saturday, I asked him about his future at Minnesota.

"For fans who are still a little concerned, can you say 100 percent you're confident you'll be here next season?" I asked. Note that I didn't ask him if he planned to retire here or if he'd fulfill the duration of his contract. I just asked about next year.

Smith's response: "I never say never, but I'm here. I'm happy where we are. 'Cause once you say [never], something happens, then everybody's going to jump on you like you're some demon or something. So I just say, at this time, I'm very happy here."

Smith's successor at Kentucky, Billy Gillispie, was fired Friday afternoon, and the speculation began. Immediately, Florida coach Billy Donovan was labeled a leading candidate, and within hours, Donovan's spokesman said, "Billy [Donovan] will not be a candidate for any job that comes open, I can confirm."
Shortly after, Donovan released his own statement, saying, "In response to the rumors circulating about my interest in other jobs, I wanted to address this as quickly as possible. I am committed to the University of Florida and look forward to continuing to build our program here."

Memphis coach John Calipari told reporters Friday that Memphis is "where I want to coach." In a matter of days, Calipari and Donovan did more to squash speculation about changing jobs than Smith has done in the two weeks since former Virginia coach Dave Leitao resigned.

Without offering a similarly strong and direct response to rumors, Smith has allowed speculation to blossom into doubts about his future at Minnesota.

It's easy for fans and critics to accuse reporters of perpetuating and spreading rumors. That's the alternative to actually listening to what Smith has said about his future at Minnesota.

He's stated he's happy. He's said he likes it here. He's praised a stellar incoming recruiting class.

But he hasn't promised anyone anything. In recent weeks, he's been in touch with some of his basketball contacts in Virginia, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations. Other sources close to him say that although he's content at Minnesota, he has a wish list of resources that goes beyond a practice facility.

He also doesn't seem to mind the flattery created by the rumors connecting him to other jobs. "It beats the alternative of somebody trying to push you out the door or get rid of you," he told me Saturday.

After talking to Smith and those close to him, it appears he'll coach the Gophers next season. But Smith's not saying more about his future at Minnesota because he understands he holds a priceless bargaining chip. In recent weeks, Maturi said a potential pay raise could come once the economy picks up. A fundraising committee for a new practice facility is being assembled, and President Robert Bruininks has publicly backed the building.

This isn't about whether Smith becomes the new head basketball coach at Virginia or Arizona or Georgia, or whether he stays at Minnesota for the next decade. It's about a coach who is refusing to say "never" because he's seeking something.

What we don't know is whether Minnesota has enough of what he's looking for to end the rumors -- or if, by leaving the door open to other opportunities, those rumors help Smith get what he wants.

 

Who’s Plan B?
Jeff White
Mar 29, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – That Tubby Smith heads U.Va.’s wish list in the school’s search for a new men’s basketball coach, I have no doubt.

But who’s No. 2? Or No. 3? Or No. 4? Those questions are harder to answer.

One name that remains in circulation is that of Trent Johnson, who recently finished his first season as LSU’s coach. Johnson has no ties to the ACC – or to the East Coast, for that matter—but he’s a longtime friend of Jon Oliver.

The No. 2 man in U.Va.’s athletic department, behind Craig Littlepage, Oliver is a Boise State alumnus, like Johnson, and a key player in the search for Dave Leitao’s successor.

LSU’s athletic director is Joe Alleva, who formerly held that position at Duke. Alleva told me this evening that U.Va. has not requested permission to talk to Johnson.

“Craig Littlepage is one of my best friends,” Alleva said. “No, he never called me about [Johnson].”

Johnson, 52, has compiled a 186-129 record as head coach at Nevada, Stanford and LSU. The Tigers finished 27-8 this season after losing to North Carolina in the NCAA tournament’s second round.

 

March 29, 2009
Future at Oklahoma

Following Oklahoma's 72-60 loss to North Carolina in today's NCAA South Regional final, Sooners coach Jeff Capel addressed the future -- his and Blake Griffin's.

Media, yours truly included, have linked Capel to Virginia's vacancy. Others have mentioned him for Georgia.

"My name has been mentioned every year since I've been a head coach," Capel said, "and I'm not going to get into it. I can't control what people write about me."

Virginia's search appears centered on Minnesota's Tubby Smith, but if he declines, athletic director Craig Littlepage would be wise to consider Capel, whose seven-year track record -- four at VCU and the last three at Oklahoma -- is impeccable.

Griffin is Oklahoma's 6-10 sophomore forward, an All-American who's about to win every national player of the year award. He had game-bests of 23 points and 16 rebounds Sunday, giving him 114 points and 60 rebounds in four NCAA tournament games this month.

Few, if any, believe he'll resist the NBA for a second consecutive year.

"It probably is (his last college game), but we'll see," Capel said. "That will be a decision that Blake will make for him, and it will be the same thing that happened last year. We'll sit down. We'll talk. And I'll get whatever information.

"I think it's easier this year to get that information. And he'll do what's best for him and his family. And we all will support him 1,000 percent."

North Carolina coach Roy Williams raved about Griffin.

"He's a load," Williams said. "You know, please don't misunderstand don't make this to be a comparison. He is LeBron James like, and he's got such a package of strength, explosiveness, touch, power. It's hard to match that.

"In person when you're sitting on that bench, it even looks more awesome than it does when I'm watching it on TV."

Yes it does.

Blake Griffin is a pro in every regard, a future All-Star. Here are some other observations we've saved about Griffin:

Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn: "He’s just so tenacious on the offensive end and on the defensive end. He controls the game.”

Orange coach Jim Boeheim applauded Pitt's Dejuan Blair as an offensive rebounder and UConn's Hasheem Thabeet as a shot-blocker.

"“Blake Griffin is more,” Boeheim said. “He can do both … and he’s a better passer than those guys. … Clearly, I don’t think anybody has any question but that he’s the best player in the country.”

Michigan’s Anthony Wright: “One thing he had was great body control, and I didn’t really think that that was going to be one of his major strengths, but body control was probably the biggest thing.”

Michigan’s C.J. Lee on Griffin: “I like his demeanor and his composure on the court. He doesn’t really seem to get rattled or too high or too low.”

Capel: “It's pretty easy to coach Blake, because he’s the most driven kid I've ever been around and one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever been around. When you have a guy like that, it’s pretty unique. I always use the words to describe Blake as 'very unique' and not just because of the physical attributes he's been blessed with, but also because of the kind of kid he is, and because of how hard he works. A lot of times if you can have your best player be your hardest worker, then that makes things a little bit easier.

“Guys that are really elite players, they make the game easier for everyone around them. For some of our guys, with Blake in there, all they have to do is catch and shoot, because there’s so much attention to Blake. There’s double- and triple-teams. What he does for us rebounding. Just the presence he gives us at both ends makes the game easier for other guys.”

Except for Sunday, Griffin's presumped collegiate farewell, when the other Sooners couldn't match North Carolina's arsenal.

Posted by David Teel
 

March 28, 2009
Capel would win the press conference

Selfish creatures that we are, media jackals are most drawn to the players and coaches who fill our notebooks, recorders and cameras with pithy observations and compelling narratives.

In that light, here’s a sampling from Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel’s news conference on the eve of Sunday’s NCAA South Regional final between his Sooners and North Carolina.

Capel, a North Carolina native, former Duke player and VCU head coach, has the professional chops to succeed as Virginia’s next coach, if the respective parties are interested in one another. And as you’ll see below, he’d damn sure win the press conference.

On choosing Duke instead of North Carolina: “I grew up a Carolina fan. I always (told) my mom and dad when I was younger, that when I grow up, I'm going to Carolina. The posters I had in my room as a young child were Carolina posters. Probably one of my favorites, there was a picture of Michael Jordan shooting a jump shot against N.C. State. It was picture perfect form, his legs were spread out, and it had ‘The Tradition Continues.’ I just thought that was incredible.

“Carolina was the first ACC school to start recruiting me, and it was the summer going into my 10th grade year. When I was in 10th grade, I was actually in Chapel Hill. I went to quite a few games. When I was younger, my father was a high school coach. I used to always go with my dad to Coach Smith's clinic.

“When I was younger, I used to go to a lot of games. My father would take me up to Carmichael and watch a lot of games. I was there when Kenny Smith broke his wrist against LSU. I was a Carolina fan. I thought that was where I was going to go until I met Coach K.

“The first time I had a conversation with Coach face to face is when I started to change a little bit and when I thought that that's the man I want to play for. … Really what it came down to was playing for Coach K. I wanted to play with Grant Hill. But then also, as a freshman, I thought it was more of an opportunity for me to play early. You know, Duke would be losing Thomas Hill and Bobby Hurley. While North Carolina would be returning Phelps and Donald Williams.”

On the influence of his dad and Coach Krzyzewski: “I have to be who I am. I'm not Coach K.
I'm not my dad. I'm me. So I have to have my own personality of who I am. It's actually one of the best pieces of advice that I got when I became a head coach at 27. Coach told me that. My dad told me that. And it's something that I've tried to do.

“It may be completely different from everyone. I remember my first recruiting trip when I was an assistant, I never went on the road. My first recruiting trip, I remember I was out. I don't like to tuck my shirt in … unless I'm wearing a suit or something. … And a coach actually in my league came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you're a head coach now. You have to tuck your shirt in.’ And I said, ‘Well, I thought head coaches get to do what they want to do.’

“So I have my way of doing things. It may not be what a 50-year-old guy or 55 or 45-year-old guy does. And I think the thing that concerns me and matters to me most is, number one, what my athletic director thinks, as long as he's happy. What my administration at OU thinks, as long as they're happy. And what our players and the kids we're recruiting think.”

More on his dad, also named Jeff, the former coach at Old Dominion and now a Charlotte Bobcats assistant: “That's the guy I've always wanted to be like. I was very fortunate that my hero was always at home. I wasn't one of these guys or one of these kids that grew up without a father. I didn't have to look to TV to say, ‘I want to be like this guy.’ I always wanted to be like my dad.”

On his brother, Jason, who played at North Carolina: “He's going to have on a red shirt tomorrow. It will be a red OU shirt, and he'll be cheering for us, which he should. I know a lot of Carolina people may not like that, but he was my brother before he was a Tar Heel. And he'll always be my little brother.”

On playing in the 1994 Southeast Regional final, when Duke defeated Purdue: “You know what? It was maybe the best game I played in college. I had a really good NCAA tournament that year as a freshman.

“I remember I thought Coach devised a great game plan against Glenn Robinson. The thing I remembered the most is we had beaten Marquette (in the semifinals), and Purdue beat Kansas in the second game. I remember walking out of the locker room after all the media stuff. … There was maybe about 10 minutes left in the second half. … Glenn Robinson had 30 in the first half. I think they were up 25, and he finished with 40. I remember thinking, right when we walked out, we were sitting right under the basket, and Glenn Robinson dunked on Greg Ostertag.

“I remember thinking at the end of the half, ‘How are we going to guard this guy?’ He was averaging like 32. He was like a man among boys. We actually did a really, really good job. Coach devised a great game plan, and we executed it. …

“I remember how I was nervous. I was excited, but it was a nervous excitement. And really
anxious. You know, for me, it was also a little bit more personal because the Final Four was in North Carolina [Charlotte] that year. So if we won, we got a chance to go back and play in the Final Four two hours, two and a half hours from where I grew up. It was really an exciting time.”

There you have it. Capel is 34, among Division I’s youngest head coaches. And to those of us who’s have known him for more than 10 years, he’s still a kid.

He’s also a future star in this biz, and Virginia would be lucky to have him.

Posted by David Teel

Oklahoma’s Capel focusing on current job, despite other reports
By MIKE JONESjjones@star-telegram.com

MEMPHIS — Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel insisted Sunday that no assumptions should be made that he’s thinking about anything else other than his program despite talk that he’s the top choice of those hiring a new coach at Virginia.

"Write what you want," Capel said. "I don’t care. My name has been mentioned [for another job] every year I’ve been a head coach, and I’m not getting into that.

"I can’t do anything about who writes my name for certain things. I just concentrate on what I do."

Asked then if he plans to stay at OU, he replied, "Sure."

Franchise player Blake Griffin is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in June. But freshman All-American guard Willie Warren says he plans to return and the only meaningful losses are seniors Austin Johnson and Taylor Griffin.

Capel expects to welcome a nationally ranked Top 5 class of five players led by Houston Madison point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin and 6-foot-9, 300-pound Keith "Tiny" Gallon of Oak Hill Academy.

Warren knows Mason-Griffin and Gallon well.

"They’re going to help our team a lot," Warren said. "I feel more than good that we can be here having the same opportunity next year.

"I didn’t come to Oklahoma to play one year and go to the league, or whatever. I came to OU to be successful however many years I’m here."

Taylor predicted more success in the future.

"This isn’t something that is going to be a one-year thing," he said. "He’s starting the Jeff Capel legacy."

All-South team

Blake Griffin joined Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn and North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough on the South Region’s all-tournament team. Lawson (38 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals in two games) was named most outstanding player.

But UNC coach Roy Williams had the most praise for Griffin.

"Please don’t misunderstand, don’t make this to be a comparison," he said. "[Griffin] is LeBron James-like and he’s got such a package of strength, explosiveness, touch, power. You know it’s hard to match that."

Griffin averaged 28.5 points and 14.8 rebounds in four tournament games.

Griffin finished the year with 504 rebounds, making him the first player to top 500 rebounds in a season since Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon had 500 in 1983-84.


 

UNC rallies past Virginia to take series
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 30, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dan Grovatt did the job with his bat. Ryan Graepel did it with his body.
After Grovatt tied the rubber game in the series with a two-run homer for Virginia in the ninth inning, Graepel stood still as he was plunked by a pitch by Cavalier closer Matt Packer with the bases loaded to lift North Carolina to a
6-5 victory.
The win lifted No. 5 North Carolina to 20-6 overall and 7-4 in the ACC, pushing the Tar Heels ahead of No. 8 Virginia (22-4, 6-4) in the tightly-contested Coastal Division.
The Cavaliers certainly had their chances long before Grovatt’s heroics and Packer’s misfortune.
On the day, Virginia batted 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners on base.
“In this league, especially on the road, you can’t miss out on those opportunities,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “It took
somebody to step up and hit a two-run home run in the ninth to even be in the ballgame.
“We have to be a little bit better.”
In the ninth, Virginia first baseman Danny Hultzen reached on an infield single to short before Grovatt temporarily shifted the game’s emotion with a single swing.
That Grovatt made contact off UNC reliever Brian Moran was worth noting in itself.
The lanky left-hander struck out eight Virginia batters and allowed just six hits over 6.1 innings in his career-best outing.
“He’s a great pitcher. He was great against us last year,” said Grovatt, who entered Saturday’s 5-2 win in a 4-for-23 slump. “He is a strikeout pitcher and he was attacking us all day with fastballs.”
The sophomore drove Moran’s fastball well over the left-field wall after he said he attempted to “stay deep and stay short, and something happened good.”
That mattered little after Packer, who worked a flawless eighth, ran into trouble in the ninth after walking UNC’s Dustin Ackley on four pitches to open the frame.
Instead of bunting Ackley over, Tar Heel coach Mike Fox elected to let Levi Michael swing away. It worked.
Michael, who finished 4 for 4 with two runs scored, singled to left.
“It was a great decision on their part,” O’Connor said. “They made it second and third with a bunt and [Packer] was going to have to be perfect.”
After an intentional walk to Mark Fleury, O’Connor pulled his infield in to no avail after Packer’s fourth pitch came inside too far.
“I decided to walk Fluery to set up the double play because he is a fly-ball hitter,” O’Connor said. “I was hoping we might get in on Graepel a little bit and have a chance to get out of it, but it’s tough when you are on the road and the visiting team.
“It is not an easy situation to pitch in.”
Both starting pitchers struggled early. Virginia’s Will Roberts (3IP, 6 H, 3 ER) lasted long enough to pitch to one batter in the fourth, and UNC starter Matt Harvey (2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 ER) was pulled for Moran with the bases loaded in the third.
Virginia managed just one run in that frame as Moran settled into a groove.
The Cavaliers will play Tuesday against Radford in Salem at 6 p.m.

 

Cavs lose closely contested series against Tar Heels
Virginia plays North Carolina close in Friday, Sunday losses, falls to 6-4 in ACC; team awaits light stretch of schedule
Cayce Troxel, Cavalier Daily Sports Editor
Published: Monday, March 30 2009

Virginia’s pitching saw highs and lows against North Carolina, the highest of which was senior righthander Andrew Carraway’s three-hit, one-run performance in seven innings in Saturday’s 5-2 Cavalier victory. Back in February, conference series against Florida State, Miami and North Carolina loomed large on a young and largely inexperienced Cavaliers’ schedule. Unranked, Virginia was picked to finish fifth in the ACC Coastal Division in what appeared to be a rebuilding year.
What a difference one month can make.

Though the Cavaliers dropped two of their three games against host North Carolina this weekend, the squad finds itself ranked in the nation’s top ten and with a solid 6-4 conference record heading into what should prove to be an easier stretch of its schedule.

“There’s no question about the character and the pride on this team, and how they handle adversity,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “We’ve just got to find a way to be just a little bit better. We’re right there.”

Although the squad only managed to pick up one win Saturday, Virginia nearly took the series away from the collegiate baseball heavyweight Tar Heels in Sunday’s rubber match, which saw both squads get off to quick starts.

The Cavaliers kicked off a wild first inning as sophomore rightfielder Dan Grovatt notched his first two RBIs of the series with a hard-hit double down the left field line, knocking in sophomore centerfielder Jarrett Parker and sophomore second baseman Phil Gosselin.

Virginia freshman starter Will Roberts got off to a shaky start, allowing as many Tar Heel hits in the first inning alone as North Carolina managed through eight innings Saturday. North Carolina senior rightfielder Garrett Gore, after reaching on a dribbler up the middle, scored on a double by junior third baseman Kyle Seager. The hit by the junior extended his hitting streak to 16 straight games and kept the Tar Heels, down 2-1, within striking distance.

Although Virginia failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the second inning as first baseman Danny Hultzen flied out to left to continue his recent struggles at the plate — the freshman went one for 13 during the weekend with five strikeouts — the Cavaliers continued attacking Tar Heel sophomore starter Matt Harvey in the third. Harvey walked Grovatt to lead off the inning, and after freshman third baseman Steven Proscia reached on a hit, Harvey filled the bases for the second time, delivering his fourth walk of his short outing to junior shortstop Tyler Cannon. Harvey was then replaced by junior lefthander Brian Moran, who came through for North Carolina in the no-outs, bases-loaded situation. The lefty allowed just one Cavalier run to score on a sacrifice fly from freshman designated hitter John Hicks.

The lead was not large enough for Virginia, however, as Roberts continued to labor on the mound. The Tar Heels, fueled by a pair of triples from secondbaseman Levi Michael and catcher Mark Fleury, evened the score at three runs apiece after three innings. Michael’s knock down the left field line to score junior first baseman Dustin Ackley marked his second hit en route to going a perfect four-for-four on the day.

After walking the first Tar Heel batter of the fourth inning, Roberts was replaced by junior reliever Neal Davis; the rookie exited the game having giving up three earned runs on six Tar Heel hits. Although Davis managed a quick three outs to escape the inning with no more damage, the lefty struggled in the fifth and the Tar Heels took full advantage of Davis’ lack of control. North Carolina got three hits to lead off the inning, including a two-run home run from third baseman Kyle Seager, to take a 5-3 edge.

Although Virginia relievers sophomore Tyler Wilson, freshman Sean Lucas, freshman Shane Halley and junior Matt Packer combined to stifle the Tar Heel offense through the sixth, seventh and eight frames, Moran also continued to put together an impressive relief outing for North Carolina. Never having gone more than three innings before, Moran shut down the Cavalier lineup — which mustered only two hits in the next three innings.

“He’s their main guy out of the bullpen — a big lefty,” O’Connor said. “He’s got a lot of experience; he did a great job for them last year. He’s tough – he’s tough to pick up the ball off of. After four innings or so, we started to figure him out a little bit, just not enough in the middle innings when it counted.”

It was not until the ninth that Virginia finally broke through. With one out, Hultzen picked a good time for Virginia to notch his first hit of the series, reaching first on an infield grounder. Grovatt rebounded from a lackluster series against Miami — in which he struck out twice in clutch bottom of the ninth situations — to hit a home run to right, evening the score at 5-5 and giving the Cavaliers hope of winning the series after trailing for four innings in the decisive third game.

“Coach talked to me,” Grovatt said. “He said, ‘You’re getting a little long on your swing, maybe take a day and refocus.’”

Last year’s College World Series runner-up refused to settle for going to extra innings, however, as Ackley led off the inning with a walk and Michael followed with a single. After intentionally walking the bases loaded with one out in the hope of a inducing a double-play ball, Packer instead hit Fleury with a pitch, allowing Ackley to come home for the winning, walk-off run.

“I was hoping that we might be able to get in on Graepel a little bit, and get a groundball, and have a chance to get out of it,” O’Connor said. “That’s tough. When you’re on the road and you’re the visiting team, and you’ve got runners on second and third, one out, that’s not an easy situation to pitch in.”

While Sunday’s late-game loss against the Tar Heels was disappointing for the Cavaliers, Friday’s tight 4-3 defeat was just as crushing.

Bolstered by a lead-off, first pitch home run from Parker and a solid outing by Hultzen — who went seven innings while only giving up two Tar Heel runs on six hits in an impressive 118-pitch performance — the Cavaliers managed to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth on a RBI double by Gosselin to score Parker from first. The Tar Heels, just like Sunday, however, had an immediate answer, as junior centerfielder Michael Cavasinni hit his longest ball of the season — a triple just over a drawn-in John Barr in left field — to score two North Carolina runs and hand the Cavaliers their third straight conference loss.

North Carolina coach Mike Fox “told me [after the game] that, ‘I think that’s the farthest the kid’s hit the ball in his career,’” O’Connor said after Friday’s loss. “We had our outfield really shallowed in, taking a chance that we didn’t want a hit to drop in the outfield, and he got it good. That’s baseball, and you reward a kid for stepping up in the clutch like that.”

Virginia’s one dominant performance of the weekend came Saturday, when senior righty Andrew Carraway toed the mound for the Cavaliers and turned in another strong performance to improve his record to a perfect 4-0 this season.

Both Carraway and Tar Heel senior starter Adam Warren managed to shut down both sides’ starting lineups in the early going, but the Cavaliers finally broke through. In the fifth, Cannon — who led off the inning with a single — scored on a RBI single by sophomore second baseman Corey Hunt, and Parker hit a sacrifice fly to left to knock in catcher John Hicks. Proscia followed with a two-run homer in the sixth, and Parker hit his second long ball of the series to give the Cavaliers an insurmountable four-run lead.

“It’s the first kind of club that we’ve had here that we can put pressure on teams by running and playing that style, but we can also drive the ball out of the ballpark when we need to,” O’Connor said. “We’re not one of these teams that’s gonna hit 70 or 80 home runs, it’s significantly more power than we’ve had in the past.”

Carraway allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings of work, and though Gore hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth against Packer, the closer struck out Fleury and forced a Graepel grounder to end the game.

After the series against the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers now find themselves heading into a comparatively easier stretch of play. Following mid-week matchups against non-conference foes Norfolk State and Radford, Virginia will host Maryland in a three-game series next weekend.

“We’re right there,” Grovatt said. “We just need to finish the game. I feel like we’re with everybody, we’re playing with everybody, it’s just we’re one more hit away or maybe one more big pitch away, and then we’ll be fine.”

Carried away
Paul Montana
Published: Monday, March 30 2009

For the Virginia baseball team, next year was going to be the year. With merely a few of the team’s best players draft-eligible after this season, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor had the ingredients for a team that could finally get to a Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s history.

This year? It was supposed to be, as the phrase goes, a rebuilding year. Get the freshmen infielders some experience. Figure out who can be relied on to start on the mound during weekend matches. Solidify a young bullpen.

From the perspective of a fan, it all sounded well and good. To senior pitcher Andrew Carraway, however, “rebuilding year” didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

“If you come into your senior season and it really is a rebuilding year,” Carraway said, “then you’re gonna be disappointed.”

It has been far from a rebuilding year, though. Picked fourth in the Coastal Division to start the season, the Cavs went 19-0 for the best start in the nation. This past weekend, Virginia paid a visit to the preseason national No. 1 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Though the Cavs lost two games in heartbreaking fashion to lose the series, they emerged with a win Saturday thanks in large part to seven innings of brilliant work from Carraway: one earned run on three hits and one walk.

This was a team that supposedly wasn’t going to be able to compete with North Carolina coming into the season. The Tar Heels are stacked; many of the Cavs’ key cogs are fresh off their senior proms.

The Tar Heels have “Dustin Ackley at first base who’s gonna be a first round pick; pitcher Alex White is gonna be a first round pick,” Carraway said. “You see these guys all over the paper.”

And yet, the Cavaliers came into Chapel Hill against a Tar Heel team fired up by a series loss to Duke the weekend before, and snagged one win and competed their brains out in two losses. The Tar Heels needed a two-run eighth to pull out a 4-3 win Friday, and a hit batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to walk away with a 6-5 win Sunday.

“We’re just as good as these teams we’re playing,” said sophomore Dan Grovatt, who hit a two-run blast in the top of the ninth Sunday to tie the game at 5-5 to allow for the bottom of the ninth. “We could very well be on the winning side of both of these [losses], and driving home with a sweep.”

Alas, though, the Cavaliers boarded the team bus with disappointment on their faces — and, a critic might observe, the series with UNC continued a pattern that has revealed the Cavaliers’ youth. In conference play, Virginia has lost four games decided by two runs or less. The aforementioned young bullpen has been spotty. In each of the team’s four conference losses — two to North Carolina and two to Miami the previous weekend – Virginia’s opponent scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning or later.

It is a pattern of falling short that even extends to Virginia’s past. Five times in O’Connor’s tenure, the Cavaliers have been to the Regional, twice as the host and No. 1 seed; and yet, Virginia has failed to advance to the Super Regional each time.

The beauty of this year’s team, though, is that it is as resilient as any squad O’Connor has ever fielded. O’Connor as well as numerous players have said that this is the most tight-knit team they have been a part of at Virginia.

And no one has been rewarded more by this cohesive group than Carraway.

“On the field, off the field, it’s a group of guys that kind of sticks together,” Carraway said. “There are no cliques that pull teams apart sometimes.”

Though Carraway isn’t the only senior, he is the team’s most valuable and most decorated. A Lawn resident, Carraway was used in middle relief during his freshman and sophomore seasons before being moved to the starting rotation on weekends last season. Each year he has suited up as a Cavalier, he has played an integral role.

Now, Carraway is the only senior that makes regular contributions to a team dominated by underclassmen. Carraway even admitted that “it’s definitely a strange feeling.”

“A couple of the freshmen actually found out the other day that I was 22,” Carraway said. “[Freshmen Danny] Hultzen and Will Roberts are 18 I guess, and so they thought that was really funny.”

Each year he has suited up as a Cavalier, Carraway has stowed away his uniform for the off-season a little sooner than he had hoped. While many had written off this team as too inexperienced perhaps to even make the postseason, Carraway didn’t elect to return for a fourth year to follow the same dreary path as years past.

“One of the main reasons that I wanted to play this season was because I’ve got some unfinished business — that we haven’t been to the College World Series, haven’t been to a Super Regional,” Carraway said. “I want to be on the team that does that.”

Will Virginia finally get over that hump and make a Super Regional? Maybe, maybe not. But during Carraway’s final season, just being part of a team that has a shot is rewarding enough.

“It’s awesome,” Carraway said. “To come out and absolutely just dominate teams the way we started out, and then not only that, but to be able to play in the close ones like this, it’s just a great feeling.”




 

Virginia wins seven-overtime classic against Terps to remain undefeated
Carroll scores game-winner; Ghitelman makes key saves in longest game in NCAA history
Jack Bird, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Monday, March 30 2009

Junior midfielder Brian Carroll scored the game-winner one minute into the seventh overtime against Maryland. The Virginia men’s lacrosse team made history at Klöckner Stadium during a 10-9 victory Saturday against Maryland. After clawing their way back from a three point deficit and leveling the score at 9-9 with 4:39 left to play in regulation, it took an NCAA record seven sudden-death overtimes for the Cavaliers to edge the Terrapins.

“It was definitely a moment I’m always going to remember — we came together, we played really hard at the end,” senior attackman Danny Glading said. “It’s good to come away with a win here. It’s too bad there has to be a loser. I’m happy — very happy — that it wasn’t us.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman, who racked up 22 saves on the day, six of which were in the extra periods, was especially impressive as the game continued.

“There are six guys out there on defense and we knew we weren’t going to lose this game,” Ghitelman said. “It was just a matter of time until the offense scored.”

One of the more dramatic saves of the game, though, came from junior goalkeeper Mark Wade. Wade got a chance between the pipes for Virginia when Ghitelman had to serve a one-minute penalty at the beginning of the second overtime after committing a goal-saving illegal body check. After warming up during the two minutes between the first and second overtime period, Wade had to anchor his short-manned defense for 60 seconds until Ghitelman could return to the game. After working the ball around for a good fraction of the penalty, Wade stopped a bounce shot heading toward the lower-right corner of the cage. Wade got net on the ball and had to dive to try to keep it in his stick.

“He is an unbelievable goalie,” Ghitelman said. “He could start for any team in the country. Every time he seems to go out there he’s playing man down. He’s got some experience for that I guess and he just made the big play.”

After Wade came up with the save, Virginia managed a clear to its offensive zone and ran off the penalty. Ghitelman returned to the game and Wade left with his job accomplished and the game saved.

“You get in a situation like that and your teammates are playing as hard as they can and you just want to help them,” Wade said. “You just want to do your best when you get the chance to.”

Even as Ghitelman made save after save to keep the Cavaliers’ hopes of victory alive, though, Virginia’s offense struggled to find its rhythm.

Hampered by the muddy and rainy conditions, both teams slowly began to show signs of fatigue as unforced offensive turnovers kept the game level at 9-9.

“If we had lost this game today,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said, “I would have been telling you that our effort in the first half was not what w\e would have wanted.”

The normally high powered Virginia offense found itself in a stalemate after the first half. The 3-2 halftime score favored the Cavaliers only after freshman attackman Steele Stanwick’s shot beat the clock by two seconds going into the break.

A workman-like offensive effort from the Cavaliers continued for the next 24 and a half minutes, as Virginia found itself down 9-6 with only 5:41 left to play in the game.

“I thought that there was enough game left and they didn’t pull far enough away from us,” Starsia said.

As the game wound down and the Cavaliers found themselves in a crunch, Stanwick ignited a comeback that consisted of three goals in less than two minutes. Glading contributed a goal as well, and the game-tying score came from junior midfielder Brian Carroll.

The offensive burst Virginia took advantage of in the waning minutes of regulation, though, fizzled during the six tense and sloppy overtime periods that followed.

Finally, after more than an hour of overtime play, Carroll ended the epic contest one minute into the seventh extra period.

“I’ve had a few left handed goals this year — all of them on the run,” Carroll said. “The alley was open and they had a guy standing there who didn’t end up sliding so I decided to take a shot.”

With a left-handed shot on the run from about 15 yards, Carroll fired the ball past the Maryland goalie for the third game-winning goal of his career, a new Virginia record.

“I heard them say this was the longest game ever,” Carroll said. “We would have kept going, however long it took.”

 

Quietly into the night
Jack Bird
Published: Monday, March 30 2009

I’ve always felt it’s the seventh overtime that separates the men from the boys. And if that’s the case, then the members of the Virginia men’s lacrosse team are men. If you watched the Big East basketball tournament, you know any scrub can go six. It’s really in that seventh OT where heroes dwell, especially when the overtimes are sudden death. One hero from Saturday’s game is sophomore goalie Adam Ghitelman. He’s a man. He stood between the pipes with the knowledge that any mistake by him would mean the end of the game. In addition to the 16 saves he made during regulation, he snatched six more in extra periods — each time effectively saving the game, each save equivalent to a game-winning goal. These weren’t chump shots, either: I’m talking about rips from 15 yards or closer. He definitely didn’t have any gimmies.

You know who else is a man? Junior midfielder Brian Carroll. It’s not just that he scored the game-winning goal, but it’s the way he did it. This rocket was a shot and a half. It was a lefty shot — from a natural righty, mind you — on the run, moving away from the goal, 15 yards away and at a very narrow angle. That’s pretty much as tough as a shot gets, and I still don’t blame the Maryland goalie for not stopping it — this thing had a motor. Oh, and yeah, he also had the game-tying goal that sent the game to overtime. If you’ve followed Carroll’s career, you’ll know why his new nickname is “Mr. Overtime.” Saturday was the third game-winning goal of his career — a Virginia record.

Another person who is a man, though a lesser-known man, is junior goalie Mark Wade. He doesn’t get as much playing time as Ghitelman does, but certainly made the most of his limited time Saturday. When Ghitelman was penalized at the end of the first overtime and had to serve a minute in the penalty box, Virginia called on Wade to take Ghitelman’s spot. Wade had been on the sideline for two hours just standing there. It was sudden-death overtime, and Virginia was a man-down on defense. The ground was miserably wet, which plays havoc with a goalie’s ability to judge bouncing shots. And the game was put on the shoulders of Wade. As Maryland worked the ball around the goal, I thought to myself that if the Terps had a chance to score, this was it, and after the Maryland offense ripped a shot at the goal, I was sure they would. Clearly Wade had another idea. His idea — which he perfectly executed — was to make the save of the game. After stopping it, he then had to dive to keep the momentum of the ball in his basket and come up with possession that allowed Virginia to then run out the rest of the penalty on offense. Wade made his way off the field to be replaced by Ghitelman after playing for just 60 seconds, but he managed to squeeze an entire game’s worth of awesomeness into that one minute.

Suffice to say, if you came to the game Saturday, you got to see it all. The first half started out as slow as a soccer match in the offensive department. I had been spoiled with high-scoring games from the Cavaliers up to this point, so I was a bit nonplussed by the 3-2 score going into halftime — even if it did favor Virginia.

The game really started to heat up after the break, though. The Terrapins slowly began to pull away from Virginia as the fourth quarter began, stubbornly clinging to a three goal lead.

I kept asking myself when Virginia was going to turn it on and win the game. Up until this point in the game, the Cavaliers didn’t deserve to win. They came out lazy and lackadaisical. Though some mistakes were simply because of the poor field conditions, Virginia’s passing and catching was inexcusably abysmal.

At around the six-minute mark, the tides began to turn. Freshman attack Steele Stanwick scored a goal that launched a comeback that erased Maryland’s three-goal lead in just 62 seconds. Apparently, Virginia was not content to go quietly into the night. Minutes later, with the score still tied, Virginia found itself with a two-man advantage, and I was sure between that and the momentum, Virginia had it. Maryland, however, also was not going to lay down and die.

Even as the teams prepared for overtime, though, I was sure the Cavaliers had the game in the bag. Virginia was the better team, so more time just meant more of a chance for the Cavaliers to prove this.

When the Terps won the faceoff that kicked off overtime and charged toward the Cavalier cage with the rest of Virginia’s midfield trailing behind, I was quickly proven wrong — more so when Maryland whipped a shot by Ghitelman into the back of the goal to apparently win the game. As I packed up my belongings to leave the press box, I wondered if I had just witnessed the shortest overtime in history — just nine seconds. In hindsight, this thought would turn out to be very ironic.

Controversy ensued. Did Maryland call a timeout before the shot? That doesn’t make sense — they had a fast break going, a perfect scoring opportunity. Why would they call timeout?

I’m not going to call it luck on Virginia’s part, but ... yeah, ‘luck’ is exactly what I’m going to call it. It seemed Virginia had just been defeated, plain and simple. But it turned out the Maryland coach had asked the officials to call his team’s timeout if the Terps won the faceoff and immediately advanced the ball into an offensive play. As a Wahoo, of course I want to think Virginia beat Maryland with pure skill. But, in actuality, Virginia lucked out because of a goofy Maryland mistake. And so, what at first appeared to be the shortest overtime in history, slowly — very slowly — became the longest.

It’s usually by the fourth overtime of a drawn-out classic like this that everyone realizes that they are watching something special. In fact, if you go beyond three or four overtimes, the names for the extended periods start to sound silly. It’s called quintuple overtime, right? And after that, I have no idea. Is the sixth called hextuple or sextuple? Then septuple overtime?

Games with seven overtimes aren’t supposed to happen in this sport. Lacrosse is an offensive game. It’s designed for scoring. A good defense doesn’t stop scoring — it limits it. The 3-2 first half was weird enough, but 25 scoreless minutes? That’s borderline absurd. While all this was happening, we in the press box were scurrying around, trying to figure out what length records the game was breaking, minute by minute. We were sure that by the third overtime it was the longest game in Maryland’s history. By the fifth it was the longest in either school’s history. As we entered the seventh (which we looked up the name for: septuple overtime), we confirmed that this was the longest game ever in NCAA lacrosse.

Meanwhile, some of the best and worst lacrosse I have ever seen was being played on the field. While each team had its own share of boneheaded turnovers, each team was also making viewers of ESPN2, which covered the game, salivate because of all the astounding defense on display. With more games reaching national broadcast demonstrating the drama of pitting elite lacrosse teams against each other, maybe lacrosse won’t lose out national coverage to far less interesting fare such as women’s NIT basketball and third-time reruns of the World Series of Poker.

This astonishing game — 85 minutes of stalwart defense punctuated by spurts of explosive offense — saw Virginia studs Ghitelman, Wade and Carroll, along with the entire line of Virginia defenders, stave off disaster after disaster, including three Terrapin extra-man advantages from penalties. Virginia overcame its poor play during regulation with a little help from a phantom timeout call at the start of OT to walk away with a hard-fought win, even though Maryland contained some of the best, fastest and most athletic players in the country for most of the game.

We all know, though, that all good things must come to an end. In collegiate lacrosse, there are winners and losers — there are no ties. Mr. Overtime delivered, and another page in what is shaping up to be one of the greatest seasons in Virginia lacrosse history was written. As the Wahoo cheers erupted and the Virginia squad piled on Ghitelman and Carroll, Terrapins were strewn in agony across the pitch.
The evening wore on, longer than any had ever expected, but after all was said and done, and after Virginia came the closest yet to tarnishing its immaculate record, the Cavaliers again refused to go quietly into the night.

 

Postscript from Maryland at Virginia
The No. 1 Cavaliers’ 10-9 win in a NCAA-record seven overtimes and Brian Carroll’s third career overtime game-winner took the headlines, but Saturday’s game may have also cemented Adam Ghitelman’s resume as one of the best young goalies in the game.

The sophomore finished the game with 23 saves, including seven beyond regulation. Two of his best stops included stick saves on a low-to-high riser by Terps junior attackman Will Yeatman from seven yards out in the fifth overtime period and a bouncer by sophomore attackman Ryan Young after he had curled around the right post.

"I would say it was as much of a coming-out party for Adam Ghitelman as anything else that’s happened here," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "He did single-handedly keep us in this game until we were in a position to get the win."

Carroll called Ghitelman’s play "amazing." "That was the best game I’ve seen him play," Carroll said. "Maryland could have won that game multiple times in overtime if it wasn’t for him. He came up with some saves."

Other notes:

* The loss marred one of Yeatman’s best performances since transferring to Maryland from Notre Dame in the offseason. He registered two goals and three assists, and at times forced the Cavaliers to shadow him with two defensemen. But Yeatman shrugged off any praise afterwards. "I wouldn’t say it’s a breakout game because we lost," he said. "They made more plays than us."

* Despite groin and hip injuries, Terps junior Bryn Holmes (McDonogh) won 13 of 21 faceoffs against Virginia senior Chad Gaudet, who had been tied for 12th in the country with a .581 percentage. "Bryn’s a warrior," Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. "You can see why we wanted to get him back. I thought he battled." ... Sophomore attackman Grant Catalino, the Terps’ leading scorer, was limited by senior defenseman Matt Kelly to zero goals on 10 shots and just one assist. ... Maryland had entered the contest as the second-most productive team in extra-man situations, converting 58.3 percent (14 of 24) of those opportunities. Saturday, the Terps went scoreless in five attempts, including three times in overtime.

Posted by Edward Lee
 

Women’s Tennis Falls to No. 5 Miami
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 22 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered its fourth loss to a top-25 team in the past two weeks, falling to No. 5 Miami 6-1 Sunday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The loss drops the Cavaliers’ record to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the ACC.

In doubles play, the Cavaliers got a win at the No. 3 position where Maggie Yahner (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Claire Bartlett (Chattanooga, Tenn.) blanked Gabriela Mehia and Aleesa Waibel 8-0. However, the Hurricanes picked up the wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to secure the opening point. In singles, Virginia recorded a victory at No. 6 singles, where Karoline Steiro (Oslo, Norway) won in three sets over Claudia Wasilewski. Miami won at the other five positions to post the 6-1 win.

"It was a very rough weekend in terms of results, but a great amount of work was put in to allow for progress ahead," said head coach Mark Guilbeau. "Fortunately we have some very specific tennis skills and strategies to improve that will clearly bring us to a better level. Unfortunately we continue to face a few non-tennis related issues that must be acknowledged and corrected within this team and by key individuals. if these issues remain and are not changed, we will continue to have less than the successful results and level of play we desire. We have great confidence in positive change and in the success it will bring for this team. We look forward to more good work this week and a great weekend of competition ahead."

Virginia returns to action next weekend as they visit Duke and North Carolina.

No. 5 Miami 6, No. 22 Virginia 1

Doubles
1. #33 Vallverdu/Kissell (UM) def. #48 Fraser/Stevens (UVa) 8-4
2. Cohen/Eichkorn (UM) def. #64 Rales/Vaez (UVa) 8-2
3. Bartlett/Yahner (UVa) def. Mejia/Waibel (UM) 8-0

Singles
1. #6 Julia Cohen (UM) def. #81 Emily Fraser (UVa) 6-0, 6-4
2. #24 Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. #78 Jennifer Stevens (UVa) 6-1, 6-1
3. #40 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) 6-4, 6-1
4. #50 Michaela Kissell (UM) def. Amanda Rales (UVa) 3-6, 7-6(1), 10-5
5. Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Claire Bartlett (UVa) 6-3, 6-3
6. Karoline Steiro (UVa) def. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,2,1
Singles: 2,1,3,6,5,4


 

Seth Curry picks Blue Devils
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Five days after the announcement that he would pursue a transfer, Liberty basketball star Seth Curry chose his destination Sunday.

Curry visited Duke, received a scholarship offer and made an oral commitment before returning to his Charlotte, N.C., home.

Curry, the leading scorer among Division I freshmen, will finish out the school year at Liberty and enroll at Duke for the 2009-2010 school year. He will have three years of eligibility for the Blue Devils, starting with the 2010-2011 season.

"From the start of this, Duke was at the top of his list," said Curry's father, Dell, a collegiate standout at Virginia Tech who spent 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association.

Dell Curry's older son, Stephen, led all Division I scorers this season as a junior at Davidson. Seth, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 20.2 points for the Flames (23-12).

Tech was one of five ACC schools that had inquired about Seth Curry, the Big South Conference freshman of the year; however, he had not set up any other visits.

"We were going to wait till today and see what today was like," Dell Curry said Sunday, "but we knew that Duke would be tough to beat, just with the prestige of the school and the program.

"We didn't know what to expect on the visit, but the facilities were unbelievable."

Dell Curry said he had spoken to Blue Devils' assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski on Thursday, prior to Duke's game in the semifinal round of the NCAA's East Regional.

Villanova upset Duke 77-54, but that didn't drastically alter the timetable for the Curry family visit.

"If they had won, it probably would have been Monday," Dell Curry said.

The choice of Duke was not intended as a reflection on any of the other 30 schools that expressed interest, including Virginia Tech.

"Seth had a list of schools and Virginia Tech was on it," Dell said. "Seth talked to coach [Seth] Greenberg and I talked to coach Greenberg."

The elder Curry was quick to praise the Flames.

"They didn't withhold any information and there was always a line of communication," Dell Curry said. "Coach [Ritchie] McKay has been a class act. I can't express that enough."