No. 1 Virginia Wins Sixth Straight, 6-3 Over Marshall
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/23/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Led by a 4-for-4 night from Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.), the top-ranked Virginia baseball team knocked off Marshall, 6-3, Tuesday at Davenport Field. Six Virginia pitchers combined to limit the Thundering Herd to six hits as the Cavaliers won their sixth straight game.
Cannon extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. With his first-inning double, Cannon tied the Virginia career record for doubles with 53, matching Brandon Guyer (2005-07). John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) and Stephen Bruno (Fr., Audubon, N.J.) each added a pair of hits for UVa.

Branden Kline (Fr., Frederick, Md.), the first of five Virginia relievers, earned the win to improve to 2-0 this season. He fired two innings of scoreless relief while striking out two. Kevin Arico (Jr., Flemington, N.J.) pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch his seventh save of the season and his 18th career save as he moved into a second-place tie in the all-time UVa annals.

Kevin Shackelford (0-1) took the loss for the Thundering Herd after allowing three unearned runs in 1.2 innings of work. He allowed four hits. Marshall committed four errors in the contest, leading to five unearned runs.

Virginia (18-3) drew first blood with a second-inning run. Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) led off with a double to deep center and moved to third on a John Hicks (So., Sandy Hook, Va.) fly ball to right field. John Barr then hit a sacrifice fly to right to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.

Marshall (8-10) tied the game in the fourth inning, as Victor Gomez doubled to right-center with one out and scored on a single to right by Kurt Lipton.

The Cavaliers took advantage of a pair of Marshall errors to take the lead back in bottom of the fourth with three runs. Hicks reached on third baseman Josh Valle's throwing error to lead off the inning. Shackelford then errantly attempted a pickoff throw to first base to move Hicks to second. With two out Bruno lined a single to right-center to plate Hicks. Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) then tripled to center to score Bruno, and Cannon ripped a single to right to bring Gosselin in and push the UVa lead to 4-1.

UVa tacked on a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) reached on shortstop Kenny Socorro's fielding error to start the inning and then stole second base. He advanced to third on a flyout by Parker and scored on a Hicks single. Barr followed with a single to move Hicks to third. Kenny Swab (Jr., Kernersville, N.C.) then reached on a Valle throwing error, with Hicks scoring on the play.

The Cavaliers return to action this weekend with a three-game series against Clemson at Davenport Field. The Tigers are ranked as high as No. 5 nationally this week and will be making their first visit to Charlottesville since 2006. All three games will be broadcast by WINA 1070-AM and online at VirginiaSports.com.

Cannon, pitching down Herd easily
Senior shortstop goes 4-4, extends hitting streak to 13 games; six different pitchers see action in win
Andrew Seidman, Cavalier Daily Sports Editor
Baseball / Sports
March 24, 2010 0

During the first run through the order yesterday evening against Marshall, Virginia hitters familiarized themselves with a sidearm, an aesthetically displeasing throwing motion that resulted in top speeds of 64 miles per hour. The second go-around, a new pitcher toed the rubber, throwing 89 mph heat. Virginia then faced three more submarine pitchers in the Thundering Herd’s bullpen-by-committee effort, which fielded six pitchers in total.

“Those guys that throw sidearm scare me,” coach Brian O’Connor said.

Virginia steeled itself for the challenge, though, and even ended up using the same number of pitchers. Needless to say, none of them threw at angles flirting with 45 degrees.

Despite the struggle of facing a constantly changing enemy, the No. 1 Cavaliers (18-3, 5-1 ACC) tagged their opponents for six runs, including a three-run fourth inning to defeat Marshall (8-10) 6-3 at Davenport Field and pick up its fifth midweek win of the season.

Junior center fielder Jarrett Parker got a hold of junior left hander Kyle Blank’s offspeed pitch with a leadoff double to left-center field that landed on the warning track. Parker advanced on sophomore first baseman John Hicks’ fly-out to right and then scored on junior left fielder John Barr’s sacrifice fly to give Virginia a 1-0 advantage.

“The first guy we stayed back, tried to take the ball the other way,” Hicks said. “The second guy threw a little harder, tried to stay middle field. And when a guy has a low velocity, he kind of tries to throw you a lot of junk, and you just have to stay back and hit it the other way, and if you’re early, you can pull the ball.”

Marshall brought in a new pitcher, junior right-hander Kevin Shackelford, in the bottom of the third. After the Thundering Herd got on the board in the top half of the fourth, the Cavaliers adjusted to Shackelford’s more orthodox, over-the-top throwing motion. Hicks reached second on two errors to begin the inning, but Marshall right fielder Eric Semeniuk barely had to move to catch two hard-hit balls off the bats of Barr and junior catcher Kenny Swab for two quick outs. Virginia finally found a gap in the outfield when freshman designated hitter Stephen Bruno slapped a single to center to plate Hicks. O’Connor then put on a successful hit-and-run as junior second baseman Phil Gosselin pulled out a triple on a hot liner to left-center that rolled to the wall. Senior shortstop Tyler Cannon, who hit 4-for-4 — including the 53rd double of his career to tie him for most in program history — and reached base five times, added to the two-out hitting frenzy with a single through the right side of the infield on a 3-1, giving Virginia a comfortable 4-1 lead.

“Our team doesn’t have any quit in them and they don’t give away in the innings, and we’ve had some big innings this year with two outs,” O’Connor said. “That’s the sign of a good offensive ball club — they don’t just pack it in with two outs — we keep plugging along.”

Virginia benefited from more than just this clutch hitting, as sophomore pitcher Will Roberts managed to toss four solid innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. The righty could have pitched further into the game, but O’Connor said he wanted several other pitchers to see action to keep the bullpen sharp as the team prepares an important weekend series against No. 6 Clemson.

After Virginia put together a two-run fifth, highlighted by an RBI-single by Hicks and another hit-and-run, O’Connor passed the torch to freshman right-hander Branden Kline, who entered the game with a 3.68 ERA in five appearances. The sixth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox quickly retired the side in the bottom half of the frame with only seven pitches. A Marshall hitter finally made contact on Kline’s 12th straight fast ball in the top of the sixth, sending a line drive on a rope to right for a double. Kline quickly adjusted and caught senior third baseman Josh Valle looking with a 2-2 slider.

“I’ve been working on the slider, it’s really coming along,” Kline said. “Coming here to U.Va., it’s become probably my second favorite pitch — my change-up is getting better and better every day.”
The freshman then induced a fly out to end the inning and handed the ball over to senior Neal Davis in the seventh. Virginia’s top southpaw out of the bullpen recorded two quick outs but got in trouble when he surrendered a walk and then a double off the wall to redshirt sophomore left fielder Rhett Stafford. O’Connor brought in redshirt freshman Chad O’Connor, who gave up a single through the middle that closed Virginia’s lead to three runs.

The veteran relievers Virginia fielded in juniors Tyler Wilson and Kevin Arico suppressed the Thundering Herd’s threat in the final 1.2 innings, however, giving Kline his second win of the season and Arico his seventh save.

Virginia resumes ACC play Friday against Clemson, leader of the conference’s Atlantic Division.

Cavs cruise past Herd
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 23, 2010
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When the first pitch was offered Tuesday to a Virginia batter, coach Brian O’Connor cringed.

The velocity was not intimidating. The movement was minimal. The arm angle from Marshall hurler Kyle Blank, however, created scary flashbacks to side-winding pitchers from past seasons.

Facing a submarine-style starter on the mound did not translate into a nightmare this time around as the top-ranked Cavaliers did enough offensively and on the mound to upend Marshall 6-3 in a mid-week contest that clearly lacked the luster of a weekend series.

“Those guys that throw sidearm scare me,” O’Connor said with a grin, “but our guys got in really good swings against [Blank] and our guys really stepped up and had a good approach.”

Virginia (18-3) did most of its damage once Blank was pulled after two innings — the Cavaliers scored five of its six runs during a two-inning span in the middle third of the game as Marshall (8-10) used the contest as an impromptu bullpen session, employing five pitchers.

“You are always concerned about these kind of days from an offensive standpoint because they are switching pitchers so often and you never get a chance to get in a groove,” O’Connor said. “You have guys throwing sidearm, you have lefties coming in and guys are over the top and giving you different looks, and a good offensive club makes adjustments to every pitcher that comes in and I feel like we did that tonight.”

Marshall helped defensively — the Thundering Herd committed four errors and only one of the runs scored by UVa was an earned run.

After a stellar start by Virginia starter Will Roberts, who worked four innings, the Cavaliers bullpen rotated just as fast as its counterpart. O’Connor employed five relievers as a pivotal series with No. 12 Clemson starts on Friday at 6 p.m.

“We needed to get a number of guys some work tonight,” O’Connor said. “It was by design and it was great to see a number of guys out there on the mound during the week in a tight game.”

Virginia’s best offensive frame came in the bottom half of the fourth with two outs when the game was deadlocked 1-1.

Stephen Bruno ripped a run-scoring single to right-center field and scored on a triple by Phil Gosselin. Tyler Cannon, who finished with four hits, then drove in Gosselin with a single.

“That was a big inning,” O’Connor said. “We did all our work with two outs, which does not happen all the time.”

Virginia reliever Branden Kline earned the win on the mound after pitching in perfect fashion in the fifth and sixth inning. He improved to 2-0 and will be available this weekend out of the bullpen against the Tigers.

Junior closer Kevin Arico rebounded from a rough outing against Boston College to retire the side in order for his eighth save of the season.

While Virginia finished with 12 hits, Marshall managed just six in the contest.



 

Andrews On Track for Stardom
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/23/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Congratulations poured in for Robby Andrews after the UVa freshman won the 800-meter run at the NCAA indoor track and field championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

One call his father, Bob, took was from an 86-year-old retiree in Georgia, a gentleman named Bobby Thomson.

That would be the Bobby Thomson, the one who hit The Shot Heard 'Round the World, the home run that clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds on Oct. 3, 1951.

"He's such a cool guy, too," Robby said. "He's really nice. He's definitely keeping track of me."

Thomson is his great-uncle. Which means Andrews, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., must have been an avid baseball player growing up, right?

He played a little, Andrews said, but never developed a passion for the game.

"I mean, it's too boring, man," he said with a sheepish smile. "Just sitting at shortstop, waiting for the ball to be hit to you, and then throw to first base. Come on. I gotta keep moving."

Good luck keeping up with Andrews, 18. His paternal grandparents were track standouts, as were his parents. His sister runs at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, and Andrews was a phenom as a prep runner in New Jersey.

He became the first high school athlete to break 1:50 in the 800 -- he ran a 1:48.66 -- and his impact on UVa's program has been enormous.

In a stunning upset March 13, Andrews edged U.S. Olympian Andrew Wheating, a senior at Oregon, to win the 800 at the NCAA indoor meet. Six days later, Andrews was named ACC freshman of the year in indoor track by the league's 12 head coaches.

He finished the indoor season unbeaten. At the ACC championships, Andrew won the 800 and ran on the victorious distance-medley relay team.

His signature race, though, was in Fayetteville. Wheating entered the 800 as a clear favorite, and his personal best in the event was more than three seconds faster than Andrews'.

"Three seconds is a huge amount of time in the 800," said Andrews, who hopes to study kinesiology in UVa's Curry School of Education.

Yet Jason Vigilante was convinced Wheating could be beaten indoors, and the Cavaliers' coach told Andrews as much. The 6-5 Wheating, one of Andrews' running idols, has long legs and a long stride, and the 800 is a two-lap race outdoors. Indoors, it's a four-lap race on a banked track.

"Robby's only 5-10, 5-11, and he's got a very short compact stride, and he doesn't have much of a back kick, so as soon as his foot hits the ground, it pops right back off," Vigilante said. "And he can change gears so quickly, which, when you have to go into a turn, and on a steep bank, is such an advantage."

On an outdoor track, Vigilante said, "you can see everybody a lot easier, and Wheating has a much better chance to accelerate, and he's not going to get surprised the way he was surprised [in Fayetteville]."

Still, Andrews admits, he was skeptical.

"I don't even know how Jason could have thought I could win it," he said. "When you have confidence in yourself and other people have confidence in you, it does amazing things. I'm really grateful to have all these coaches."

The strategy Vigilante and Andrews settled on was simple.

"The plan was to run in last place the first two laps," Vigilante said, "and then on the third lap advance himself to where he has an opportunity, at least, to seek out the better athletes. And then in the last, basically, 50 or 60 meters, take the lead."

Once the race began, Andrews said, he and Wheating "both went straight to the back. I was just running right off him. He was definitely moving a lot better than I was. He pretty much ran the perfect race, if I wasn't there behind him. He ran very smart. Didn't get boxed in. Just made sure that he was there in the end. I was very lucky to not get boxed in either. I was in the back. I was very fortunate to be able to move so well in the last lap, that nobody else was trying to move on that side."

Vigilante said: "In all fairness, I didn't think Andrew Wheating believed that anybody in the field could beat him, and that's what he should think, as a guy who's made the Olympic team and been an NCAA champion and is an athlete of his caliber.

"When I told Robby, 'You're going to win this,' he really didn't believe it. Which is OK. But I've thought for months that he could win the indoor championship."

The race unfolded exactly as Vigilante hoped, and Andrews did his part, catching and surging past Wheating in the last 50 meters. Andrews' kick stunned Wheating, who didn't have time to fully recover.

Even so, the finish could not have been much closer. Andrews' time was 1:48.39. Wheating clocked in at 1:48.40.

"I couldn't believe it," Andrews said. "It's one thing thinking and dreaming about beating Wheating and all those other great athletes. But to actually do it, it's unreal. I'm so thankful really. When I crossed the line, I was looking over to see if I beat him, and thought, 'Oh my gosh, I crossed the line before him. Wow.' "

The outdoor season has begun, and Andrews hopes to help the Cavaliers capture a second straight ACC championship. His newfound celebrity figures to fade, at least until the NCAA outdoor meet, but the last 10 days have been a whirlwind of interviews, on camera and off, for this young man from Englishtown, N.J.

"It's pretty cool," Andrews said. "As Jason said, once you win a title, everyone starts looking at you differently. But I'm just the same guy. I'm trying to get through school, I'm still just a first-year."

 

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2010
Women's Lacrosse Contact: Amanda McClure

No. 20 James Madison Visits Klöckner Stadium on Wednesday No. 5 Cavaliers 2-0 against in-state opponents this season

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 5 Virginia women’s lacrosse team will host its third in-state rival this week, as No. 20 James Madison will visit Klöckner Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest Wednesday evening. Live statistics will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

The Dukes will be the seventh-straight nationally ranked opponent the Cavaliers will face this season, and the eighth in their first nine games. Virginia has won its last four games against ranked teams and is 2-0 against in-state opponents this year.

The Cavaliers (6-2) are coming off two wins over nationally ranked opponents this past week. Virginia defeated No. 18 William & Mary on Wednesday, before snapping a two-game losing streak to No. 13 Princeton on Saturday. The Cavaliers won both games by scores of 14-7.

Senior All-American Brittany Kalkstein led the Cavaliers in the two games and was named the ACC Player of the Week for her performance. The midfielder tallied five goals and two assists, while also collecting a team-high seven caused turnovers and four draw controls. She also added five ground balls.

Kalkstein leads the team defensively this season, winning 41 draw controls and causing 14 turnovers. She is also among seven Cavaliers who have registered double-digit goals this season, scoring 13. Senior All-American Kaitlin Duff leads the team with 29 points on a team-best
17 goals and 11 assists.

In goal, redshirt junior Lauren Benner has compiled a 4-0 record by stopping 53.4 percent of shots faced, while allowing just 8.30 goals per game.

James Madison is coming off its first loss of the season, a 12-8 setback to No. 17 Loyola on Saturday. The Dukes (6-1) are led by Kim Griffin, who has scored 19 goals and tallied six assists. She also has a team-high 15 ground balls. Mary Kate Lomady has contributed 17 goals for JMU, while Morgan Kelly has started all seven contests in goal, recording a 7.08 goal against average and is stopping 50 percent of shots faced.

In the all-time series between the two programs, the squads have met at least once every season since 1977, with the Cavaliers holding a 27-10-1 advantage. Virginia has won the last eight games in the series and holds an overall record of 13-3-1 when playing in Charlottesville.

No. 3 Duke awaits Virginia following the match. The Cavaliers will head to Durham, N.C., for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.
 

Crosby Looks Ahead to 2010-11
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/23/2010
March 23, 2010
4:12 p.m.

AMES, Iowa -- While her teammates practiced Saturday at Iowa State's Sukup Basketball Complex, freshman China Crosby shot by herself at a side basket.

UVa could have used a healthy Crosby the next night in the NCAA tournament's first round. The fifth-seeded Cavaliers' season ended with a 69-67 to loss to No. 12 seed Wisconsin-Green Bay at Hilton Coliseum.

That was the Wahoos' 18th straight game without the 5-6 Crosby, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Jan. 2 at Colorado. She'd started the first 13 games at point guard, averaging 5.9 points, 2.3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1.2 steals.

"Usually when I get hurt, I bounce right back up," Crosby said. "It's been difficult, but my teammates have been there for me."

Crosby, from New York City, is the first McDonald's All-American to enroll at UVa since Monica Wright in 2006. She shot only 29.1 percent from the floor this season but contributed in other ways.

"She really controlled a lot of what we did," UVa coach Debbie Ryan said Saturday, "and she gave us another scorer on the floor. Obviously, losing her was difficult, and it took a little time to handle the transition."

Dr. Eric Carson operated on Crosby's left knee Jan. 28 and repaired her torn anterior cruciate ligament. She was off crutches about 2½ weeks later and continues to progress rapidly in her rehab.

"She is way ahead of schedule," said Paul Murata, UVa's athletic trainer for women's basketball. "I credit that to Dr. Carson and to China herself. She is the best athlete-patient in terms of doing what she has to do.

"The hardest part for me right now is keeping her slowed down."

If Crosby's recovery continues at this pace, Murata said, she should be cleared to play by the start of the 2010-11 academic year. And that would be excellent news for a team that must replace Wright, the ACC player of the year and UVa's all-time leading scorer.

-- Jeff White

 

Former Devils competing for a spot
Shane Mettlen, smettlen@ starexponent.com, (540) 825-0771, ext. 127
Published: March 23, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE — New coaches, new positions, even new jersey numbers.

Just about everything is new arvound the Virginia football program as the Cavaliers entered their second week of spring practice Monday and U.Va. players from Culpeper and surrounding counties are experiencing the changes as much as anyone.

New coach Mike London has brought in a new staff and changed the offensive and defensive schemes and so far he’s getting rave reviews.

“The environment has totally changed around here,” former Liberty standout and current U.Va. safety Corey Lillard said. “Coach London is bringing U.Va. back and you can just feel that there’s something special around here.”

With the Cavs switching from a spread to pro-style offense and from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense, several area products find themselves in new roles and even wearing new jerseys.

Former Culpeper County High School Blue Devil Terence Fells-Danzer’s linebacker No. 50 is gone. Now he’s No. 34, more appropriate for the redshirt junior’s new position at fullback.

Former Fauquier quarterback Kyle McCartin ditched No. 16 for No. 49 when he joined his younger brother Connor as a linebacker. A week into the spring, the sophomore switched positions again and is now working at tight end.

Former Orange quarterback Quintin Hunter played wide receiver last year as a freshman, but is back at QB.

The players say London has been more open to communication and giving players opportunities to try new spots on the field than his predecessor Al Groh.

“The coaching staff is great,” Hunter said. “They worry about each of us individually. They let guys try things where they might be more comfortable. Guys like Terence played offense when he was at Culpeper and was comfortable so they will put you at the position you can play the best.”

Fells-Danzer played both fullback and linebacker at CCHS, but was recruited to U.Va. as a linebacker. Despite being ranked as the No. 7 inside linebacker prospect in the country by Rivals.com coming out of high school, he played sparingly his first two seasons.

In an early meeting with London, the possibility of moving to fullback was mentioned and Fells-Danzer was quick to jump on board.

“He said ‘this is the quickest way for you to start playing,’ and right there I was sold,” Fells-Danzer said. “For the most part we all have a new slate to write our own stories on and we’re trying to write the best one’s possible. I feel a lot of the position switches were career moves.”

Now at fullback, Fells-Danzer is competing with CCHS classmate Curt Orshoski, a walk-on who rose to No. 2 on the depth chart at fullback last year, though the Cavs rarely used the position in their old offense. Monday both players got significant reps with the offensive units.

“It’s a new year and a new group of guys,” Orshoski said. “At the very least all this is an opportunity and you’ve always got to be excited when you get an opportunity to compete and possibly get out on the field. Terence is making the transition to offense and it’s really fun to get after it and see who is the guy to beat.”

Kyle McCartin had struggled to move up the depth chart as a walk-on quarterback, but said his meetings with coaches in the off-season have been exciting and he feels like the changes will give him an opportunity to compete for playing time.

“I’ve liked it a lot so far,” said Kyle, who is listed at 6-4, 210-pounds said. “We all met with coach London and our other position coaches talked about where they could see us playing after seeing some film. I had no problem switching to tight end, but I’ve just got to get bigger in the weight room.”

With the switch to the 4-3, Connor McCartin has become a middle linebacker and is competing for a starting spot after impressing in limited action last year as a true freshman.

“It’s a lot easier than last year’s scheme,” he said. “I’ve definitely got to get better, but I’m getting there. It was a totally new coaching staff when we got back so we had to prove ourselves all over again, but it’s turning into something good down here. I’m looking forward to it.”

EXTRA YEAR: Lillard, who played eight plays against North Carolina last year as a freshman, was granted a medical redshirt and will have four year’s remaining at U.Va. The hard-hitting safety didn’t realize he had been granted the extra year until he was informed the roster listed him as a redshirt freshman on Monday.

“I had no clue about that,” he said. “I’ll be happy to have an extra year here. It’s a wonderful school.”

Lillard said he’s excited to be coached by the only returning coach from Groh’s staff, safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. Lillard has been compared to the former Cavaliers great who was known for his bone-crushing hits, but said he has a ways to go before that comparison is valid.

“I couldn’t really compare to him,” Lillard said. “It’s a blessing to be coached by one of the great ones.”

STATUS UNCLEAR: Former Chancellor star Dominique Wallace was listed as a sophomore on the spring roster after the running back was injured in his third game last year and sat out the rest of the season. The Cavaliers had hoped he would also be granted a medical redshirt.

A U.Va. spokesperson said Monday that he was still unsure if the medical hardship had been granted.

DEPTH AT QB: Hunter wore a red jersey designated for quarterbacks on Monday, but the former Orange standout didn’t get any reps as the team scrimmaged.

Senior Marc Verica, redshirt freshman Ross Metheny and true freshman Michael Strauss appeared to be the frontrunners at the position, but Hunter is confident he’ll be able to compete for the job.

“I’m progressing everyday I think,” Hunter said. “I’m getting back into the quarterback situation and going from a spread to a pro-style offense is pretty difficult, but I think I’m getting it.”
 

Landesberg leaving U.Va. to pursue pro career
By Michael Phillips
Published: March 24, 2010
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For a basketball coach trying to turn around a program, the goal is to get his own recruits into the system. That opportunity has been enhanced for Virginia's Tony Bennett.

Bennett has seen two Cavaliers leave the team this week, the latest being Sylven Landesberg's announcement yesterday that he was departing the university immediately to pursue a professional career.

Landesberg was the star of this season's team, the leading scorer and go-to player who averaged 17.3 points in his sophomore season.

Things soured, though, when he was suspended the final three games of the season for missing a class.

Without Landesberg -- or freshman Tristan Spurlock, who will transfer -- the Dave Leitao era continues to fade into the distance.

Counting only contributing players, next season's Cavaliers squad will have seven veterans and six Bennett recruits. Landesberg's announcement means Bennett could add a seventh scholarship freshman if he wished, though six constitute an unusually large class.

Without Landesberg, the Cavs were 1-2 in their final games, though they played inspired basketball in all three, including narrow losses to Duke and Maryland. His absence will have an immediate negative impact but free playing time for the younger Cavs.

While Bennett gets a jump-start on the future he wants to create at Virginia, Landesberg's next step is murkier.

He will not finish the academic semester as he begins workouts designed to prepare him for the NBA draft. He began the year as a prospect, though this year's draft is anticipated to be one of the deeper ones in recent years, as underclassmen make the jump to the NBA before a new round of contract negotiations between owners and players begin in 2011.

If he is not picked, Landesberg could play professional ball in Europe for a season before trying again.

With current draft boards showing him as a late second-round pick, or off the board entirely, he responded on Twitter yesterday.

"It's funny how [people] say I'm making a bad decision," he wrote. "I wouldn't have made the decision I made if I was getting bad feedback . . . I thought that was obvious. Well that was just for all the [so-called] experts out there."

The announcement was made in an e-mail from U.Va., which did not include a quote from Landesberg, but had thoughts from Bennett.

"I have discussed Sylven's future with the Landesberg family and been informed that he will be leaving the University of Virginia to pursue his professional aspirations," Bennett said in that release. "I am thankful for the significant contributions Sylven made to the Virginia basketball program and wish him success in his future endeavors."

The coach mentioned Landesberg's future but is surely cognizant of his own as well. With a fresh class arriving at U.Va. next fall, this undoubtedly has become Bennett's program.

Turning pro
After weeks of speculation, UVa coach Tony Bennett announces that sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg is leaving school.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

It was an announcement that Virginia men's basketball fans had been dreading but one that many viewed as a foregone conclusion.

Sylven Landesberg, the Cavaliers' leading scorer in each of his two seasons in Charlottesville, will not be returning to school.

"I have discussed Sylven's future with the Landesberg family and been informed that he will be leaving the University of Virginia to pursue his professional aspirations," UVa coach Tony Bennett said in a prepared statement.

"I am thankful for the significant contributions Sylven made to the Virginia basketball program and wish him success in his future endeavors."

Neither Landesberg nor his parents were quoted in the release and a voice message left for father Steve Landesberg on Tuesday was not returned.

However, there was a Twitter post under Sylven Landesberg's name.

"It's funny how people say I'm making a bad decision," it read. "I wouldn't have made the decision I made if I was getting bad feedback. I thought that was obvious."

Landesberg was the ACC freshman of the year in 2008-2009 and was named second-team All-ACC this past season despite missing four of the Cavaliers' last five games, including the last three.

He was suspended prior to Virginia's final regular-season game with Maryland on March 6 for failure to meet academic responsibilities.

Landesberg, a 6-foot-6 wing player from Flushing, N.Y., was the second underclassman to leave the UVa program in as many days. On Monday, UVa announced that seldom-used freshman forward Tristan Spurlock is planning to transfer.

Landesberg started 54 of the 55 games in which he played for Virginia and scored 930 points. If not for the games he missed in the last two weeks of this season, he might have joined Jeff Lamp, Ralph Sampson and Bryant Stith as the only players to score 1,000 points in their first two seasons.

"I honestly think [Landesberg] could have challenged Bryant Stith's career scoring record," said former Cavalier standout Cory Alexander, the analyst on UVa's radio network. "I definitely think he would have been a 2,000-point scorer."

Alexander isn't sure how Landesberg will be remembered now. He might fall in the same category as Olden Polynice and Courtney Alexander, players who did not finish their careers at UVa but ended up as first-round NBA Draft picks, Polynice after playing abroad and Alexander after transferring to Fresno State.

Courtney Alexander (no relation to Cory) and Polynice both had legal difficulties. Landesberg's issues were purely academic, although there's no certainty that he would have returned to school without the suspension.

With as much class time as Landesberg had missed prior to his suspension, what are the chances that he would have been eligible for the 2010-2011 season?

"He really did have a choice," Cory Alexander said. "He could have come back to school and just grinded it out [until] the end of the semester, caught up in summer school and he could have been eligible next year."

Maybe it had always been Landesberg's plan to play out the season but not complete the semester. Maybe he just didn't like school.

"I definitely think that was the case," Alexander said.

Cory Alexander turned pro in 1995, when he still had a year of eligibility, but he had missed nearly 1 12 seasons due to injury and already had his degree. He was drafted by San Antonio at the end of the first round.

He doesn't see Landesberg as a first-round draft pick.

"If I could have sat down and talked with Sylven, I would have told him, 'Look, you are not on anybody's mock draft; I know these people, this is what they're saying about you,'" Cory Alexander said.

"If you play well at the workouts and combines, at best you're a second-round pick. You can't go from not being in the mock draft to being in the middle of the first round."

Cory Alexander, who spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA, did not have that conversation with Landesberg.

"Syl's not a dumb guy," Alexander said.

"He's an intelligent person. He has good common sense. That's what makes it so baffling."

Heading for the pros a puzzling decision for UVa’s Landesberg
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: March 24, 2010
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Over the two years we got to know Sylven Landesberg, I really liked the kid. I liked his dad, Steve, and I liked the way Sylven played the game of basketball.

What I didn’t like was the way his career ended at Virginia — he neglected to show up for an art class a single time, which in the end, resulted in Cavaliers’ coach Tony Bennett suspending the super sophomore for the very end of the season.

While UVa officially announced Tuesday that Landesberg would not return after two seasons, it was essentially old news. Those who read The Daily Progress knew that on March 12 after two of Landesberg’s teammates whispered to our beat writer, Whitey Reid, minutes after the season ended in a loss to Duke, that the Cavalier star was not coming back.

The part of all this I didn’t like was Landesberg selfishly letting his teammates down.

Yes, it’s the kid’s right to play two years and skedaddle. Clearly, he had no intention to return to Virginia for his junior season, and apparently made up his mind sometime prior to the start of the second semester that he was no longer interested in being a college student, at least from the academic side of things.

From my view, it would have been fine if Landesberg wanted to scram after two years and make a living playing basketball. However, you don’t let your teammates down. You go to class and finish the season.

While Landesberg seems to have had no interest in coming back to UVa, his parents did. Our spies told us that the Landesberg parents wanted Sylven to stay in school.

Coming back for a third year made sense to almost everyone except to Sylven Landesberg and whomever he’s getting his advice from.

If the kid thinks he’s going to play in the NBA next season, he’s dead wrong.

We have talked to NBA scouts that have seen him practice, watched him play, evaluated his game. We have talked to guys who have played in the NBA that have observed him and there’s a consensus opinion: Landesberg, at least right now, is not an NBA player.

He’s an odd fit. Critics will note that he’s not a good enough shooter to be a two guard. He’s not good enough of a ball-handler, a floor leader to be a point guard, and there’s just no way he could play small forward in the NBA.

So, where does he play?

Scouts answer that question with two words: D-League.

That’s the NBA’s Developmental League, which would relegate Landesberg’s game to such potential exotic locations as Bismarck, N.D., Erie, Pa., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Orem, Utah.

There’s always Europe or another foreign country, but not the NBA. Not now. Maybe someday, but not now.

“For instance, just look at Landesberg and [Maryland’s] Greivis Vasquez,” one observer said. “They’re about the same size, same athletic ability. But Vasquez is more heady, more experienced, a better shooter.”

One couldn’t have said that about Vasquez after his sophomore season, but the Terps’ star profited greatly by sticking around an extra two years, developing his game.

Landesberg? As one scout said, “He would be better off developing his game in the ACC rather than in the Developmental League.”

Perhaps it’s envy. Four of his former McDonald’s All-American teammates are now in the NBA. Two of ’em (Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings) are vying for Rookie of the Year honors.

Somehow, rookie of the year in the D-League just doesn’t sound as exciting.

Tony Bennett already overhauls roster

On the day Tony Bennett accepted the job, his roster of returning players looked like the following:

Centers: Assane Sene , Jerome Meyinsse, John Brandenburg
Forwards: Jamil Tucker, Solomon Tat, Mike Scott, Will Sherrill
Guards: Sylven Landesberg, Sammy Zeglinski, Jeff Jones, Mustapha Farrakhan, Calvin Baker
Incoming players: G Jontel Evans, F Tristan Spurlock

When Virginia opened preseason practice, only Brandenburg had left, and the reasons were not related to Bennett. I even asked Bennett how he managed to avoid attrition that's often associated with a new coach.

Well, I asked the question a year too early. Tucker never played for Bennett, having been dismissed from the team for academic reasons. Landesberg was suspended before the final regular season game and is now off to professional basketball. Baker left the team before the ACC tournament. Spurlock is transferring at the end of the semester. The eligibility of Meyinsse and Tat expired.

So, that leaves Virginia with only six scholarship players from the date Bennett took the job. Sherrill is a walk-on, although he's a contributor. Bennett has a class of six new players coming into the program next year, and it is currently unknown whether the coaching staff will add a seventh player.

Bennett said during the season that it was important to find a core group of players that bought into the system, recruit a large class in the first year and build off that class.

To that point, Bennett has lived up to his pledge. But it was not expected in the autumn that the players leaving after the first year were the best player and the top recruit.

By Zach Berman
 

Bennett's Longer Short-Term Pain

The first thing that Virginia coach Tony Bennett should have done after issuing a statement wishing Sylven Landesberg well on his way out the door was walk to athletic director Craig Littlepage’s office and ask for another year on his contract.

Not that Bennett won’t be given ample time to get Virginia back to the upper half of the ACC. Only that the competitive curve elongates with the departure of the Cavaliers’ lone consistent offensive producer, and a young team just got even younger.

Say what you will about Virginia’s shared balance minus Landesberg at the end of the season. But without him, points were awfully scarce at times. That might not be so great an issue once Bennett’s defense-first system is fully ingrained, and the youngsters acquire some seasoning.

The Cavaliers were looking at 11th or 12th place in the ACC next season with Landesberg. Without him, well, bring on Brian O’Connor’s hitters and Dom Starsia’s long-sticks midfielders.

The departures of Landesberg and freshman Tristan Spurlock, along with the graduation of late bloomer Jerome Meyinsse, leave Bennett with seven returning scholarship players.

The leading returning scorers are forward Mike Scott and guard Sammy Zeglinski. Despite his physical gifts, Scott had a disturbing number of goose eggs and walkabouts. Zeglinski can be negated because of his size.

Junior guards Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan showed flashes, but neither has been asked to be the guy. That’s not going to cut it in the ACC – NCAA tournament flameouts aside.

Duke, Florida State and Virginia Tech should remain in the upper tier. North Carolina should return from the wilderness with a top-shelf recruiting class and a year’s experience for its underclassmen. Miami ought to be much improved.

Maryland, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson figure to take hits, based on graduations and early departures, but not all the way to the basement.

The bottom line is that the Cavs are going to ask quite a bit from their six-man freshman class, probably more than it can adequately and consistently deliver. It’s a versatile group, with some size and athletic ability and even a coach’s son, in late commitment Billy Baron — the son of Rhode Island coach Jim Baron.

But the ACC is the wrong place for quick fixes. Bennett seems to understand that. He spoke often this season of making decisions for the good of the kids and the program over the long haul. Of not taking the expedient path.

So maybe once the Landesberg news became official and not simply rumored, Littlepage, the old basketball coach, walked to Bennett’s office and said, “Hey, I feel your pain. Anything we can do to help?”

Posted by Dave Fairbank

The end of an era
Dan Stalcup, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Sports
March 24, 2010 0

Here are a few words that I would use to describe Sunday’s basketball game between the fifth-seed Virginia and 12th-seed Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s basketball teams: Devastating.

Anti-climactic.

Frustrating.

There’s a rule that we follow at my house, and I’m not sure if it’s something we made up or if it’s a University-wide — or nation-wide or worldwide — tradition. We always blame bad refs on the University of North Carolina, even if the Tar Heels aren’t involved in the game. Maybe it’s because North Carolina basketball teams always get the good calls. Maybe we just don’t like them very much. Anyway, we spent a good portion of the first half of Sunday’s game chanting, “Carolina refs, Carolina refs,” and so on. Rarely have I seen officiating as frustrating as what I saw during that half — and this year has been a fountain of bad reffing against the Cavaliers. It’s not that there were many blatantly awful calls but rather that every call before halftime that seemed even remotely debatable ended up in favor of the Phoenix. And keep in mind that I’m someone who’s usually very lenient with refs.

A series of bizarre, dubious fouls during the final nine minutes of the half resulted in an absolutely huge swing in control from Virginia to Green Bay.

Of course, senior guard Monica Wright took the blame — just as she has for the past four years — whenever Virginia had a misstep.

“The refs did the best job that they could,” she said. “In my opinion, it shouldn’t have come down to that. The entire game, they did a good job.”

Really, though, I don’t want to put too much heat on the officiating. As bewildering as the calls could seem to me, I recognize that I still found the game to be pretty emotional. And really, apart from the refs’ calls, there are nine people who lost this game: the Cavaliers whose jerseys don’t say Wright. I included this stat in yesterday’s recap of the game but I feel it’s worth repeating. Monica Wright’s field goal percentage: 51.9 percent. The rest of the team’s field goal percentage: 27.5 percent. One player was drawing a large percentage of the defense’s attention, consistently getting double-teamed and yet making more than half of her shots — and the team still lost. There’s not much you can do other than weep and thank Wright for four mind-meltingly awesome years of basketball.

Here are a few more noteworthy stats. Monica’s scoring: 34 points. Everyone else’s scoring: 33 points. Monica’s free throw percentage: 83.3. Everyone else’s free throw percentage: 58.8. That last stat is especially crucial because a few free throws would’ve countered pretty much every other flaw the Cavaliers displayed during Sunday’s game. The Cavaliers missed four free throws during the last 90 seconds of play. You can’t do that in a close game. Period.

Those last few minutes, actually, might’ve been the most interesting part of the game. Virginia seemed to remember — with about four minutes left in play — that, wait, the women’s NCAA Tournament almost never has upsets and that a loss here would mean losing the team’s all-time leading scorer forever.

So the Cavaliers came storming back with one incredible play after another. The Phoenix ended with 30 turnovers, and I could swear half of them came during the last four minutes. The refs’ decision to make the closing minutes a collective “make-up call” for the first half gave Virginia a good shot at the comeback.

My favorite play of the game came with 1:21 left in the play. Green Bay’s leading scorer, Celeste Hoewisch, who had been something of a kryptonite for the Cavs, took an inbounds pass, dribbled a quarter of the way down the court and picked the ball up because defenders were closing in and obviously were intending to foul. Hoewisch gripped the ball tightly and leaned toward the Virginia defender, who kept her space. Hoeswich fell into the Cavalier and then was called for the offensive foul! How does that even happen? It was the right call, too, I think.

The camera replayed it two or three times, each time lingering on her face to see her expression descend into rage as she realized the ref’s call and realized she had just fouled out of the game. I know what she was thinking. “Carolina refs, Carolina refs …”