Haiti Never Far from Delice's Thoughts
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When he's on Grounds, Steve Delice wears a dog tag that depicts the blue and red flag of Haiti. It attracts attention, and that's the idea.

"I've had that for a few years, but since the whole incident I've been wearing it as a reminder for everyone not to forget Haiti," said Delice, a hurdler on UVa's track-and-field team.

"Every time I walk around with it, someone always looks at it and notices, and asks, and we get on the topic of Haiti. It's just my way of keeping it out there and raising awareness and keeping awareness on the situation in Haiti."

Delice, a transfer from Coppin State in Baltimore, was born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, in February 1987. About nine years later, he moved with his family to Brooklyn, N.Y., and he's lived in the United States ever since.

Many members of Delice's extended family, however, still call the West Indies nation home, including his maternal grandmother. More than a half-dozen of his relatives perished in the Jan. 12 earthquake that destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, among them a cousin who was in medical school.

Delice was in Maryland, wrapping up a visit with a close friend, when another buddy called to ask if he'd heard about the earthquake. Delice hadn't.

"Mind you, I'm packing the car to leave, and so I kind of joked about it," Delice recalled, "because I remember when I was in Haiti, earthquakes hit a few times, and I always slept through them. So I didn't think it was something big."

He learned otherwise on his drive back to Charlottesville. Text messages flooded his cell phone, and then his mother called, crying hysterically.

As soon as he got home, Delice turned on the TV and watched the reports from Haiti, stunned at the magnitude of the disaster. He Googled "Richter Scale" to get a better appreciation of the severity of a 7.0 earthquake, "and right then and there, I guess you could say, I went into shock," said Delice, who earned a bachelor's degree in global studies from Coppin State.

"I didn't know what to do, how to react, how to feel or anything. I think I just prayed that night and spoke to a few people on the phone, because they wanted to know what was going on. I told them, 'I don't know what's going on. As soon as I know, I'll let you know.' "

In the days that followed, as Delice learned more about the earthquake's toll on his relatives, his mood darkened.

"I guess you could say I was angry, questioning my beliefs as far as what's going on," Delice said. "It's not really something I enjoyed, questioning my belief in God, but I couldn't understand why that would happen to Haiti. They're already in such a bad situation. Why would something like this happen at all? And if it's going to happen, why to them?"

His teammates and coaches at UVa became a support system for Delice, who's pursuing a master's in social foundations in the Curry School of Education.

Assistant coach Adrian Wheatley, who works with the Cavaliers' sprinters and hurdlers, was among those who approached Delice.

"I was like, 'Hey, there are bigger things out there than track. If you need to take some time off, we're here to support you,' " Wheatley recalled. "But he said, 'No.' I think track is his outlet."

Delice said: "I use track and field sometimes as a therapeutic method. Growing up, running is something that made me feel good, made me feel free, so I continued doing that.

"You can't help but to be angry about [the earthquake's devastation], but in training, even in competition, I've used it while running. I've used it as motivation to want to do something. I run for Haiti, and I feel like it would be a way to give back to Haiti if I can do something big in the track-and-field world, maybe win a meet that no one expects."

His specialty is the 400-meter hurdles. At the NCAA outdoor championships in 2007, Delice became Coppin State's first All-American. A year later, as a junior, he ran the 400 hurdles in 50.24 seconds, his personal best and a school record.

Had he been healthy last spring, Delice would not be running for UVa now. But he sat out the outdoor season with a hamstring injury and so is eligible this spring for the Cavaliers.

"I have the spring, and that's when I've got to make a statement and give Virginia their money's worth, per se," said Delice, who's likely to contend for an ACC title in the 400 hurdles. "I've been given an opportunity, and I'm not taking it lightly."

The news from his relatives in Haiti has, for the most, been better in recent weeks, and Delice finds it easier now to follow his regular routine. In the days that followed Jan. 12, he thought of little but his native country.

"Throughout class, throughout the day," Delice said in late January. "Every other thought you think about is of Haiti. I like to pray before I eat, and never so much I have prayed, just continuing to put Haiti in my prayers, before they so badly need it. It's something that I think will last a very long time with me."

That his country will rise again, Delice is convinced. Haitians are a resilient people accustomed to adversity.

"We're strong," Delice said. "We're fighters. We've been very thankful for the help [from other countries], but we do know this is not the end. We have to continue fighting, continue to work towards a better tomorrow. I guess that's one of the thing that makes me proud to be Haitian: the fact that no matter what happens, we continue fighting, we continue working.

"Even in the media, if you just mute the TV and look at the faces -- I don't know if it's because I have that connection, but I can see the strength in the people. Even when they're crying, I can still feel that -- you know what? -- they know it's not over."

Delice has not been back to Haiti since he moved away in 1996. "I'm always busy running track during the summer, or there are financial reasons," he said.

He's determined to return this year after the semester and track season end at UVa.

"Although I have some plans for what I'd like to get done for the summer, I feel it's more important for me to go down there, to see what I can do physically," Delice said. "I'd like to go down there with some sort of finances, of course, but if that's not possible, it doesn't matter.

"I just need to go down there and show that I care, actually take part in helping to build a house or something, giving somebody emotional comfort."

When he was a boy, Delice dreamed of becoming Haiti's president. He'll soon have a master's to go with his bachelor's, and he intends to put that education to good use.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and Delice wants to help -- if not as president, perhaps as an ambassador.

"Politics might be the best way to go about bringing about change in my country," he said, "because I don't like what I've been seeing throughout my lifetime, and I don't like the history we have. That's one of the big things the earthquake forced me to think about."

If Delice ends up providing leadership in Haiti one day, his coaches at UVa won't be surprised. They've seen such qualities in him at Virginia.

"He's got a vision," Wheatley said. "I think Steve is an individual who, when he puts his mind to something, is going to find a way to get it done."

 

Hunter Back at Wide Receiver
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2010
March 29, 2010
8:12 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When UVa's football players jogged onto the practice field this afternoon, the quarterbacks wore red jerseys.

Quintin Hunter was in blue.

Hunter, a 6-1, 195-pound rising sophomore, is a wide receiver again. That was the position he played for the Cavaliers as a true freshman last season, but he asked new coach Mike London for an opportunity to work at quarterback this spring, and Hunter's request was granted.

After two weeks, however, it became clear that Hunter was unlikely to crack the rotation at QB, so he moved back to wideout.

"Coach London, he gave me the chance to be a quarterback the first two weeks of spring practice," Hunter said today. "It was kind of sluggish for me, and I realized now's the time when I can be best at receiver."

London said: "There's no use being a fourth quarterback right now, because you're not going to play. You don't want to be the fourth quarterback and not play special teams. You want to be another position, receiver, and play on special teams. Get on the field. I know he just wants to get on the field and he wants to play, and we'll give him a chance to try to do that."

At Orange County High School, Hunter starred at several positions, including quarterback, tailback, wideout and defensive back.

He appeared in nine games for UVa last season, catching one pass for 13 yards.

"All the feedback we got was that he ran good routes," London said, and Hunter's hands are among the best on the team.

Hunter said he's not that far behind the players who've been working at wideout all spring, "because I'm not losing a lot going from QB to receiver. I know the plays and the formations. I just got to get back to the receiver stuff."

Rising senior Marc Verica has taken most of the snaps with the first-team offense this spring. Ross Metheny and Michael Strauss are battling for the No. 2 job.

Metheny will be a redshirt freshman in the fall. Strauss is a true freshman who started classes at UVa in January.

"We've got to find a backup that can run the offense," London said Saturday after UVa's practice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. "Don't ask too much of him. Just make the throws and calls, hand off to our backs and let the line block for them."

Three more quarterbacks will arrive this summer: Miles Gooch, Jake McGee and Michael Rocco. Each could end up at another position.

-- Jeff White

 

No. 1 Cavaliers Take on Towson in Two-Game Midweek Series
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The top-ranked Virginia baseball team will battle the Towson Tigers in a two-game midweek series this week at Davenport Field, with 5 p.m. contests Tuesday and Wednesday. A live audio broadcast of both games will be available with a V Pass subscription at VirginiaSports.com. Live statistics for both games also will be featured on VirginiaSports.com.
Tuesday is a $2 Tuesday at Davenport Field. Fans can purchase $2 hot dogs and $2 sodas all game long.

For the sixth-consecutive week, Virginia (20-4, 7-2 ACC) is ranked No. 1 nationally by Baseball America and Rivals.com.

On the mound, Virginia is slated to start RHP Branden Kline (Fr., Frederick, Md.) Tuesday and RHP Will Roberts Wednesday. Towson has yet to announce its starters for the series.

The Cavaliers won three of its four games last week. Virginia started the week with a 6-3 win over Marshall before taking two of three games over the weekend against Clemson, who was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally. It marked the Cavaliers' third straight ACC series win to start the season - UVa's best-ever ACC start.

Virginia is tied for second in the ACC with a .342 team batting average. Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) was the Cavaliers' top hitter last week, going 9-for-16 (.563) as he extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games. His hit streak is tied for the ninth-longest current streak in the nation.

Kenny Swab (Jr., Kernersville, N.C.) hit two home runs in the Clemson series as UVa swatted five long balls against the Tigers.

The Cavaliers' pitching staff ranks third in the ACC with a 3.36 team ERA. Virginia's pitchers allowed just one extra-base hit over the weekend against Clemson.

UVa also ranks second in the ACC with a .978 fielding percentage, including a league-best .981 mark in league contests.

Towson is 5-18 this season after dropping two of three games at UNC Wilmington last weekend. The Tigers are no strangers to ranked foes this year. Towson batted Arizona State in a four-game weekend series earlier this season in Tempe, with the Sun Devils prevailing in all four contests. Towson also suffered an 8-2 loss to then-No. 25 Elon to start the season.

First baseman Steve Yarsinsky is the Tigers' hottest hitter, with a .362 batting average and a 14-game hitting streak. He also leads the Tigers with five home runs and is tied for the team lead with 17 RBI. Chris Wychock is hitting .341, while Kevin Collins is batting .319.

Virginia holds an 8-2 lead in the series with Towson. UVa defeated the Tigers 13-4 and 7-5 last season in Charlottesville.

Virginia heads to NC State this weekend for a three-game ACC series. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, with 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday games set to follow.

 

No. 1 Cavs host Towson for midweek series
Proscia, bullpen look to bounce back against weak Tiger pitching staff, lineup
Allen Kha, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
Baseball / Sports
March 30, 2010 0

The Towson baseball team found itself on the wrong side of a series sweep against No. 2 Arizona State earlier this season. And the competition will not be any easier today when Towson arrives in Charlottesville for a two-game midweek series against Virginia — the top-ranked team in the nation.

Though the Tigers (5-18, 2-4 CAA) have gained invaluable experience playing against stiff competition, they have failed to tally any significant victories, losing every weekend series they have competed in this season.

More specifically, the Tiger pitching staff has struggled to keep runners off the bases and runs off the scoreboard, allowing an astounding .341 opponents’ batting average and boasting a 7.80 ERA. These statistics are music to the Cavaliers’ ears, as the potent Virginia offense will look to improve upon their tough 2-1 series win against then-No. 5 Clemson last weekend. Several players who have struggled lately will try to regain their stride against their midweek opponent.

Sophomore third baseman and clean-up hitter Steven Proscia, who began the season with the hottest bat on the team with 27 RBIs through the first 15 games, continued to struggle through a 3-for-31 slump at the plate.

“That’s the game of baseball — if it wasn’t that way, everybody would be hitting .500 all the time,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “A baseball season is made of individual hot streaks and then going cold.”

In addition to Virginia’s difficulties at the plate, the Cavaliers (20-4, 7-2 ACC) struggled on the mound during game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. Freshman pitcher Whit Mayberry and senior reliever Neal Davis surrendered six runs — three unearned caused by senior shortstop Tyler Cannon’s two errors — resulting in the Cavaliers’ sole loss of the series. Towson’s top-heavy lineup, which generally struggles at the plate with an overall .275 batting average, may provide the bullpen several opportunities to improve upon past performances. Moreover, probable freshman and sophomore starters Branden Kline and Will Roberts, who enter the series with 2-0 records and a 3.24 and 3.72 ERA, respectively, will have a chance to both pad their statistics and continue to bolster the Cavalier rotation.

And despite some of the struggles displayed by his team during the weekend, O’Connor still recognizes the importance of the Clemson series win in regards to ACC play.

“Clemson’s one of the top teams in this league — they proved it with their ability this weekend,” O’Connor said. “If you want to have a chance to win the regular season title, when you’re at home you’ve got to win the series. Now it’ll be three weeks into the ACC season, and we’ve swept one and won two series against some pretty big opponents.”

Indeed, though it wasn’t always clean play, Virginia still managed to pull out the series victory. One player who continues to produce at the plate is Cannon, who is currently batting for a .402 average and riding a career-high 16-game hitting streak.

“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Cannon said. “Of course, some [hits] seem to have some eyes that are kind of finding the holes there, but I’m just trying to keep it simple, just trying to hit the ball, square it up hard.”

For some of Virginia’s other players, however, the midweek series will provide an opportunity to find their strides with an upcoming series against N.C. State looming.

“What separates players is when they have tough weekends or tough stretches — do they make adjustments to get it turned around?” O’Connor said. “That’s the important thing — they’ll make adjustments and they’ll be better.”

The Cavaliers will host Towson today and tomorrow at Davenport Field at 5 p.m.

Virginia looks ahead to future without No. 15
Landesberg suspended because of art class, to put name in NBA Draft
Andrew Seidman, Cavalier Daily Sports Editor
Featured / Men's Basketball / Sports
March 30, 2010 0

At the conclusion of the Virginia men’s basketball team’s season, coach Tony Bennett held player meetings with each individual on the team.

Or, in the case of Sylven Landesberg, Bennett met with the player’s parents. But while Steven and Ingrid Landesberg discussed their son’s future with the first-year coach, Sylven was already back in New York, preparing for the NBA Draft. In other words, he was absent. Again.

Bennett suspended Landesberg for the remainder of the season March 5, immediately prior to Virginia’s regular season finale against Maryland the next day. At the time, Bennett said the reason for the suspension was that “Sylven has failed to live up to his academic obligations.”

Landesberg could not be reached for comment, but a source close to the team, who spoke on condition of anonymity, clarified the circumstances surrounding the former Cavalier’s suspension. The source said Landesberg already had been placed on academic warning heading into the spring semester, meaning he would have to pass all four of his classes to stay eligible for the fall 2010 semester. Junior forward Will Sherrill said Bennett asked each player sign a contract at the beginning of the spring semester to “pick up their academic performance.” Landesberg, according to the source, complied with Bennett’s request. The coaches apparently kept close watch over Landesberg’s performance in three of his courses — but not art class, which is graded primarily on participation. Landesberg had not attended a single art class, the source said, until he suddenly showed up one day, much to the professor’s surprise. The professor warned Landesberg that he was in danger of failing, then relayed this information to the athletic coordinator. The news then reached Bennett, who acted on the information and decided to suspend his team’s leading scorer.
Sherrill said Landesberg should have known he was headed down the wrong path.

“We all know how seriously coach Bennett takes academics,” Sherrill said. “So I think [Landesberg] knew there was a strong possibility he’d be suspended.”

Sherrill added that several other players, most notably senior Jamil Tucker — who took an indefinite leave of absence before the season began and was kicked off the team eventually because of academics — struggled academically during the fall semester, which all but forced Bennett to impose a stricter academic policy on his players.

The contract required “a lot of effort things — being on time to class, going to class, being on time to study hall, making sure you get to your tutors,” Sherrill said. “And that was something [Landesberg] obviously violated.”

During his tenure at Washington State, Bennett said the football coach made his players get signatures from their professors to confirm they had attended class. Considering Virginia’s academic turmoil, Bennett was asked if he would resort to such a strategy with his basketball team.

“Maybe I’m old school, but I think we’re pretty efficient,” Bennett said of his coaching staff’s management of his players’ academics. “But am I gonna check every single class every player’s in? Boy, I don’t know if I’m gonna bear down that — but there certainly will be accountability and there will be checks. And we receive feedback from teachers — there’s progress reports, all those kinds of things.”

The source said because Landesberg was going to fail his art class, he most likely would have been ineligible for the fall semester. Returning to Virginia, therefore, was not a feasible option for a player who already had considered making the leap to the pros after his freshman season, when he was named ACC Rookie of the Year. Sherrill, meanwhile, confirmed that Landesberg already had NBA aspirations and that the suspension made his decision to leave the program that much easier.

“Talking to Sylven — even if the suspension hadn’t happened — in talking to him, he might have been gone anyway,” Sherrill said. “He didn’t necessarily say that, but I could kind of tell talking to him that he was really thinking about it.”

That being said, both Sherrill and Bennett said Landesberg was not forced to leave the program; rather, he was welcome back. And though Bennett said he did not advise Landesberg about his draft status, the coach did say the two had talked about the guard’s potential in the professional ranks.

Although Landesberg’s scoring production will be missed, Bennett said he hopes the player’s time at Virginia helped improve his overall game and prepared him for the next step in his career.

“He became a much better shooter; his shot became more consistent,” he said. “Certainly you work on your range, becoming good defensively — that’s all part of developing players so they have that chance.”

That chance, Sherrill said, already has begun for Landesberg. The 6-foot-6 guard currently is working out in New York and will put his name in the NBA Draft. And though Sherrill said he will miss his friend and former teammate, he added that the rising senior class, including Sherrill, guard Mustapha Farrakhan, forward Mike Scott, guard Jeff Jones and even guard Sammy Zeglinski, who redshirted his first year, are eager to assume bigger roles next season without their undisputed best player.

“Not only do we think we have a good chance to be successful next year, but also we’ve got a chance to lay a foundation for the future of this program. Coach Bennett’s first class is coming in — it’s a big class,” Sherrill said. “We can teach those guys, mentor those guys so that they can carry this program to have great success. Those guys are gonna be the guys that really build this program, but that doesn’t mean that next year we’re not gonna be working as hard as we can to have a great team. And there’s a real sense of urgency right now amongst us older guys that we’ve only got one more chance, and we’ve gotta make the most of it.”

—Jack Bird contributed to this article

Monica Wright Named WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2010

ATLANTA - The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has selected Virginia's Monica Wright as the WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year. The WBCA Defensive Player of the Year award honors the best defensive collegiate NCAA Division I women's basketball player.

"Defense is something I take pride in, and is honestly what got my game to this level in the first place," Wright said. "My defense is something I've always been able to rely on, so I'm really happy about getting this award. Honestly it's the biggest honor that I've ever received."

She is the first-ever Virginia player to earn the award.

All Division I Conference Defensive Players of the Year are eligible to be nominated for the award and the selection committee makes the final decision on the winner. If a conference does not select a defensive player of the year, the conference representative can select one player to be considered. 



"When asked, I think many coaches would say that 'defense wins games,' and with that said I am proud to present Monica Wright with the Defensive Player of the Year award," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "I enjoy being able to honor student-athletes for their play on the defensive side of the game, which sometimes may get overlooked."



A senior, 5-11 guard, Wright is Virginia's all-time leading scorer with 2,540 points and this past season Wright set the Virginia single-season scoring record with 734 points. She also holds the school record for steals in a game (10) and had a season-high 16 rebounds in one game this year while averaging 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 steals a game this season. In 2009-10 Wright had eight 30-point games and 22 20-point games.



This year she has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ACC and the Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia State Player of the Year. Wright is also a State Farm Coaches' All-America Team finalist, a State Farm Wade Trophy finalist and a Wooden Award finalist. 



Wright has started and played in every game during her four years with the Cavaliers. She was a State Farm Coaches' All-America Team regional finalist as a junior and sophomore and was the ACC Rookie of the Year her freshman year. She is majoring in sociology. 



Wright will be formally recognized at the WBCA Awards Luncheon presented by State Farm and Jostens at Noon CT on Tuesday, April 6, at the Marriott Rivercenter Grand Ballroom. This event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

Past WBCA Defensive Players of the Year
2009 - Jennifer Risper, Vanderbilt University

2008 - Sylvia Fowles, Louisiana State University

2007 - Lindsey Harding, Duke University

 

Clausen Named a Finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/29/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia men's lacrosse player Ken Clausen has been tabbed as a finalist for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and is one of 10 NCAA men's lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field to be recognized. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 20 candidates who were announced in February.

Clausen, a native of Downington, Pa., is a three-time All-American and has been named to the first-team the past two seasons, after helping UVa to back-to-back Final Four appearances. In 2010, the senior captain is No. 2 in the nation with 2.67 caused turnovers per game and the close defenseman is No. 43 nationally with 3.89 ground balls per game.

Clausen initiated a new fundraiser that swept through the lacrosse nation last fall. During the month of November, he put together a contest titled Mustache Madness to generate funds for prostate cancer research and awareness. The cause helped raise almost $32,000. Clausen captained the Fans of Virginia Lacrosse that won the Mad Stache Trophy for the highest fund raising fans.

Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the 2010 Senior CLASS Award winner at the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore May 29-31.

The 2010 finalists are: Gavin Buckley, St. John's; Ken Clausen, Virginia; Pierce Derkac, Cornell; Jason Duboe, Harvard; Ridge Flick, U.S. Air Force Academy; Andrew Maisano, U.S. Military Academy; Thomas Muldoon, Brown; Max Quinzani, Duke; Scott Rodgers, Notre Dame, and Kyle Wimer, UMBC.

These 10 names will be placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award lacrosse ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding May 17. Fan balloting is available on the award's official web site, click here to vote, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text L2 to 74567 to vote for the Clausen. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient
of the award.

"The sport of lacrosse is gaining popularity in different regions of the country, and these student-athletes that represent the sport are part of that reason," said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. "Their strong commitment to not only the sport but also the integrity of being a student-athlete will help this sport become more widely played throughout the United States."

This marks the fourth year for the men's lacrosse division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Cornell University midfielder Max Seibald received the award for the 2009 season and Syracuse University attackman Mike Leveille took home the 2008 honor. In 2007, Cornell goalkeeper Matt McMonagle won the inaugural men's lacrosse award.

 

Saints’ Imovbioh commits to UVa
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 29, 2010
Updated: March 29, 2010
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Life without Monica Wright, as sad as it may sound for Virginia fans, improved to a degree over the weekend.
Sarah Imovbioh, a 6-foot-2 Nigerian native and a potential five-star prospect, verbally committed to play basketball for the Cavaliers.
A junior at St. Anne’s-Belfield, Imovbioh becomes the first player to join a pivotal class for Virginia coach Debbie Ryan. A 53-point performance by Imovbioh in the VISAA Division I semifinals earlier this month in a 64-60 loss by the Saints landed the standout on the national radar.
Luckily, the Cavaliers locked up the commitment before a host of programs entered the picture to a greater degree.
“Believe me, the door is knocking and people have found out about Sarah,” STAB coach Phil Stinnie.
Imovbioh, in her second year at STAB, came to Central Virginia partly because of a relationship between Stinnie and one of his friends in Nigeria that looks to place potential student-athletes in the United States.
What Stinnie got originally was a work in progress.
“She always had the work ethic, but she was just around the basket making layups,” he recounted. “Now she is putting it on the floor, she makes passes, she makes jumpers and I still have her for another year.
“She is going to be special.”
For the season, Imovbioh averaged 32.2 points and 20 rebounds per game.
It is the rebounding skills that have wowed coaches at the prep level.
With that in mind, Imovbioh knew that working under Virginia assistant coach Wendy Palmer, the school’s all-time leading rebounder, could help her with her long-term plans of playing professionally.
“I think Sarah has done her research,” Stinnie said. “She has found out a lot about Wendy and what her career was like at UVa. She knows that Wendy has had the success on the other level and Sarah hopes that Wendy can get her to that point.”
Imovbioh’s success will not come from a lack of effort, Stinnie said.
“This kid is relentless. Her work ethic is special. She has a toughness and a desire to be the best.”
That was evident in the playoffs during her miraculous outing that included 21 rebounds, five steals and four blocks.
“She dropped 53 out of the 60 points and was mad because she didn’t do more,” Stinnie said. “Every time she grabbed the rebound she scored and if we passed it to her she scored.
“She just scored buckets.”