Cavaliers in running to land junior college swingman

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

Virginia remains one of the finalists for 6-foot-5 swingman Devin Smith of Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
Smith, a freshman, who averaged 20.0 points per game and 6.5 rebounds contest for national runner-up Coffeyville this past season, is also considering Illinois, Kansas and Iowa.
According to Coffeyville coach Jay Herkelman, UVa coach Pete Gillen was in Coffeyville on Wednesday as most of Smith’s suitors were at the campus this week to meet with Smith, a native of New Castle, Del.
Smith is in the process of planning official visits to the four schools and he is likely to visit Charlottesville later this month, according to Herkelman. At this moment, there is no particular preference in schools, Herkelman said.
“I can’t say he’s leaning one way or another right now,” said Herkelman, who noted that Smith had a 3.8 GPA in his first semester and is on pace for a similar GPA this semester. “He jokes that he knows that he’ll be on TV a lot whichever place he goes.”
Smith, who was named the Delaware player of the year in 2001 while at William Penn High School, had little recruiting attention from any Division I programs last spring. He subsequently chose last summer to join his brother, Steve, at Coffeyville where Steve had just completed a freshman season in which he was named the Jayhawk Conference’s rookie of the year.
The younger Smith also was named the Jayhawk Conference’s rookie of the year this past season in addition to being selected as his team’s MVP.
“He is a real good player. He’s a great shooter and one of the best catch-and-shoot guys I have ever coached,” Herkelman said. “He was a post player in high school because he was the tallest on his team but when he got here, he wanted to concentrate on the perimeter because he knew that was the position he was best suited for in college. We gave him the opportunity to play on the wing and he really excelled there.”

Hoop dreams. Two Virginia men’s basketball players, senior Chris Williams and Adam Hall, will attempt to impress NBA scouts at this weekend’s Portsmouth Invitational.
Williams, a forward, finished his Virginia career in the top 10 in school history in several categories including scoring and rebounding. Williams will play on the MD Designs team, which also includes Hampton guard and MEAC player of the year Tommy Adams, Missouri’s Clarence Gilbert, Aaron McGhee from national semifinalist Oklahoma and former FUMA standout and California center Solomon Hughes.
Hall, a swingman whose senior season at UVa was slowed by a foot injury, will be on the Portsmouth Sports Club team. His teammates include North Carolina’s Jason Capel, Iowa’s Reggie Evans, Oregon center Chris Christofferson and Southern Cal’s David Blumenthal.
The event is an annual showcase for college seniors with professional basketball aspirations. The tournament runs through Saturday at Portsmouth’s Churchland High School.

Top class. UVa women’s soccer coach Steve Swanson, whose recruiting class last year was rated one of the nation’s best, has signed another strong class this spring.
Among the eight-player class are five members from the U.S. U-19 National pool for this year. Soccer America magazine already has ranked the class No. 3 in the nation.
“I’m biased but I feel that we have one of the nation’s stronger classes, and it’s similar to last year’s class in that it’s a very deep group that will help us offensively with some of our departures,” said Swanson, referring to two-time ACC player of the year Lori Lindsey, who was selected by San Diego of the WUSA in January.
Leading those eight players is National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association player of the year Kristen Weiss. Weiss, from Brecksville, Ohio, led Walsh Jesuit High School to two consecutive state championships and totaled 138 goals and 80 assists, for a career total of 356 points. She is also a two-time Parade All-American.
The Cavaliers also have received commitments from Kelly Hammond, Noelle Keselica and Julie Napolitano, who all play for the reigning National Club Champion Bethesda Fury in Maryland. In addition, all three players are or have been part of the U-19 National Pool.
The remaining signees are: Nikki Lieb of Radnor, Penn., Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year; Sarah Huffman, a midfielder from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas; Kara Frederick and Carrie Uffelman, both members of the Northern Virginia-based PWSI Sparklers Club team.
“I think recruiting is a huge part of coaching. Any college coach will tell you that it’s part and parcel to being a successful program,” Swanson said. “The success of a program can come through a recruiting class. But you are not just looking for talent, but rather players that will be a good fit for your program, and I think that these players are good fits for our program.”

Gill’s only goal: Winning games

By JOHN GALINSKY
Daily Progress staff writer

He hasn’t scored a goal in nearly a month. He has more penalties (5) than goals (3) this season. His role in the Virginia men’s lacrosse offense has been diminished.
So Conor Gill is frustrated, right? Upset? Angry?
Hardly.
“Honestly, Conor is the coolest cat on the block,” UVa coach Dom Starsia said.
Indeed, none of the Cavaliers — least of all Gill — seem bothered that the two-time All-American attackman has not scored a goal in his past four games. Gill entered his senior season with 63 goals. But since scoring his third of the season against Princeton with 12:14 left in the second quarter on March 9, he has gone 282 minutes and 14 seconds without putting the ball in the back of the net.
In the meantime, freshmen attackmen John Christmas and Joe Yevoli have emerged as scoring machines. They have combined for 36 goals. The first midfield unit of Chris Rotelli, A.J. Shannon and Billy Glading has delivered 33 more. Because of their production, Gill has not been asked to carry the offense. The ball winds up in his stick far less frequently than in years past.
But if you think that has put Gill in a funk, forget it. His ego, apparently, is as unbruised as Virginia’s record during his scoring drought. The Cavaliers (6-1) are on a five-game winning streak. They are ranked No. 2 in the country. Their offense is running smoothly. So why whine?
“The way things are going, we’re winning. John and Joe are scoring. We have pretty good matchups every time against their defenders, so we should get them the ball,” said Gill, who once scored five goals in a quarter as a freshman in the NCAA semifinals.
“I really don’t see the ball that much, which is fine. Joe and John are finishing everything. If they weren’t getting the job done, maybe I’d say something. But these guys are doing it every game. There’s nothing to complain about. We’re winning and that’s all that matters. I could really care less about my point total.”
Which, by the way, is pretty good. Gill may not be scoring goals, but he is leading the nation in assists with 19, an average of nearly three per game. His 22 points tie him for second on the team with Yevoli, three behind Christmas.
“People say, ‘What’s wrong with Conor?’ Nothing’s wrong with Conor,” said Starsia, whose team plays at No. 7 North Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m. “We’ve played nothing but tough competition, we’re 6-1 and he’s been our leading scorer until the last game. Conor’s contribution to what’s going on here should not be underestimated.”
In every game, Gill has drawn the opponent’s best defenseman, thus creating easier matchups for Christmas and Yevoli. If future opponents want to reconsider that strategy, Starsia said, “I would dare them to take Conor Gill for granted.”
His teammates recognize Gill’s contributions.
“He wants to help the team in any way possible and he’s so unselfish,” said Christmas, who says he has benefited from Gill’s passes, leadership and calming influence. “He’s a senior, a two-time All-American, and he’s not upset if he doesn’t score. It says a lot about his character.”
Gill has willingly accepted a reduced role in Virginia’s offense to accommodate Christmas and Yevoli. Last year, on most offensive possessions, he had the responsibility of making something happen. He remains the quarterback of the offense, but he primarily acts as a feeder, facilitating ball movement.
For a player with his passing skills — he has 123 career assists — the role suits him well.
“He can play off these other guys and get the ball with a little space and time,” Starsia said. “He didn’t have that luxury last year because he always had the ball in his stick. Now he doesn’t need to be creating offense every time, which is better for him and better for the team.”
Starsia said it may take “a more sophisticated student” of lacrosse to fully appreciate what Gill has done for the Cavaliers. For instance, since all three attackmen are right-handed, Gill often takes the lefty’s traditional spot on the field so that Christmas and Yevoli will not have to use their off hand. In so doing, he is sacrificing his own game to help his teammates succeed.
Whatever his numbers, Gill says he much prefers this season to last one, when the Cavaliers went 7-7 and relied far too heavily on Gill and midfielder Chris Rotelli for offense.
“One of the best things about this team is we’re pretty balanced,” he said. “John can take his man. Joe can take his man. All the middies can score. Defensively, you don’t know where it’s coming from. We’re unpredictable. That’s a huge advantage for us and something we didn’t have last year. Obviously, it’s working for us.”

Notes. Glading, who missed last Saturday’s 11-10 victory at Maryland with a groin injury, is questionable for Saturday’s game. ... Senior attackman Ian Shure, out all season with mononucleosis, returned to practice Thursday but is unlikely to see game action for several weeks, Starsia said. ... The Cavaliers are ranked No. 1 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll.