4/25/02 - Lotta Leg

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

Devin Smith, a 6-foot-5 swingman from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, committed to UVa late Wednesday night.
Smith, who was a national junior college All-American as a freshman this past season at Coffeyville, chose Virginia over Kansas and Iowa. The New Castle, Del., native will be able to play for the Cavaliers next season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Smith returned to Kansas on Tuesday after completing his official visit to Virginia. Apparently, it was his visit to Charlottesville that gave UVa the deciding edge over Kansas and Iowa, both of which Smith had visited in the last two weeks.
“It just felt like it was the best place for me,” said Smith on Wednesday night from his dorm room at Coffeyville. “Everything seemed to be a good fit for me. I liked the players, the coaches and the school.”
Smith averaged nearly 19 points per game this past season for Coffeyville as he and his brother, Steve, led Coffeyville to the NJCAA title game before falling to eventual champion Dixie College of Utah. He was named the freshman of the year of the Jayhawk Conference and shared team MVP honors with his brother.
Smith also connected on 46 percent of his 3-point attempts while grabbing 6.5 rebounds a contest and shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line.
“He’s a real good catch-and-shoot player. He’s just a great all-around player and a great shooter,” said Coffeyville coach Jay Herkelman. “He has the ability to score and find ways to score. … He’s a real good kid and is somebody that any major school would want in its program.”
Smith was the 2001 Delaware player of the year as a standout at William Penn High School but did not receive much attention from Division I programs and later opted to join his brother at Coffeyville.
Smith, however, said he did not view Wednesday’s decision as any sort of delayed redemption.
“I don’t really feel that way. Delaware is a small state and I did not play in all those AAU and summer tournaments,” Smith said. “Going to Coffeyville allowed me to work on my game and become a better player.”
Smith, who had a 3.8 GPA in his first semester, said that while proximity to home and UVa’s academic reputation were certainly factors in his decision, the overriding advantage for UVa coach Pete Gillen and his Cavaliers was that Smith felt a certain niche at UVa that he did not find at the other two schools.
“I just clicked there with the coaches and the players. They were a very close-knit group and much more so than the other schools,” said Smith, who attended UVa’s annual banquet Sunday night as part of his visit. “I thought it was a good place for me to showcase my basketball skills but also just a good place for me in general. When we walked through the campus all students were friendly and were saying what a great place it was.’
Herkelman said that Smith played interchangeably at the small forward or two guard position at Coffeyville and has the skills to play either at the Division I level. That certainly will fill a need for the Cavaliers who could lose guard Roger Mason Jr., the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons, to June’s NBA draft. Mason declared for the draft two weeks ago but has not hired an agent and thus could return to school if he opts to pull his name out of consideration. Smith also becomes just the second natural small forward on UVa’s next roster along with 6-foot-7 Derrick Byars of Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tenn., who signed with Virginia in November.
Smith certainly feels he can help the Cavaliers in either area.
“I would describe myself as a wing player,” said Smith, who actually was a post player during his prep career at William Pen High School. “I can shoot well and I’m good off the dribble. I think those are my strengths as a player.”

When he started Virginia's spring football game with six consecutive field-goal attempts, head coach Al Groh said he wanted to make sure and test redshirt freshman Kurt Smith.

In comparison, the Cavaliers did not attempt a single punt. It wouldn't have made much sense, Groh reasoned, unless he could have pulled one of his February signees out of the stands.

Now that 2001 punter Mike Abrams has signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent and backup Sean Johnson has elected to serve a two-year Mormon mission, recruit Tom Hagan from Cave Spring in Roanoke is virtually guaranteed the starting job.

"Tom Hagan is going into training camp as the starter," Groh said. "That's what he was recruited for. That's been the plan and that's the way it's going to be."

Johnson, who traveled with the Cavaliers this past season as the No.2 punter and place-kicker, plans to return as a sophomore in 2004. He did participate in spring drills.

"I thought it would be good for him and he did, too," Groh said. "He had a chance to be the guy and get a lot of kicks under pressure. He can take some confidence from having done that. This [mission] is a very considered decision on his part and we support it."

Smith was 3-for-6, making the last two from 38 and 41 yards. He later missed a 41-yarder during the main scrimmage.

"He's got a lot of leg," Groh said. "That's not an issue. It's just confidence, consistency [and] accuracy."

If Roger Mason Jr. decides to keep his name in the NBA draft, his departure shouldn't so painful for the University of Virginia. Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen has added a first-team junior-college All-American for 2002-03.

Devin Smith, a freshman at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, chose Virginia over Kansas and Iowa. He visited all three schools recently - he was in Charlottesville early this week - and committed to U.Va. yesterday.

Gillen did "a nice job of explaining to Devin his importance to the program," Coffeyville coach Jay Herkelman said last night. "Devin had a definite feeling that there was a real need for him."

Smith, from New Castle, Del., is a 6-5, 215-pound swingman who's likely to contend for a starting job at small forward or, if Mason bolts, shooting guard in 2002-03. He averaged 20 points and 6.5 rebounds, shot 46 percent from 3-point range and made 108 treys this season for Coffeyville, which finished 36-2 after losing in the championship game of the NJCAA tournament.

In 2000-01, Smith led William Penn High to a state title and was named Delaware player of the year. But he played inside and attracted little interest from Division I schools, despite having qualified academically.

"I didn't really have anything," Smith recalled last night, so he opted to spend a year at Coffeyville, where his brother Steve was enrolled.

Steve Smith, a Coffeyville sophomore, is headed back East, too. He'll attend Iona. - Jeff White

RETURN TO FORM: Its men's basketball team, which was expected to contribute significantly, failed to make the NCAA tournament and thus contributed no points to the University of Virginia's effort in the Sears Directors' Cup race. Nonetheless, U.Va.'s bid to rejoin the nation's elite in this all-sports competition is going well.

Heading into the spring, U.Va. ranked No. 14 among Division I schools. Schools are awarded points based on how their teams fare in NCAA championships. Before 2000-01, when it fell to 30th, Virginia had never finished worse than 22nd in the Sears Cup race. Its best finish came in 1998-99, when it placed eighth.

Among the U.Va. teams that have earned Sears Cup points this school year are men's swimming (61), women's soccer (60), women's swimming (59), women's cross country (59) and wrestling (38). This spring, both of Virginia's lacrosse teams could contend for NCAA titles.

HOLDING ITS BREATH: U.Va. is one of three schools awaiting a decision from basketball star Devin Smith, a first-team junior-college All-American as a freshman at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas this season. The others are Kansas and Iowa.

Smith visited all three schools in a span of about 12 days recently, ending with Virginia. He attended U.Va.'s awards banquet Sunday night and then spent the next two days on campus. A 6-5 wing from New Castle, Del., Smith met NCAA academic standards coming out of high school and has three years of eligibility left starting in 2002-03.

REUNITED: Tommy Herrion is putting together his staff at the College of Charleston, and it's likely to include Mark Byington, who spent two seasons as a graduate student manager at Virginia. Herrion, a U.Va. assistant for the past four years, took over as Charleston's coach this month. Byington, who's from Salem, played at UNC Wilmington. He left Virginia last year to become an assistant coach at Hargrave Military Academy.

LOCAL INTEREST: Some 100 high school football players attended Virginia's spring game last weekend, including several juniors from the Richmond area. That group included Benedictine defensive back Vern Hamilton, Hermitage wideout Fontel Mines, Hermitage lineman Duane Brown and L.C. Bird lineman Patrick Powell. Hamilton made the All-Metro first team in 2001, but he's also a Division I prospect in basketball and may concentrate on that sport in college.

WAIT AND SEE: Football coach Al Groh believed the Cavaliers' spring drills went well, but he's realistic, too.

"I don't think you can announce improvement after 15 days against yourselves," Groh said. "When you're improved against the competition, you're improved. Until you're improved against actual competition, you're just working at it. So I think that's where we are."

Virginia finished 5-7 last season, its first under Groh.

WELL-DESERVED: The leader of Groh's defense, inside linebacker Angelo Crowell, wasn't surprised to see outside linebacker Raymond Mann and cornerback Art Thomas singled out this spring. Mann and Thomas, rising juniors, shared the Rock Weir Most Improved Player Award on defense.

"It was obvious every day in practice they were going hard," said Crowell, who made a school-record 144 tackles in 2001. "There was no question about it that they were definitely the most improved players. They stood out every day."

NOT HARDY ENOUGH: Rising junior Jamaine Winborne, who started six games at cornerback last season, replaced rising sophomore Jermaine Hardy on the first-team defense about 10 days before the end of spring practice. Hardy, a rising sophomore who was slowed by injuries in 2001, has battled hamstring problems recently.

"He's playing pretty well, he's made good strides this spring," Groh said, "but he missed time last fall, and he was missing a little time there with his hamstring thing, and it was discussed with him, 'We got to be able to count on you, every Saturday.'

"Durability - being able to count on him being out there every Saturday - that's part of the equation.

RARE BREED: Virginia senior Mark Koontz, the ACC men's lacrosse player of the year, is the first defenseman to win that award since North Carolina's Alex Martin in 1992. He's also only the fourth defenseman in conference history to be named all-ACC three times.

The ACC rookie of the year, U.Va. attackman Joe Yevoli, is bidding to become the first freshman to lead the conference in goals since Duke's Dave Hagler in 1978. Only three ACC players have scored more than 20 goals this season, and all are Cavaliers: Yevoli (29), freshman attackman John Christmas (23) and junior midfielder A.J. Shannon (21). - Jeff White

Arena says he's happy with veteran roster
U.S. soccer coach opted for mental toughness over youthful speed, strength

Three and a half years, 73 players and 57 games after he took over after the debacle that was the 1998 World Cup for the U.S., Coach Bruce Arena said he's confident that the roster he named on Monday - which includes 10 players over 30 and seven who will be making their third trip to a finals - is the right one.

"We've selected the 23 players who we believe will give us the best chance of success at the World Cup," said Arena, who called the process of naming his team "exhaustive."

Arena's selections seemed to focus on players with mental toughness, with good "chemistry," rather than youth, speed and physical strength.

The U.S. may never be considered an upper-tier soccer nation, but the American team is still one of only seven that will be playing in its fourth straight World Cup finals when the quadrennial tournament begins on May 31 in Japan and South Korea.

Arena was nearly a month ahead of schedule when he announced his provisional roster for the finals. It was an effort to begin final preparation for a challenging opening round in which the Americans will meet Group D opponents Portugal, Poland and South Korea.

In addition to three required goalkeepers, Arena named eight defenders, eight midfielders and four strikers to the team that is made up of 12 players based in the U.S. and 11 who are with European teams. Ten alternates were also named. FIFA, soccer's world-governing body, stipulates that all 32 nations participating in the World Cup must submit final rosters by May 20.

Arena has reached a comfort level with the U.S. team after a roller-coaster qualification run and 11 hit-or-miss friendlies. He drew from a pool of about 40 players, and he will convene his team in Cary on May 1 for a 10-day training camp before playing three final exhibitions.

"There were many difficult decisions to be made in selecting this roster," Arena said. "We now turn our attention to getting this group physically and mentally prepared for the challenges of the World Cup.

"We took very little into account in regards to the qualities of Portugal, Korea and Poland. We took into account our own team. The areas we think we have strengths in and weaknesses in, and we tried to make up some of those voids in the final selection."

Arena said that there was no reason to look back at the last-place finish for the U.S. at the 1998 finals.

"We're going to make believe it (1998) never happened," Arena said. "I think they guys have proven in the last three and a half years that they are a better team.

"Right now, we're looking to gain some cohesion and sort out our first 11. We want to play well and move forward as a team, and I think the training camp and the three friendlies we have will give us the confidence we need on June 5 when we open against Portugal."

The top two teams from the four-team group will advance to the second round.

The starting U.S. team is likely to be defenders David Regis, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope and Tony Sanneh with John O'Brien, Claudio Reyna, Chris Armas and Earnie Stewart in midfield supporting the strike partnership of Brian McBride and Clint Mathis.

Mathis is the only field player who has performed with any offensive consistency this year, scoring five goals in eight matches.

The aging U.S. defense has played erratically against quality opposition this year, and the midfield corps has also been suspect when it comes to running interference. Injuries to key players such as team captain Reyna and O'Brien and target forward McBride raise questions about whether those players, who have such critical roles on the team, can be counted on for the finals.

"We need to be better as a team on the defensive end of the field," Arena said. "We have to do a better job of getting our back four sorted out and getting our midfield in shape.

"Lastly, besides doing a better job attacking and defending restarts, we need to be better going forward and being a little bit more dangerous. These are things I think we are capable of getting better in the next month. We have capable people in every position, and I firmly believe that spending some time together we will get better in the areas."

One of the biggest questions is who will start in goal. Arena must decide between Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel, both making their third trips to the finals. Tony Meola, also selected for his third finals, was the third choice.

"They're both very good goalkeepers," Arena said. "They are comparable in some ways.

"I need to watch the remaining games they are playing in the (English) Premiership, and look at them a little bit in camp before I make a decision. It's one of those decisions that is both easy and difficult. One keeper will be happy, and the other will, unfortunately, be disappointed. That's all part of it."

The challenge to get out of a tough first-round bracket is a steep one for the U.S. team, which will be one of the oldest in the tournament.

Midfielders Reyna, Stewart and Cobi Jones and forward Joe-Max Moore will also be making their World Cup trips.

The number of senior members on the team doesn't faze Arena, who balanced the team with 11 players who will make their finals debut, including midfielders DaMarcus Beasley, 19, and Landon Donovan, 20.

"We need to understand that we're still a developing country in terms of soccer," Arena said.

"Our players start at an older age. Hopefully, the previous experience will be a factor.

"That's a reason they are a part of this. We think they'll help us get through a difficult stretch."