Roanoke Catholic star says
he's undecided about where he will play next year
Reynolds
considers move to Oak Hill
By ROBERT ANDERSON
THE ROANOKE TIMES
Who's got J.R. ... the sequel.
For the second straight spring, reports of a possible transfer by Roanoke Catholic basketball star J.R. Reynolds to Oak Hill Academy have surfaced.
Friday, the University of Virginia recruit was asked whether he will transfer or return to Catholic for his senior season.
"I don't know yet," Reynolds said. "I don't rule anything out."
Reynolds, a 6-foot-3 combination guard who led Catholic to its third straight Virginia Independent Schools Division II state championship and recently played on a United States junior team in Germany, is regarded as Timesland's top underclassman.
Reynolds, who has started at Catholic since the eighth grade, strongly considered a transfer to Oak Hill last spring and visited the campus in Grayson County with his mother. He decided against a move after realizing Oak Hill was already stocked with shooting guards.
Oak Hill coach Steve Smith could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday.
Catholic head coach Dick Wall said he would not comment until he hears something definite from his star guard.
Catholic assistant coach Delmar Irving, who has close ties to Reynolds, said he doubts the Catholic star is considering a transfer.
Reynolds, who committed to Virginia last fall, received a visit last week from UVa coach Pete Gillen who was concerned that the departure of assistant coach Tommy Herrion from the Cavaliers' staff might affect the Catholic star's commitment.
Herrion was named the head coach at the College of Charleston.
Reynolds said he has not wavered from his pledge to go to UVa.
"I'm still going," he said. "He just wanted to make sure I knew they were still going to support me since it was Coach Herrion who was the one that recruited me the most."
| JUCO star chooses Virginia |
| Devin Smith, who will have three seasons of Division I eligibility, picks UVa over Kansas and Iowa. |
| By
DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES |
For maybe the first time since an upset of No.3-ranked Duke in late February, there is cause for rejoicing among Virginia men's basketball fans. Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College coach Jay Herkelman confirmed Thursday that first-team junior-college All-American Devin Smith had committed to the Cavaliers and will sign a letter-of-intent today. Smith, who will have three seasons of Division I eligibility, picked Virginia over Kansas and Iowa. He will be the first junior-college transfer to sign with UVa since Stephane Dondon in 1998 and the second since 1993. "I think the people of Kansas might have been surprised to hear about this," Herkelman said, "but I could see where Virginia might interest him. He's from Delaware. He grew up watching the ACC." Smith, who was unavailable for comment, was the Delaware player of the year in 2001. However, at 6-foot-5, he played in the post for William Penn High School in New Castle, Del., and received scant Division I recruiting interest. "We knew how good he was because we had his brother [Steve] playing for us," Herkelman said. "We figured he would get a good scholarship. But, come July, Steve said Devin didn't have much. "I don't know how you could overlook the state player of the year, especially when he played on the state-championship team. It's amazing that the bigger schools could miss on a player of that caliber." As an NCAA qualifier out of high school, Smith knew he could sign with a Division I school after one year, but that was not his plan. "I told him before he came here that he was welcome to leave once he was being recruited at the level he wanted," Herkelman said. "He told me the only way he would leave would be if he was recruited at the high-major level." Virginia was a relatively late entrant in the Smith sweepstakes because the Cavaliers did not have a scholarship until small forward Moe Young transferred in the fall. Then, in late March, it became apparent that second-team All-ACC choice Roger Mason Jr. was investigating his NBA options. Mason announced April 8 that he was making himself available for the NBA Draft. Mason has the option of removing his name from the NBA list, providing he does not sign with an agent, "but that was something they emphasized quite a bit," Herkelman said. UVa needs to replace two other 1,000-point scorers, Chris Williams and Adam Hall, both of them four-year starters. Although he has the bulk, at 210 pounds, to play forward, Smith definitely has the shooting touch to play guard. He made 108 3-pointers this past season (Mason led the Cavaliers with 81) and shot 90 percent from the free-throw line. Smith was the freshman of the year in his conference; the co-MVP of the region tournament with his brother, who will sign today with Iona, and a first-team all-tournament pick at the nationals. On top of that, he had a 3.8 grade-point average in his first semester. "We played against some big men who will be in the NBA," Herkelman said, "and Devin certainly has that potential. If you were putting a team together from scratch, he's [Smith] the one I'd start with." |
Schmidt makes late move in spring
By
DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive
to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Thursdays
So, now we know what Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen has been doing for the last six weeks.
Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College coach Jay Herkelman gives Gillen most of the credit for Virginia's successful recruiting of junior-college All-American Devin Smith.
"I got to know coach Gillen very well over the last month," Herkelman said Thursday. "Virtually all of our contact was with coach Gillen.
"It was coach Gillen who watched us at the nationals. Then, he was out here to see Devin face-to-face. And, I think there was one other time. Believe me, it made an impression.
"Once Virginia saw him, [the Cavaliers] were very aggressive."
The Virginia program is not loaded with McDonald's All-Americans but there have been few players Gillen has pursued since coming to Virginia that he hasn't gotten.
J.J. Redick from Cave Spring High School would be a notable loss, but the Redick recruiting was over almost before it started.
Moe Young did not pan out, but he was not a player the Cavaliers pursued because they didn't get anybody else.
Virginia signed J.C. Mathis in the spring of 2000 after being turned down in the fall by Kyle Cuffe, Terry Sanders and Abdou Diame, but, had Mathis wanted to sign in the fall, I suspect the Cavaliers would have taken him then.
That was a situation similar to what the Cavaliers did this past fall with Derrick Byars, Brandon Bowman, Denham Brown and Amrein Kirkland. Byars got the grant because he was the first to commit, although he emerged as the highest-rated of the bunch.
Gillen's last three recruits -- Byars, current high-school junior J.R. Reynolds from Roanoke and Smith -- should take care of the Cavaliers on the wings until 2005.
I wouldn't have given the Cavaliers much chance of signing Smith. They got in on him late, the entire Coffeyville community must have been pushing Kansas, UVa had just lost assistant Tommy Herrion, then came word that Smith didn't arrive in Charlottesville until the end of the Cavaliers' banquet Sunday; plus, his parents didn't come with him.
So, he left Charlottesville on Tuesday and, just over 24 hours later, the Cavaliers had a commitment. That's why persistence is such a critical part of recruiting.
THE NEXT ORDER of business for Gillen is to fill the vacancy on his staff. Until he does, the Cavaliers have the authorization to send Scott Shepherd on the road for the remainder of the "live" period, which has a week to go.
Presumably, Shepherd remains a candidate for the full-time vacancy, but former Gillen staffer Mike Malone still looms as the frontrunner. Malone is listed as a "coaching associate" with the New York Knicks, where the Don Chaney staff has a somewhat tenuous future after missing the playoffs.
LOST IN THE SHUFFLE at Virginia's spring football game was Brennan Schmidt, a 6-3, 265-pound freshman who started at defensive tackle after likely starter Chris Canty suffered a broken tibia in practice one week earlier.
"Schmidt made a pretty nice move here at the end," head coach Al Groh said. "He's a high-motor player. That's his game. He's not an imposing figure. He doesn't look like Chris Canty [6-7, 282] out there.
"He's not an overpowering player. He's not a speed player. He plays at a high level of competitive intensity. His motor always goes. That's the kind of personality that we're looking to develop on defense.
"He earned [the start] through that. I didn't see quite as much of that full-bore intensity in some of the other candidates at that position. When we come back in August, that will be Canty's job, but we'll still have competition at the other spot.'
Canty is on the right side, but Schmidt could press junior Larry Simmons at left defensive end.
THE ABSENCE OF SOPHOMORE Billy Schweitzer, who was injured, meant that Virginia was down to three quarterbacks for the spring game: Matt Schaub, Marques Hagans and walk-on David DeLaureal. Signee Anthony Martinez will join them in the fall.
"That will give us three guys ready to play in the game, probably," said Groh, unclear as to whether Martinez or Schweitzer would not be ready. "If you lose four, then you wish you had five, but I think you can operate at that level.
"One of the tricky things in college football is to make sure you have enough quality quarterbacks but you're not weighed down with them, too. It's not like, if you have two really good guards, you can use them both.
"[With an extra quarterback], you're using up one of your roster spots for a player who can't get in a game. I'd like to get one really good quarterback per class. I think four or five quarterbacks is enough, but to get that one guy, you recruit two and sometimes you end up with both of them."
UVa signed two quarterbacks in 2000, one of whom, Group A player of the year, Heath Miller, moved to tight end. Miller could return to quarterback in an emergency, or could he?
"I like him just where he is," Groh said.
Northside's Holland gets early plug
By DOUG
DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays
Whenever I get a call from a coach or parent upset that a football player hasn't made the list of the state's top 25 juniors that appears at Christmas, I have a stock answer:
Keep subscribing long enough and eventually I'll get it right.
I'll be rating the same players before the 2002 season and again after the 2002 season, and, when you count the lists that I do for some other publications, I'll be doing the ratings as many as six times.
When I've taken the time to research it, seldom are there more than 17 or 18 players from the original list who make the final list.
(If media watchdog Andrew Joyner is counting, I've now used the word "I" nine times. That's enough for now).
Whatever the exact numbers, the list can and does change substantially. However, most of the fluctuation is at the top of the list.
That's why you can attach some significance to the fact that at least seven of last December's top 15 were at the spring game.
That included the top three of Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall and Matt Welch -- as noted in last week's column. Other visitors included No. 5 Kenny Lewis, a running back from George Washington in Danville; No. 8 Eddie Pinigis, an offensive lineman from Jefferson Forest in Bedford County; No. 12 Phillip Brown, a cornerback from Phoebus in Hampton; and No. 15 Roy Norfleet, Hall's fellow linebacker at Western Branch in Chesapeake.
SO MANY OF the state's top prospects have Tech connections that much of Virginia's success could come elsewhere, as it did last year. Head coach Al Groh let it slip Saturday that 130 prospects were at the Cavaliers' final spring scrimmage.
Some of those were signees, including Roanoke's Tom Hagan, who could have helped matters if he had been allowed to come out of the stands and punt. And, there were a few in-state prospects on hand, including No. 6 Vern Hamilton, a wide receiver from Benedictine in Richmond; No. 14 Christopher Ellis, a defensive end from Bethel in Hampton; and Shannon Lane, a wide receiver from Salem High in Virginia Beach who had the fastest 40-yard time last year among underclassmen at Tech's summer camp.
Several of the top underclassmen in Timesland were at the game, headed by All-Timesland place-kicker John Hedge from Pulaski County. Others included Lord Botetourt defensive end Josh DeMaury and Northside cornerback Mike Campbell.
Northside defensive lineman John Copper was at UVa one week earlier for a practice and may have gone to Tech's spring game, Vikings coach Jim Hickam said. Copper and Campbell are outstanding high-school football players but Northside's best prospect might be a rising junior, 6-4, 242-pound Brandon Holland.
Holland began the year as an interior lineman, then moved to defensive end after an injury to another player. Holland is third in Timesland in the shot put and Hickam estimates his speed in the sub-5.0 category.
GRUNDY OFFENSIVE lineman Albert Childress, whose teammate, Luke Dales, will enroll at Tech as a recruited walk-on, was another of last weekend's visitors to the Tech spring game.
Childress plays offensive and defensive tackle for Grundy and certainly has the size (6 feet 5, 270 pounds) to draw the attention of recruiters. Moreover, Childress has a 90 grade average, although he has not yet taken the Scholastic Assessment Test.
Grundy coach Greg Rowe describes Childress as "country-boy strong," with decent feet (5.2 or 5.3 seconds in the 40). Another Grundy player who has burst on the scene is Justin Hipps, a 5-10, 185-pound tailback who was injured for part of his junior year but returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against Abingdon.
Hipps recently attended the recent Nike camp at the University of North Carolina and came away with the feeling that he would be included on some recruiting lists, Rowe said. Hipps reported that he was keeping up with Adibi, which is no small feat, except that Adibi is a linebacker.
MICKEY SULLIVAN, WHO coaches the high-school team at Fork Union Military Academy, has a group of juniors who have attracted the interest of recruiters, headed by Greg Jacobs, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive lineman who reportedly ran a 4.7 40 at the Nike camp.
Jacobs, originally from Midlothian, is in his third year in the program. An All-Prep League selection, he has a 3.2 grade-point average and has received invitations to the summer camps at West Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Other FUMA prospects include Delton Ashburn, a 6-foot, 181-pound cornerback from Hampton who has run a 10.7 100 meters; John Erik Frederickson, a 6-2, 220-pound tight end and linebacker from North Palm Beach, Fla., and Jason McFarland, a 6-3, 265-pound lineman from Dumfries.
Frederickson's father is former New York Giants running back Tucker Frederickson, the No. 1 pick in the 1965 National Football League draft.
CULPEPER FOOTBALL COACH Lou Sorrentino reports that first-team All-Group AAA linebacker Jeremy Bailey has received a grant-in-aid from Division II Shepherd (W.Va.) College. Bailey, whose two older brothers played for Division III runner-up Bridgewater, was rated the No. 54 senior in Virginia by The Roanoke Times.
Bailey will be playing against his Culpeper teammate, cornerback Frankie Puller, who signed with Shippensburg. Puller was No. 67 on The Roanoke Times list. The best prospects in Culpeper's junior class are 6-3, 190-pound Brenden Greenaway, a punter and place-kicker whose kickoffs yielded 30 touchbacks last year, and 6-foot, 235-pound outside linebacker Mike Scott, who had 15 1/2 sacks in 2001.
BULLETIN: Junior-college All-American Devin Smith had not signed a letter-of-intent as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, but Smith, reached on his way to a news conference, confirmed that he would be signing with Virginia.
Those who love the Pep Band will be upset with the athletic department's plans for next football season.
Those who dislike the Pep Band will offer a collective sigh of relief.
The University's athletic department currently plans to keep the number of Pep Band performances during next fall's football halftime shows to a total of two, said Andrew Rader, associate athletic director for marketing, promotions and licensing. Rader said the Pep Band will be allowed to participate in other football games during pre-game activities.
The athletic department also plans to diversify half-time entertainment next fall. Rader said high school marching bands will not be used as often next year as they were last fall.
Adam Swann, Student Council executive vice president, said he had received complaints from some students against the use of high school marching bands. Swann has been working with the athletic department on the issue of the Pep Band's involvement in football entertainment.
The athletic department is looking at a lot of options for next year, including other college marching bands and professional musicians, he said.
"It's all about providing good entertainment to the fans," he added.
Swann said he and others on Council feel the athletic department should bring a "collegiate" feel to the football games.
But Rader said his focus was on providing quality entertainment to all the thousands of football fans at Scott Stadium, not just college students.
Swann said he and fellow Council members had met with Rader in multiple meetings in order to ensure that student input was heard.
The Pep Band will be allowed to participate in every football game although it normally will be before the game, Rader said. The policy for the upcoming school year differs little from last fall when the Pep Band only was allowed to participate during the half-time performances for the Wake Forest and Virginia Tech games.
He added it is possible the department may change its plans for the Pep Band over the next month.
Student response to the Pep Band always has been mixed. Swann said students seem to either love or hate the group.
He said that Council never took an official stance on either side of the Pep Band issue.
The athletic department also has had problems with the group.
"They continue to play the same songs," Rader said. "We want more diversity."
He said the athletic department will work with the Pep Band to ensure they have a wider selection of songs and that they also try to have a larger number of musicians participating.
Rader said he has been working mainly with Pep Band President Heather Pozun. Pozun did not return phone calls from The Cavalier Daily seeking comment.
Many colleges have large marching bands entertain during halftime, but the athletic department currently has no plans to start a marching band at the University, he added.
Gillen regroups from tough year
"They wanted me because of my Southern background," the Brooklyn, N.Y., native said.
If the Cavaliers' collapse in 2001-02 - they lost 10 of their final 13 games - put their fans in a funk, imagine its effect on the man who runs the program. Gillen hasn't spoken much publicly about Virginia's lost season: in part because he's been busy recruiting, but also, perhaps, because the subject is so painful.
Now, though, six weeks after Virginia lost to South Carolina in the NIT's first round, "I feel 100 percent better," Gillen said. "After every tough experience, something good will happen. I really believe that, though sometimes you've got to look long and hard."
The U.Va. team that takes the court in 2002-03 will look radically different from the one which plummeted from the national rankings and finished 17-12 in Gillen's fourth season. Maybe that's not a bad thing, considering those Wahoos' poor perimeter shooting, shoddy defense and suspect chemistry.
"Change is good," Gillen said. "There's new enthusiasm, new energy."
Gillen's top assistant, Tommy Herrion, was hired this month to coach the College of Charleston, and Alexis Sherard, U.Va.'s director of men's basketball administration, might join his staff there. Candidates to replace Herrion include Mike Malone, who worked for Gillen at Providence and Virginia and now is on the New York Knicks coaching staff.
On the court, U.Va. will have to replace four-year starters Chris Williams and Adam Hall and, possibly, guard Roger Mason Jr., who declared for the NBA draft this month. "We're assuming Roger's going to go pro," Gillen said.
Mason would be the ACC's top returning scorer in 2002-03, and with him, Gillen said, "We could be very special. But I still think we can be very good."
In addition to such notables as senior Travis Watson, the ACC's leading rebounder in 2001-02, and sophomores Keith Jenifer, Elton Brown, Jermaine Harper and Jason Clark, the Cavaliers' roster will include five "newcomers" - the 6-5, 215-pound Smith, a sharpshooting swingman; 6-7 small forward Derrick Byars, a fourth-team Parade All-American from Memphis, Tenn.; 6-10, 250-pound Nick Vander Laan; 6-0 point guard Todd Billet, third-team all-Big East in 2000-01; and 6-2 point guard Majestic Mapp.
Vander Laan and Billet sat out the 2001-02 season after transferring from California and Rutgers, respectively. Mapp, a key reserve in 1999-2000, missed his second straight season while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. Their availability will give Gillen options he didn't have last season. In Vander Laan, Gillen finally has a true center. Billet and Mapp provide talent and depth at a position where Virginia was forced to play Jenifer extensively in 2001-02.
"I think this will be more of a complete team," Gillen said.
The returning players gather at University Hall during the week for pickup games. NCAA rules prohibit Gillen from watching those games, but he's led his players through individual workouts and seen reports on their progress in the weight room and classroom.
"I think our guys have really renewed [their commitment]," Gillen said. "I'm excited about the future."
Penn State's men knock off Virginia
From Staff Reports
Originally published April 28, 2002
The Nittany Lions (8-5) broke the Cavaliers' momentum in the third quarter when Rob Booth scored off an assist from Luke Ogelsby to give them a 10-7 advantage.
Junior Charlie Perry scored the next two goals, both unassisted, as Penn State increased its lead to 12-8 with just 4:30 left in the match.
Penn State kept Virginia (9-3) at bay in the last quarter, allowing only Conor Gill's unassisted goal at 5:23 of the period.
The Cavaliers trailed 3-0 after the first quarter and 8-2 at halftime before they outscored the Nittany Lions 5-1 in the third period. Chris Rotelli scored two of his game-high three goals in that stretch.
Sophomore Rob Bateman converted two Cavaliers turnovers into goals in a second quarter in which the Nittany Lions outscored Virginia 5-2.
Coming to the end of their college careers, senior captains Sean Droogan and Will Driscoll (two goals) each scored in the first period to get Penn State off to a good start.
Virginia, which was coming off a 14-13 loss to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference final last weekend in Durham, N.C., will close its regular season Tuesday against Butler.