The Easter Bunny will be among the participants Saturday in the
Cavalier Football Festival. He doesn’t exist, you say? Well, it’s not a real
football game either.
Fun, food and football will all be part of the festivities at Scott Stadium as
Virginia concludes its spring practice period with a fan-friendly afternoon.
The events begin at 11 a.m. in the West Lot with appearances by coach Al Groh,
captains Matt Schaub and Almondo Curry, cheerleaders and mascots, a bluegrass
band and, yes, the Easter Bunny, giving candy to children.
Fans also can munch on barbeque, try on a football uniform, get their picture
taken with a UVa player cut-out and enter drawings for free merchandise and
game tickets, among other interactive events.
The Cavaliers take the field at 12:30 p.m. for several hours of situational
play. There isn’t enough depth, especially on the offensive line, to field two
teams. So the players will practice red-zone and goal-line situations along
with other drills.
There will also be quarterback, field-goal and punt-catch competitions in
which players can win prizes for the fans they represent.
Admission is free.
Code Orange. Redshirt freshman defensive back Stefan Orange has left the
team but remains enrolled in school and may be back for the 2003 season, UVa
coach Al Groh said Wednesday.
“He’s got some personal issues to resolve that he’s currently working on,”
Groh said.
Orange starred at Culpeper High School and was working at both cornerback and
safety before his departure.
Butler did it. Lynchburg native Brad Butler, who missed most of the spring
with mononucleosis, has looked good since returning to practice last Friday,
Groh said.
“If the next three days are like the first three days, then we could say that
for Brad the spring has been salvaged,” Groh said.
The 6-foot-8, 274-pound Butler played in 12 games as a true freshman and
started at right tackle in the Continental Tire Bowl.
Cocky Cavs? At this time last year, expectations were low for the
Cavaliers, who were picked eighth in the ACC but finished tied for second.
Things figure to be different this season with Virginia already showing up in
the preseason top 20 of several publications.
Schaub said there is a danger in becoming complacent or overconfident, but he
says that will not be a problem.
“Last year it was negative stuff that kind of fueled us. This year it’s going
to be positive stuff,” said the quarterback, a rising senior and 2002 ACC
player of the year. “I think it’s up to the veteran guys on the team to not
listen to it. You can hear it and acknowledge it, but still keep those
feelings in check and go out and work hard and win games.
“I don’t see it as being too much of a factor for us, but it’s definitely
something we have to confront.”
Extra points. Right guard Brian Barthelmes, who has been sidelined all spring by an inflammation of blood vessels in his brain, has received “very positive” test results recently, Groh said. He will not participate this spring but Groh hopes he will be cleared to play this summer. … Art Thomas, a backup cornerback last season, has been practicing at both receiver and cornerback. … The Cavaliers will be hosting dozens of prospective recruits Saturday.
A few extra beads of sweat formed upon the foreheads of the ACC’s
collective basketball coaches on Tuesday when Roy Williams clicked his heels
and discovered he wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
Yes, hoops fans, this is your father’s North Carolina basketball program once
again.
The Tar Heels are back, much to the chagrin of Carolina detractors everywhere.
Williams said it best when he talked about his decision to leave a Kansas
program that he had rebuilt to national prominence and returned to Chapel
Hill, his alma mater, to restore UNC basketball to its former status as a
dynasty.
“I was Tar Heel born, and I guess I was Kansas bred,” said Williams, taking
poetic license on the Carolina fight song. “But it looks like now, I’ll be Tar
Heel dead.”
Instant stability
Not only will Williams bring stability to Carolina basketball, but he should
be able to recruit on par with Duke. Don’t you know that Mike Krzyzewski’s
blood began to flow a little faster once he caught wind of the new challenge
from his neighbors seven miles away.
This Carolina threat was hand-picked by Dean Smith himself, unlike the deposed
Matt Doherty, who managed to turn most every Tar Heel who mattered against him
in record time.
It was Smith who stayed in Williams’ New Orleans’ suite until 3 a.m. after
Kansas was denied a national crown once again. You don’t think he was there
only to console his old golfing buddy, Roy, do ya?
So, just what does this mean to the rest of the ACC? This has always been
known as a coaches’ league and that reputation was enhanced with the addition
of Williams.
“North Carolina being down like this isn’t good for college basketball and
it’s not good for the ACC,” former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins told this
columnist last month.
Times, they are a changing
Well, that’s about to change. Were it not for Duke returning the core of its
ACC champion team and the addition of recruits Luol Deng and Kris Humphries,
then Carolina would probably be picked to take the league next year.
With Williams at the helm and potential stars like Raymond Felton, Rashad
McCants, Sean May and Jawad Williams returning, watch out for the Tar Heels.
Krzyzewski, hardened by years at the U.S. Military Academy and an internship
under Bobby Knight, probably didn’t flinch when he heard Williams was
returning (and, by the way, bringing former Florida State head coach Steve
Robinson with him).
Maryland’s Gary Williams, perhaps the most animated coach in America, has been
around long enough not to get shaken up. After all, he coached against K and
Dean.
The league should be tougher next year with those three, followed by the rest.
Wake Forest returns nine of its top 10 players and its coach now that Skip
Prosser has been signed, sealed and delivered to a new deal.
N.C. State lost only one of its top eight players and has been to back-to-back
NCAA tournaments.
Chris Bosh appears to be coming back to Georgia Tech along with most of the
Yellow Jackets, who only need to learn how to win outside the Hotlanta city
limits.
If Virginia coach Pete Gillen wasn’t nervous enough, then adding as Pete calls
it, “another Hall of Fame coach” to the league won’t help.
Gillen loses Travis Watson and transfer Jermaine Harper, but is bringing in as
many as five new faces as the Cavaliers desperately need to return to the NCAA
party next season.
Clemson has reloaded with Oliver Purnell as coach and Leonard Hamilton is
keeping his three cell phones busy as he tries to upgrade the talent at FSU.
All of their jobs just got a little harder.
Most every team managed at least a split with the Tar Heels over the past
three years.
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed ‘em while you could get ‘em. They won’t come as
easy in the future.
UVa sophomore guard Jermaine Harper, the 2001 Central Virginia Player
of the Year while at Blue Ridge School, has opted to transfer.
Harper played in 27 games this season for the Cavaliers, starting twice
including the season-ending loss to St. John’s in the NIT three weeks ago.
Harper played slightly more than 13 minutes per game and averaged 3.9 points.
“I wish Jermaine the best in his future endeavors,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen
in a release by the school.
While his playing time was sporadic this season, Harper did play a role in one
of the season’s bigger wins. Harper drained two 3-pointers in the final
minutes of Virginia’s 86-78 win at Maryland on Feb. 6.
Future playing time, however, was an obvious concern for the 6-foot-3 guard
originally from Gardena, Calif., who prepped at Blue Ridge.
Harper averaged 17.2 minutes a game during his freshman season but that fell
to 13.4 minutes this past season.
That situation was not likely to improve.
The Cavaliers already appear overloaded at the guard positions next season.
Both Todd Billet and Majestic Mapp will return as will 6-5 Devin Smith, who
started at times at the two guard spot late in the season. In addition, three
of UVa’s recruits for next season — T.J. Bannister, J.R. Reynolds and Gary
Forbes — are all guards or potential guards.
While Bannister is a point guard, Reynolds, a 6-2 Roanoke native, and Forbes,
a 6-5 player from Brooklyn, have skills suited for the shooting guard spot.
Forbes also is potentially a small forward.
“I think it came down to a playing time issue. His minutes went down this
season and they have two more guys coming in at his position,” said Blue Ridge
coach Bill Ramsey. “I think Jermaine realized that his sophomore year was the
latest in which he could conceivably do this. He really loves UVa and
Charlottesville but realized this may be in the best interest for him.”
On three different occasions this past season, Harper was suspended by Gillen.
Harper along with Keith Jenifer and Jason Clark were suspended for the game’s
initial preseason exhibition for what Gillen later said were academic-related
reasons. Just a week later, Harper was arrested on a driving under the
influence charge in Albemarle County and was subsequently suspended for “a
violation of team rules” and missed the season’s first five games.
Finally on March 1 prior to a game at Florida State, Harper, Travis Watson and
Elton Brown all served in-game suspensions after arriving late for a team
breakfast.
Harper has not announced what school he plans to transfer but one possibility
is the College of Charleston. Charleston is coached by former UVa assistant
Tommy Herrion, who was involved in the recruitment of Harper before he signed
with the Cavaliers in November 2000.
As a freshman during the 2001-02 season, Harper played in 29 games and started
three. He averaged 5.8 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.
Harper is technically the 11th player in Gillen’s five-year tenure and fifth
in the past two seasons to leave the program with eligibility remaining.
Of the 11, only four of those players (Harper, Jenifer, J.C. Mathis and
Maurice Young) were actually recruited by Gillen. A fifth, Roger Mason Jr.,
left after his junior season for the NBA.
Jenifer, who was indefinitely suspended in February after being involved in an
altercation with another UVa student, asked for and was granted his release
from his scholarship last month and is currently seeking a new school.
Harper was a three-year starter at Blue Ridge and averaged 21.2 points, 5.7
rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals his senior season to earn the Central
Virginia Player of the Year honor.
Note. Jason Cain, a 6-foot-9 forward from John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, who visited UVa this weekend has pared his final suitors to Virginia and Villanova. Cain will likely visit Villanova in the next week or two before making his final decision. Cain averaged 16 points, 11.5 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks for Phill Public League champion Bartram. If Cain were to pick Virginia, he would be the fifth and final scholarship for this class. Harper’s departure Tuesday doesn’t open a scholarship for this particular recruiting class because NCAA rules dictate only five players can be signed in a given class.
U.VA. NOTES
Apr 17, 2003
IN LIMBO: Stefan Orange, a freshman defensive back who redshirted last season,
returned home to Culpeper early this month, and his future at Virginia is
uncertain.
Coach Al Groh said yesterday that Orange, a 2002 graduate of Culpeper High, is
taking a "leave of absence" from football but is still enrolled in classes at
U.Va.
"I think he's got some personal issues to resolve that he's currently working
on," Groh said.
The Cavaliers intended to play the 6-2 184-pounder at both cornerback and safety
this spring, but they "weren't too far into that plan" when Orange left school
and went home, Groh said.
Orange is expected to meet with Groh this week to discuss the situation.
TWO-WAY PLAYER: Rising senior Art Thomas, who spent his first three seasons at
cornerback, has worked some at wideout this spring. But he's also continued to
play cornerback, and Groh said he expects Thomas to see time at both positions
during the season, too.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: Safety Willie Davis started five games as a true
freshman last season, but he hasn't earned an orange jersey this spring.
Starting next to converted cornerback Jermaine Hardy at safety has been Jay
Dorsey, a rising junior from Jacksonville, Fla., who played primarily on special
teams last season.
Dorsey knows there "is a very talented player competing for his position," Groh
said, referring to Davis, and has worked that much harder in response.
"Jay's a hungry player, and he's a smart player," Groh said.
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING: Anthony Poindexter, who was an All-America safety at U.Va.,
is now a graduate assistant at his alma mater. He works primarily with the
receivers.
"He's learning the offense and learning about receivers, too," said one of
Poindexter's pupils, Marques Hagans, a converted quarterback.
"He's kind of going through what I'm going through," Hagans said. "He's always
looked at it from a defensive perspective, and I've always looked at it from a
quarterback's perspective."
OVERLOOKED: Groh's first full recruiting class included Wali Lundy, D'Brickashaw
Ferguson, Darryl Blackstock, Willie Davis and Jason Snelling and garnered
national acclaim on signing day.
The class that entered U.Va. in the summer of 2001 wasn't as large or as touted,
but it already has made a major impact on Groh's program. Many of its members
committed to Virginia when Groh's predecessor, George Welsh, was still in
charge. The class includes Hagans, Hardy, offensive linemen Brian Barthelmes and
Elton Brown, tight ends Patrick Estes and Heath Miller, tailback Alvin Pearman
and defensive end Brennan Schmidt.
"It doesn't do as deep as the class that followed it, but up on the top, there's
some very fine players," Groh said.
WORTHY CAUSE: Nine-year-old Jacob Tyree will receive the U.Va. Children's
Medical Center's Comeback Kid of the Year Award tonight from Groh and local
businessman Phil Wendel in conjunction with the Mac McDonald Invitational Golf
Tournament.
Jason, who lives in Salem, had to have part of his spinal cord removed, an
operation that saved his life but left him paralyzed.
The third annual Mac McDonald Golf Invitational, which benefits the Children's
Medical Center, will be played Monday at the Keswick Club near Charlottesville.
REV IT UP: Team speed wasn't one of the Cavaliers' strengths when Groh took
over, but that's no longer the case, particularly on defense. Players on the
two-deep include Davis, cornerbacks Tony Franklin and Marcus Hamilton and
linebackers Kai Parham, Ahmad Brooks and Blackstock.
"I think this'll be the fastest team on defense that we've had," Groh said. -
Jeff White
U.VA. NOTES
Apr 15, 2003
TOURNEY TIME: The pairings are set for this weekend's ACC men's lacrosse
tournament at the University of Virginia's Klockner Stadium. The tourney returns
to Charlottesville for the first time since 1998.
In Friday's semifinals, No. 1 seed Maryland will meet No. 4 seed Duke at 6 p.m.,
and second-seeded Virginia (7-2 overall) and third-seeded North Carolina will
follow at 8:30 p.m.
The championship game will start Sunday at 3 p.m. at Klockner. U.Va. is seeking
its first ACC tournament title since 2000.
In ACC regular-season play, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland each went 2-1,
and Duke was 0-3. Conference officials held a blind draw yesterday to determine
the tourney's top three seeds.
U.Va. lost 8-7 to Maryland at Klockner on March 29. The Cavaliers beat UNC 10-7
there a week later and won 11-8 at Duke on Saturday.
After the ACC tourney, Virginia finishes its regular season with home games
against Penn State (April 26) and Denver (April 28). The 16-team NCAA tournament
begins May 10.
LATE ADDITION? Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen has one scholarship
left for 2003-04, and he hopes 6-9, 200-pound forward Jason Cain will take it.
An all-city selection from John Bartram High in Philadelphia, Cain visited U.Va.
over the weekend, as did 6-8 Donte Minter of Fork Union Military Academy, who
committed to Virginia last month. The NCAA's spring signing period opens
tomorrow.
Cain returned home Sunday to play in the All-Star Labor Classic at Saint
Joseph's University. He had 10 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocked
shots to help the City beat the Suburbs 107-85.
Bartram graduates include the legendary Earl Monroe and Joe Bryant, father of
one Kobe Bryant. Bartram beat Simon Gratz 64-62 in overtime last month to
capture Philadelphia's Public League title for the first time since 1972.
Cain, who has qualified academically, is expected to choose between Virginia and
Villanova.
ON THE ROAD: Al Groh and his staff held a clinic in Roanoke for high school
football coaches last night. The Cavaliers' coaches have put on similar clinics
in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater this season.
HEALTH UPDATE: Brian Barthelmes, who finished last season as Virginia's starting
left offensive guard, received good news from his doctors. "The most recent
tests on him have been very positive," Groh said. "He started doing some
physical activity Saturday."
Barthelmes has been sidelined this spring with inflammation of blood vessels in
his brain. The rising sophomore won't play Saturday at Scott Stadium in
Virginia's final spring session, but Groh is optimistic that Barthelmes will be
cleared to play by summer.
WATCHING WITH INTEREST: Unbeknownst to Groh, he had a distinguished guest at
Saturday's practice: former NFL defensive tackle Jim Burt, who played for the
New York Giants (1981-88) and the 49ers (1989-91). Both men have strong ties to
former Giants coach Bill Parcells.
Burt was in town for the University of Miami's three-game baseball series with
U.Va. His son, Jim, stars for the Hurricanes.
Groh coached the Giants' linebackers in 1989 and '90 and was their defensive
coordinator in 1991. Burt seemed impressed by what he saw Saturday.
"I'd hire him in a second," Burt said of Groh. "If you're an assistant with
Parcells, you know how to coach." - Jeff White
And The Crystal Ball Says ...
By Chris Wallace
www.orangeandblueillustrated.com
Date: Apr 16, 2003
It would impossible to argue that Virginia's 2002-03 basketball campaign was a
success. In fact, it would be hard to argue that it wasn't an unmitigated
disaster. Additionally, the revolving door continues to spin, with Jermaine
Harper being the latest Cavalier to move on before using up his eligibility.
With players leaving and verbal commitments rolling in from relatively unknown
prospects, the following question has to be asked of Virginia coach Pete Gillen:
Pete, is there a method to this madness?
Harper's decision to transfer, while far from a surprise, means that four
Cavaliers from last year's squad will not be back. Keith Jenifer also opted to
transfer, sort of, and Jason Rogers and Travis Watson have completed their
four-year stays in Charlottesville. Gillen, meanwhile, has four new players in
the fold already, and is hoping to add a fifth. Jason Cain appears to be the
leading contender to fill that slot at this time. Cain, a 6-foot-9 forward from
Philadelphia, took an official visit to Virginia last weekend and will now
decide between UVa and Villanova.
The other newcomers will be Gary Forbes, J.R. Reynolds, Donte Minter and T.J.
Bannister. There is little debate that Forbes and Reynolds are ACC-caliber
players who can come in contribute right away. The jury, however, is still out
on Minter and Bannister, as well as Cain for that matter. Likewise, I would
contend that the jury is still out on several of the returning Cavaliers. Some
of these guys have yet to prove that they can be big-time players in a league
like the ACC. Devin Smith and Derrick Byars have great upside, as does Elton
Brown, although I have little faith that Brown will be any more of a factor than
he's been in his first two seasons. It is unlikely that there will be any huge
changes in the contributions of Todd Billet, Nick Vander Laan and Jason Clark,
while Majestic Mapp remains a question mark because of his knee.
Add it all up and there's basically two approaches to take heading into next
season: the glass half-empty approach or the glass half-full approach.
The pessimists among us will say that Pete can't coach and that guys like
Bannister, Minter and possibly Cain aren't the kind of recruits that you can win
with the ACC. They'll say that Virginia won't have any type of interior game at
all, that the Cavaliers will get destroyed on the glass against top competition
and that the Cavs haven't guarded anybody in five years so why would they start
now. The pessimists can hear Pete using all his newcomers as an excuse after a
loss, and they will say the ACC is going to be loaded and that it's going to be
a long winter in Charlottesville, one followed by a coaching search in the
spring.
The optimists among us will say, hey, we've got a lot of new faces, and a couple
of big-time players coming in -- Forbes and Reynolds -- who can really shoot the
ball. Byars should only have gotten better and Smith will benefit from having
been healthy for the whole season. And Pete has vowed to go back to the up-tempo
style of basketball that has made him a successful head coach. And we got rid of
Jenifer, who was clearly a bad apple and a negative influence on his teammates.
The optimists will be excited about new faces, new blood, a new season. Let's
go, they say.
So, where do you fall? That sad part is that probably 95 percent of us can buy
everything attributed to the optimists and pessimists above. I want to be
optimistic, but it sure is hard. I'm excited about Gary Forbes, but will he be
utilized the right way. Will he get just six minutes in some games as was the
case with Byars last year? Will there be a different starting lineup in every
game? Who's going to rebound or score in the paint? It's hard indeed to stay
positive.
Next year's team will have potential. It's almost a mortal lock that UVa will be
picked to finish eighth in the ACC next year, only ahead of Clemson, who
ironically now has a coach many Virginia fans want to have. I nearly fell out of
my chair when I saw that ESPN's bracket "expert" Joe Lunardi had the Cavaliers
as an NCAA Tourney team. That's pretty bold. But the potential to surprise will
be there. Good players are on hand, but a system will be required. There is also
the potential that this team could end Gillen's tenure in Charlottesville. I
doubt anyone thinks that's a reach at this point.
Only time will tell what exactly will happen with this basketball team. More
surprises are likely on the way, be it with Cain or with the coaching staff. But
I do know this, I'm going to do my best to take the glass half-full approach.
Kansas lodges protest
Roy Williams recruited solid class.
Williams denies luring prospects
By DOUG TUCKER, The Associated Press
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas officials want to stop former basketball coach Roy
Williams from engaging in what could be perceived as a subtle attempt to lure
away two top prospects.
Kansas is not saying Williams has necessarily tampered under NCAA rules,
associate athletics director Janelle Martin explained Wednesday.
Williams, who announced Monday he was leaving the Jayhawks for North Carolina,
denied he was trying to coax anyone into seeking relief from a commitment to
Kansas.
"That's as far from the truth as it could possibly be," he told Kansas City
radio station WHB on Wednesday.
During the early signing period, Williams recruited what many consider one of
the finest incoming freshman classes in the nation. Among the players are Omar
Wilkes, a 6-foot-4 guard from Los Angeles, and David Padgett, a 7-foot high
school All-America from Reno, Nev.
Padgett had narrowed his choices to Kansas and North Carolina but opted for the
Jayhawks because he wanted to play for Williams. In interviews since being hired
by North Carolina, Williams has repeatedly mentioned Wilkes and Padgett.
"I don't think it's fair to David Padgett to be stuck out there now and yet, in
that national letter of intent that they do have to sign, they put in bolt
print, 'You are signing with the school, not the coach,' " Williams told ESPN on
Tuesday. "But that doesn't make it right."
Williams also said he thought there should be "a window of opportunity" for
Padgett to seek his release from Kansas.
Kansas is not saying Williams' has necessarily tampered under NCAA rules, Martin
said. For one thing, Williams might have spoken before actually signing a
contract with North Carolina, which would be a key technicality.
"Nevertheless, I would think that once you're announced as coach at North
Carolina, you are a representative of North Carolina and you are no longer a
representative of your former institution," Martin said. "When a prospect signs
a letter of intent, which these individuals did, then all other institutions
agree to respect that and cease recruiting that individual.
"You shouldn't be talking to them or trying to recruit them in any manner."
At this point, Kansas has lodged its complaint with North Carolina -- not to the
NCAA. Martin declined to say in what fashion the protest was lodged.
"It was a group of individuals here," she said. "We're satisfied with the
response. I think both North Carolina and Kansas understand what rule is at
issue.
"We'll just see what happens with subsequent interviews."
Pete Padgett has said his son will wait to see who succeeds Williams at Kansas
but is leaving open the possibility of asking the Jayhawks for relief.