4/24/03 - Up In Smoke

Big East is unhappy with ACC’s flirtations
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 23, 2003

Imagine a Tobacco Road that stretched north to Syracuse or Boston, west to Blacksburg, south to Miami.
Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has, and that’s precisely the scenario he is trying to prevent.

In a verbal pre-emptive strike that set off a clash of words and highlighted an atmosphere of mistrust between the region’s two premier conferences, Tranghese last week accused the ACC of poaching, saying the conference has repeatedly made overtures to Big East schools.

Tranghese called the ACC “a bunch of hypocrites” and said during the past two years, the conference made presentations to Miami, Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia Tech.

In response, ACC commissioner John Swofford issued a statement denying the conference has offered membership to any Big East schools. Swofford said expansion remains a topic the conference must consider, however

“With the changing landscape in conference affiliations over the last decade, I think the ACC, or any other league, would be remiss it did not evaluate where things stand and what impact that landscape has,” Swofford said.

The ACC has not expanded since adding Florida State in 1991, but the issue arises every couple of years. Conferences that don’t grow risk losing leverage with TV networks that pay millions for broadcast rights.

Football drives the latest expansion talk.

If the nine-team ACC could add three more teams, it could split into two divisions and stage a conference title game that could generate millions in tickets sales, TV rights, and corporate sponsorships. The 2001 SEC title game cleared more than $12 million after expenses. That revenue was divided among the member schools.

While Swofford said no formal offer has been made, University of Miami athletic director Paul Dee told several Florida newspapers this week that his school has had “conversations” with ACC representatives.

Dee said Miami is happy in the Big East, but is willing to listen.

The Big East’s fear is that Miami’s departure would be the first of several dominoes. If the powerful Hurricanes left the conference, it would be severely weakened, and other schools might consider jumping as well.

Jake Crouthamel, director of athletics at Syracuse, said his school would not consider joining the ACC unless Miami or Boston College joined.

“Then we would have to think about it,” Crouthamel told the Palm Beach Post.

Jim Weaver, director of athletics at Virginia Tech, was out of town Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. Weaver has said his school has not been contacted by the ACC.

The ACC courted Miami in 1999, but the conference’s presidents rejected the idea of expansion. Any new member must be approved by 7 of 9 schools.

Gillen, Sendek figure to feel Williams effect
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Apr 24, 2003
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper@timesdispatch.com

Roy Williams assumed the chair of the Department of Basketball at Dean Smith U. 10 days ago, which means - among other things - that Pete Gillen had an easier job 11 days ago.

That's part of the fallout from North Carolina's luring of Williams from Kansas. Williams might not duplicate Smith's brace of national championships. He probably can't transform Rashad McCants into Mister Rogers overnight. He won't prompt Mike Krzyzewski to break out in a cold sweat.

He will restore order to a fragmented UNC roster. He will woo top-shelf talent to Chapel Hill. He will fashion the Tar Heels into a national-stage player.

He will make life tougher for the competition.

Gillen and Herb Sendek figure to be fitted for the tightest screws. Gillen is the increasingly embattled coach at Virginia. Sendek is the terminally is-that-all-there-is? coach at N.C. State. Both have trouble keeping the customers satisfied. Each has much to fear from an ascendant UNC.

Other ACC bosses are less affected by the new Roy on the block. Krzyzewski has his own monarchy at Duke, co-existed with Smith when both were snaring NCAA championships and won't lose sleep over Williams' presence eight miles down the road. The other Williams, Maryland's Gary, has the security blanket of a national title, plus recruiting pipelines that can withstand the earth tremors generated by Roy Boy's arrival.

Elsewhere, it's pretty much bidness as usual for small-school niche marketing (Wake Forest), football-first wannabes (Florida State, Clemson), and the urban-renewal program two states and one expectation level away (Georgia Tech).

U.Va. and State are different animals. Geographically, they both try to work the same side of the street as the Tar Heels. Spiritually, they're linked by a common vision of UNC as the antichrist. Realistically, they'll be the biggest losers if Williams re-establishes his alma mater as a juggernaut.

Sendek, for instance, has two first-weekend NCAA exits to show for his seven years in Raleigh. He has a nice returning cast for next season but hasn't won many recruiting battles of late. Ergo, he could be steamrolled like a Kansas State if that trend continues and Williams starts stockpiling thoroughbreds as he did in Lawrence.

As for Gillen, he works at a place that's sought to measure itself against UNC for just about forever. But he failed to make a move while the Tar Heels were on the Matt, and now his product is wobbling badly. Somebody has to suffer as Williams steers his squad into the passing lane. Gillen is a leading candidate.

At the very least, don't expect Gillen and Sendek to improve the 7-1 record they boast against UNC the past two seasons. Williams automatically tilts the floor. He's that good, that sharp, that driven, that equipped to pick up the pieces in Chapel Hill - and some of them are very nice pieces - and shape them into a force and foundation for a restoration project.

"It's good, finally, to have a coach - and a great one at that," Sean May observed. "I feel like I have the best coach in the world right now, and he is going to take us some pretty high places."

Williams vowed as much at his introductory press conference when he spoke directly to the players he was inheriting.

"You will work very hard, but you will win," Williams told them.

And at someone else's expense.

Brown will transfer to another academy
Ex-Phoebus player, U.Va. signee hopes to attend Hargrave
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published April 23, 2003

Though he left Fork Union shortly after enrolling, former Phoebus cornerback Philip Brown said he has no problem with the military lifestyle and hopes to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham this fall.

"I didn't have any major problems there," said Brown, who quit FUMA about six weeks after arriving in January. "I don't have any regrets going there. I learned some stuff while I was there, but I just felt I'd be better off going to Hargrave."

Brown, who signed with Virginia in February, said Tuesday he was in the process of filling out the paperwork to enroll at Hargrave. In addition to improving his Scholastic Assessment Test scores, he still needs to earn his high school diploma.

Brown disputed reports that he left Fork Union because of the military environment.

"I took ROTC at Phoebus," he said. "My father's in the military. This isn't my first exposure to it. I know how to shine shoes and make the bed and put on a uniform properly. That's nothing. I don't know why, but since I'm not at Fork Union, everybody's saying I have a problem with the military life. I don't have a problem with that.

"Naturally, I'm not going to like it. If you're not used to something, you're not going to like it. But it's nothing I can't handle. The streets are tougher than Fork Union."

Speaking with reporters on April 7, Virginia coach Al Groh said he was "not unduly" concerned with Brown's departure from Fork Union. Asked if he still expected Brown to enroll at U.Va. in the fall of 2004, as originally planned, Groh said, "I do. He does, too."

Whenever he arrives, Virginia will eagerly take him. Brown was a vital part of Phoebus' back-to-back state championship teams, intercepting six passes and returning four punts for touchdowns as a senior. ESPN's Tom Lemming rated him the nation's 13th-best cornerback. On signing day, Groh called Brown "a shut-down corner."

Brown has spent the past few months at home.

"I've been working out like a horse," he said. "I can barely move my arms this morning."

Athens -- An anonymous phone call to the UGA campus police resulted in the arrests of six Georgia athletes Tuesday and severely altered the outlook of the Bulldogs' football opener against Clemson on Aug. 30.

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The latest 50 Cent hit fills the air of a nearly-empty MCI Center. Twenty-four of the country's top high school seniors share both jokes and jump shots as they warm up for the regional game of the 30th Annual Capital Classic.

Amid the blaring beats and bouncing balls, one player stands out. One player, who drills jumper after jumper from everywhere on the court. One player, whose number 24 Capital Classic jersey hangs free from his lanky frame as he shakes past imaginary defenders. One player, who from the size 13.5 Jordans on his feet up to the blue-and-white striped headband on his head radiates a certain presence, personality and confidence. One player, who is the new face of Virginia basketball. One player whose name is Gary Forbes.

Since he was limited to just 13 minutes of action in the Classic itself, Forbes only was able to hint at what he is capable of doing on the basketball court. In last Thursday's game, he finished with five points, six rebounds and one block. But despite all of his on-court frustration during the game, nothing could erase the ear-to-ear grin from Gary Forbes' face afterwards.

"I don't think [I was able to do what I wanted to do]," Forbes said. "But I guess everyone will see me on ESPN next year."

That is because the 6-foot-6 swingman is expected to play a major role for the Cavaliers next year. He is the jewel of a recruiting class that is ranked 20th by theinsiders.com.

"The fact that I'm an explosive guard and that I can score from anywhere" will help Virginia, Forbes said. "I think that's one of the key things they were missing this year--somebody to take over a game. I think I can come in and do a lot."

Born and bread in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Forbes ranks as ESPN.com's fourth-best shooting guard and 20th best player overall. He committed to the Cavaliers last November, before Virginia stumbled to a 7-9 ACC record and a second round bow-out in the NIT. Regardless of last season's collapse, Forbes has not thought twice of his decision to become a Cavalier.

"I feel that I didn't make a mistake," Forbes said. Virginia "is the place that I am going and I have no regrets on that. I liked the way the family base was, and the guys made me feel at home with coach [Pete] Gillen being from Brooklyn."

A relative unknown before last summer, Forbes became the target of several ACC schools after a stellar summer performance. He then narrowed his choice to Virginia and Georgia Tech before making his decision to come to Charlottesville.

"At Virginia, they wanted me to play a '2,'" Forbes told the Roanoke Times when he made his decision in the fall. "Georgia Tech was looking at me as a '3.' It was a determining factor as far as playing time and stuff like that."

Not that someone could expect Forbes to be limited to one position. He played all five positions at some point this season for Banneker Academy. The all-time scoring leader at Banneker, Forbes averaged 27 points and 13 rebounds this season en route to garnering first-team All-New York City honors and also being named a McDonald's All-American finalist.

Forbes has the ability to play outside, as is evident from the NBA-range three-pointer he hit in the Classic, or to take it strong to the hole, as he did over Kentucky-bound forward Sheray Thomas for his other field goal.

"Forbes is a talent," recruiting analyst Dave Telep told CNNSI.com. "His perimeter game is good, and he's a smooth player."

At his size, Forbes' ability to score from anywhere on the court makes him tough to defend. He is a great rebounding guard, but "hard-nosed defense is what separates him from the other wings," according to goldenhoops.com. Prepstars calls him "one of the most polished wings in the senior class," and Forbes also possesses the ability to play point guard, which has been a troubled position for the Cavaliers.

"I expect to play the point some next year," Forbes said. "Coach Gillen wants sometimes to go big, and I'm able to do that. That is a big factor that I bring to the program."

Forbes' Blue team lost in the regional game of Capital Classic, 108-86, in large part to the efforts of another point guard, regional game MVP and Georgetown-bound Matt Causey. The Lilburn, Ga. native paced his victorious squad with 13 points, eight assists and a behind-the-back move in the open court that made his defender, guard Nick Grant, fall to the MCI Center floor.

Although Forbes is a city kid from the heart of Brooklyn and Causey is a down-home country boy, the two have become fast friends via the AAU circuit.

"He was on my 3-on-3 team at Nike Camp over the summer, [and] he's a great player," Causey said."I met him for the first time last year at an AAU tournament.He's really good."

It was in those camps that the silky-smooth Forbes really made a name for himself, vaulting his way up the recruiting charts with consistent strong performances.

"I had to go out against the top players in the nation playing in the Nike circuit," Forbes said. "I love playing against competition--that's when I step my game up the most."

Before the camps, Forbes wasn't even in many recruiting services' top 100s, in large part to his perceived struggles as a perimeter shooter. But he displayed a deep shooting range and an improved stroke at the Nike camps that complemented his ability to get to the basket with his athleticism, making him a target of many elite programs.

Forbes' stepped-up play has earned him national recognition and quite possibly the role of savior at a fledgling Virginia program. But Forbes is quick to acknowledge where it all begins.The roots of his game--everything from the aggressive glass cleaning and stutter-step drives to the hole to the bravado and the headband--trace back to home: the playgrounds of Brooklyn.

"When you're in the parks, people are talking smack to you," Forbes said. "You hear a lot of things that you've never heard in your life, so I'm used to that. It's tough playing in New York. It's going to be same playing in New York as it is at Duke."

But before any bouts with the Cameron Crazies or the Blue Devils, Forbes' first fight will be in Charlottesville on behalf of his beloved headband, as Gillen maintains a team rule against headbands.

"I think Coach Gillen might have to change that. I can't play without a headband. I'll talk to Coach Gillen when I get down there," Forbes said, the wide grin still adorning his face.

Forbes will be one of at least four incoming Cavalier freshmen in the fall, joined by combo guard J.R. Reynolds, point guard T.J. Bannister and southpaw forward Donte Minter. A fifth and final piece could be Philadelphia native Jason Cain, a 6-foot-9 athletic forward who is deciding between Virginia and Villanova.

It could be "kind of like the Fab Five with five freshmen coming in next year," Forbes said. "The program was kind of half-and-half this year, but next year I think we will do a lot better and make it to the NCAA tournament. I'm pretty confident of that."

It is exactly that confidence that exudes from Forbes' lanky 6-foot-6 frame. With a Riverside Church AAU gym bag on his back and a white Jordan-brand bucket cap on his head, his class ring and a cross hang from the neck of the new face of Virginia basketball. In Forbes, the Cavaliers have an identity--a cornerstone to build around. With his smooth actions on the court and his charismatic personality off it, Forbes has the potential to lead the Virginia program back to national prominence.