Gillen survives, but at a price: His aides are sweating bullets
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 3, 2004

Dangling from tenterhooks is such fun that Pete Gillen wants to share the thrill.

Spared his job this week by the University of Virginia, the Cavaliers’ basketball coach said Friday that everything under his command is officially under review. Himself. His coaches. His players. His recruits. His trainers. His secretaries. Presumably, even the brave dry cleaner who takes in Gillen’s sweat-drenched dress shirts.

“A to Z,’’ Gillen told reporters Friday on the phone from the Final Four in San Antonio. “I’ve got to make some hard decisions.”

Oh, staff changes will be made. Count on that. Perhaps even as a condition of Gillen’s continued employment, although Gillen insisted that “nobody put a gun to my head’’ on the issue.

But taking his cue from his athletic director, Craig Littlepage, who left him hanging for two weeks, Gillen gave no timetable for determining which desks, if any, at University Hall will require cleaning out.

“It’s still too early,” Gillen said. “We’re going to evaluate what’s best for the University of Virginia, short-term and long-term.’’

And so what Gillen called a “draining’’ process, during which he basically interviewed again for a job he’s held six seasons, trickles down.

Sit. Wait. Keep coming to work . . . until we tell you not to.

That’s life in a racket built upon giving bragging rights to the boosters who write big checks, say, for new arenas due to open in two years. Not to mention the fans who buy all those officially licensed T-shirts.

In the ACC, a 104-78 record, one NCAA tournament appearance and a five-year fade from third place to seventh aren’t much purchasing power.

“I’m thrilled to be back,” Gillen said. From his ice floe, no doubt.

“I love the University of Virginia. I want our team to be up at a very, very high championship level. I have a lot of confidence in myself and the players that we’re going to get there.’’

One way or another, Virginia bought Gillen’s sell. As it should have, if it ever again wanted to stick its nose above the bare-knuckle world of college sports.

Fund-raising issues aside, the case for firing Gillen was slim following U.Va.’s uncharacteristically strong finish to an 18-13 mark and an NIT appearance.

It may be that Gillen was forced to make concessions to a contract with seven years and $6 million remaining. We’ll know at some point if he was ordered to shake up his staff.

Certainly Gillen was told, by Littlepage’s painfully protracted silence, that U.Va. basketball is as far from “championship level’’ right now as the university wishes it to be.

“I don’t blame them,’’ Gillen said of being poked and prodded. “This is a business, and they want the business to be as successful as possible.’’

So now what?

The top of the ACC isn’t about to come back to the Cavaliers next season. It will be up to Gillen, who vows that the Cavs will finally be quicker on the court, to lead a full assault through a thicket of teams with better returning better talent.

There are easier chores. There are even more people than that who don’t believe Gillen can do it. No matter. Gillen deserves the season or two he’ll get to tackle both doubts.

“I’m not an ego guy, but I’m confident I can coach with a lot of people,’’ Gillen said. “I’m not gonna make any promises, but we’ve got all the tools to move forward. Now let’s do it.’’

That’s advice the coach should take to heart, for the sake of those who won’t be joining him in the effort.
 

Gillen to review program top to bottom
UVa coach Pete Gillen claims he was never told his job was in jeopardy during the season.
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

Pete Gillen is pleased to report that the April1 announcement of his return as Virginia men's basketball coach was not an April Fool's joke.

"As far as I know, it's all go," Gillen said during a teleconference Friday from San Antonio, Texas, site of the Final Four. "We've got all the tools to go forward. Let's do it."

Gillen held the second of two postseason meetings with athletic director Craig Littlepage on Monday and came away thinking that he might receive word of his return by Tuesday.

"I don't think we knew for sure till Wednesday," Gillen said. "Our attorneys were talking with them, we were talking with them and we wanted to make sure everything was in concert."

Gillen's comments suggested that some negotiations took place, although he has seven years remaining on a $900,000-per-year contract signed before the 2001-02 season. However, he would not say if concessions had been made.

"It's university policy," Gillen said. "I can't talk about it. The university can't, other than compensation levels. All I can say is, it's a long-term contract. We've got a nondisclosure policy. It's not my policy, so I'm not permitted to say anything."

Gillen may have saved his job by winning six of the last 10 games, three over top-10 teams, but he said he was never told that he was in danger. The Cavaliers (18-13) lost five straight games at midseason.

"The previous year we had finished 16-16 and we had some trouble off the court," Gillen said, "so, I knew that the school was concerned. They want to have a great team and a great program, but nobody ever said to me, 'You have to win such and such.'

"The university is committed to success in everything they do, and I don't blame them. It's a business, especially with the new arena coming in [in 2006-07]. I just tried to go day by day."

In a teleconference Thursday, Littlepage said he would leave it to Gillen to explain any changes he might have in mind, but Littlepage didn't want to see "cosmetic" changes.

"We're still in an evaluation process," Gillen said. "Nobody put a gun to my head and said, 'You have to make changes,' but we're going to evaluate everything. I've got to make some hard decisions. I've got to look at myself and everybody A to Z."

Gillen said that all nine of his scholarship underclassmen will return next year, when they will be joined by three recruits, including Tunji Soroye, a 6-foot-10 post player from Montrose Christian Academy in Kensington, Md., who has made an oral commitment but did not sign a binding letter of intent in the fall.

Gillen said that junior forward Devin Smith, one of UVa's two double-figure scorers, already has a surgeon picked out and will undergo surgery for a herniated disk as soon as his academic schedule allows.

"I thought he was our most valuable player," said Gillen, whose team played without Smith in three of its last 10 games, including a 73-63 loss to Villanova in the second round of the NIT.

Third-leading scorer Todd Billet and Majestic Mapp, who played fewer than nine minutes per game, are the only scholarship players who will not return. However, of the 15 players to make first-, second- or third-team All-ACC, 13 are returning.

The Cavaliers tied for seventh in the ACC this year, and the conference should be loaded again.

"Our goals are a lot higher than going to the second round of the NIT," Gillen said. "My goals are. Our team's are. But, I was very proud of our team. We beat three top-15 teams in the last month and beat Clemson for a third time, which isn't easy. Forget their [the Tigers'] record. They beat Boston College by 10, North Carolina and N.C.State.

"I thought we did a good job. Unfortunately, the rules of college basketball are, 'NCAA or nothing.' The tournament's so great. And, our goals are a lot higher than just making the tournament."

Uncertainty over Gillen's future past 2004-05 could creep into recruits' minds.

"That always can happen," said Gillen, who feels rival recruiters "used it against us last year and we had a terrific recruiting year. We have a long contract, we're excited about our team and we have a wonderful product. I'm sure there will be some negatives, honestly, but I think we'll be able to overcome them. I think we'll be fine."

 

Restructured contract hush-hush for Littlepage, Gillen
Keener begins term with great media contacts
By Doug Doughty
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays

Teleconferences by Craig Littlepage and Pete Gillen on back-to-back days have not cleared up any of the intrigue surrounding Gillen’s contract as Virginia men’s basketball coach.

Gillen said Friday that he thought Tuesday that the issue had been resolved but that it was Wednesday before the attorneys worked out the details.

If you’ve got a coach who has seven years remaining on a 10-year contract, what details could there be?

When asked Friday if he had made any concessions, Gillen cited the Freedom of Information Act and said he could not comment in even general terms about his contract.

Littlepage had made similar FOIA references Thursday, which made me laugh because the notion that there is any “freedom of information” is just ridiculous.

Instead of reporters being able to use FOIA as a means of reporting the news, administrators are hiding behind it.

I was told by a reputable source earlier in the week that Gillen’ s contract had been restructured and that, where there once was no buyout, Virginia no longer was liable for the entire annual payout of $900,00 if it chooses to terminate him before the end of his term.

I can’t imagine that agent Dennis Coleman would have proposed such an arrangement, unless the alternative was for Virginia to make a change now, in which Gillen might have decided it was worth the risk.

Gillen had said privately that he wouldn’t pursue the St. John’s job, the big-time vacancy for which he was best-suited, because it might interfere with the aspirations of one-time protege Bobby Gonzalez.

YOU HAVE TO WONDER if ex-North Carolina coach Matt Doherty still felt he had a good chance at the St. John’s job when he took himself out of the running for the James Madison vacancy filled by Georgia Tech assistant Dean Keener.

Keener has great popularity with the Virginia media dating from his two stints as a Virginia Tech assistant and his one-year tour under Sherman Dillard at JMU. It is with some personal sorrow that Keener takes over for Dillard, of whom Keener was so complimentary when he joined Paul Hewitt’s staff at Georgia Tech.

Dillard sat behind the Georgia Tech bench at the ACC Tournament.

It will be interesting for me to see if Keener makes a pitch for friend Robert Lineburg, who has agreed to join new coach Jimmy Tubbs’ staff at SMU after serving as the Mustangs’ interim coach. Keener and Lineburg were once fledgling college coaches together on Bill Foster’s staff at Virginia Tech.

OWING TO NUMEROUS other commitments, this is an abbreviated column. In closing, however, I feel compelled to share the opening lines from the song “Nappy King Blues,” off the CD “Rumble City, LaLa Land” by the Finnish new-wave group 22-Pistepirkko:

“When I was a nappy king
then I was a happy king ...
When I was a nappy king
still was my bellys swing”

They couldn’t be talking about The Roanoke Times’ Randy “Nappy” King, or could they? Isn’t Google.com great?
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Apr 3, 2004

RECRUITING: Football coach Al Groh continues to pile up commitments from high school juniors who plan to sign with Virginia in February.

The Cavaliers' fifth commitment for 2005 is from two-way lineman Will Barker, an 11th-grader at the Haverford School near Philadelphia. Barker stands 6-7 and weighs 275 pounds, but size isn't his only quality, said his coach at Haverford.

"He can run," Robert Allman said yesterday. "I think that was the one thing [the U.Va. coaches] were so highly impressed with: that he's so athletic. . . . He's got very good feet, and he's a hitter."

Barker, who also plays lacrosse at Haverford, unofficially visited U.Va. last weekend and met with Groh and his assistants.

"Will said to me, 'Coach, this is what I want,'" Allman said. "I think he was even more impressed with Al Groh: his background, his commitment to U.Va., his style."

Virginia was the first school to offer a scholarship to Barker.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: In Groh's first stint as a college head coach, from 1981 to'86 at Wake Forest, high school players rarely committed before their senior years. When he returned to the college ranks in December 2000 after more than a decade in the NFL, Groh found that recruiting had changed.

"That is certainly something that I did become acquainted with that was different from 15 years ago," he said. "But as our operation becomes more and more mature, with each year we're able to start the evaluation process earlier. We knew of some of those [11th-graders who have committed to U.Va.] when they were freshmen."

FRATERNITY BROTHERS: The coaches at U.Va. who face the most public scrutiny are, without question, Groh and Pete Gillen. The school announced Thursday that Gillen will return as men's basketball coach in 2004-05.

"I'm very happy for Pete," Groh said yesterday. "I was over to see him last week, and I told him I hoped this would be the case."

ON THE MEND: Only one defensive back on Virginia's roster has more than six career starts, and he's coming off reconstructive knee surgery. Not to worry, safety Jermaine Hardy said.

"I'm right on schedule," said Hardy, a rising senior who played virtually of all last season with a torn ACL in his right knee. "I'm going to start jogging next week."

Hardy had his ACL repaired in early January. Doctors told him that if his rehabilitation continues on schedule, Hardy will be ready for U.Va.'s Sept. 4 opener at Temple.

"It feels great," he said of his knee. "I can do some of the normal things on it I used to be able to do."

In addition to rehabbing, Hardy is tutoring first-time safety Marquis Weeks, a converted tailback.

"He's like a baby," Hardy said. "He doesn't know anything about the defense, so he's starting from scratch."

BARBER SHOP 2: Weeks isn't the only member of U.Va.'s secondary to have chopped off his long hair recently. Cornerback Tony Franklin followed suit this week.

"I got tired of taking care of it," said Franklin, who got a few head rubs at practice Wednesday night.

Franklin, a rising sophomore, started the Cavaliers' final six games last season, but he was wearing a blue jersey Wednesday. An orange jersey identifies its wearer as a starting defender, but only a handful of players were in orange this week.

"It'll be there eventually," said Franklin, who's been working with the first team. "I'm not worried about it. It'll make me work harder."

APPRENTICESHIP: Former U.Va. running back Tyree Foreman has joined Bobby Ross' coaching staff at Army as a graduate assistant. Foreman's position coach at Virginia in 2001 was Kevin Ross, Army's new offensive coordinator.

Groh sounded yesterday like a guy who plans to follow Foreman's coaching career closely.

"I'm glad for him," Groh said of Foreman, "and it might be another good thing for us. Looks like they'll be training a coach for the future for us."

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Groh and his staff are holding a clinic for high school coaches this weekend at U.Va. Guest speakers are Hylton High coach Lou Sorrentino, Heritage High (Lynchburg) coach Chris Jones, New Orleans Saints assistant Jack Henry and former Virginia and NFL standout Herman Moore. - Jeff White
 

Fans are Duke's foes
By NED BARNETT, Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO -- It's fitting that this Final Four brings Duke to the Alamodome, a huge arena not far from the small mission where another famous group found themselves greatly outnumbered.
Duke, too, is feeling besieged, but not by Connecticut, its NCAA Tournament semifinals opponent tonight. It's the army of fans from elsewhere -- from anywhere -- who will pull for Duke to lose.

There are various reasons. Some fans are weary of Duke's success. Others perceive the Blue Devils as less-than-gracious winners who enjoy too much positive national coverage. Many ardently insist that Duke's image, especially the courtside glare of its Hall of Fame coach, Mike Krzyzewski, influences game officials in Duke's favor.

Whatever the reasons, the effect is plain. In the city that inspired "Remember The Alamo," the new rallying cry is "Anybody But Duke."

Krzyzewski is aware of the growing sentiment, but he is trying to keep it from being a distraction as Duke seeks its fourth national title.

"It doesn't bother me. I have to try to make sure it doesn't bother our team," he said.

This year, there seems to be more at work than boredom with Duke's 10th Final Foul appearance under Krzyzewski or an American affection for the underdog. Krzyzewski, in an interview with author John Feinstein for The Washington Post, said the sentiment has developed a sharper edge.

"These [Duke players] face a kind of hatred that college kids shouldn't face," Krzyzewski said. "It's one thing to root for your team to win. It's another thing to root for a favorite to lose. It's gone way beyond that with us."

It has gone so far, Krzyzewski said, because Duke has gone so far.

"In anything, when people do it well over a period of time, some people don't like that. We can't do anything about that," he said. "The only thing we can do is lose. We may do that, but we won't try to do that. [That anti-Duke attitude] comes with the territory, and we've been in this territory for a long time."

Phil Martelli, whose Saint Joseph's team enjoyed the opposite of the anti-Duke phenomenon -- an outpouring of popular support -- attributes opposition to Duke to human nature.

"It's pure jealousy," he said. "When you win too much, people don't like it. They like to knock Superman, so to speak."

Art Heyman, the 1963 national player of the year who led Duke to its first Final Four, owns a New York City bar where half his customers delight in rooting against his alma mater. It's the price of winning, he said.

"Nobody hated Duke during Mike's first three years because they lost. Everybody liked Duke," Heyman said.

That logic irritates those who think Duke has a smugness or arrogance that provokes dislike.

"Any time anybody raises what I feel are legitimate points against Duke, all you ever hear from them is. 'They're jealous because we win,' " said Bill Inglis, a Maryland alumnus from Westminster, Md. "Florida State dominates the ACC in football, but there is no huge animus toward Florida State on the part of other ACC fans."

Stephen DiTullio, a 30-year-old Maryland grad who lives in New York City, contributes to the Web site truthaboutduke.com. The site seeks to offset what its creators consider fawning national coverage -- and a lack of media interest in negative news about Duke.

DiTullio's feeling grows out of Maryland's often frustrating history with Duke, but he feels he's part of a broader anti-Duke movement. Duke, he thinks, gets too much positive coverage from ESPN's Dick Vitale and other national announcers. He said Duke's Chris Duhon is praised on television for playing with an injury, but Georgia Tech's B.J. Elder gets little notice for doing the same.

Anti-Dukers get especially irritated by media praise of Duke's integrity. They have an oft-repeated list of examples that they say show Duke has had its share of problems, too.

While at Duke, former center Casey Sanders was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female and later agreed to undergo an assessment for mental health and domestic violence issues. Other Duke players have been in court on minor charges. Former player Corey Maggette received payments from an AAU coach, although the NCAA exonerated Duke on Thursday, concluding that the university didn't know about the payments.

"It's not that different than a lot of other places, but 'squeaky clean' is the adjective you hear with that program. It's a double standard," said Inglis.

Duke, however, is known as a program where players mostly stay out of trouble and graduate at a higher rate than at most other major programs.

Jay Bilas, a Duke player from 1982-86 and now an analyst for ESPN, said he remembers praise for Duke's integrity when he played, and it also drew comments from newspaper columnists who said Duke couldn't be so pure.

"Taking a shot at somebody because they do the right thing seemed silly to me then, and it seems silly to me now," he said.

That so many don't want Duke to win another national championship is a quirk of the national character, said Richard Keefe, a Duke sports psychologist who admits that "even my 9-year-old says, 'I want them to lose. They win all the time.' "

"I think it's an American thing to want variety," Keefe said, "to knock down the person or the team that's currently royalty."

Feinstein, a Duke graduate, said the feeling against the program ratcheted up after it won the 2001 national title by beating Maryland in the semifinals and Arizona in the championship game. Fans of both schools thought Duke benefited from favorable treatment from officials.

"When Maryland blew the 22-point lead, it had to be somebody's fault. It couldn't be their players' fault," Feinstein said. "Duke went away with a reputation that it gets all the calls."

Bilas dismisses the claims of favoritism.

"If it's a gross generalization -- 'Look at how they get all the calls' -- I don't have any patience with that," he said. "I think that's a loser's argument."

But it is an argument Krzyzewski himself made when North Carolina and Dean Smith dominated the ACC. And it's a complaint that St. Joe's coach Martelli said can be justified.

"I believe your standing does have influence with referees. It think that's true in every league," he said. "People in the Atlantic 10 would say the refereeing for Temple [with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney] is different than refereeing for St. Bonaventure."

While Duke's high profile generates critics, it also generates admirers.

Mark Fairbairn, 46, of Tulsa, Okla., was wearing the orange of Oklahoma State while he watched Duke work out Friday. He hopes his Cowboys meet the Blue Devils in Monday's final. He wants OSU to beat the biggest name in the game.

"Krzyzewski has built a dynasty. He probably is easy to hate. It's easy to hate a winner," he said. "But I have a lot of respect for him."

That may change if the Cowboys lose.
 

Gillen happy to get chance to continue
Virginia basketball coach says team has tools to do 'some excellent things'
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 3, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - On the phone from San Antonio, Pete Gillen sounded happy and relieved yesterday, and with good reason. About 24 hours earlier, the University of Virginia had announced Gillen would return as men's basketball coach in 2004-05.

"I love the University of Virginia," Gillen said on a teleconference with reporters. "I love coaching, and I'm getting paid for something I love to do. I'm more disappointed than anybody" that the program hasn't done better in recent years.

Gillen, who's attending the Final Four, said he wasn't certain until "maybe Wednesday" that he'd be retained. It took that long, Gillen said, for his attorney and U.Va. officials to make "sure everything was in concert."

Seven years remain on a contract that pays Gillen, 56, about $900,000 annually. A source told The Times-Dispatch on Thursday that Gillen had agreed to significantly reduce the amount U.Va. would need to buy out his contract, a concession that helped him keep his job.

Asked yesterday if his contract had been changed, Gillen cited privacy laws and said, "All I can say is we have a long-term contract."

The Cavaliers' sixth season under Gillen ended March 20 with a loss to Villanova in the NIT's second round. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage hadn't completed his evaluation of the basketball program by then, though, and a decision wasn't forthcoming for nearly two more weeks.

"It was draining," Gillen said of the experience, "but once again the school was evaluating everything, like they evaluate any part of the university. I respect that they want to have a great program . . . I think we'll be better off for this review and this analysis of the program."

Virginia finished 18-13 this season. The Cavaliers advanced to the NIT for the third straight season and fourth time in five years. Their only NCAA tournament appearance under Gillen came in 2000-01.

"We want to do a lot more than playing in the NIT," said Gillen, whose record at Virginia is 104-78, including a 3-11 mark in postseason.

"I want our team to be up very, very high, at a championship level. We want to do some excellent things here, and I think we have the tools to do it."

His staff may change before next season, Gillen said, but nothing has been decided. He acknowledged that he has to make "some hard decisions."

"We're still in the evaluation process," Gillen said. "We're evaluating everything: myself, our staff, our strength coach, our secretaries, our returning players, the players coming in."

No one from U.Va. ever told him his job was in jeopardy, Gillen said, but no one had to. He knew heading into the season that a repeat of 2002-03, a 16-16 campaign marred by a late-season collapse and off-the-court problems involving U.Va. players, would be disastrous for him.

"I was concerned," Gillen said, "but I just went day by day and tried to be myopic and coach the team."

The Cavaliers, who started two freshmen, won six of their final 10 games, a surge that probably saved Gillen's job. Three of those victories came over teams ranked in the top 15.

"I really loved coaching these guys this year," Gillen said. "They were a treat. I thought this team had the best chemistry of any we've had here."

Asked if he had to sell himself in his meetings with U.Va. officials, Gillen said, "I think the school wanted to know how I felt about the university, how I felt about myself, our team. I said, 'I'm not an ego guy, but I have a lot of confidence in myself.'"

Virginia started only one senior in 2003-04, guard Todd Billet (9.9 ppg). Its three recruits for 2004-05 include touted point guard Sean Singletary, the player of the year in Philadelphia.
 

Gillen says he's drained, but committed
Virginia's basketball coach, his job safe for the moment, looks toward building a better product.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
Published April 3, 2004

His track record includes 378 wins over 19 seasons and a reputation for doing things the right way. Yet until three days ago, Pete Gillen found himself in limbo.

Would he be allowed to return for his seventh season as Virginia's basketball coach? Or would he, two months before his 57th birthday, be looking to catch on elsewhere? The answer came Wednesday, when U.Va. athletic director Craig Littlepage finally told Gillen his job was safe.

For now, at least.

Speaking with reporters for the first time since the Cavaliers' season ended on March 20, Gillen described the past two weeks as "draining." But he also said he understood why the process was necessary.

"The school is evaluating everything, like they evaluate any part of the university," Gillen said Friday from San Antonio, site of the Final Four and the annual coaches' convention. "I respect that they want to have a great program. Virginia is the No. 1 public university in the country along with Cal-Berkeley, and they want to be great in everything.

"They're committed to excellence in everything, and I think we'll be better off for this review and this analysis of our program. They wouldn't be spending $130 million for a new arena (set to open in 2006) if they didn't want to have a super basketball team. I think I can help them, along with the staff and the great products we have at the university, to get there."

Gillen declined to talk about any concessions he might have agreed to, just as Littlepage did a day earlier in speaking with reporters. He wouldn't comment on reports that his contract, which expires after the 2011 season and is worth $900,000 annually, will be restructured. Nor would he address changes he might be considering within his coaching staff.

"We're evaluating everything," Gillen said. "We're evaluating the players in our program, the recruits coming in, the recruits we've got to have for the following year, our staff, myself, our strength coach, our trainer - we're looking at everything."

The administration took a long look at Gillen. Littlepage told the coach he would be retained 11 days after the season's final game. The two met three times in that span to discuss the program and its direction. Although he knew what was at stake, Gillen said he didn't feel the need to sell himself.

"I think the school wanted to know how I felt about the university, how I felt about myself and our team," he said. "I'm not a ego guy, but I have a lot of confidence in myself. I think I can coach with a lot of people. We've got Hall of Fame coaches in this league. I'm certainly nowhere near. I'm not even an 'H' in the Hall of Fame. But without trying to brag or anything, I feel I can coach with a lot of people."

Gillen won't dispute that the program has slipped since 2001, when the Cavs won 20 games and made the NCAA tournament. Over the past three seasons, Virginia has averaged 17 wins, gone 19-29 in the ACC, appeared in the NIT each year and seen a steady drop in attendance. The 2002-03 season was particularly trying for Gillen because two players were arrested on misdemeanor charges and he had to discipline his senior captain.

Gillen's six seasons at U.Va. have produced 104 victories and five postseason appearances. But four of those have come in the NIT, which Gillen acknowledges is not the program's goal. And although this year's team won six of its last 10 games to finish with an 18-13 record, Gillen understood he wasn't off the hook.

"Without sounding self-serving, I think we were a little bit a victim of our own early success," he said. "We were 9-7 in (both) our second and third years in the conference, and that hadn't been done since Ralph Sampson. I think expectations went off the charts, and we haven't met them. So we have to redirect it."

Virginia returns nine of its top 10 scorers and has three freshmen coming in next season who figure to make an immediate impact. That's the good news for Gillen.

The bad news is that 21 of the top 25 scorers in the ACC are underclassmen. This is a league with two Final Four teams, and each starts one senior. Making a climb up the standings won't be easy.

Gillen's recruiting class for next season is complete, so when coaches go on the road next week he and his staff will be focusing on next year. One thing they can count on is rival recruiters using the phrase "lame duck" whenever Virginia is mentioned.

"They used it against us last year, but I think we had a terrific recruiting year," he said. "I'm sure there will be some negatives, but we have a long-term contract. We're excited about our team, and we have a wonderful product. There will be some negatives from other recruiters, but I think we'll be able to overcome them."

Cavs aim to upend No. 1 - again
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 3, 2004

Another week, another meeting with a No. 1 team.

For the No. 10 Virginia men’s lacrosse team, playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules means that each and every week a prominent opponent could be on the horizon. Even so, playing on back-to-back weekends against the No. 1 team in the country is a unique situation.

After defeating then-No. 1 Johns Hopkins 9-8 in overtime last Saturday, the Cavaliers will journey to face No. 1 Maryland today in College Park.

“It’s an interesting situation. How often do you play the top team in the country two weekends in a row?” UVa coach Dom Starsia said.

The answer to that is never. Today’s game marks the first time that Virginia ever has played the No. 1 team in consecutive games.

Of course, rankings have always been almost irrelevant in this rivalry.

In the 33 meetings between the teams since 1983, the lower ranked team has won 15 times. Add in the familiarity between the two teams - the squads have played at least twice a year for six of the past seven seasons - and it’s clear that rankings will not be the dominant ingredient in today’s game.

“There is a certain level of familiarity with Maryland that is almost incestuous in nature. I think we know each other well. We played each other twice last year and can sometimes play each other as many as three times in a season. The kids all know each other and to be honest with you, this is always our most physical and hard-fought game of the year,” Starsia said.

Alas, perhaps the rankings have just a tad of influence in today’s game.

“Certainly playing Maryland in this situation right now, it hasn’t been hard to get our players’ attention this week,” Starsia said.

With the victory over Johns Hopkins, Virginia has won two in a row after a 1-4 start. While momentum is an obvious factor for the Cavaliers at the moment, Starsia said last week’s victory may have provided a little more than just that.

“I think it gave us a chance to catch our breath a little bit. We have been consistently better since the start of the season and we’ve been emphasizing that in practice every day. Still, you need to produce a positive result in a meaningful game once in a while and convince kids you are heading in the right direction,” Starsia said. “For our guys, it was just a little shot of confidence that we could do it.”

A specific sign of improvement for the Cavaliers has been the improved play of their young midfield. The trio of Kyle Dixon, Matt Poskay and Foster Gilbert combined for five of the nine goals against Hopkins, with Gilbert scoring the game-winner in overtime.

“I think the midfield is starting to come on. I thought we would get better as the season went on. It’s not necessarily a straight-line shot, but our sophomore middies scored five of the nine goals last week,” Starsia said. “It’s taken a while. We’ve moved Foster around a bit and it’s taken a while to see how all the pieces are going to fit but we feel we are heading in the right direction.”
 

UVa picks up another recruit
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 3, 2004

The more Virginia’s football coaches saw of Pennsylvania product Will Barker, the more they liked. So, when the opportunity came to broach an early commitment, the Cavaliers weren’t reluctant to do so and have added their fifth member of the recruiting class of 2005.

Barker is a versatile, 6-foot-7, 275-pound, two-way standout for coach Robert Allman of Haverford School in Haverford, Pa., The rising high school senior committed to UVa upon his most recent unofficial visit to Charlottesville last weekend.

“He’s athletic and can run,” Allman said. “He’s very raw and young, but he’s solid. He’s a good weightroom player and he also plays lacrosse.”

No wonder the Cavaliers liked the athletic Barker, who is somewhat reminiscent of former Wahoo standout defensive end Patrick Kerney, who came to UVa to play on a lacrosse scholarship. Kerney, who was a NFL first-round draft pick, currently plays for the Atlanta Falcons.

“Virginia was one of his top schools because the family wanted him to go to a strong Division I-A school and they were looking in the South,” Allman said. “He had a family connection to UVa and so when he and his family made a trip there, they were really impressed.”

Meanwhile Allman had sent some game film to Virginia’s staff. The film whetted UVa’s interest as the coaches asked for more.

“Once they saw him in person I think they were licking their chops,” Allman said. “The film confirmed all you want to know about him.”

Barker played offensive tackle and defensive end for Haverford, where he will be team captain this coming season. Allman believes Barker could play either spot for the Cavaliers.

“As an offensive lineman, he can drive block you ... can de-cleat you,” Allman said. “Defensively, he’s a rush guy in our scheme and could play defensive end in Virginia’s scheme. He’s going to overpower and intimidate people.”

Technically, the coach said that his product has great feet, one of the first thing college coaches look for in a prospect. Otherwise, coaches liked his size, athletic ability and his character.

“He’s just so coachable and he’s a great student,” Allman said. “He’s strong but he’ll get a lot sronger this summer. Once he gets older and grows into his body, Virginia will take that to the next level. He has tremendous potential.”

UVa assistant coach Bob Price, who has mined several players out of Pennsylvania, was the lead recruiter.

Several schools were recruiting Barker, including Penn State, Michigan State, North Carolina and others. However, Allman said Virginia was smart to make the first offer.

“I told Will that he will probably end up getting a lot more offers now that he has committed, but I don’t think anything will change ... I think he will stand by his commitment to Virginia,” Allman said.

Barker joins Kempsville’s Jason Fuller (defensive end/tight end), Gretna quarterback Vicqual Hall, wide receiver Maurice Covington of Durham, N.C., and Northern Virginia tight end Alex Field as UVa’s early commitments.
 

Punting job up for grabs
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 3, 2004

When Tom Hagan made the decision two weeks ago to concentrate solely on baseball at Virginia, it made the race to be the next Cavalier punter wide open.
One of the newest members of the team - Kurt Korte - hopes the opening is a sign of good things to come.
Korte, a transfer from William & Mary, has been practicing with returning sophomore Noah Greenbaum at the position this spring.
While Hagan’s departure opens the door for a starting position, the addition of the Virginia Beach native was not a surprise to the Virginia coaching staff.
“He had been in touch with us well before Tom Hagan decided not to re-up,” Groh said. “He was on our list as an interesting candidate to start the spring and this just gives him that much more
opportunity.”
Korte is not the first member of his family to play for Groh, who said “his dad was a member of the freshman team that I coached here.”
Despite practicing for just a week, the UVa football program has made an impression on Korte.
“The team really seems a lot more together here,” said Korte, who played at Cox High. “The coach-player relationships seem to be a lot better here and, not to say anything against William & Mary because it was a great program, but this team seems a little tighter and everybody seems close.
“I had players come up and introduce themselves the first day I was here. I don’t think I really saw that at William & Mary,” said Korte.
While at William & Mary, Korte played in four games as a freshman and connected on a 28-yard field goal in the Tribe’s spring game in 2002.

Finding a mentor. When the coaching staff told sophomore Shannon Lane that he was switching to the secondary, he was in shock. But he took the switch in stride and quickly found a teacher - Tony Franklin.
“[Franklin] is like my tutor. Everyday if I have a question, I just go to him and ask him,” said Lane. “He knows it all. He started last year and he basically knows the defense play by play.”
Lane knows that with his athletic ability and versatility, he could work himself into the lineup at various positions.
“I am trying to be that fill-in player. I was not expecting to move to DB but maybe I can help the team on the defensive side of the ball,” said Lane. “Coach [Groh] told me to be that step-in player this year and that is what I am doing. I trying to learn the role and take a spot on the field and be that role player.”

Getting an early jump on things. Coach Groh and his staff got its fifth commitment for the 2005 class from Will Barker of The Haverford School in Pennsylvania.
With five verbal commitments already this season, Groh knows that getting an early start on the process is just a part of the recruiting picture.
“That is something that I did become acquainted with that was different from 15 years or so ago,” said Groh on Friday. “That was one [difference] that was quickly brought to my attention. Our operation becomes more and more … I use the word ‘mature.’ With each year, we are able to start the evaluation process earlier.
“Now we have been around here long enough to trace back that we knew of some of these players when they were freshman and follow their progress and then at the appropriate time do the actual evaluation. I think that the [time at Virginia] has certainly enabled us to expedite the process.”

Chalk up a win for the offense. On Wednesday, the offense and the defense went toe-to-toe in a goalline situation at the end of practice. The offense scored on five of the eight plays to get the win and quickly sent the two sides into a playful battle of words.
“They had a lot of fun with it the other day,” said Groh. “We make it competitive. We keep score. It is worth a lot to your unit to win and there is a little price to pay if your unit doesn’t win.”
The actual price for losing was a series of post-practice sprints for the members of the defensive unit.
With the drill comes a certain degree of politicking from the coaches from both sides of the ball including running backs coach Anthony Poindexter.
Groh added: “There is a lot of lobbying going on.”

Open practice. The team, which practices next to University Hall, will have a practice on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. that will be free and open to the public.
 

Relieved, but focused on UVa's future
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 3, 2004

It was somewhat fitting that Pete Gillen held Friday’s teleconference with state media from San Antonio, home of the Alamo.

After all, Gillen had been under siege for the past several months until Wednesday when Virginia informed him that he would be retained as the school’s basketball coach.

While Gillen acknowledged Friday how pleased he was to return, there wasn’t any earth-shattering news about what he plans to do with his basketball program. He said that he plans to conduct a thorough evaluation of everything from himself and his assistants on down to his secretaries once he returns from the Final Four.

Most of all, it was just a big sigh of relief that the pressure of last season and his future is finally off his back. Or is it?

Support by all

Obviously some movers and shakers who support Virginia’s program and a certain segment of fandom were not happy with Littlepage’s decision. Others are willing to take a wait-and-see approach.

It’s not an issue that’s going to go away any time soon and Littlepage knows that well.

“Any time you’re in this type of situation, there’s a concern about that,” Littlepage said. “My job, along with Pete and other office staff who deal with donors and alums is to have everybody pull together, even those who might disagree with the process.

“The people who still love our program and the university, they all want success. Ultimately it’s what we share in common, what we feel about the university and the program that matters,” Littlepage said. “We want Pete to have success and we want championship caliber basketball.”

Leader of the pack

Gillen believes that will happen and he believes he is the person to make it happen.

“I feel great about the decision,” Gillen said. “I love UVa. I love coaching and getting paid for something I want to do. I’m more disappointed than anybody that we didn’t do better. I want to have a great team.”

The coach said that he believes the new recruits combined with most of his current team returning will take a step in that direction.

“I think we’re much closer to where we want to be,” Gillen said. “At Xavier and at Providence we were built on quickness. I coached three lottery picks at those places. Improving our talent level will get us where we want to go.”

This past season, plagued by an unproven point guard and the uncertainty of whether one of the team’s best players (junior Devin Smith) could suit up from game to game because of back problems, hampered the team’s success. Gillen is hoping offseason surgery will resolve Smith’s health and that Virginia will boast not one, but two, quality point guards next season with the addition of incoming recruit Sean Singletary along with current freshman T.J. Bannister.

He believes that fans will rally around the team just as they did down the stretch this

past season when they began knocking off top 15 opponents such as Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and North Carolina.

“I think our fans love our team, the enthusiasm of Gary Forbes, the way J.R. Reynolds became an ACC All-Rookie team member, T.J. Bannister’s guts against Georgia Tech’s Jarret Jack, Jason Cain’s potential and Donte Minter’s potential,” Gillen said. “I think they noticed the quality of the individual on and off the court was better.”

Gillen declined to talk about whether his contract was restructured, although his agent was spotted in San Antonio this week. All the coach would say is that he has a long-term contract.

As to whether there will be staff changes or not, he said it is something that will be part of his evaluation.

But there’s no doubt in Pete’s mind that he loves being at UVa. This is where he wants to retire. His son is a sophomore at the school and he wants to lead the Cavaliers to glory in spite of what detractors think of his ability to do so.

“I’m not an ego guy but I do have a lot of confidence in myself,” Gillen said. “We have hall of fame coaches in this league ... I’m not even an ‘H’ in the hall of fame. But I think I can coach with a lot of people. Our players believed they could beat anybody.”

Littlepage said Thursday that he didn’t want changes in Gillen’s program to be merely cosmetic and Gillen said that means he must make some hard decisions on everything.

But the hardest decision of all has already been made and that was the one by Littlepage.
 

Gillen confident in program's direction
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 3, 2004

Virginia men’s basketball coach Pete Gillen admitted Friday that the last two months were difficult as his job status was bounced around as often as basketballs on the University Hall court.

Yet, with a what-doesn’t-kill-you-makes-you-stronger spin on things, Gillen said the exhaustive review of his program by UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage and other school officials may ultimately become a positive thing in many ways.

“Virginia is committed to excellence in everything and I think we will be better off for this review and analysis of our team and program,” Gillen said Friday from San Antonio were he’s attending coaches’ meetings in conjunction with the Final Four.

Littlepage announced Thursday that after months of speculation and a near two-week review process that Gillen would return next season as Virginia’s coach. Gillen, 104-78 in his six seasons in Charlottesville, has seven years remaining on his contract that pays him approximately $900,000 per season.

Littlepage said Thursday that meetings with Gillen since the season ended with a loss to Villanova in the second round of the NIT were productive. He said that Gillen showed the proper vision for the direction of the program in those discussions.

Gillen elaborated on that a little Friday.

“I think the school wanted to know how I felt about the university. I was myself. I’m not an ego guy but I have a lot of confidence in myself. I feel I can coach with a lot of people and I think our players think we can play with anyone,” said Gillen, who admitted to several discussions with Littlepage and another unspecified member of UVa’s administration over the past two weeks. “I think they wanted to make sure I had belief in our players, belief in our school and belief in myself. … I wouldn’t say it was a pitch to them. It was to reinforce to what I feel, what I believe and what I think we can do.”

Sources have indicated that Gillen’s return was predicated on several changes, including possible alterations to the program. Littlepage touched on that Thursday in broad terms saying that any changes should not merely be “cosmetic.”

Gillen addressed such items in a little more detail, saying that he would examine everything the program does in A-to-Z fashion.

“We’re still in an evaluation process and we’ll evaluate everything. We’re evaluating the players in our program, the recruits coming in, the recruits for the next year, our staff, myself, our strength coach. We’re evaluating everything. We’re looking at everything to make it better,” Gillen said. “Nobody put a gun to my head and said we have to make changes but we’re going to evaluate everything and do what’s best for the University of Virginia. … We haven’t come to those specific conclusions yet.”

Among the potential changes, a source said, was a restructuring of Gillen’s contract so that a buyout clause was included. Littlepage declined to address that Thursday citing privacy laws and Gillen did the same Friday.

“It’s university policy for me not to talk about it. The university can’t talk about it except in terms of a compensation level. I can’t say if there have been any changes. It’s a non-disclosure policy and I’m not permitted to say anything,” Gillen said.

Gillen was also asked Friday if there were any plans for changes to his coaching staff, whose roles have been shuffled over the past two seasons.

“We haven’t determined if there will be any changes to the staff. … We’re going to evaluate what’s best for the University of Virginia and decide what’s best for our team short term and long term,” Gillen said. “Again, we have to look at everything and maybe make some hard decisions. I have to look at myself and all the way down to the strength coach. Virginia is great in everything it does and we want to have a great basketball team.”

Gillen’s team finished its season 18-13 and advanced to the postseason for the fifth straight time. The Cavs concluded its season with six wins in their last 10 games, including three wins over top 15 teams. One of those teams - Georgia Tech - is playing today in the Final Four.

“Our goals are certainly a lot higher than going to the second round of the NIT. Still, I was very proud of the team. I was proud that we beat three top 15 teams in the last month of the season. We improved during the season and hopefully we will keep improving. I think we will,” Gillen said.

Many of the Virginia players had tried to ignore much of the growing criticism and speculation surrounding Gillen in the season’s final weeks. On Friday, junior center Elton Brown expressed relief in the decision that Gillen was returning.

“For me personally, and I think for the team as well, I’m happy he’s coming back. He’s a good coach. This season, we definitely started playing a lot better when we started listening to him and to what he was telling us,” Brown said. “For the most part, we were just ignoring everything about it because all we can do is go out and play. That’s what we had to do as players. Next year, we will have a good team but we still have to go out and play hard and play well as a team.”