DePaul coach may top Cavs' list
Dave Leitao has emerged as a leading candidate, but Virginia hasn't given up on Kentucky's Tubby Smith.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published April 6, 2005

University of Virginia president John Casteen and athletic director Craig Littlepage returned home from a long weekend at the Final Four in St. Louis. And as the Cavaliers' search for a head basketball coach enters its fourth week, it's time to bring the candidates to town.

The first name on that list could be DePaul's Dave Leitao.

According to sources familiar with the search, Leitao is due in Charlottesville as early as today to tour the campus and meet with key administrators. Leitao could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and neither Littlepage nor Casteen returned messages.

A spokesman at DePaul said that as of Tuesday morning, no U.Va. official had contacted Blue Demons athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto for permission to speak with Leitao. The spokesman said Leitao is scheduled to fly out of town this morning on a recruiting trip.

Leitao, 44, just completed his third season as head coach at DePaul, where he has compiled a 58-33 record. He was an assistant coach under Jim Calhoun at Connecticut from 1986-94, a tenure that overlapped Casteen's time (1985-90) as UConn's president.

A potential roadblock: Leitao's contract.

Leitao signed a six-year extension last fall after leading the Blue Demons to their first NCAA tournament appearance in four years. Because DePaul is a private school, it is not obligated to reveal the terms. According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, buying out the remaining five years of Leitao's deal could cost "as much as $3 million."

Though Leitao has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Pete Gillen, who resigned under pressure March 14, Virginia apparently has not given up on Kentucky coach Tubby Smith.

According to Scott Stricklin, an assistant athletic director for media relations, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart confirmed he spoke with Littlepage over the weekend.

But Barnhart would not say whether Littlepage asked for permission to speak with Smith.

In his last public comment on speculation linking him to the Virginia job, Smith said he expected to fulfill his contract at Kentucky, which runs through the 2010-11 season.

Another possible candidate is South Carolina coach Dave Odom, who on Monday denied a published report that he had been offered the job. Odom addressed his players Tuesday night in a previously scheduled meeting but did not conclusively say whether he was interested in the position.

USC athletic director Mike McGee said Tuesday night that Littlepage has not requested permission to speak with Odom.

 

Sources: Leitao visiting UVa
By Jerry Ratcliffe and Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writers
April 6, 2005

DePaul coach Dave Leitao will tour the University of Virginia and its facilities and meet with school president John T. Casteen III today according to sources close to the coaching search.

Another source also told The Daily Progress that Leitao has a recruiting trip to Kansas planned for this morning. With commercial flights scheduled from Kansas’ major airports to Charlottesville throughout the day or chartered flights, it is possible for Leitao to recruit this morning before arriving in Charlottesville.

The 43-year-old coach has directed the Chicago private school’s program for the past three seasons, compiling a 58-34 record, including one appearance in the NCAA Tournament (second round 2003-04) and two trips to the NIT.

A former associate head coach at the University of Connecticut to Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, Leitao has built a reputation as a solid coach with a strong academic background.

Virginia has been without a coach since March 14 when Pete Gillen stepped down after seven seasons.

Sources said that Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage met with Leitao during the Final Four weekend in St. Louis, and convinced him to come to Charlottesville to meet with Casteen and take a closer look at the Cavaliers’ program and the current facilities, including the new John Paul Jones Arena, which will open in the summer of 2006.

Leitao’s Blue Demons were 20-11 this past season and fell to Texas A&M in the second round of the NIT. Last season, Leitao’s Blue Demons went

22-10 and fell to eventual champion UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Leitao interviewed for the open vacancy at St. John’s last spring before former Kansas assistant Norm Roberts ultimately was named coach there. Last fall, Leitao signed a six-year contract extension with DePaul and the Chicago Sun-Times has reported that the buyout of the deal could be as much as $3 million. Several sources, however, feel that figure may very well be inflated. As a private institution, DePaul does not have to disclose specifics of its employee’s contracts.

DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto has not returned several messages from The Daily Progress in recent days inquiring if permission has indeed been granted to Virginia to speak with Leitao.

Casteen and Leitao have an obvious connection. Casteen was the president of the University of Connecticut when Calhoun was hired there after a successful stint at Northeastern. Leitao, who played for Calhoun at Northeastern, was an assistant on Calhoun’s original staff at UConn.

Leitao remained an assistant under Calhoun until 1994 when he left to become head coach at Northeastern. He was there for two seasons and compiled a two-year record of 22-35 at his alma mater but then returned to UConn to be Calhoun’s associate head coach and remained there until leaving for DePaul in 2002.

Meanwhile, South Carolina coach Dave Odom met with his team Tuesday afternoon in a previously scheduled postseason meeting with his players. Odom, who denied Monday that he had been offered the Virginia job, did acknowledge he has had discussions with Littlepage but does not officially consider himself a candidate.

After emerging from that meeting, reporters outside the Colonial Center questioned Odom and he referenced his statements of Monday.

“Nothing has changed since yesterday. I’m sure that the players are concerned and I know they are,” Odom said.

Virginia has not asked South Carolina for permission to talk to Odom about the job and the former Cavaliers assistant is considered by most observers to be a “backup” candidate if Littlepage and Casteen fail to lure a big-name coach.

One prospect in Tennessee was ready to commit to the Gamecocks when the Washington Post story incorrectly reported that Virginia had offered Odom the job and that he was on the verge of accepting.

Also, sources close to the search told The Daily Progress that Virginia has only begun to make official contact with candidates on its “A List” in the past few days.

“At this time, those high profile coaches will be asked to give a clear yes or no answer rather than sending ‘signals’ through intermediaries,” the source told The Progress.

One of those possible candidates is Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who has now been officially contacted by Virginia and possibly Notre Dame coach Mike Brey.

Steve Stricklin, the assistant athletic director of media relations at Kentucky, confirmed Tuesday that Littlepage had contacted Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart via phone this past weekend but Stricklin would not confirm if Littlepage was granted or even sought permission to speak to Smith. Stricklin said Barnhart preferred such inquiries be directed to Littlepage.

Littlepage, in an e-mail to The Daily Progress on Tuesday afternoon, responded with a “no comment” in regard to this inquiry.

Another source close to Brey said Virginia has had informal contact with the Notre Dame coach over the past several days.

John Heisler, Notre Dame’s senior associate athletics director for media and broadcast relations, said he was “not aware” that Virginia has made any official contact with Brey as of Tuesday afternoon.

Lundy aims for a strong finish
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 6, 2005

Wali Lundy will likely start the 2005 season just like he did the 2004 season - as the team’s starting tailback.

Lundy’s main goal now that he is back on the field for spring practice is to make sure he finishes his next campaign that way.

In Virginia’s fifth game of the season last year against Clemson, Lundy fumbled the ball. After the miscue, senior Alvin Pearman promptly replaced Lundy in the game.

While Lundy continued to play throughout the remainder of the year, he never regained his starting spot.

“I felt like that was kind of the turning point of my season,” Lundy said.

Lundy still managed to finish the year with 864 yards and he reached the end zone 17 times. For his career, Lundy has amassed 2,619 yards - fifth most among active players in college football.

Despite the stats, not a day goes by that Lundy doesn’t think about his fumble against the Tigers.

“It hurts when you fumble, to tell you the truth,” Lundy said. “It happens. Every back that has run the ball, has fumbled the ball.”

Lundy is trying to put that play and another fumble that came on an exchange against Virginia Tech behind him.

“I think you can’t dwell on that,” Lundy said. “You can’t let that change you as a runner, because if you’re worried about that all the time then it is probably going to hinder you from being the best player that you can be on the field … but you obviously have to hold onto the ball.”

To better prepare himself for the upcoming season, Lundy pushed himself harder than ever in the strength and conditioning phase of the offseason.

“I haven’t ever been through an offseason training that has been like this before,” Lundy said. “From me pushing myself and working myself until I can’t work no more to the offseason training being harder than it has in the past.”

Lundy’s hard work did not go unnoticed. Virginia coach Al Groh raved last week about the approach of the rising senior.

“Wali has had a great off-season, one of the best,” Groh said. “Those of you who have spoken with him have known him as a very purposeful, very focused kid. That being said, he’s been all business from the first toot of the whistle.

“The reason I preface that is that I don’t want it to sound like, ‘oh, it’s his last year, he’s finally bearing down.’ This kid has been bearing down since the minute that he got here, and that’s why he’s played so early and played so well. As significant as that’s been, he’s been all business from the very first tick of the clock, when this off-season program started.”

Lundy will not be the only veteran back in the Cavalier backfield.

Quarterback Marques Hagans will be returning for his senior season and Lundy points to the signal-caller as a bright spot for the offense.

“One of the best things to come back to on this offense is a Marques Hagans, knowing that he has a year under his belt as an ACC quarterback and he is going to be that much better,” Lundy said.

Another player back that Lundy is happy to see back in the fold is tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. Many NFL Draft experts felt that Ferguson would be a lock to be drafted high in the first round if he elected to leave Virginia, forgoing his final year of eligibility.

“I am happy he didn’t leave,” Lundy said. “I talked to him about [the draft] after the season to see what he was going to do and he told me he wanted to come and play with us. He is a team person and that’s how he has always been.”

While Ferguson returns, one of Lundy’s favorite blockers - Elton Brown - does not. It was a common site to see Lundy following Brown into the end zone for six points.

“Things change,” Lundy said. “The world turns, so you have got to roll with what you have to roll with. We have to adjust with ‘Big E’ not being there.”

Virginia has a number of candidates to take over Brown’s vacant spot, including true freshman Eugene Monroe and Marshall Ausberry, a name that Lundy dropped as a possible candidate.

“We have a lot of guys that are ready to take over and take the spot.”

Two UVa signees enjoy meeting
By John Holt / Special to the Daily Progress
April 6, 2005

RICHMOND - Friday night was an exciting experience for future Virginia Cavaliers Laurynas Mikalauskas and Mamadi Diane.

The two both participated in the 2005 Commonwealth Classic held at the Siegel Center and led their team, the Virginia All Stars, to a 147-131 victory over the National All Stars in front of a large crowd of around 5,000. It was the first time the two signees had met. Diane, a senior at national powerhouse DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., started for the Virginia All Stars and finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds and

3 assists while Mikalauskas, from Blue Ridge School, came off the bench contributing 17 points, (6-6 FG) and 11 rebounds in the winning effort.

“I just went out and played hard and tried to fight for the rebounds. I had a great time and just tried to do my best out there and show the crowd some good basketball,” Mikalauskas said.

It was a great experience for both signees.

“It was a lot of fun. I liked playing with all that good competition. We had some good workouts and great coaching during the two days,” Mikalauskas said.

Diane also enjoyed the event.

“Getting to compete against some of the better players that you hear about all the time but you don’t get to see play was really exciting. For me to get chosen in a game like that, it was really special,” stated Diane.

The National All Star team included many other future ACC players as well, including UNC recruit Marcus Ginyard, Wake Forest signees Kevin Swinton and David Weaver, N.C. State signee Courtney Fells and Miami signee Denis Clemente, who is the brother of present Hurricane star Guermillo Diaz.

Both Mikalauskas and Diane are looking forward to finding out who they will be playing for next season.

“I don’t have a favorite right now. I just hope we bring in someone who is a winner and wants to win games,” Mikalauskas said.

The same goes for Diane.

“I don’t really have a preference. I have heard a few names but I’m not really sure who they are looking at. I’m just waiting to see who they choose,” Diane said.

The Dematha guard Diane was a little disappointed he’s not going to get to play for former coach Pete Gillen but knows things will work out.

“I was surprised about the whole thing. I had really looked forward to playing for him since he was the coach that recruited me. It’s sad that I didn’t get to but I’m sure the administrators will pick a good new guy to come in,” Diane said.

Both players really enjoyed finally getting to meet each other.

“He is a very athletic player. He’s very unselfish and doesn’t care about his points just as long as his team wins. He’s also a great person. It’s going to be fun playing with him next year,” said Mikalauskas, a Lithuanian native.

The 6-foot-5 Diane had heard a lot about Mikalauskas before they met.

“We had heard about each other all year. We had been reading about each other and hearing about each other but never had been able to meet each other. It was great to finally get to meet him. He’s a cool guy and I really liked him. He plays hard all the time and I think we will fit in real well next year,” Diane said.



 

Littlepage met with UK AD
Virginia AD talked to Barnhart during Final Four; intentions toward Smith still are unclear
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Apr 6, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -University of Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage contacted his counterpart at the University of Kentucky, Mitch Barnhart, during the Final Four, a UK spokesman confirmed yesterday.

It's uncertain, however, whether U.Va. plans to seriously pursue Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who sources say was the school's first choice to fill the vacancy created when Pete Gillen stepped down last month.

Littlepage spoke to Barnhart, "but I wouldn't say he asked for permission" to contact Smith, said Scott Stricklin, UK's assistant athletic director for basketball.

Barnhart did not reply to an e-mail from The Times-Dispatch yesterday. Stricklin said Barnhart has suggested that questions about the conversation be directed to Littlepage. Littlepage declined comment yesterday.

Smith recently completed his eighth season at UK, where he earns more than $2 million annually. He's also scheduled to receive a $1.5 million bonus if he remains at Kentucky through 2007 and another $2.5 million if he stays there through 2011.

U.Va. might be prepared to offer Smith, a former Virginia Commonwealth University assistant, around $3 million per year, sources told the T-D.

If Virginia fails to lure Smith from UK, its focus might shift to such coaches as Notre Dame's Mike Brey, DePaul's Dave Leitao and South Carolina's Dave Odom, a former U.Va. assistant. Odom on Monday denied a Washington Post report that Virginia had offered him the job.

Odom and Littlepage are longtime friends who have spoken regularly on the telephone in recent weeks -though not, Odom said, about the possibility that he might leave South Carolina for U.Va.

Odom met with his South Carolina players yesterday, and when asked by player Tarence Kinsey if he was going to go to U.Va., Odom said as of right now, he was not.

What contact Virginia has had with Brey or Leitao, if any, isn't clear.

The Cavaliers apparently have not requested permission to speak to Brey, a former Duke assistant who grew up in Maryland.

"I'm not aware that they have," said John Heisler, senior associate athletic director for media relations at Notre Dame, last night.

Nor has Virginia contacted DePaul's athletic director, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, about speaking to Leitao, according to Scott Reed, the Blue Demons' director of sports information.

Reed said last night that Leitao has a recruiting trip to Kansas scheduled for this morning and has no plans to be in Charlottesville.

U.Va.'s president, John Casteen, acknowledged Sunday in an e-mail to the T-D that he'd met with prospective candidates, but he didn't elaborate.

In another e-mail to the T-D last night, Casteen denied a report by Charlottesville television station WVIR that the school was prepared to hire Odom.

"Simply not correct. See [yesterday] morning's papers. We are stil looking, and we will move when we have surveyed the entire field and have the right appointee," Casteen wrote.

Leitao says Virginia talk is just that
By Lew Freedman
Tribune staff reporter
April 5, 2005, 10:08 PM CDT

Dave Leitao, who has led a resurgence in DePaul's basketball fortunes over the last three seasons, is going about his normal coaching routine these days, even as reports surface repeatedly that he is a contender for Virginia's head-coaching job.

As of Tuesday, the Cavaliers had not requested official permission to speak to Leitao, who is operating under a year-old, multiyear contract at DePaul with a buyout clause. Leitao, who spent much of Tuesday in one-on-one player meetings, is scheduled to fly to Kansas on Wednesday to recruit for the Blue Demons despite reports in Virginia he is flying to the Atlantic Coast Conference school to formally interview.

"None of the information" about his supposed Virginia activities is true, Leitao said Tuesday night.

In the wake of the departure of coach Pete Gillen, Leitao's name is being bandied about on a daily basis in Charlottesville. However, Scott Reed, DePaul's sports information director, said athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto, who was at the women's Final Four in Indianapolis, told him she has not been approached by Virginia officials.

Last year Leitao was considered a top contender for the vacancy at St. John's, but then agreed to a multiyear deal with DePaul. He said that even though people know he signed a multiyear contract, "I don't think people pay attention."

Leitao said that coaches and reporters gathered at the Final Four speculate endlessly about job vacancies and that if his record at DePaul over the last the three years had been 13-16, 10-22 and 11-20 —instead of 16-13, 22-10 and 20-11—they would just be talking about whether he would get fired. Reed said Leitao told him he left St. Louis after the NCAA semifinals because he was besieged with questions about the Virginia job.

Leitao grew up and played college basketball in the Boston area and worked at Connecticut for 14 years, making it seem he would be a natural fit for the Big East, where DePaul begins play in the 2005-2006 season.

McCants not returning for senior year
KEN TYSIAC
Raleigh Bureau

Wing player Rashad McCants, the second-leading scorer on North Carolina's NCAA champion basketball team, will enter the NBA draft and forgo his senior season, coach Roy Williams said Tuesday morning.

At a news conference where he accepted the Siemens Trophy given annually to the national champion coach by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Williams said McCants informed him in mid-January that McCants probably was leaving.

Williams said he will discuss the futures of Raymond Felton, Sean May and Marvin Williams with those players soon. Felton and May have just completed their junior seasons; Marvin Williams was a freshman on the team that defeated Illinois 75-70 on Monday night to give North Carolina its fourth NCAA title.

McCants averaged 16 points to help the Tar Heels finish 33-4.

Odom, players in limbo
Coach talks with team and media but remains mum about his interest in Virgina job
By STEVE WISEMAN
Staff Writer

South Carolina coach Dave Odom held a routine season-ending meeting Tuesday with his basketball players that included one unusual thing — questions about his future at the school.

In addition to talking about offseason workout programs and academic requirements, Odom said Tuesday he fielded an inquiry about his possible move to Virginia.

“They are concerned,” Odom said. “They are. And I would hope they would be.”

But Odom gave his team no insight as to what the future holds because he said he doesn’t know.

Virginia’s search for Pete Gillen’s replacement continued Tuesday as the school made plans for DePaul coach Dave Leitao to visit campus today, according to the Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress.

Leitao is scheduled to meet with Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage and university president John Casteen, among others.

Meanwhile, Odom remained in limbo. Sources close to him say he would accept the Cavaliers position if it is offered.

Odom reiterated Tuesday that he has had no official talks with Virginia about its head coaching position. At the same time, he didn’t deny interest in the position.

When asked if he told the players he wasn’t going to Virginia, Odom said, “I didn’t say that. I didn’t say anything like that.”

Departing senior John Chappell, who was in the meeting, said the players were in the dark.

“We’re all just wondering what’s going on,” he said. “I hope he stays. We all hope he stays.”

USC athletics director Mike McGee said Tuesday that Littlepage has not asked for official permission to speak with Odom.

“Craig and I have been friends,” McGee said, “not nearly as long as Dave and Craig, but I’ve always known him to do the right thing, and this would be clearly one of those instances.”

McGee said he did not speak with Odom on Tuesday but that the two met Monday.

“My conversations with coach have been (that) he is happy here and has every expectation to be our coach onto the future,” McGee said. “I think we’re going to have a pretty good team next year, by the way.”

Odom said the future of the USC program occupied most of Tuesday’s meeting, which had been planned before reports surfaced about his involvement with Virginia.

The team began to plan its annual banquet, this one to help celebrate the National Invitation Tournament championship the Gamecocks won last week in New York.

At the same time, Odom’s refusal to eliminate himself as a candidate at Virginia could affect the makeup of next year’s team.

Theryn Hudson, a 6-foot-9 center from LaVergne (Tenn.) High School, visited USC last month and was close to committing to the Gamecocks this week, LaVergne coach Barry Wortman said Tuesday. Hudson is scheduled to visit Southern Methodist this weekend, and Wortman said Hudson was considering canceling that trip in favor of a commitment to USC.

But reports of Odom’s involvement with Virginia have Hudson wondering.

“It throws a wrench into things,” Wortman said.

Wortman said he has yet to hear from USC’s staff about the situation.

When asked if he has heard from recruits with questions about his situation, Odom said, “Haven’t we talked about this enough?” He then walked to his SUV, climbed inside and drove toward his Shandon home.