Coaching search now on Day 28
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 10, 2005

The ever-intriguing search for Virginia’s basketball coach is officially 28 days old today and it seems that UVa President John T. Casteen III and Athletics Director Craig Littlepage have presented their case to their leading candidates, Kentucky’s Tubby Smith and DePaul’s Dave Leitao.

What we do know: UVa representatives met with Leitao on Friday morning in Norfolk, then flew the DePaul coach back home to Chicago on the Virginia Foundation’s private jet.

What we don’t know: If Virginia made Leitao an offer or just met to gauge his interest and exchange ideas about the job.

What we do know: Leitao was spotted at the Chicago Cubs’ game against the Brewers at Wrigley Field later Friday and was interviewed by the Cubs’ network, WGN. During that interview Leitao said he was happy at DePaul. WGN announcers later cited sources saying that it would take a whole lot of money to lure him away.

What we don’t know: Just how much money they are talking about. He’s currently making less than $700,000 a year, which is a couple hundred thousand short of what Pete Gillen was making at Virginia. We’ve heard some staggering numbers floating around out there for Tubby, everything from
$3 million a year to a 10-year package worth $40 million. It’s doubtful UVa would offer that to anyone with less credentials than Tubby.

What we do know: New York Magazine (Nov. 22, 2004 issue) reported that Paul Tudor Jones II, who is the moving force behind UVa’s new basketball arena and perhaps heavily involved in the coaching search, made $300 million in 2003 alone and owns his own private island in the Bahamas.

What we don’t know: When DePaul extended Leitao’s contract by three years after the 2003-04 season, it included a reported
$3 million buyout of the six-year deal as “protections from him and DePaul,” according to the private school’s athletic director. Some believe that if Leitao were to leave that it would not cost $3 million to buy him out.

What we don’t know: Where Virginia stands with Tubby. We have heard that UVa has made proposals, but we can’t confirm it. And, we don’t know what Tubby is thinking. We also don’t know if UVa’s move to chat with Leitao was a signal that Tubby has backed away, or just a safety precaution in case Smith decides to stay.

What we don’t know: If there really is another big name candidate out there in the bushes that no one knows about. We don’t think that rumor is true.
What we’ve heard: That UVa has chatted with former Cavalier Marc Iavaroni, assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and projected by some to become the next coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

What we don’t know: If Iavaroni is a neutral backup choice. Some say Casteen prefers Leitao, while Littlepage prefers South Carolina coach Dave Odom. Maybe Iavaroni, who many UVa fans would like to see get the job over the other two candidates mentioned, is a guy the two could settle on, although there’s no question that Casteen will give the final thumbs up or thumbs down, we’re told.

Fast start propels Cavaliers
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 10, 2005

So much for first-quarter scoring woes.

The No. 3 Virginia men’s lacrosse team, plagued at times this season by minimal output in the opening quarter, scored five goals in both the first and second periods Saturday en route to a 15-9 victory over North Carolina at Klockner Stadium.

The win improved the Cavaliers to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC while also making coach Dom Starsia the program’s all-time leader in wins. Starsia is now 138-51 in his 13 seasons in Charlottesville and that surpasses former UVa coach and Starsia’s predecessor, Jim “Ace” Adams, who was 137-60 from 1978-1992.

“It does mean something to me. I’m very proud that I’ve been able to follow Gene Corrigan and Jim Adams here. It’s credit to being here for a certain period of time and having great players and wonderful people to work with,” Starsia said. “It’s always a team effort. I know the head guy gets a lot of the credit but it’s been a collaborative effort. I’m very proud to be in this position and I’m humbled by the fact that I have been able to pass Jim Adams.”

Matt Ward, Ben Rubeor and Matt Poskay each notched three goals for the Cavaliers while John Christmas finished with two goals and three assists. Midfielder Kyle Dixon had two goals - his first multi-goal game of the season - while senior defenseman Rob Bateman had three assists.

Ryan Blair paced the Heels (2-7) with three goals and three assists.

In its last five games combined, Virginia only scored five first-half goals but matched that total quickly Saturday.

Christmas scored twice and Ward, Poskay and Dixon all delivered goals as Virginia opened a 5-2 advantage with 4:05 left in the first quarter.

“We’ve begun to show some evidence of being a little smarter and more determined offensively. It was important to get good chances and opportunities early,” Starsia said. “All we talked about was shooting the ball smartly and shooting it hard.”

That’s essentially what the Cavaliers did as they peppered UNC goalie Paul Spellman constantly. The most acrobatic of those goals was Christmas’ first. After Jack deVilliers won a faceoff, he lobbed a pass down to Christmas who caught it in midair, turned and fired a shot past Spellman.

“We came out strong and kept on rolling. We feel that we can match up well with almost anyone’s defense. We have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the back of the net and they’re doing that,” Christmas said.

The scoring barrage continued in the second quarter as the Cavaliers added five more goals to take a 10-4 lead at intermission.

Rubeor accounted for two goals with the others coming from Ward, Poskay and J.J. Morrissey.

It was another impressive performance from Rubeor, who has now scored at least two goals in three of the last four games.

“I think our team prides itself on improving every week. I feel that we [the attack] are getting more and more comfortable playing with each other each week,” Rubeor said.

The Cavaliers’ early flurry, however, didn’t remove all the drama from the game.

The Tar Heels scored five of the first six goals in the third quarter and when Mike McCall scored off a feed from Jed Prossner with 3:19 left in the stanza, the Tar Heels had cut the margin to 11-9.

“I was disappointed that we allowed them to carry the play to us there. It wasn’t completely unexpected. We tried to address that before we left the field at the end of the first half,” Starsia said. “Carolina is a proud program and you knew they would make a run at us.”

Virginia responded by making its own run.

Rubeor scored his third and final goal two minutes later and then Dixon unfurled a deep blast with 51 seconds left in the quarter that pushed the lead back to 13-9.

With the quickness and talent of the three attackman - Ward, Christmas and Rubeor - it is becoming frequent that the midfielders such as Dixon and Poskay are receiving better scoring opportunities. For Dixon, Saturday marked the first time in a while that there was a confluence of those chances and his shot being properly calibrated.

“I was getting my shots all through the season but they hadn’t been falling. Today they happened to fall,” Dixon said. “Our attack opens up the defense quite a bit and that creates chances for us. Then when we are making our shots, it opens things for them and it works out for everyone.”

Poskay and Ward added goals in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.

Virginia now has a showdown with Duke looming next Saturday in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation but fell to top-ranked Johns Hopkins in double overtime Friday night. Virginia and Duke will likely just flip-flop in the rankings for next week’s game.

DePaul's Leitao No. 2 on Virginia's wish list
By Jeff White / Lynchburg News & Advance
April 10, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The University of Virginia has been searching for a new basketball coach since March 14, when Pete Gillen stepped down. UVa hasn’t offered the job to DePaul coach Dave Leitao, but he’s a clear No. 2 on the school’s wish list.

Kentucky’s Tubby Smith remains the No. 1 target, but UVa officials are realistic, a source close to the search said. They have not entered into negotiations with him about the job, and they know it’s unlikely that Smith would leave Kentucky for Virginia. Even so, they’re willing to wait as Smith, a Maryland native who’s a longtime friend of Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage, considers his options.

Should Smith tell the Cavaliers he’s staying at Kentucky as expected, look for them to make a strong push for Leitao, with whom a UVa delegation met on Friday. The former Connecticut assistant never made it to Charlottesville this week, but he flew back to Chicago from Norfolk with UVa officials on the school’s jet Friday.

If Virginia ultimately offers the job to Leitao, 43, and he accepts, it won’t cost the school nearly as much to hire him away from DePaul as some reports have suggested. Leitao signed a six-year extension with DePaul last summer. His contract includes a buyout, but it’s “not anywhere close” to the $3 million that some media outlets have suggested, the source said.

UVa requested and received permission from DePaul late in the week to speak to Leitao, who was in Virginia for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. In three seasons under Leitao, the Blue Demons have been to the NIT twice and to the NCAAs once - in 2004, when they lost to eventual champion Connecticut.