Leitao makes visit to UVa
By Jerry Ratcliffe and Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writers
April 15, 2005

DePaul coach Dave Leitao formally met with University of Virginia officials and toured UVa and its facilities for nearly eight hours Thursday as it appeared he was on the verge of becoming the school’s new basketball coach.

Sources told The Daily Progress that Leitao is expected to be the next coach at UVa but no timetable was certain. It could be as early as today or Monday.

Rich Murray, Virginia’s director of athletic media relations, said that as of late Thursday evening no press conference or announcement was scheduled for today.

ESPN.com, citing anonymous sources and analyst Dick Vitale, said Leitao will be hired at Virginia but numerous UVa athletic officials Thursday opted not to confirm those reports.

Leitao arrived in Charlottesville at noon Thursday. UVa’s Cessna 550 jet met Leitao, and presumably his wife, Joyce, at a suburban Chicago airport at approximately 8:30 a.m (CST). The same UVa Cessna 550 jet then departed the Charlottesville-Albemarle airport at about 8:45 p.m. with its planned destination the same suburban Chicago airport. The UVa jet then almost immediately filed a flight plan to return to Charlottesville after landing at the Chicago area airport.

Leitao was expected to update his current staff and players of the status of things late Thursday night or possibly this morning.

Sources indicate that Virginia’s offer to Leitao would pay him between $1 and $1.2 million per season. Leitao makes nearly $660,000 per season at DePaul where he signed a six-year contract extension just last fall. There is a buyout clause in Leitao’s contract but sources have told The Daily Progress that it is far less than the $3 million figure that has been reported by several Chicago media outlets.

If Leitao is indeed hired at Virginia, he would be the school’s first black head coach in any sport.

As of late Thursday afternoon, UVa officials had not introduced Leitao to the current Virginia players. Freshman point guard Sean Singletary, who is recovering well from recent shoulder surgery, confirmed that as he was walking to an academic advising session at the McCue Center at approximately 3:45 p.m. Singletary said the players had not been told there was a new basketball coach and he reiterated the now common refrain of Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage that the search would take “four to six weeks.”

Scott Reed, DePaul’s sports information director, confirmed Thursday morning that Leitao was indeed visiting Charlottesville. Later, Reed said that DePaul would have no further comment on the situation and said this “was in Virginia’s court.” He did, however, deny reports from Chicago that said the DePaul players were told their coach was leaving for Virginia.

Leitao is the only candidate to be officially interviewed by UVa officials. Their initial meeting with Leitao was last Friday in the Norfolk area where Leitao was watching former players Quemont Greer and Drake Diener perform in the Portsmouth Invitational. Virginia officials met with Leitao and then escorted him on their plane back to Chicago.

The 43-year-old Leitao has directed DePaul to a 58-34 record and two NIT and one NCAA appearance in three seasons.

Prior to DePaul, Leitao spent eights seasons as the associate head coach at Connecticut under Jim Calhoun. Leitao played for Calhoun at Northeastern and then followed the coach to UConn where he was an assistant from 1986-94. In 1994, Leitao returned to Northeastern as head coach and compiled a 22-35 mark at his alma mater. After the two-year stint, he returned to Calhoun and UConn in that associate head coach position.

DePaul coach draws plenty of high praise
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 15, 2005

For weeks now, we’ve heard Dave Leitao’s name a jillion times in relation to Virginia’s basketball coaching vacancy.

But what do we really know about the man? Well, he grew up under the wing of Connecticut’s Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun and rebuilt the DePaul program after cleaning up its academic train wreck left in the wake of former coach Pat Kennedy’s tenure.

Votes of confidence

To find out more about Leitao, who will almost certainly become Virginia’s new basketball coach, we went to two people who know him well.

George Washington University coach Karl Hobbs has known Leitao since their high school days in the Boston area. Basketball recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, one of the most respected gurus of talent, has known Leitao since the coach arrived at UConn with Calhoun back in the day.

If Leitao is looking for good references for his résumé, he should list Hobbs and Gibbons.

“As far as a person, they don’t come any better,” said Hobbs, who was on the same UConn staff as Leitao for eight years. “As far as a coach, he’s excellent. His record at DePaul speaks to that. He was part of the whole process in turning UConn into a national power.”

Described as a tireless worker, Hobbs has admired how his longtime friend turned things around at DePaul. The program had fallen upon hard times and the academic side of the basketball team was in shambles prior to Leitao’s arrival.

“He brought some discipline,” Hobbs said. “He brought a work ethic and more importantly, he brought accountability to that program. He made kids accountable for what they did on and off the court and academically.”

Gibbons knows practically every head coach in the country and every recruiter, so he’s been familiar with Leitao for a long time. In fact, Leitao has spent the night at Gibbons’ home in western North Carolina from where they journeyed to Oak Hill Academy together to check out Steve Smith’s basketball-rich program.

Discipline guaranteed

Gibbons paints Leitao as a “players’ coach,” but don’t let that fool you. The guy believes in discipline as Hobbs mentioned.

“He works his players hard but they relate to him well,” Gibbons said. “I think his persona is like Jim Calhoun’s. He’s not a guy who is going to berate players publicly, but I think he will have a strong code of ethics and kids will adhere to them ... and he will recruit the kinds of kids who will adhere to them.”

The recruiting analyst, who will be in Charlottesville in early May for the annual Southern Invitational, an assembly of some of the best high school talent on the east coast, believes that coaches can’t change players’ personalities once they hit the college level. So, if there’s a selfish kid, self-centered and focused on getting to the NBA that is a detriment to the team, some coaches struggle to deal with such problems.

Not Leitao.

“Dave’s not going to recruit those kinds of kids,” Gibbons

said. “He will avoid those type of individuals.”

Not only is the 43-year-old Leitao a good coach (58-34 in three seasons at DePaul), but he’s a good recruiter in the estimation of Hobbs and Gibbons.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Hobbs. “I think that’s one of the major assets Dave will bring to Virginia should he take the job.”

Gibbons agreed.

“I think he will broaden Virginia’s recruiting base because he has connections from coast-to-coast,” Gibbons said.

Because UConn recruits nationally and obviously has strong recognition in the northeast corridor of the country that could only enhance UVa’s efforts. In addition, Leitao recruited well at DePaul - his incoming recruiting class is ranked among the top 20 nationally - and he has ties to California.

“He’s well-connected from his experiences at UConn,” Gibbons said. “His best players at DePaul came out of Michigan. In fact, he beat out Michigan State for Wilson Chandler.”

For those recruiting challenged souls out there, Chandler is a 6-foot-8 forward who was named the state of Michigan’s “Mr. Basketball” this past season. He was a third-team Parade All-American and Gibbons voted for him as a McDonald’s All-American, though he didn’t make that team.

Waiting for decision

What has folks back at DePaul a bit miffed about Leitao’s courtship by Virginia is that the Blue Demons’ recruiting class is on hold because of the probable move.

“Wilson Chandler is very concerned because Coach Leitao is the coach he wants to play for,” said Chandler’s high school coach Ramsey Nichols.

Chandler was recruited by Michigan State, UConn, Ohio State, Indiana, Florida and Purdue.

Meanwhile, two more recruits, 6-4 Jabari Currie, the Detroit Player of the Year, and guard Rashad Woods of Houston, are also wondering if their coach will be in Lincoln Park or Charlottesville after this weekend.

“I think that Virginia can recruit in a broader geographic area than it could previously if Dave takes the job,” Gibbons said.

While Leitao appears to be a dynamic guy with a strong work ethic who is driven to succeed and as a solid recruiter with a good reputation, he’s also a good guy.

“He has no ego,” Gibbons said. “He’s very down to earth. He motivates his players well. He’s a former player himself for Calhoun at Northeastern. And he’s a totally devoted family man who loves to spend time with his kids and who cares about his players.

“If I had a son who was talented enough to play Division I basketball, I would want him to play for Dave Leitao,” Gibbons said.

You can’t get a much stronger endorsement than that from a guy who knows the coaching profession inside and out.

Calhoun's influence

Obviously the biggest influence on Leitao’s coaching career and a strong influence on his life has been Calhoun. He played for Calhoun, coached under Calhoun. He knows how to win and what it takes to win a national championship because of Calhoun. He was UConn’s chief recruiter during the building of the Huskies’ rise to national prominence.

Sounds like a Calhoun clone.

“I think that pretty much sums it up,” Gibbons said. “He’s maybe not as intense as Calhoun. Well, maybe he is, but he displays it in a quieter way.”

Hobbs said that description of Leitao is accurate.

“He’s not a true clone,” the GW coach said. “His personality is different than Jim’s, but I guess you could say he’s a clone in the way he goes about his business, his work ethic and style of play. Yes, he is a clone in that regard.”

The comments should warm the hearts of Wahoo fans, many of which were concerned that the UVa program and the ACC might be more than the new coach could chew. Not if you believe in Gibbons.

“I think the Virginia fans will grow to love him,” Gibbons said. “I know this is a big challenge, but Virginia has made an excellent choice. He’s a perfect fit.”

He had better be. There’s an awful lot riding on Leitao’s shoulders.

The man who gave Dave Leitao his first head-coaching job says Leitao escapes much of the blame for a dismal 1995-96 season.
By david teel
dteel@dailypress.com | 247-4636

Dave Leitao's former boss at Northeastern University has a message for Virginia basketball fans: Don't fret over Leitao's failed coaching tenure at the Boston school.
DePaul's head coach the past three seasons, Leitao is the apparent choice to take over Virginia's struggling program. The one stain on his resume: a two-year stint at his alma mater, Northeastern, that ended with Leitao resigning after a 4-24 finish in 1995-96.
"I think it would be a red flag if he hadn't had success at DePaul,"
then-Northeastern athletic director Barry Gallup said Thursday. "That was almost 10 years ago when he was at Northeastern, and if (Virginia) was the next job after Northeastern I would absolutely question it. ...
"But I would not worry about that at all now. I think every head coach the second time around is better. If I was a Virginia fan I wouldn't have any reservations about that. They have to know the circumstances. ... I would hire him again."
Gallup, now Boston College's assistant athletic director for football operations, hired Leitao in 1994 after firing Karl Fogel, 5-22 in his final season. Other candidates included Rick Boyages, Jerry Dunn and Bruiser Flint - later head coaches at William and Mary, Penn State and Massachusetts, respectively.
It was Leitao's first head-coaching position after 10 years as an assistant, two at Northeastern and eight at Connecticut, all under Jim Calhoun. Leitao, who played for Calhoun from 1978-82, promptly guided Northeastern to an
18-11 finish and a berth in the North Atlantic Conference tournament final.
But times had changed since Leitao's playing days, according to Gallup.
Northeastern had neglected its facilities and tightened admission standards.
Moreover, home crowds dwindled to 500, and Leitao lost several players to injury and suspension.
"There was not a lot of talent," Gallup said. "He definitely walked into a situation that was very fragile. There were maybe some kids who shouldn't have been there. There wasn't great chemistry.
"He took the job basically on emotion. ... We've all seen that. Guys want to be a head coach and maybe take a job that's not the right one. I just don't think that even though he went to school there that it was a good fit."
Gallup doubled as Northeastern's football coach and had played two seasons of basketball for Bob Cousy at Boston College. He said he had no intention of firing Leitao.
But five weeks after Northeastern's 4-24 finish, Leitao quit and returned to UConn as Calhoun's associate head coach. He held the position for six seasons, including the Huskies' 1999 national-championship run, before going to DePaul. The Blue Demons are 54-38 in Leitao's three seasons.
"He got frustrated," Gallup said. "He was used to being at UConn, where you have everything going for you and you have all the resources you need. He took a pay cut to take the Northeastern job and he got a pay raise to go back to Connecticut. ...
"He is talented, and I think he grew a lot. I can see why he's been successful at DePaul. He has great skills with people. He's a great recruiter. He would be a great hire (for Virginia). The timing's right. He's had two head-coaching experiences and even though one didn't work out, I think both experiences will help him a lot."
Gallup also has a take on another concern of Virginia fans: that Leitao might want to succeed Calhoun, recently voted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
"You have to be careful (because) it's tough to follow somebody like that,"
Gallup said. "You're at a great place but the expectations also are great.
You're almost better off at a Virginia where you build your own program and get credit for doing what hasn't been done recently."
 

Hagans familiar with VT QBs
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 15, 2005

Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans is not a Virginia Tech football fan, but that will not stop the rising senior from rooting for the Hokies to win every game next year not played on Nov. 19.

“How many games they play this year? They play 12,” Hagans asked and then answered himself. “I hope they win all 11 of them.”

Hagans also has a vested interest in who wins the battle to become Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback.

Being from Hampton, Hagans grew up near Marcus Vick, Virginia Tech’s embattled quarterback, who is fighting for the starting nod in camp. Vick was suspended last season after he and two teammates - Mike Imoh and Brenden Hill - were arrested for giving alcohol to 14- and 15-year-old girls last February. In a separate incident, Vick also pleaded guilty to reckless driving and no contest to marijuana possession.

During Vick’s suspension, he spent time with his brother, former Hokies star and current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, in Atlanta. He also sought the advice of another Tidewater native, Allen Iverson who plays in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The younger Vick also got a number of calls from Hagans.

“I talked to him a couple of times,” Hagans said. “I told him I had his back. I would support him no matter what. I told him not to keep his head down and do what he had to do and get ready to come back and play football.

“Everybody makes mistakes and I have made mine too. I have no right to point a finger at somebody. He made his mistakes and I’m pretty sure he is sorry for what he did. I support him 110 percent, no matter what happens.”

Vick played in 11 games as the backup to quarterback Bryan Randall in 2003, completing 30 of 57 passes for 475 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions.

In March, Vick entered Virginia Tech’s spring practice session as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart and is mired in a battle with sophomore Sean Glennon and redshirt freshman Cory Holt for the chance to replace Randall.

Randall, another quarterback that Hagans calls a friend, has been a source of motivation for Virginia’s signal-caller.

After an average season as a junior at Virginia Tech in 2003, Randall bounced back this year as a senior to propel the Hokies to an ACC Title and a bid in the Bowl Championship Series.

“I was definitely proud to see the turnaround that he had from his junior to senior year,” Hagans said. “That was a great accomplishment. He went through [struggles] in his junior year and he progressed and got better his senior year. Look at the ACC title.”

Hagans hopes the same progression will follow him into his senior year.

“It was a great learning experience for me this year and I think I did a good job, but I think I can do a whole lot better,” Hagans said. “I am just going to work hard in spring ball and try to get ready for next year.”

Virginia coach Al Groh said Hagans would need to use his first full season as a college quarterback to develop into a field general.

“He just needs to build specifically off of his experiences from last year,” Groh said. “He’s been here for four years. He’s been in games. He’s been in all the stadiums. He’s done a nice job. The key thing about Marques is that his team won eight games last year and won quite a few games that it wouldn’t have won if he wasn’t the quarterback.

“There are certainly some things that will be good learning experiences, or confirming experiences for him and the rest of the team through that.”

Extra points. Two players - linebacker Vince Redd and offensive lineman D.J. Bell - are not practicing in the spring to focus on academics. Groh said on Wednesday that he hopes to have both players back in the fall but that their absence is an “obvious indicator that there does need to be good results there. We expect good results but we need to get them.” …

Cornerback Phillip Brown (hamstring) and guard Marshal Ausberry (foot) have missed a number of practices during the spring with injuries. Ausberry was using a crutch and wearing a boot at practice this weekend. Brown, a rising sophomore, “had one of those real live American hamstrings,” Groh said. “This was a pretty good hamstring pull.” Groh said plans were made to allow Brown to test the hamstring out on Wednesday to see if he could go “full out.” …

Hagans was among a small contingent of Virginia football players at UVa’s baseball game on Tuesday against Norfolk State. Unfortunately, Hagans left before former teammate and quarterback Anthony Martinez connected on his first collegiate home run. … Virginia’s final open practice is Sunday at 2:45 p.m.

Sources say it's Leitao
But timetable hasn't been set for his hiring as U.Va. hoops coach
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Apr 15, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Sooner or later, it'll be Leitao.

On that, sources following the University of Virginia's seemingly interminable search for a basketball coach are in agreement. DePaul's Dave Leitao, who visited U.Va. yesterday, is expected to succeed Pete Gillen as the Cavaliers' coach. When Leitao (pronounced LAY-toe) would actually be hired, however, remained un- clear last night.

"I'm not going to comment on any part of the process," Cavaliers Athletic Director Craig Littlepage told The Times-Dispatch in a brief phone interview yesterday.

No official announcement came from U.Va. yesterday, and as of last night no press conference had been scheduled for today.

Gillen stepped down March 14 after seven seasons at Virginia. Littlepage said at the time that he expected U.Va.'s search for Gillen's successor to take four to six weeks. An important recruiting period for college coaches begins this weekend.

Laurence Holmes, DePaul beat reporter for WSCR in Chicago, said the radio station reported yesterday that U.Va. had offered its position to Leitao. DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto, appearing on that station yesterday, said the same thing, according to Holmes, but added that Leitao had yet to accept the job.

Dick Vitale, citing anonymous sources, reported on ESPN.com yesterday that Virginia would hire Leitao.

DePaul's sports information director, Scott Reed, confirmed yesterday morning that Leitao was headed to Charlottesville on an airplane. Later in the day, Reed said DePaul would make no more announcements about the matter -- unless Leitao withdrew from consideration for the job -- "because the ball's in Virginia's court."

Leitao would be the first black head coach in any sport at U.Va.

Outside University Hall yesterday afternoon, point guard Sean Singletary spoke with reporters from the T-D and Daily Press. Singletary, who's recovering well from shoulder surgery, said Virginia's players had been told nothing about a new coach.

The U.Va. jet with Leitao aboard left Chicago yesterday morning. It arrived in Charlottesville around noon. The plane headed back to Chicago around 8:45 p.m., The Washington Post reported. Leitao was expected to meet with his players late last night or today. If Leitao accepts the job, as expected, a news conference at U.Va. could come as late as Monday.

Leitao, who signed a six-year extension with DePaul last summer, reportedly earns about $660,000 annually. U.Va. would probably pay him at least $1 million annually.

In three seasons at DePaul, Leitao has compiled a 58-34 record, with two trips to the NIT and one appearance in the NCAA tournament. He's spent most of his coaching career as an assistant to Jim Calhoun, first at Northeastern and later in two stints at Connecticut.

Leitao, who's from New Bedford, Mass., played for Calhoun at Northeastern from 1978 to '82. The Huskies advanced to the NCAAs in Leitao's junior and senior seasons.

In 1994, Leitao returned to his alma mater as head coach. He went 18-11 in '94-95 and 4-24 in '95-96, after which he returned to Calhoun's staff at UConn. As associate head coach at Connecticut, Leitao made more money than he had as Northeastern's head man.

2nd time the charm for Cavaliers?
Former Virginia coach Jeff Jones tried to hire Dave Leitao as an assistant coach in 1990.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Virginia let Dave Leitao go home once. This time, the Cavaliers are hoping for better results.

DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto did not dispute reports that Leitao had a contract offer from Virginia when he wrapped up a visit to Charlottesville on Thursday night.

It was not the first offer Leitao had received from Virginia nor was it the first time he had toured the campus.

Leitao, who interviewed Thursday for the post of head men's basketball coach, was a UVa target when newly named coach Jeff Jones was attempting to fill his staff in 1990.

"He actually went as far as coming down to Charlottesville and we talked," Jones said Thursday. "We talked salary and went around with a realtor, I think, and looked at a bunch of neighborhoods."

At the time, Leitao was serving the first of two stints on the Connecticut staff of his old Northeastern University coach Jim Calhoun.

"The next step was going to be his wife," said Jones, now the head coach at American University. "He went back and he was going to bring his wife. I remember Dave saying, 'She's not going to believe how cheap it is to buy a nice house.'

"Before we could get her down, Calhoun got him a big pay raise."

With two national championships, Connecticut subsequently has moved past Virginia into the ranks of the nation's elite programs, "but I certainly didn't look at it in those terms," Jones said.

"I just wanted to put together the absolute best staff that I could. There were really no direct links between him and I, other than we'd been out on the recruiting trail together."

In some small way, the tour provided by Jones may have given Leitao some advance knowledge of the Virginia job.

"It is ironic that Tubby [Smith] and Dave have both come up this time," said Jones, who had a plane waiting for Smith before he decided to remain on the staff of then-Kentucky coach Rick Pitino.

"He's [Leitao] seen Charlottesville at its best, in the spring, right about this time, when everything is beautiful and the traffic isn't too bad. I think, over the years, he's heard pretty favorable things about Charlottesville and the entire situation."

Chances are the money wasn't as good for an assistant's job in 1990 as it will be for the job vacated March14 when Pete Gillen stepped down after seven seasons. When Gillen signed a seven-year contract after the 2000-2001 season, it was for an average salary of $900,000.

The Chicago Tribune said Thursday that Leitao is being paid $660,000 per year, according to the terms of a six-year contract he signed in September, and Chicago radio station WSCR-AM reported that Virginia's offer was between $1.1 million and $1.5 million.

Virginia sports information director Rich Murray said Thursday night that no news conference had been scheduled, and Ponsetto said it would not be Leitao's style to reach agreement with another school before returning to Chicago.

Leitao told the Tribune that it would help Virginia and DePaul if the situation could be resolved by Saturday, when coaches can recruit off campus for the first time this spring.

If Leitao’s your man, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer
New coach could replace Heath Miller as “big money”
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

As DePaul’s Dave Leitao arrived on campus for his first tour of Virginia’s grounds, there was a lesson to be learned from Virginia’s last search for a new men’s basketball coach.

If Leitao truly is the Cavaliers’ choice, they should be advised not to let him back on the plane to Chicago.

It’s easy to see how Virginia basketball history would have changed if then-UVa athletic director Jim Copeland had persuaded Rick Barnes not to return to Providence after he had accepted UVa’s offer in 1990.

Once back in Rhode Island, Barnes could not survive an onslaught from Big East commissioner David Gavitt and others and removed his name from consideration for a job that went to Cavaliers’ assistant Jeff Jones, then 29.

DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto, in confirming that Virginia had asked for permission to speak to Leitao, said in a voice mail this past weekend that “candidly” she thought that any further information should come from UVa.

Obviously, they operate a little bit differently at DePaul, where Ponsetto seemingly has been very accessible to the local media. Maybe that’s a way of life for a college program in a pro city because Virginia certainly doesn’t care about having its media in the know.

Ponsetto has been quoted in several Chicago newspapers and in the broadcast media as saying she believes Virginia will make Leitao an offer but that she expects that he will return for a fourth year at DePaul.

That’s how Chicago Tribune reporter David Haugh phrased it. Haugh also reported that Leitao, who received a new, six-year contract in September, makes $660,000 per year.

That might be consistent with salaries in the Big East, where the seven-year contract John Beilein signed at West Virginia will pay him a little over $700,000 per year. Even in the ACC, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg made less than $500,000 this season. But, Virginia is prepared to offer Leitao way more than he’s making at DePaul.

If Gillen was making $900,000 per year, Leitao should be able to command at least $1 million. I can’t imagine at this point that Virginia isn’t going to offer -- or hasn’t already offered -- him the job and that he won’t accept.

I’m ready to move on to the staff.

I’ve heard that Virginia is willing to pay lucrative assistants’ salaries in hopes of avoiding some of the problems that contributed to the downfall of the Gillen and Jeff Jones staffs, but some of that’s unavoidable. I don’t care how much UVa had paid top Jones aide Dennis Wolff; Wolff still had to take the head job at Boston University. The same with Bobby Gonzalez and Tommy Herrion off the Gillen staffs.

What happens when an ACC program is successful, as both Jones and Gillen were in their early years, their assistants will be in demand. When the No. 1 and/or No. 2 assistants leave, good people like Jones and Gillen are inclined to bump up their Nos. 3 and/or 4 assistants, whether they’re 1-2 guys or not. It is a rare college staff that can retain its quality over a long period.

There are some things I will never let go of. I remain convinced that Virginia football coach Al Groh should have kept Danny Wilmer off the staff of predecessor George Welsh and I believe that South Carolina coach and ex-UVa assistant Dave Odom would have been the best man to succeed Gillen.

You can talk about Odom’s age, 62, and suggest he would represent only a short-term solution to UVa’s problems, but to discredit his record is the sheer height of ignorance. (That means you, Dicky Linkous.).

That said, it’s hard to argue with the choice of Leitao. I’ve never heard any Virginia official -- athletic or otherwise -- that Virginia was targeting a minority, but it’s no secret that UVa has never had an African-American head coach in any sport. With his Connecticut pedigree and his 24 games-over-.500 DePaul record, Leitao is a coach who would have been attractive under any circumstances, and it just so happens he’s black.

There are a few red flags: Leitao had a 4-24 record in the second of his two seasons as head coach at Northeastern and his temper has been explosive at times, but he’s older now. Maybe the one statistic that impresses me more than the others is this: In 2001-2002, DePaul’s last season under Pat Kennedy, the Blue Demons were 9-19 overall and 2-14 in Conference USA.

Maybe Leitao was winning with Kennedy’s players, but Kennedy wasn’t.

DePaul caught in waiting game
April 14, 2005
BY TONI GINNETTI Staff Reporter

The uncertainty surrounding DePaul basketball coach Dave Leitao's possible exit to Virginia is taking a toll on the program's top recruits.

The coaching staff has contacted all three incoming freshmen -- forward Wilson Chandler from Benton Harbor, Mich., guard Jabari Currie from Detroit and guard Rashad Woods from Houston -- about the speculative nature of reports surrounding Virginia's search to replace fired coach Pete Gillen. But that continued speculation is becoming unsettling for the recruits.

"He's very concerned because coach Leitao is the coach he wants to play for,'' Benton Harbor coach Ramsey Nichols said of Chandler, a third-team Parade All-America selection and Michigan's Mr. Basketball.

Currie's coach at Detroit Pershing, A.W. Canada, said Leitao called Currie this week, apparently to reassure the 6-4 guard about DePaul. But those assurances could dim if Virginia's coaching search drags on and Leitao remains in the mix.

LEITAO AT DEPAUL

2002-03: 16-13
Postseason: NIT, lost to North Carolina in first round

2003-04: 22-10
Postseason: NCAA, beat Dayton in first round, lost to Connecticut in second round

2004-05: 20-11
Postseason: NIT, beat Missouri in first round, lost to Texas A&M in second round

The Blue Demons' recruiting class has been rated among the top 20 in the nation. The 6-8 Chandler was recruited by Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Connecticut, Indiana, Florida and Xavier before committing in November to DePaul. His stock rose considerably during the season, in which he averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds. He played last month in the EA Roundball Classic at the United Center, the annual event that features the nation's top high school players.

Currie, named Detroit's player of the year, was said to be leaning strongly toward Ohio State but changed his mind when Jim O'Brien was fired after the 2003-04 season. He committed to DePaul in November. Woods, a 6-5 guard, was recruited by Baylor, Southern Methodist, Toledo, Arkansas and Oklahoma before signing in November.

Leitao, 44, has avoided comment since returning from a Friday meeting with Virginia officials. He has told DePaul officials he is happy with his job, but athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto is bracing for the possibility of a change.

"I really would like Dave to stay, but I wouldn't be a very good athletic director if I didn't have a list of [replacement] candidates for every sport we have,'' she said. "I've talked to our [current players] because I want them to be in the loop, and Dave was there. Our assistant coaches and Dave have reached out to the [recruits].''

The school was in a similar situation last year when Leitao was courted by St. John's and Auburn. He turned down those posts, and DePaul awarded him a substantial pay increase, believed to be more than $600,000 annually, as well as a six-year contract extension with a yearly rollover provision and assurances of program upgrades as the Demons join the Big East next season.

The timing of the new coaching quandary is particularly troublesome because a major recruiting contact period begins next week.

DePaul could have one scholarship to grant if 6-9 freshman Wesley Green, who was granted a leave from the team at midseason because of family issues, does not return. Several junior-college players are said to be on DePaul's radar as possible additions.

But continuing ambiguity about Leitao could jeopardize recruiting directly and indirectly as opposing programs use DePaul's uncertain future as a negative.

Virginia's coaching search has gone on for four weeks since Gillen's dismissal in mid-March. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who topped Virginia's wish list, turned down a reported $3 million annual offer early in the search. Former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery -- who now coaches the NBA's Golden State Warriors -- Texas coach Rick Barnes, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Phoenix Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni, a former Virginia player, all have been mentioned as candidates.

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage also talked to South Carolina coach Dave Odom at the Final Four in St Louis. But Odom, a former Virginia assistant and head coach at ACC rival Wake Forest, has tried to dispel suggestions he is interested in the job, saying their talk wasn't directly about the opening and no offer was made.

Leitao is on Virginia's second-tier list, having not been contacted until last Thursday. Virginia president John T. Casteen III was the president at Connecticut during part of Leitao's 14 years there as an assistant under Jim Calhoun.

NFL Store Blocks Orders of Vick Jerseys
By ERRIN HAINES : Associated Press Writer
Apr 14, 2005 : 9:00 pm ET

ATLANTA -- The NFL doesn't want Ron Mexico to play for the Falcons.

Since that name was listed as an alias for Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick in a lawsuit filed last month, people have gone to the NFL's online store to order Vick's No. 7 replica jersey with a personalized "MEXICO" on the back. But fans trying to order the customized jersey now get this message: "The personalization entered cannot be accepted."

The alias was printed in court documents in a civil lawsuit filed March 14 that alleges Vick infected a woman with herpes. Vick has said he will fight the charges.

Among the parties listed in the lawsuit is "Ron Mexico," which the plaintiff's attorneys claim Vick has used as a pseudonym.

Vick's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, did not immediately return repeated calls to his office this week. The Falcons haven't commented on the case.

The NFL told its online shop to add the pseudonym to its list of banned names, along with obscenities and others deemed improper, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

"The jerseys are intended for fans who want to have their name on a jersey," he said. "Obviously, this was in direct reference to recent events. We decided it's inappropriate to sell jerseys with that particular name on it."

McCarthy said "only a handful" of orders for the Mexico jerseys had been placed, and none were filled. A few "Ron Mexico" T-shirts have popped up at other online retailers, though none of the NFL's licensed replica jerseys have been sold or posted for sale.

News of the made-up moniker has circulated on sports talk shows and Web sites.

"This is life. This is freedom of speech. You can't control what people say or do. As long as you control yourself and conduct yourself in a well-mannered way, that's all you can do," said Falcons safety Keion Carpenter, Vick's best friend on the team and a business partner who helped the quarterback start his youth football camps.

The attention has even thrust an unwitting Ron Mexico -- not an alias -- into the spotlight.

"I've been getting a ton of calls. People are asking me if I know him. I don't, of course," said Mexico, an auto parts supplier in Brighton, Mich.

"How do you pull a name like that out of the air? Use Bob Smith or Jim Johnson; there's 50 million of them. Out of all the names in the whole world, I wanna know how he picked this name out," Mexico wondered.
 

ACC will use Big Ten model
League will have replay in every game
By ROBBI PICKERAL, Staff Writer

GREENSBORO -- The Atlantic Coast Conference's instant-replay procedures next football season will mirror the Big Ten's, ACC administrators decided Thursday.

In addition, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said, "we'll be doing it all games -- conference games, televised games, non-conference, non-televised games. We just feel that's the appropriate route to go, that every game is just as important as the next game."

Experimenting with instant replay will cost the league about $400,000, or $33,000 per school, for the first year because of so many one-time equipment costs, Swofford said. The league, not the schools, will cover the expenses, "and then after that the annual costs go down dramatically," he added.

Under the Big Ten system, which was used for the first time last season, a technical adviser in the press box pages the game officials on the field if he feels a play should be reviewed. The technical adviser alone makes the final call, but there must be irrefutable evidence to overturn the original ruling, and he cannot overturn judgment calls.

WHAT CAN BE REVIEWED

1. PLAYS GOVERNED BY SIDELINE, GOAL LINE AND END ZONE

* Scoring plays, including a runner breaking the plane of the goal line

* Pass complete, incomplete or intercepted at sideline, goal line, end zone and end line

* Runner or receiver in or out of bounds

* Recovery of loose ball in or out of bounds

2. PASSING PLAYS

* Pass ruled complete, incomplete or intercepted

* Touching of a forward pass by an ineligible receiver

* Touching of a forward pass by a defensive player

* Player makes forward pass or fumbles

* Illegal forward pass after change of possession

* Forward or backward pass from behind line of scrimmage

3. OTHER DETECTABLE INFRACTIONS

* Runner ruled not down by defensive contact

* Forward progress with respect to first down

* Touching of a kick

* Number of players on field

HOW IT COMPARES WITH NFL

SITUATION BIG TEN/ACC NFL

Coaches or officials on field may ask for review no yes

Review can be triggered only by technical adviser in press box yes no

No limit to the number of plays that can be reviewed yes no

Timeouts charged to teams based on outcome of reviews no yes

Status of game clock can be reviewed yes no

(BIG TEN)

That differs from the National Football League system that allows a coach to throw a red flag if he wants a play reviewed.

The types of situations that can be reviewed in the Big Ten -- and now the ACC -- include whether a runner or receiver is out of bounds, whether a quarterback has thrown a forward pass or fumbled, whether a team has the right number of players on the field, whether a runner breaks the plane of the goal line, and whether a pass has been completed.

Holding, pass-interference, illegal-formation and false-start penalties are among those that cannot be reviewed.

Play was stopped in 28 of the Big Ten's 57 games last year. Of the 43 calls reviewed, 21 were overturned. The average length of a review was 2 minutes, 29 seconds.

The ACC tested the replay system during Miami's spring football game last weekend and will conduct a similar test run during Clemson's spring game Saturday, Swofford said.

The league's faculty representatives had voted unanimously in February to base the ACC replay system on the Big Ten model but wanted to research potential variations that fall within NCAA guidelines.

In February, the NCAA football rules committee recommended that all conferences be allowed to use instant replay. The Southeastern Conference, Big East, Pacific 10, Conference USA and Mountain West have adopted it.

The ACC decided not to vary the replay guidelines because the Big Ten's system "seemed to work," North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour said. "There were suggestions of ways to tweak it. But the feeling was, 'Let's try it this way and see how we like it.' "

At the schools' request, the conference will put together printed material to be sent out with season tickets, explaining how instant replay will work, Swofford said.

In other business, he said the league is "very close" to having a sponsor for its football championship game, which will be played for the first time next season. However, he declined to identify the potential sponsor.

"That actually is handled by ABC, and ultimately it requires our approval," he said. "I think that will probably be a done deal in the relatively near future."

ABC, which negotiates the sponsorship deal, keeps the revenue from the naming rights as part of the multi-year contract extension it signed with the expanded ACC last summer.