UVa names Leitao men's basketball coach
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 17, 2005

After everyone just about everywhere confirmed that Virginia’s new basketball coach was Dave Leitao, Virginia finally did so itself Saturday.

The Virginia athletic department issued a release around 1:30 p.m. Saturday that Leitao, the coach the past three seasons at DePaul, had agreed to a five-year contract at UVa.

He will replace former coach Pete Gillen who resigned on March 14.

The statement ended a 33-day odyssey that included a plethora of rumors and guesses by both the media and the Virginia fanbase that took on lives of their own.

Leitao will be formally introduced as Virginia’s coach today during a 2 p.m. press conference at Bryant Hall in Scott Stadium. The New Bedford, Mass., native will be the first black head coach of any sport in the University of Virginia’s history.

“I am prepared to accept the challenge and responsibility of leadership that awaits me at the University of Virginia,” Leitao said in the UVa statement. “I look forward to establishing a standard of commitment to excellence that will enhance the life of every student-athlete who becomes a member of the Virginia basketball family. I thank God, my family and the people involved in this process, in particular President John Casteen, Athletics Director Craig Littlepage and my wife Joyce.”

Leitao’s three DePaul teams compiled an overall record of 58-34 and participated in a postseason tournament each year. DePaul was 20-11 this past season and advanced to the second round of the NIT. The Blue Demons compiled a 22-10 record during 2003-04, and lost to eventual National Champion Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. DePaul was 16-13 in Leitao’s first season (2002-03) and participated in the NIT.

Leitao will be given a base salary of $215,000 per year. With total annual compensation, including media and apparel driven revenue, Leitao will receive $925,000 a year. In addition to those financial commitments to Leitao, Virginia will pay between $1 and $1.5 million to buyout the remaining five seasons of Leitao’s contract with DePaul. In addition to the $2 million Gillen received as part of agreement, Virginia will pay in excess of $4 million for a new basketball coach over the next year.

That, however, was not the focus of this day.

Instead, Virginia officials anointed the former Connecticut assistant coach as the best person to guide their program in the future and into the $130 million, 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena that opens in fall of 2006.

Leitao served two stints under Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, the last of which covered six years as associate head coach. During that time (1996-2002), the Huskies compiled a record of 156-71 (.754) and won the NCAA Championship in 1999. Calhoun has called Leitao “instrumental” in UConn going from Big East also-ran to one of the nation’s elite programs.

UVa President John T. Casteen III was the president of Connecticut when Calhoun was hired there in 1986. Leitao was a member of that original coaching staff.

That connection was noted Saturday by the UVa President.

“Dave Leitao’s decision to accept our invitation to come to Charlottesville and lead the men’s basketball program into its second century is great news for all who care about UVa and about intercollegiate basketball,” Casteen said. “Dave is one of the country’s most highly regarded young coaches and someone I have known and admired since he first joined Jim Calhoun’s staff at UConn in 1986. At this time, as we work to rebuild a program that has enjoyed and richly deserves prominence in the ACC and NCAA, Dave’s leadership and example matter in critical ways.”

Littlepage, blessed with ample basketball knowledge and contacts after spending a lifetime around the sport, said on the March 14 press conference announcing the end of Gillen’s tenure that he would use all his resources to find “the best possible coach.”

In his comments Saturday, Littlepage said Leitao was that man.

“He has demonstrated success at DePaul as a bench coach in the highly competitive Conference USA and he’s always been one of the best evaluators of talent and recruiters in the country,” Littlepage said. “Dave comes with a background that fits the University of Virginia. He understands our institution’s culture and what it takes for our students to be successful in all aspects of their experiences.”

In a separate e-mail to The Daily Progress on Saturday, Littlepage expressed elation in both the selection of Leitao and the end of the process in general.

“I am happy and delighted that we were able to get the right person. The search went smoothly throughout although the pace during the last ten days was brutal,” Littlepage said.

Leitao was the only candidate officially interviewed by Virginia though several sources indicated overtures were made to Kentucky coach Tubby Smith. UVa, however, never officially asked Kentucky for permission to speak to Smith.

Virginia first interviewed Leitao last Friday and shortly thereafter Littlepage became convinced he was the choice.

“I felt he was the proper person for the job early in the week,” Littlepage said.

Leitao and his wife, Joyce, visited Charlottesville on Thursday. Returning to Chicago with the offer, Leitao deliberated early Friday before finally telling his former players and DePaul officials that he would be leaving for Virginia.

With regard to history made with Leitao’s appointment as the first black head coach at the University of Virginia, Casteen said he preferred to discuss all matters in today’s press conference. In an e-mail to The Daily Progress, however, Casteen noted “my answer to that, is that it is about time” in a response to a question about the significance of Leitao’s hiring.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported in Saturday’s editions that Leitao was likely to bring his entire staff to Virginia but a UVa source said that was unlikely and Leitao may have to fill as many as three assistant positions.

Leitao is expected to meet with Virginia’s returning players this morning. The Cavaliers were 14-15 last season but should have at least three starters returning, including All-ACC freshman selection Sean Singletary.

Leitao is an unknown but for how long?
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
April 17, 2005

About this time 25 years ago, this columnist showed up at a press conference that introduced Duke’s new basketball coach. Few of us in attendance had ever heard of him. None of us could spell his name.

You may have heard of him.

Mike Krzyzewski, who quickly became known simply as ‘Coach K’ for obvious reasons.

For an unknown assistant at Army, Krzyzewski hasn’t done too badly.

When Roy Williams was unveiled as the new Kansas coach many years ago, few Jayhawks fans had ever heard of him either. Well, he has fared pretty well, too.

New beginning

Today, when Virginia opens a new chapter in its basketball history, Dave Leitao will be introduced as the new head coach of the Cavaliers.

Chances are you never heard of him either up until a few weeks ago when this coaching search became the topic of ever water cooler chat this side of Virginia Beach. Most of you have struggled with his name as well, but I promise you, we won’t be referring to him as ‘Coach L.’

In case you’re wondering, it’s pronounced Lay-toe, rhymes with Kato.

Virginia fans are hoping their unknown coach becomes a household name like Krzyzewski and Williams. Certainly he doesn’t have as much in his favor as those two, who took over storied ACC basketball programs.

Learning from the best

But then again, he has a lot of other things in his favor. Leitao has seen from the inside how a national power is built. He assisted coach Jim Calhoun’s rise at Connecticut, where basketball was only a rumor until those two entered the picture.

In recent days, the 44-year-old coach has been lauded as a players’ coach, a sharp bench coach, a tireless worker, a guy with no ego, a strong family man and a heck of a recruiter. Recruiting guru Bob Gibbons told this columnist that if he had a son who was a Division I basketball prospect, he’d love to have him play for Dave Leitao.

Identified as a rising star in the coaching profession, Leitao cleaned up a messy DePaul program, restored academic order and discipline in the ranks and within two years returned the Blue Demons to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years.

He is expected to greatly expand Virginia’s previous geographic recruiting borders because of his ties to the Northeast, Midwest and California. The current incoming recruiting class he left behind in Chicago was ranked the 20th best class in the country.

Leitao will inherit a Virginia program that nearly went bankrupt in terms of basketball this past season. The Cavs were 14-15 overall and 4-12 in the ACC. It was the eighth losing conference record for the Wahoos in the last 10 years.

Some promising young players dot the roster, which gives hope for the future. However, he has no seniors for his first Virginia team, which will be the last squad to inhabit aging University Hall.

Sitting across the street is the shell of a $130 million replacement, the 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena, which will open with an entirely new set of expectations for the new coach beginning in late 2006.

Leitao is also somewhat handcuffed from the beginning because he has no scholarships to work with. Virginia’s previous staff signed three players last November and that trio is scheduled to enroll this fall. That left only one other scholarship available for the following recruiting class and that is currently filled by Blue Ridge School junior commitment Stephen Kendall.

Yes, there are obstacles to overcome before Virginia can rise from its cellar position in the ACC. Yes, expectations will be high and perhaps unrealistic.

But any coach worth his salt likes a good challenge. In that case, Dave Leitao should be a happy man.

One pundit commented Saturday that hiring an unknown like Leitao certainly wasn’t a home run like a Tubby Smith.

True. But maybe, just maybe, he’ll touch all the bases before he’s through.

Blue Devils demolish Cavs
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 17, 2005

DURHAM, N.C. - If a sports journalism 101 class was being taught, the professor would advise never to ask a coach simply and bluntly “what happened?”

Of course, that question is essentially asked of every coach but never in such straightforward language. There’s skill in the wording and phrasing.

On Saturday, however, that very question - in its simplest form - was most appropriate for Virginia men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia.

In what was billed as an ACC showdown became an ACC mow-down as No. 2 Duke walloped listless No. 3 Virginia, 17-2, at Koskinen Stadium. The loss was the most lopsided setback for Virginia since an 18-2 defeat against the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club in 1959.

As to the answer of what happened, Starsia was almost as perplexed as the rest of the observers.

“I wouldn’t say it was the case that I sensed something in the pregame or anything like that. There was nothing before the game that gave me an indication that we would turn out this kind of result,” Starsia said. “I did not see this coming at all. We were a step slow and a dollar short throughout the day. We didn’t do the little things. … They were on their game today and were able to take advantage of every opportunity.”

Zack Greer had four goals for the Blue Devils (12-1, 3-0 ACC) while Matt Danowski had three goals and two assists. The victory clinched the regular-season ACC title for Duke and marked the first time it ever finished a perfect 3-0 in ACC play.

“The 3-0 streak is something we’ve never done before. What a great day. To be honest, I was very shocked the score got away as it did. I never in my right mind would have believed it,” Duke coach Mike Pressler said. “Lacrosse is a game of runs. I’ve definitely been on the end of this against Virginia. Dom has a great team and they will be back.”

Actually, the Cavaliers technically will “be back” immediately. They host Denver tonight at 7 p.m. in what is a makeup of a game postponed by snow on Feb. 28.

“We ran into a good team today but we also didn’t show up to play. From the first whistle, we just didn’t play lacrosse,” junior attackman Matt Ward said. “We just seemed deflated. I thought we would be ready to play. Playing [tonight] is either a good thing or a bad thing. … Hopefully, we’ll come out [today] and put a beating on them like the one we just received.”

Ward and freshman Ben Rubeor had the lone goals for Virginia (8-2, 2-1 ACC). Ward scored the first goal for the Cavaliers but that didn’t arrive until 2:07 left in the third quarter and Duke holding a 10-0 lead.

Duke opened a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. That wasn’t necessarily rare - three times this season already Virginia was scoreless after the first 15 minutes. What was uncharacteristic, however, was the rebound that usually follows those poor starts never came.

The Blue Devils added four more in the second quarter and when Danowski scored with 2:19 left before intermission, the score was 7-0 and that’s how it remained at halftime.

Still, there was a fleeting sense that Virginia would almost have to respond, but again that never came. Duke scored two quick goals at the start of the period and later added another for a

10-0 advantage, and at that point, it was evident that Virginia was mentally and physically finished for the afternoon. No gargantuan comeback was going to arrive.

“It was a day in which we were not going to get it done under the circumstances. I thought if we were going to do anything in this game, it had to happen at the start of the third quarter and it didn’t,” Starsia said. “I have confidence in my team and I believe in this group. It’s not as if we didn’t try to come out and play but it was just a day when every bounce and every opportunity went their way.”

To punctuate things, the Blue Devils proceeded to outscore Virginia 6-1 in the final quarter to account for the 15-goal margin.

“I think we are very fortunate that we have a game tomorrow night. … As I said to the team after the game, if the worst thing that happens to you is losing a lacrosse game then things are going pretty good,” Starsia said. “You can’t do anything about this now so the questions is, let’s see what we do next? We will find out what we are made of in the next 24 hours.”

Cavs ink coach to 5-year contract
Dave Leitao will receive $925,000 per year over five years, which is five years less than ex-coach Pete Gillen's contract.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Nobody can say Virginia has failed to learn from its past.

After feeling the burden of a 10-year contract awarded to former men's basketball coach Pete Gillen, the Cavaliers announced that successor Dave Leitao will receive a five-year pact.

In a news release issued shortly after noon Saturday, Virginia confirmed that Leitao, 44, was its choice and said his compensation will amount to $925,000 per year.

That was counter to reports, mostly in the Chicago media, that Leitao (pronounced LAYT-o) would receive between $1.1 million and $1.5 million.

A buyout provision in Leitao's contract with DePaul may have contributed to the disparity.

"The coach would have to decide if he or she would want to handle that, or if they would want that to be part of the negotiation with the new employer," UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said. "We're in the process of working through all that right now."

Littlepage, contacted at an invitational track meet that UVa was hosting, said he was catching some fresh air after a 33-day search that ended Friday. Leitao is expected in Charlottesville at mid-morning today, in time for a 2 p.m. news conference.

The earliest confirmation of Leitao's decision came through DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto on Friday night. Littlepage's first public comments came Saturday.

"I have admired Dave's work for a long time," said Littlepage, who was the head coach at Rutgers when Leitao was on the staff at Big East rival Connecticut. "Dave comes with a background that fits the University of Virginia.

"He has demonstrated success at DePaul as a bench coach in the highly competitive Conference USA, and he's always been one of the best evaluators of talent and recruiters in the country."

The first of Leitao's two stints as a Connecticut assistant coincided with the UConn presidency of John Casteen, Virginia's president since 1990.

"Dave Leitao's decision ... is great news for all who care about UVa and about intercollegiate basketball," Casteen said. "Dave is one of the country's most highly regarded young coaches."

Leitao is the 10th head coach in Virginia's 100-year men's basketball history and the first black head coach in any sport at Virginia.

"I look forward to establishing a standard of commitment to excellence that will enhance the life of every student-athlete who becomes a member of the Virginia basketball family," Leitao said in a prepared statement.

At DePaul, Leitao took over a team that was 9-19 and 2-14 in Conference USA the season before his arrival and compiled a record of 58-34. The Blue Demons were 20-11 this year and 10-6 in Conference USA.

In an earlier two-year stint at Northeastern, his alma mater, Leitao was 22-35 before resigning after the 1995-1996 season.

"I didn't really know who he was until I started hearing his name," said UVa guard J.R. Reynolds, a sophomore from Roanoke. "Maybe one or two of the guys knew who he was, but if anybody else was ever recruited by him, I didn't know about it.

"Once he has his press conference, we'll know a little more about him. From what I hear, he's a real good coach."

It didn't bother Reynolds to learn that Leitao has a reputation as a tough guy.

"We could use a little more toughness," Reynolds said. "Definitely."

Virginia hires right candidate after convoluted search
Gregg Doyel April 16, 2005
By Gregg Doyel
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

Question the process, but don't question the result. Virginia swung for the fences and missed, but by hiring Dave Leitao the Cavaliers still wound up with a home run.

Leitao isn't the grand slam into the upper deck that Tubby Smith or Rick Barnes would have been, but he's a super hire. He would have been a super hire 33 days ago, too. Leitao is so good for Virginia, so right, that the Cavaliers could have announced his arrival in the same news release that announced the departure of Pete Gillen. That was March 14.

Virginia took a circuitous path to Leitao, which reflects more on Virginia than Leitao, who was good enough to have been the top choice. The casual fan would have gasped if Virginia had fired Gillen one day and hired Leitao the next -- Dave Leitao? Why didn't we hire Tubby Smith? Mike Krzyzewski? John Wooden? -- but hard-core college basketball people understand how good Leitao promises to be for Virginia.

He promises to be so good, in fact, that he better not promise to be there for long. A handful of years from now, when Leitao has Virginia on the 20-win treadmill and Jim Calhoun retires from Connecticut, UConn will pry Leitao away from Virginia as easily as Virginia pried Leitao away from DePaul. It's the circle of life. Virginia is above DePaul on the food chain, but UConn is above Virginia. Way, way above Virginia.

Virginia is not the basketball school it confused itself for while pursuing Smith, Barnes and Mike Montgomery. Leitao will get the ball rolling in that direction, but for now he inherits a program that rode Ralph Sampson into a skewed level of national prominence.

Virginia has 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, less than 52 programs, and has made two Final Four appearances -- which puts it in a 23-way tie for 30th place nationally.

Those facts say Virginia is not a top-30 college basketball program, yet it's a top-30 job for two reasons: ACC and cash (and you're right -- they're one and the same). You can argue the Big East has a better product on the court, but off the court the two leagues don't compare. Only in the ACC would a program as mediocre as Virginia hire a coach as (so far) unaccomplished as Leitao and pay him almost $1 million a year. Money is status, and no basketball league throws around money like the ACC.

With the kind of money it's throwing around this year, Virginia might soon need rotator cuff surgery. Including Gillen's payoff, Leitao's buyout from DePaul and his 2005-06 salary at Virginia, the school has almost $5 million invested in Leitao's first season. But that's nothing compared to the $130 million the school is (still) raising for the John Paul Jones Arena, a 15,000-seat palace that will be one of the country's finest gyms when it opens in 2006-07.

Leitao was worth it. For one thing, he can X-and-O. If you want to argue, don't. DePaul went 21-37 in Pat Kennedy's last two seasons ... and Leitao went 58-34 in the next three, and did it without his best two signees: Wesley Green, who redshirted the 2003-04 season with an injury; and Dorell Wright, who entered the 2004 NBA Draft out of high school.

Leitao will land players Gillen could think about getting only when he had Bobby Gonzalez as his chief recruiter. At DePaul, Leitao signed three straight top-35 classes for a Conference USA school that played in a deteriorating, half-filled gym located 30 minutes from campus ... in an indifferent city.

Now Leitao's in the ACC, in a town -- and state -- dominated by the Cavaliers. Throw in the John Paul Jones Arena and the regal figure Leitao's going to cut on national television opposite Roy Williams and Krzyzewski, and Virginia's in for a talent makeover.

Congratulations are in order for Virginia, but let's take the blinders off and see this process for what it was. Virginia marginalized Leitao by waiting nearly five weeks, and exploring at least five other candidates, before offering him the job.

Along the way, the collateral damage included Dave Odom's shattered name at South Carolina. Odom, a former Virginia assistant alongside now-athletics director Craig Littlepage, was unfairly dragged into the process as a consultant or resource or whatever euphemism you prefer for "fallback candidate." Odom's recruiting suffered, as did his status among USC fans offended that he might prefer Virginia to their fine school.

Virginia has trampled over others before. It's the same school that humiliated Syracuse during ACC expansion two years ago. Politically pressured by state leaders, Virginia hijacked the proceedings until Virginia Tech was thrown into the ACC mix. Someone had to be thrown out, and that someone was Syracuse, which slunk back to the Big East.

Syracuse recovered -- its athletics director resigned, and the new AD fired the football coach -- but Syracuse recovered. Odom will recover. So will DePaul, assuming the school's next hire is a slam dunk (Gonzalez, Brian Gregory) instead of a risk (Rick Majerus, Tim O'Shea) or an outright disaster (Digger Phelps).

DePaul is a story for another day. Today the story is Leitao, the first black head coach in Virginia history. Welcome to the 20th century, Cavaliers. What took you so long?

Will Leitao deliver?
Published April 17 2005
David Teel

Any critique of Dave Leitao's hiring as the University of Virginia's men's basketball coach must begin with a caveat: Most thought the Cavaliers wise when they hired Pete Gillen in 1998. And after a return to the NCAA tournament in 2001, most considered them wise still.

But Gillen's eventual later shortcomings and exit notwithstanding, you want answers. Is Leitao, DePaul's head coach the past three seasons, a good choice? Can he conform to Virginia's peculiar culture? Could the Cavaliers have done better?

Pretending to answer those questions with any degree of certainty is a fool's errand. That said, here is what I think I know:

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage should have been uniquely prepared for this decision. As a former player, assistant coach and head coach, and as the incoming chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee, he is the consummate, connected basketball guy. Moreover, given the obvious and prolonged demise of Gillen's tenure, Littlepage had beaucoup time to consult those connections and identify quality candidates.

His search, during which he promised to "leave no stone unturned," produced Dave Leitao, an established recruiter and promising head coach. Leitao may not have been Virginia's first choice, but rest assured he has been on Littlepage's radar for more than a year.

So if Leitao thrives, so does Littlepage. If Leitao sinks, so does Littlepage. As it should be.

Shortsighted fans and pundits already have dismissed Leitao. His name and record don't assure capacity crowds at Virginia's new 15,000-seat arena, live ESPN coverage of his introductory news conference today or the signature of every schoolboy with 3-point range.

In short, he's not Tubby Smith.

But prying Smith from Kentucky or Rick Barnes from Texas or Phil Jackson out of retirement was a pipe dream for a program that is 10 years removed from its last NCAA tournament victory, 21 years from the second of its two Final Fours and 29 years from its only ACC tournament title.

Hey, give Virginia credit for at least trying on Smith, Barnes and probably several other high-profile candidates. And remember, the goal is to win games, not the press conference. If Leitao's teams win, the sellouts at John Paul Jones Arena and the $25 million-plus needed to complete its financing will follow.

Can Leitao, or any coach for that matter, win consistently at Virginia? Sure. Terry Holland did. Jeff Jones did. They didn't win Duke and North Carolina big, and neither will Leitao. But if he proves a capable recruiter, program manager and game tactician, Leitao should succeed.

Recruiting doesn't figure to be an issue. As a Connecticut assistant under Jim Calhoun, Leitao helped procure national-championship talent such as Richard Hamilton and Emeka Okafor. As DePaul's head coach, he beat teams such as UConn, Arizona, Syracuse and Boston College for prospects, most in the Boston-Philadelphia corridor, but also in Michigan, Texas, California and Florida.

Program and game management are more nuanced and difficult to project. In Conference USA, which included Final Four coaches Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Bob Huggins, Leitao led DePaul to three postseason tournaments, one NCAA and two NIT, and upgraded the Blue Demons' academic performance.

But Virginia expects more. Delusional or not, Virginia expects two or three NCAA tournaments for every NIT, and a diploma in every set of hands.

Can Leitao deliver? The Cavaliers hope he's their Paul Hewitt, a former Villanova assistant with limited head-coaching experience (three seasons at Siena) who took Georgia Tech to the Final Four in his fourth season. The Cavaliers hope he's not their Matt Doherty, a former Kansas assistant with minimal big-whistle background (one season at Notre Dame) who lasted all of three years at North Carolina, his alma mater.

Leitao can relate. His first head-coaching gig was from 1994-96 at Northeastern, his alma mater. It ended with a 4-24 fiasco and his abrupt resignation to return to Connecticut as an assistant. Although Northeastern's athletic director at the time, Barry Gallup, absolves Leitao of much of the blame, it's an undeniable blot on his résumé, a blot Virginia did not probe thoroughly.

Think about it. If you're about to commit millions of dollars to a coach, don't you call all of his former bosses? No one representing Virginia contacted Gallup.

That wasn't Virginia's only misstep. While candidates often prefer and occasionally require secrecy, information blackout is counterproductive. Yet such was Littlepage's modus operandi, even as speculation swirled during the Final Four and coinciding coaches' association convention.

Reminder to Littlepage: Coaches gossip more than reporters, and I've got the cell-phone log to prove it. If you want accurate information in the public domain, provide it overtly or leak it covertly.

Leitao also has some answering to do. After flirting with Auburn and St. John's last offseason, he signed a six-year contract extension and professed loyalty to DePaul. A year later, he's gone, leaving behind disillusioned fans, administrators and players.

Will his ambition and wanderlust ease in Charlottesville? Is he a long-term fix? A short-term problem? Can he assemble and retain a quality staff?

First impressions come today. Answers come in many tomorrows.

Duke men's lacrosse wins ACC regular-season title
By NOLAN HAYES : The Herald-Sun
nhayes@heraldsun.com
Apr 17, 2005 : 12:45 am ET

The gap between No. 2 and No. 3 in the nation was huge, so the Duke men's lacrosse team seized the No. 1 spot in the conference.

No. 2 Duke scored the game's first 10 goals and rolled past No. 3 Virginia 17-2 in front of a crowd of 6,824 at Koskinen Stadium, finishing 3-0 in the ACC for the first time in the history of the program.

The Blue Devils (12-1) won the ACC regular-season title for the first time since 1999 and clinched the top seed for the conference tournament, which begins April 29 in Baltimore.

"I was shocked that the score got away like that," Duke coach Mike Pressler said. "I never in my right mind would have pictured that."

The loss was Virginia's most lopsided since an 18-2 setback at the hands of the Mt. Washington Lacrosse Club on March 28, 1959.

The Cavaliers (8-2, 2-1 ACC) never were in the game, falling behind 3-0 in the game's first 12 minutes.

"We had the crowd on our side, and we came out and played the way we always do," said freshman Zack Greer, who finished with four goals to increase his NCAA-leading total to 42. "Things just went our way."

The Blue Devils put on a show during reunion weekend, playing one of their best games in front of about 95 former players who returned to Durham.

Virginia entered the game averaging 12.7 goals per game, second in the country behind Duke's 12.8, but the Blue Devils held the Cavaliers scoreless for the game's first 42 minutes. Duke senior goalie Aaron Fenton (eight saves) had little to do for much of the game and afterward fielded questions about coming close to a shutout, something that rarely happens in lacrosse.

"The defense, right off the bat, was incredible," Fenton said. "That makes my job a lot easier, and it makes me a lot more confident knowing that I'm not going to give up bad shots or anything like that. That was the best defense we've played all year."

Virginia's Matt Ward and John Christmas, who had 40 goals and 20 assists between them entering the game, combined for just one of each. Ward scored Virginia's first goal with 2:07 left in the third quarter, and Christmas assisted on the Cavaliers' fourth-quarter goal. The Blue Devils swarmed all of Virginia's attackmen, with defensemen Casey Carroll, Tony McDevitt and Nick O'Hara leading the charge.

"You just try to limit those guys," Pressler said. "You never try to shut them down, and today we shut them down, which is hard to believe."

The Cavaliers failed in their efforts to do the same to Duke's top guns. Matt Danowski tallied three goals and two assists, and Bret Thompson and Matt Zash added two goals apiece. Dan Flannery scored a goal and finished with a game-high three assists.

The Blue Devils led 7-0 at halftime, getting goals from six different players, and never looked back. Duke opened the second half with two goals in the first 3½ minutes, and the rout was on.

"I was a little surprised," Fenton said. "Going in at halftime, I thought they would battle back and give one last go at it. But I think they kind of quit at halftime. But that's fine with us. It makes it a lot easier for us."

Things should get tougher for the Blue Devils in the coming weeks. Duke heads to No. 4 Army next weekend before facing North Carolina in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

A top seed in the NCAA Tournament will be at stake in those games. But on Saturday, the Blue Devils could take some time to celebrate. They've come a long way after finishing winless in ACC regular-season play in 2003 and '04.

"Today we came out and played great, and to go 3-0 is pretty incredible," Greer said. "Last year we were 0-3, so a turnaround like that with everyone working together is a job well done."
 

UVA: A long time in making
Leitao, who got a look at U.Va. in 1988, ready to take the reins
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Apr 17, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In December 1988, Dave Leitao visited the University of Virginia as an assistant basketball coach for the University of Connecticut. In a nonconference showdown at University Hall, UConn beat U.Va. 68-61, and then Leitao headed back to Storrs with the Huskies.

About 16 months later, Leitao interviewed for a position on the staff of newly hired U.Va. coach Jeff Jones. He came close to taking the job -- "Very close, very close," Leitao said -- before deciding to remain with coach Jim Calhoun at UConn. Still, his interest had been piqued.

"I knew then that there was something different and something special about that university," Leitao said yesterday by phone from Chicago, his home since 2002. "It always stuck in my mind."

U.Va. clearly didn't forget Leitao, either. He'll be formally introduced as the Cavaliers' basketball LEITAO coach at a news conference this afternoon in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium.

Leitao, 44, replaces Pete Gillen, who stepped down under pressure last month after seven seasons. Leitao spent the past three seasons at DePaul, where his teams went 58-34. He'll be the first black head coach in any sport at U.Va.

"I wish him nothing but the best," DePaul's athletic director, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, said yesterday. "I think he'll do a great job at Virginia."

Leitao, who reportedly made about $660,000 annually at DePaul, agreed to a five-year contract with U.Va. His base salary is $215,000, and his package is worth about $925,000 annually, including media and apparel-driven revenue, Virginia announced.

U.Va. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said yesterday that Leitao's contract, which hasn't been finalized, also will include incentive bonuses. The details of how much it will cost to buy out Leitao's contract at DePaul haven't been worked out, Littlepage said.

Leitao's wife, Joyce, and their three sons 10-year-old David III, 6-year-old Reese and 2-year-old Tyson -- will accompany him to Charlottesville today. Before the news conference, Leitao said, he hopes to meet with U.Va.'s returning players. Eight scholarship players have eligibility remaining, a group led by point guard Sean Singletary, swingman Gary Forbes and shooting guard J.R. Reynolds.

Gone from a team that finished 14-15 are the top two frontcourt players: 6-5 Devin Smith (16.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and 6-9 Elton Brown (12.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg). Still, Leitao isn't conceding anything.

"There are a core group of guys there that if we can very quickly come together and get on the same page, some good things will happen," he said.

He's watched some tape of Virginia in recent weeks, and he caught some of the team's games on TV during the season. He has a good sense of what he's inheriting.

"At the beginning stages, there are some very talented perimeter people," Leitao said. "That's a very good starting point. Sean has proven in one year that he has the makings of becoming a great player."

Under Gillen, U.Va. usually ranked at or near the bottom of the ACC in defense. Expect the Cavaliers to improve in that area under Leitao.

"Our kids have played tenacious defense," Lenti Ponsetto said. "In many ways, I think that's been the trademark of our program since he's been here."

In part of Leitao's first stint as a UConn assistant, John Casteen was the school's president. Casteen has been U.Va.'s president since 1990. He told The Times-Dispatch yesterday that university presidents usually form relationships with head coaches, not assistants, but Leitao was "memorable."

It's unclear who'll make up Leitao's staff at Virginia. Asked if any of his DePaul assistants would follow him to U.Va., Leitao said that's "still a process I'm evaluating." Sources told T-D and the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper, that Leitao may not offer jobs to his DePaul aides.

The news of Leitao's hiring delighted Richmond's Tony Squire, among others. Squire, who runs a successful AAU program, has known Leitao for about two decades, and they spoke on the phone yesterday.

"There couldn't be a better person," Squire said. "Some people stick out in this business, and Dave Leitao is one of those who sticks out, with his demeanor, his professionalism and the way he gets along with players."

Leitao's former boss, Lenti Ponsetto said, "I would certainly tell you that his work ethic is his greatest strength. He's tireless at whatever it takes to get the job done."