Fans seem enthused about Cavs' future
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 19, 2005

As Dave Leitao spent Monday immersing himself in the basketball program he will now steer, a new enthusiasm was breathed into what had been a lifeless Virginia men’s basketball program.

Even Virginia’s often cantankerous fanbase seemed a little happier Monday, or at least that’s the impression glancing at the sabre.com, a popular Web site covering all things Cavaliers. The traffic may have been a little slower than the past five weeks, but nonetheless nearly all appeared enthused or, well, less cantankerous.

While Leitao appears to be a popular choice, the excitement and enthusiasm of his hiring cannot strictly be judged by the opinions of the fans and even the media, another cantankerous lot mind you.

No, the opinions that ultimately matter most are that of the very players Leitao will coach. After their brief introduction to Leitao on Sunday, the players displayed an energy and excitement that was rare over this past season’s 14-15 campaign.

“He said everything I wanted to hear,” said point guard Sean Singletary, an All-ACC Freshman team selection this past season. “I feel he has a great plan for us. … We have to trust in him and believe that we can do it. He is going to take us to the [NCAA] Tournament. I know that. With the core group of guys we have here, anything can happen.”

Singletary, along with sophomores J.R. Reynolds and Gary Forbes, comprise the core of Virginia’s returnees. While their statistics place them as the top three returning scorers, there is more to their presence than numbers.

It was quite evident that the trio was dissatisfied with some of the losing stretches they suffered through last season. No doubt everyone involved took the losing hard, but there was a particular disdain for it displayed by Singletary, Forbes and Reynolds. Maybe it was their relative youth or their makeup - no doubt Leitao will bank on the latter - but their heads hung down a little longer and their postgame comments a little more reflective.

“I’ve never lost that bad in my life. Not even in a video game,” said a fairly disgusted Forbes after a 34-point home loss to North Carolina in which the Cavaliers trailed by 50 with five minutes to go.

With any criticism of former coach Pete Gillen aside, the trio has now seemingly found a new leader for their own visions of success.

“Whomever we play against is going to know that we will fight you for every inch of the floor and we will be the toughest outfit they’ll face,” Leitao said. “So many ask questions about why and I always ask the question ‘Why Not?’” Leitao said. “I looked at this university from that perspective. Why can’t it be successful?”

That definitely resonated with Forbes.

“Coach Leitao made me feel real comfortable and confident about next season. I’m ready to go,” said Forbes, who dismissed any rumors of his seeking a transfer. “I think Sean, J.R., and myself are really excited about the season. We know we are the leaders of the team and need to get everyone together.”

There’s ample reason for Forbes to be optimistic. While an assistant at UConn, Leitao tutored such big guard/small forwards as Richard Hamilton, Ray Allen and Caron Butler. It’s a position that was also integral to Leitao’s teams at DePaul.

“I’m really excited. Coach Leitao told me that. He was around guys like Caron Butler and Rip Hamilton. I’m really excited about that. I think that my abilities can match that kind of role,” Forbes said.

A staple of Leitao’s teams have been defense, something many observers would say has been lacking in the Virginia program. This past season, Leitao’s DePaul squad held opponents to around 64 points a game; Virginia allowed opponents to score 76 points a game this season (81 points in ACC games).

“Everybody can play defense if they are committed to it,” Leitao said.

Reynolds agreed.

“His philosophy and strategy of team defense will help us out,” Reynolds said. “I think the guys are willing to step up.”

Virginia finished last in the ACC this past season, but has not been dealt the early NBA departures like several of the other ACC schools.

That core of Singletary, Reynolds and Forbes is looking better for the simple fact that they’ll be back next season. Add in that in his two initial seasons as a head coach at both Northeastern and DePaul, Leitao’s teams overachieved, and there is certainly promise for next season’s Cavaliers.

Leitao was reminded of the NBA attritions from the ACC and their relation to his team.

“Looks like it makes us a better team if that keeps happening,” Leitao said.

Notes. Among the numerous things on Leitao’s agenda Monday was likely to call Mamadi Diane, Laurynas Mikalauskas and Sam Warren - the three recruits Virginia signed last fall. Mori Diane, the father of Mamadi, said Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage notified the families Saturday of the selection of Leitao. Leitao also reiterated Sunday his commitment to those players. While Mori Diane had not spoken with Leitao as of late Monday afternoon, he and Mamadi watched Leitao’s press conference Sunday and said he was “very impressed.”

Mikalauskas, of the nearby Blue Ridge School, also watched Sunday’s press conference and also was very impressed. “He seems like a great guy. I think he will be a good coach. He likes to have players that play defense and rebound.”

Mikalauskas and Diane certainly remained committed to attending UVa next season. …

Among Leitao’s immediate duties is putting a coaching staff together. Several Chicago media outlets speculated Monday that Gene Cross, Leitao’s top assistant at DePaul the past three seasons, was expected to come with Leitao to Charlottesville. Cross, a Chicago native, played at Illinois and was an assistant at Illinois-Chicago before going to DePaul. …

Leitao said he will attempt to have an assistant with strong Virginia ties on the staff. That could mean a member of Gillen’s former staff or a former UVa player that has coaching experience. Among those that fit that latter description are Jason Williford, Richard Morgan and Ted Jeffries. Williford is an assistant at Boston University while Morgan is the associate head coach at Hampton University. Jeffries is certainly the closest to Charlottesville. Jeffries, formerly an assistant at Coastal Carolina and William & Mary, resigned from his position in Williamsburg last fall to become an assistant director for the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF).

Coaching comes first to Leitao
Dave Leitao knows he's the first black coach in the University of Virginia's history. But in the end, he says, "I'm a basketball coach."
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published April 19, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Rick Turner looks at Virginia's hiring of Dave Leitao from two sides. There's Turner's professional side, where he's the University of Virginia's dean of African-American Affairs. And there's his personal side, where he's the father of three children who played Division I basketball.

From each viewpoint, he understands the significance. Not only is Leitao the first black head coach in the men's basketball program's history, he's the Cavaliers' first black head coach in any sport.

"I think him being the first African-American coach is going to greatly enhance the recruiting of some of the top African-American (players) in the country," Turner said. "African-Americans, we play basketball. We play more basketball than any people in the world. And parents are always excited when somebody comes into their home who looks like them.

"Not to say that if he wasn't black he wouldn't be effective, but we need that here at the University of Virginia. I know the impact an African-American coach coming into my home had on me."

Leitao played down the issue during his introductory press conference on Sunday. He knows his place in history at a university that, as Turner points out, was founded during segregation. But he doesn't see his race as his identity.

"I feel extremely proud to coach the game of basketball as an African-American with all the people who have done so - or not had the chance to do so - before me," he said. "At this time, for our university and our future, I carry that with me. It's not only an honor, it's a responsibility.

"At the same time, I'm a basketball coach. For anyone who looks at me, they'll see the same thing, as if my skin color were anything else. I'm honored and it's a responsibility, but at the same time I'm here to coach basketball."

Leitao becomes the seventh African-American head coach to be hired by an ACC basketball program. The first was Bob Wade, who replaced Lefty Driesell at Maryland in 1986. Some schools have progressed quicker than others. Miami's last three hires, for example, have been African-Americans.

Virginia's players said their new coach's race isn't relevant.

"No, that kind of stuff doesn't make a difference to me," said guard J.R. Reynolds.

According to the Black Coaches Association, 26 percent of the nation's 330 Division I coaches last season were African-American. But next season, six of the ACC's 12 head coaches will be black.

"That's great," said Floyd Keith, the BCA's executive director. "That's about where it should be."

Keith knows that basketball has a far better track record in hiring African-American head coaches than football. The data proves it. Of the 117 I-A head coaches last football season, only three were black.

"In basketball, it has always been palatable to people," Keith said. "That's why you have more African-Americans who are head basketball coaches. It's easier for the public to accept the basketball coach, whereas they aren't ready or they're not socially developed enough to handle it in football. There are still some old myths that exist.

"It's alarming. But you always talk about progress and where you are. When you look at the University of Virginia, their athletic director is an African-American and their basketball coach is. That's progress."

Four years ago, Virginia made Craig Littlepage the first African-American athletic director in the ACC's history. On the day he was hired, he gave an answer very similar to Leitao's - that he was honored, but at the same time just an athletic director.

In his first major hire as AD, Littlepage looked at it the same way.

"My goal was to hire the best head coach - pure and simple," he said. "We are where we are, which isn't where we want to be. And this is the man that I think is uniquely positioned to bring this program back to where we can compete for championships on a consistent basis."

Which, of course, is the only thing that should matter. Not the man's skin color, but whether he can do the job.

"I don't care whether he's polka-dot," Turner said. "When it's all said and done, we're a society (that) loves entertainment. And often times, all we care about is winning and losing. Everyone is very happy that Dave is the first African-American coach in the history of the university. But for most people, the bottom line is: Can he win games, and can he fill that arena?"

Leitao to emphasize D
On the Front Row
Chris Graham
chris@augustafreepress.com

Dave Leitao knows that the expectations of the far-flung University of Virginia Basketball Nation are riding on his shoulders.

For his part, the 10th men's hoops coach in the school's storied history isn't afraid of being, as he put it on Sunday, "the torch-bearer for the future at such a critical time."

"Pressure is a relative term, and I don't think that anybody will put more pressure on me than I do on myself to make sure we play the game the right way," Leitao said after being announced as the man who will lead the Cavaliers into their final season in University Hall and then their inaugural campaign in 2006 in the new $150 million John Paul Jones Arena.

The former DePaul coach replaces Pete Gillen at the helm of the Wahoo basketball program, which floundered under Gillen's direction, qualifying for just one NCAA tournament in his seven seasons in Charlottesville.

The turnaround time for Leitao, who guided DePaul to a 58-34 record in his three seasons in Chicago following a long tenure as Jim Calhoun's right-hand man at Connecticut, will be short. Despite the recent record of futility, the Virginia faithful are used to winning - the program qualified for 12 NCAA tourneys in a 15-year stretch running from 1980 to 1995, during which the 'Hoos made it to two Final Fours and three Elite Eights.

The sum total of postseason wins under Gillen, meanwhile, was one - a first-round NIT triumph over Brown in 2002.

UVa. limped home to a 14-15 record in 2004-2005 - dropping 14 of its final 20 games after getting off to an 8-1 start that had the squad in the national rankings in December.

The cupboard is far from being bare, though. Rising sophomore point guard Sean Singletary and rising juniors Gary Forbes and J.R. Reynolds give Leitao something to work with - particularly on defense, where Virginia gave up 81 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting in Atlantic Coast Conference play in 2004-2005, good for 10th overall in the 11-team grouping.

"It doesn't matter how well you shoot or how fast you run or how high you jump. Everybody can play defense if they're committed to it. That's something I believe in very, very strongly," said Leitao, whose DePaul team gave up a relatively paltry 64.1 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting in '04-'05.

"There's playing hard, and then there's playing hard," Leitao said. "I like to think all the teams that I've been around have surpassed that level."

Northeastern bump didn't derail Leitao
New Virginia coach is bringing rebuilding experience to the job
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Apr 19, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE Dave Leitao left the University of Connecticut in 1994 to become basketball coach at Northeastern University, where he'd played for and later been an assistant under Jim Calhoun.
Click Here.

Two years later, Leitao no longer was being touted as one of the game's hot young coaches. He'd gone 18-11 in his first year at his alma mater, resurrecting a team that had finished 5-22 the previous season. In 1995-96, however, the Huskies plummeted to 4-24. Leitao chose, after the season, to return to UConn as Calhoun's associate head coach.

Declining support from officials at the Boston school, Calhoun believes, contributed heavily to Leitao's struggles that second year.

"The Northeastern he went back to wasn't the Northeastern he and I left," Calhoun said yesterday by phone. "That's the best way to put it . . . I really felt that it was a unique situation that happened to him there."

Calhoun never lost faith in his protégé's coaching ability. Still, he worried about the damage the Northeastern experience might do to Leitao's career.

"I thought it might taint a guy who otherwise had an incredibly bright future," Calhoun said.

His fears, obviously, proved unfounded. After a six-year run as Calhoun's top assistant, during which UConn won an NCAA title, Leitao was hired as DePaul's head coach. And now, after posting a 58-34 record in three seasons with the Blue Demons, he's been charged with another rebuilding project.

Leitao, 44, was formally introduced Sunday as the University of Virginia's new coach. Calhoun didn't attend the press conference, but he played a significant role in U.Va.'s search for Pete Gillen's replacement.

The man who hired Calhoun at UConn in 1986, John Casteen, has been Virginia's president since 1990. And when the Huskies' Hall of Fame coach recommended Leitao for the U.Va. job, Casteen listened intently.

The Cavaliers "got a terrific, terrific coach," Calhoun said. "He's just one of the best people I've ever met, and certainly one of the best guys I've ever coached. He had an awful lot to do with us being successful. . . . Everybody at UConn loved him."

After Leitao's first experience as a head coach, he returned to UConn "much tougher," Calhoun said. "Same Dave, but a little bit more hard-nosed about the realities of the world."

Asked about his longtime bond with Calhoun, one of the college game's towering figures, Leitao said: "I don't know that there could be any more special relationship between two people within our sport. I've learned a tremendous amount about life."

Leitao marveled at his mentor's work ethic. Moreover, he said, his association with Calhoun "has given me a sense of what it takes to not only be successful in basketball, but most importantly be successful in life and have people around you be successful in life."

In his remarks Sunday, Leitao downplayed his accomplishments as a Northeastern player. That doesn't surprise his college coach.

"He's overly modest about the total package," Calhoun said.

Off the court, Leitao excelled as a business-administration major. On the court, he "was an integral part of the team," Calhoun recalled. "We used to call him 'Glue,' because that's what he was for our team."

In 1986, then-UConn President Casteen hired Calhoun away from Northeastern. Leitao made the move with him from Boston to Storrs, Conn., where success wasn't assured.

UConn was "at that point about halfway through the construction of an arena," Casteen recalled, "and we were looking at a program that had slipped and really needed rebuilding."

Sound familiar? At U.Va., the 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena is under construction. The men's basketball team has made one NCAA tournament appearance in the past eight seasons. The Cavaliers finished 14-15 in 2004-05.

"He's got a challenge, and he knows it," Calhoun said of Leitao. "I just think Virginia can get back in the thick of things, and Dave's the guy to do it."

Dear Coach Leitao, Start with the students
Elizabeth Newell and Clayton O'Toole, Cavalier Daily Sports Editors

As current Cavalier Daily sports editors, we understand that as a new coach at a new school in a new league, you have many challenges before you. But the challenge we are most familiar with is one you may not have considered: repairing the broken relationship between the student body and the basketball program.

Given the fact that filling the new John Paul Jones arena in 2006 has been one of your most widely discussed challenges, we are sure increasing student interest is on your agenda. That task, however, may be more daunting than you think. In order to understand where student interest lies now, you must first go back and examine where the decline began.

Your predecessor, good ol' Petey G, came to Charlottesville when students thought of Virginia as a basketball school. Pre-Groh, pre-Ahmad, pre-Heath and pre-empty U-Hall, Gillen wasn't faced with the burden of proving himself immediately to the student body.

You, however, take up office in U-Hall in a different age of Virginia athletics. Sadly, basketball has taken a back seat to the now-beloved Virginia football program and its savior, Al Groh. In less than four years, Groh has captured the hearts and free time of nearly all Virginia students. With the snap of his fingers, he was able to change hundreds of years of Virginia tradition -- guys shed their ties and jackets for face paint, girls left their sun dresses in the closet in favor of "orange fever" shirts. Simply, he changed the face of Virginia football.

The reason students responded so positively to him had nothing to do with his personal demeanor. No one will dispute the fact that Gillen was a more personable guy than his football counterpart.

The secret to Groh's success, however, is making the students feel like they have an impact on the game, like they are partially responsible for the wins and the losses. Peer pressure also plays a huge role. Cavalier fans who miss big games are ridiculed to no end. On the other hand, we know more students who have never seen a Virginia basketball game than students who have been to at least one. That fact alone speaks volumes in terms of the work that lies ahead of you.

But it's not impossible. Before the beginning of the 2004-05 season, Gillen made the rounds to each fraternity and sorority asking people to come to the games. While Petey was on the right track, it was too little too late. Luckily, for you this is not the case. You still have time.

While any coach wants to portray him or herself as infallible, it is important to reach out to the student body and address it directly. Mass e-mails, public appearances, specific requests for student involvement in one way or another are essential to regain the trust and attention of the student body.

The apathy regarding the state of the basketball program is deep. People just don't seem care anymore. And if they do, they are cynical and more than willing to jump off the Leitao bandwagon at the first sign of trouble unless you do something now.

We don't mean to sound doomsday. We are very optimistic about your ability to turn this program around. But, it is important that you take this element of success as seriously as any other.

As you referenced in your press conference, "if you build it, they will come." You were right, but JPJ is not the answer. What needs to be built is the student support. And the time is now.

Questions replace hype as Spring Game nears
J.D. Moss, Columnist

Two frames adorn the wall outside Al Groh's office at the McCue Center. Both are newspaper pages from the day Virginia Tech beat Virginia in 2004, ending the Cavaliers' chances to win a share of the ACC title. Think Groh is motivated? After a disappointing year, he seems ready to turn things around in what is a huge year for the program.

Last spring, there was national focus on Virginia as a team on the rise that could contend for a BCS bid with one of the nation's top defenses.

After a 5-0 start, the Cavs stumbled to an 8-4 mark, including getting upset by Fresno State in the MPC Computers Bowl. That loss dropped them out of the rankings for the first time all year.

There is a different feel around the football program as spring practice concludes Saturday with the annual Spring Game at Scott Stadium (to note, Florida drew 59,000 fans to its game and Oklahoma drew over 60,000; Virginia had just 7,500 people last year, so it's not quite a football school yet).

Instead of unbridled optimism, there is caution among the fan base. Spring practice is supposed to feature sky-high hopes, but two seasons without a big win has tempered the Cavalier faithful.

Most pre-spring Top 25s have Virginia on the outside looking in and for good reason. Virginia lost 11 starters from last year's team; among them are four guys who could be picked in the first two rounds of Saturday's NFL Draft, according to ESPN's latest mock draft. They include one All-American, two other first team All-ACC players and two All-ACC second teamers.

That means the Cavaliers have a lot of question marks, and spring practice does not seem to have provided answers, mainly because of the number of players sidelined this spring.

It's a good thing games don't start until fall, as LB Ahmad Brooks, DE Brennan Schmidt, NT Keenan Carter, TE Tom Santi and K Connor Hughes are all out for medical reasons. Plus, LB Vince Redd is out for academics and G Marshall Ausberry was in a cast last week. That's four likely starters and three guys fighting for a starting job.

These injuries have opened the door for some rising stars to shine during spring practice. To start with some good news, here are three guys who seem poised to break out in 2005:

Nate Lyles: Roaming the defensive backfield, this 6-foot, 190-pound safety brings back memories of another Cavalier great -- Anthony Poindexter. Lyles is just plain scary with his shaded visor, and he has the ability to really tattoo some people. He will be one of the ACC's best by November.

Theirren Davis: Davis, who went by "Bud" last year, started at safety before switching to receiver and seeing heavy time in the bowl game. The rising sophomore seems to have the best connection with quarterback Marques Hagans in practice and is the only receiver who consistently caught deep balls. He has the size (6 foot 1), speed (4.30 40) and hands to be a star.

Cedric Peerman: A redshirt freshman, Peerman looked especially sharp at practice Sunday. The tailback came out of some holes that seemed to have no space and showed a good burst to the outside. With backup Michael Johnson sidelined for spring ball, Peerman has made the most of his opportunity and could pass Johnson on the depth chart; he should be the featured back in 2006.

Speaking of which, Wali Lundy has looked unbelievable. He is bigger, faster and showing a better burst.

Though there are some stars in the making, that does not mean there are not question marks for Al Groh and his staff. In fact, there are several issues that are unlikely to be answered by Saturday's spring game.

The passing game -- Virginia really struggled to move the ball last season in the air and the returning wideouts boast just 45 career catches. Those difficulties seemed to continue in practice Sunday. Other than Hagans, the quarterbacks struggled with accuracy and receivers dropped too many passes, a recurring theme all spring. The wideouts simply could not get separation and thus cannot make plays.

The defensive backfield: Virginia struggled to stop the pass last year as well with three young corners. Though there was a learning curve, the inability to recognize when the ball is coming –- a major problem from last fall -- still seems to be a major problem.

Outside linebackers: In Groh's 3-4 defense, the ends help hold linemen to let linebackers roam free and make plays. But who will make the plays on the outside with both linebackers leaving? Redshirt frosh Clint Sintim and sophomore Jermaine Dias have been especially impressive in drills and will need to step up in a big way.

I don't mean to say that the sky is falling in Charlottesville this spring but 2005 is a big year for Groh and company to move into the elite. This is Groh's first season with all of his own recruited players and Virginia has to earn respect on the field.

The one thing I do not doubt is Groh's motivation and ability to get the most out of his players. With an experienced quarterback and a favorable schedule, I have a feeling that a determined Groh gets Virginia over the hump this year –- and the Commonwealth Cup replaces those frames outside his office in 2006.