Coach says Tat remains committed
Ogide rejected prep-school recommendation
Doug Doughty

For all the questions that were raised by the absence of recruiting news out of Charlottesville on Wednesday, one question was answered.

At least now, people don’t have to wonder where Virginia is going to find a scholarship for Ryan Pettinella.

When it was confirmed in January that Pettinella would be enrolling at UVa, the Cavaliers already had takers for their five available scholarships.

Pettinella, a 6-foot-9, 230-pounder who was a reserve for two seasons at Pennsylvania, wasn’t worried.

“They’ve promised me a scholarship for next year,” Pettinella said in January interview. “They’ve got three scholarships set in stone. I can’t really talk about any of the details.”

At the time, nobody thought the scholarship would be vacated by Andy Ogide.

Much more hazy was the situation surrounding Solomon Tat, a 6-foot-5 Nigerian who plays at the Community Christian School in Stockbridge, Ga.

Tat committed to Virginia on Oct. 10 but did not sign during the fall period, leading to later speculation that he either would not qualify academically or that his visa had expired.

Coach Linzy Davis said during the fall that he was 99-percent certain that Tat would enroll at Virginia and hadn’t changed his tone Wednesday night.

“He remains a Virginia commit,” Davis said. “Everything is in line.”

So, what’s holding up Tat’s letter-of-intent?

“He needs to talk to his people back in Nigeria,” Davis said.

When Tat did not sign in November, Davis chalked it up to the logistical issues involved in forwarding the letter to Nigeria and having his parents sign it. Presumably, there would have been enough time in the next five months to complete that procedure.

If Tat couldn’t sign Wednesday, when is he going to sign?

“By the end of the period,” Davis said.

The spring signing period ends in mid-May.

THE WORD ON OGIDE is that the Cavaliers thought he would benefit from a year in prep school but Ogide, an academic qualifier, wanted to go directly to college.

Located in Louisville, Ky., where he is coaching in the Derby Festival, Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts said Thursday afternoon that he is unfamiliar with Ogide.

Keatts said he had spoken with UVa earlier in the year about fall signee Johnnie Lett, “but we haven’t talked lately,” Keatts said, “so, I just assumed [Lett] was going to qualify.”

Ogide’s decommitment could mean a longer look for Andy Burns, a 6-8, 210-pound post player from Bishop Ireton in Alexandria who decided to go to Virginia as a walk-on even though he had a scholarship offer from American University.

Burns scored 15 points per game for Ireton, with a high of 28 against Good Counsel. He shot 71.3 percent from the free-throw line and made 11 3-pointers, including three in one game against Bishop McNamara. Ireton, playing against strong competition, went 11-17 under coach Chuck Driesell (Lefty’s son).

WHILE RELATIONS BETWEEN Hampton High School football coach Mike Smith and UVa’s Al Groh remain frosty, Smith said this week that All-Peninsula District offensive lineman Isaac Cain (6-5, 310) will be going to UVa as a walk-on football candidate.

Some scouts have questioned whether Cain has the feet to be a Division I-A lineman, but, if he had great feet, somebody would have gotten a scholarship. Cain came out for the Hampton football team after playing in the band.

“All I know is, he carried that horn pretty well,” Smith said.
 

Tucker a rare find for Cavaliers
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
April 14, 2006

Athletic 6-foot-8 high school players who have the ability to handle the ball, post up and shoot NBA-range 3-pointers are about as common as republicans in Hollywood.
That, in a nutshell, is why Virginia coach Dave Leitao is so excited to have Jamil Tucker in the fold for next season.

"It's a skill package that a lot of guys at his position don't have," Leitao said recently. "He can make 3s as deep out to 25 feet, stretch the defense out and allow us to do different things - maybe play a little bit more with four guys on the perimeter area or play a high-low game.

"We really didn't have any high-low game [this season] because we didn't have a post guy who could face the basket and do some things. That becomes very intriguing."

The more you hear about Tucker - rated the 77th-best prospect by Scout.com - the harder it is to fathom Ohio State's decision to not recruit him.

Tucker, who can play any position on the floor, averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for West Side High School in Gary, Ind.

"They're getting a guy who can knock down big shots when the game is on the line, a guy who can play inside and outside, a team player," said West Side coach John Boyd.

UVa is also getting a kid who feels like he has a lot to prove. Like fellow signee Will Harris - who was rebuffed by Connecticut before signing with UVa - Tucker is fired up to prove Ohio State made a big blunder.

"When somebody doesn't want you, you want to show them what you can do," Tucker said. "It definitely makes you play that much harder, just to show them.

"It was a school that I wanted to go to. Them not showing interest in me, I just felt like, 'OK, it's their loss,' because I know what type of player I am and I knew that didn't close every door because I still had options."

Tucker said he recently talked to Harris and the pair bonded over their similar recruiting odysseys.

"Being able to have that chip on our shoulder will be able to add to the Virginia program," Tucker said.

It's a program Tucker said he can't wait to be a part of. Tucker said he watched every televised game this season.

"Seeing what they were doing really got me excited about what I can come in and do," he said. "It was like, 'Wow, I get to play with these guys next year.' I think I can mesh well with what they do."

Boyd believes Tucker's versatility helps his chances of coming in and playing immediately. The fact UVa only has eight returning scholarship players doesn't hurt, either.

"He'll open up a lot of looks for other guys," Boyd said. 'I think some of the post players will really enjoy his presence on the floor because he's someone other teams are going to have to pay a lot of attention to. He can score and put up points."

Boyd talked as if Ohio State's shying away from Tucker was a blessing in disguise.

"Ohio State is a good basketball program," he said, "but Virginia is going to be one of the best basketball programs in the country in the coming years. We just felt like the Ohio State fiasco was just something that he kind of looked at, but was never really that serious about. I think a lot of it was media driven.

"He took a step back and looked at what he wanted. He wanted to get away and play for an incredible coach like Coach Leitao, who has Virginia moving in the right direction."

Tucker said the area of his game that he needs to work on the most is his aggressiveness.

The 220-pounder, whose favorite player growing up was Tracy McGrady, said he feels most comfortable playing on the wing. However, he said he's not sure how Leitao will utilize him.

"Defense and rebounding is what I'll try and focus on and what I know I'll have to be doing," Tucker said. "Anything else, I'll wait for Coach Leitao to tell me what he needs."

 

Cavs look to Pearman to replace brother
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
April 13, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Andrew Pearman gets it at least once a day on Virginia's campus. Someone calls him Alvin, the name of his older brother.
"For the new people I say, 'All right, you've got one,'" he joked. "Everybody has one in my book."

It's a hard mistake to avoid. The brothers are spitting images of each other, though Alvin, whose 4,969 all-purpose yards rank second in Virginia history, is a bit stockier. Their mannerisms are similar. They sound the same. They even wear the same No. 21 that in Charlottesville seemingly has been bequeathed to the Pearman clan.

The Cavaliers only hope Andrew has a similar career path.

From the early returns, he'll be someone fans - and opposing defenses - will have to pay attention to this season.

Pearman, who transferred from Hawaii in the summer of 2005 and sat out last year per NCAA rules, will be one of the players counted on to replace the playmaking abilities of the departed Marques Hagans.

The younger Pearman, who has three years of eligibility left, quickly impressed his UVa teammates last year when he kept pace with speedy tailback Michael Johnson in sprints. UVa players said they had never seen somebody do that before.

"I think he's electric," rising sophomore linebacker Clint Sintim said. "I played with his brother for a year, but this kid is crazy. The moves he makes on the field are ridiculous."

"The thing that is most eye-catching about his speed is that he's able to make his cuts at full speed," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "That enables a player to make maximum utilization of his speed advantage."

Virginia plans to take advantage of it as well. Instead of following in his brother's footsteps at tailback, a position Andrew played his whole career at Providence High in Charlotte, the 5-foot-10, 166-pound younger Pearman will line up in the slot as a receiver.

The switch came last season, when, like his older brother, who took the art of multi-tasking to a new level at UVa, Andrew filled whatever role the coaches needed on the scout team. Though Pearman showed playmaking abilities at many positions, Groh wanted to find him a specific one.

"We have to show some discipline here too in not getting carried away with the possibilities and give him a position (where) he can learn how to play the position," Groh said. "Otherwise he just becomes a Jack of all trades, where he's a get-him-the-ball guy but he has no position.

"You can kind of do that quickly if you want to interject the player in a certain way ? but then he has no real position and eventually that catches up with you."

That doesn't mean Pearman won't play many roles. Expect at some point this season to see him returning punts, something he's done regularly during spring practice.

"I don't really mind what I'm doing," Pearman said. "The coaches won't put you in anywhere unless they feel confident you can do the job. And I trust that they're only going to put me in a position where I'm going to help the team, where they think I can contribute."

Funny. That sounds almost exactly like something Alvin would say.


 

Pinigis, Stair await legal action
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
April 13, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - No action has yet been taken on the two current Virginia football players who were arrested in connection with a fraternity brawl that took place March 3.
Rising junior Eddie Pinigis (Jefferson Forest) and rising sophomore Zak Stair, two offensive linemen, were charged with misdemeanor entering a property with intent to damage after being arrested Monday night.

Rising sophomore cornerback Mike Brown had been arrested on the eve of spring practice and charged with felony breaking and entering with intent to commit an assault. Vince Redd, who was dismissed from the football team prior to spring practice for an unspecified violation of team rules, was charged with obstruction of justice.

On his Wednesday teleconference, Virginia coach Al Groh deferred to the athletic department's statement from Tuesday that the athletes will meet with their coaches to determine their status pending legal proceedings. The same process was used when Brown was first arrested March 27. He was in training camp when practice was first open to the public that Saturday.

"I've learned over the years in this position that in most circumstances, it's not a question of the old saying that there are always two sides to every story," Groh said. "There are usually about 17 sides to every story."

Pinigis, who started several games at right tackle last season and has the inside track to start next season, has been slowed by an ankle sprain this spring.

"It's better," Groh said. "I'm sure he's looking forward to a time when it's a lot better than what it is now."

Not to be left out

Redd's dismissal and the graduation of Brennan Schmidt leaves a gaping hole at the left end of the defensive line. With Allen Billyk seeing more time at nose tackle, Groh hopes a rotation of rising sophomore Alex Field and redshirt freshman Jeffrey Fitzgerald can fill that spot.

Field was in for just 33 plays last season as a freshman and made two tackles. Though his game experience isn't extensive, similar to quarterback Jameel Sewell, UVa accelerated his progress in practice in anticipation of having to use him a lot this season. His minimal experience might be a benefit, though.

"I think there's a little issue of you have to get the butterflies in your stomach when you ride in on the bus, as opposed to riding in knowing you're going to be a spectator," Groh said.

At 6-foot-7, 261 pounds, Field has what Groh's calls the "prototype build" for the position.

Fitzgerald is an interesting case. He has not played since his junior year at Hermitage High School, where he was a teammate of Sewell. He tore his left ACL before his senior season then redshirted once he got to UVa.

Groh said the 6-foot-3, 261-pound end had "one of the better offseason programs" on the team.

Tight End U

Penn State is Linebacker U. Miami is known as the school for quarterbacks. Virginia hopes to corner a different market.

"We really want to make this the best place in America for tight ends to play," Groh said.

The Cavaliers will enter the season with three touted tight ends, rising juniors Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar and rising sophomore John Phillips.

Virginia's credentials for being Tight End U are pretty good. Heath Miller blossomed into an All-American at UVa. Last year, Santi and Stupar combined for 677 receiving yards and three touchdowns. In the Music City Bowl, Santi caught five passes for 128 yards.

"We like to have them in the game," Groh said. "We've got guys who can really do something with the ball when we get it to them, they give us a good degree of versatility and they're players that are mentally versatile and flexible too."

Extra points

Left tackle Eugene Monroe, who dislocated his left kneecap early in training camp, had clean-up surgery last week and is sitting out the remainder of spring practice. ? UVa's final open spring practice is Friday at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers practice on the fields next to the McCue Center and University Hall.

- Andy Bitter


 

Duke's lost season impacts Cavaliers
Virginia was scheduled to play Duke Saturday, but will avoid playing the preseason No. 1 team
Ben Gibson, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

In the third quarter of the University of Virginia's win over Johns Hopkins University, the Public Address announcer proudly announced "Beat the Record" Night for attendance would be April 15 when Virginia (11-0) would take on the Duke Blue Devils.

Well, the record will not be broken. In fact, it will be about 7,440 people short because of a firestorm in Durham, N.C. March 14, the Duke Lacrosse team held a party with paid exotic dancers. Shortly thereafter, there was a claim by one of the dancers that she was sexually assaulted. DNA samples were taken from 46 of the 47 players; but, earlier this week, defense attorneys representing the players announced that the results of the tests failed to match any DNA found on the dancer with any of the lacrosse players. As the woman is black and the accused players are white, the incident has exacerbated racial tensions in Durham and has had repercussions for all of lacrosse as well. For a sport still trying to grow from its Northeastern roots, this shame has impacted the image of lacrosse, as well as the players and university involved.

"I think the game will survive," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "This is a blow to our sport and to college lacrosse. I don't think that this happens without affecting everyone, though. Maybe this is a bit of a wake-up call for all college athletes, not just lacrosse players."

The cancellation of the Duke game has given the Cavaliers a 13-day hiatus from competition. With the season going so well, Virginia has developed quite a bit of momentum that could be lost during the time off. The Cavaliers, however, are making the best of the situation.

"I think it's a good thing," junior defender Ricky Smith said. "We try not to hurt our bodies too much when we have a game on Saturday. Now we can run hard every day and work on the little things until the Bellarmine game."

With the cancellation, Virginia will also avoid playing the preseason No. 1 team in the country. The Blue Devils compiled a 6-2 record before their season was cancelled, including an overtime loss to then-No.4 Maryland.

With the grind of a long season, however, the break also means time to rest up right before the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Giving the players some time to take their minds off the pressure of competing at the highest level will let them enjoy some of the finer things in life.

"I'm trying to get tickets to the [Cleveland] Cavaliers game this weekend with my brother in D.C.," defensive captain Michael Culver said. "Coach said, take some time for yourselves, and that's what I think we need to do."

 

Cavs look for good Friday against Eagles
Virginia brings 8-7 conference record into home series against ACC cellar-dweller Boston College; Doolittle will start Friday
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Boston College (18-15, 4-11 ACC) arrives in Charlottesville this weekend in what will be its first series against the Cavaliers (28-9, 8-7 ACC) as a conference opponent. Virginia coach Brian O'Connor, however, is already extremely familiar with the Boston College. As an assistant coach at Notre Dame for 10 years, O'Connor had to duel with the Eagles on a yearly basis in Big East conference play.

"I know that program pretty well," O'Connor said. "Every game this weekend is going to be a dogfight."

Boston College has had a tough year in its inaugural season of ACC play. The Eagles currently dwell in last place of the ACC's Atlantic division. Their brightest moment in conference play came when they swept Virginia Tech March 24-26 in Blacksburg. In general, however, the Eagles have struggled mightily, getting swept by N.C. State, Wake Forest and Florida State. The Eagles are currently riding a two-game winning streak after midweek victories over Connecticut and Harvard.

"You can't judge a team by its record," junior right fielder Brandon Marsh said. "They've lost a lot of close games."

The Cavaliers currently find themselves tied for third place with Georgia Tech in the ACC's Coastal Division, behind North Carolina (9-6) and Miami (9-6) with five conference series remaining. A sweep of Boston College would put the Cavaliers in a great position heading into next weekend's showdown with Miami in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes have shown vulnerability at home this season, notching a middling 4-5 record at Mark Light Field. After the road trip to Miami, Virginia still has a road series at Maryland remaining as well as home weekends against North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Virginia will look to continue its well-balanced offensive attack against a Boston College pitching staff with a 4.60 earned run average. Three different Cavaliers lead Virginia in the three main offensive categories. Marsh continues to lead Virginia's offense with a .430 batting average. Sophomore left fielder Brandon Guyer leads the squad with 36 RBI and freshman second baseman David Adams has infused power into the lineup with five home runs.

Game times for the Boston College series are 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Virginia is expected to send Sean Doolittle (5-1) to the mound Friday, followed by Jacob Thompson (6-1) Saturday and Mike Ballard (5-2) Sunday.

After a tougher than expected 6-4 win over Longwood Wednesday, the Cavaliers understand that they will have to play their best in order to defeat Boston College.

"I think these games are going to be a lot like the Longwood game," Marsh said. "I expect that it's going to be a tough weekend but I think that we're going to come out on top."

 

Struggling Hokies set to host surging Cavs
Winless in four ACC matches, Virginia Tech will have to compete against No. 3 team in country
Chris Marsh, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Two days after securing a win on their own Senior Night, the Virginia women's lacrosse team aims to spoil Virginia Tech's festivities and come out of Blacksburg with its fourth ACC win.

The Hokies currently stand at 6-7 on the season despite a 0-4 ACC record that has left them in sole possession of last place in the conference standings. With their most recent loss, a 15-13 defeat at the hands of Longwood, Tech remains winless against Virginia schools.

Despite the records, the rivalry between the two schools is still intense, and the Cavaliers are not overlooking the importance of this game.

"Since it's Virginia Tech, obviously it's always a big game," senior Tyler Leachman said. "Now that they're in the ACC, it's even bigger."

Virginia needs a win against the Hokies to keep their slim hopes of a No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament alive. The Cavaliers currently stand in a three-way tie atop the ACC with North Carolina and Duke, but one game behind the Blue Devils in the overall standings. The Cavaliers need this win to keep pace in the dash for the conference regular season crown.

Coach Julie Myers wants the team to emphasize playing a sound, full 60 minutes. The past two games for Virginia have featured uncharacteristic stretches where the Cavaliers did not play up to their talent level. The team allowed inferior opponents to claw their way back into the game after Virginia jumped out to early leads and seemed poised to break the game wide open.

"We need to make sure that we not only play well for the 30 minutes, but obviously for the 60 minutes," Myers said. "That will be our team challenge, no matter what the score is at halftime -- to make sure we're taking advantage of that next 30 minutes."

Myers believes the team's recent performances may be a product of the longer rest period between games. After playing a March schedule packed with critical contests, Virginia has scaled back the number of games and the caliber of opponents, with only three games in the past two weeks.

"We aren't playing three games a week anymore," Myers said. "Some of our tougher opponents are under our belt already. Its only natural at this point in the semester, with academic things kicking in too, that our kids are taking it a bit easier than maybe they should be."

No matter the caliber of opponents, however, the squad wants to be playing their best lacrosse at the end of the season, when conference and national championships will be contested. The final regular season games, against Virginia Tech tonight and Georgetown next week, are vital to the team's progress and improvement.

"We're trying to do the best we can going into the ACC Tournament," Leachman said.

The coaching staff has been frustrated by the recent play and the team's inconsistency. Despite maintaining their winning streak, Myers wants the team to continue to make strides and improvements and not be satisfied with its current level of play.

"We need to not only win a game, but get better in that process," Myers said.

 

Alleged victim was 'passed-out drunk'
Police described woman in Duke lacrosse scandal as intoxicated, not in distress
BY TIM WHITMIRE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Apr 14, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. - A woman who claims she was raped by members of Duke University's lacrosse team was described as "just passed-out drunk" by one of the first police officers to see her, according to a recording of radio traffic obtained yesterday by The Associated Press.

The conversation between the officer and a police dispatcher took place about 1:30 a.m. March 14, about five minutes after a grocery store security guard called 911 to report a woman in the parking lot who would not get out of someone else's car.

The officer gave the dispatcher the police code for an intoxicated person and said the woman was unconscious. When asked whether she needed medical help, the officer said: "She's breathing and appears to be fine. She's not in distress. She's just passed-out drunk."

The black woman, a 27-year-old stripper and college student, told police she was raped and beaten by three white men around midnight at an off-campus party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team.

The radio recordings, obtained by the AP through a records request, are the first instance in which police or anyone connected with the investigation has said the woman appeared to be intoxicated.

Defense lawyers, however, have said time-stamped photographs taken by the players show that the accuser was drunk and already had suffered some injuries when she arrived at the house for the party.

The recording is consistent with "what I have seen of the photo evidence before," defense attorney Kerry Sutton said. Those photos, she said, showed that she was "way beyond where you would put somebody behind the wheel of a car."