Checking in with ... the ACC rookie of the year
Jeff White
Apr 29, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – With May nearly here, it won’t be long before students at U.Va. scatter, though many of the athletes among them will be back in town for summer school. Now that Sylven Landesberg has had some time to get to know his new basketball coaches, I wanted to get his thoughts on what turned out to be an eventful first year of college for the 6-6 swingman from Queens, N.Y.

Landesberg and I sat down Tuesday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, and the article I wrote off that interview is scheduled to run tomorrow in The Times-Dispatch. Here are some comments from Landesberg that didn’t make it in the story:

*On getting to know Tony Bennett and the rest of the U.Va. staff – assistant coaches Ritchie McKay, Jason Williford and Ron Sanchez and administrators Brad Soucie and Ronnie Wideman:

“It’s getting easier as we go. I’m trying to talk to them every day. Just go up there and sit around and get to know them a little better. They’re all likeable guys. They treat us all with respect. They’re big on that, and they’re real open. They always tell us, if we have any thoughts on our mind, any comments, anything we want to talk about, we can just go to them and talk to them about it. Just having that open-door policy is real helpful.”

The previous staff, Landesberg said, didn’t “really say, ‘If you have anything to talk about, come up.’ It was more like if you wanted to go up you could go up. But the old coaching staff, they were pretty open too. It was just that you had to make that effort to go up.”

*On the orders he received from Rick Brunson, Virginia’s director of basketball operations in 2008-09, to take a couple of weeks off after the season ended:

“The season definitely wore my body down. The coaching staff saw it. I definitely realized it. Towards the end, I started becoming less productive. My legs, my whole body was hurting. When the season ended, [Brunson] was telling guys, ‘We’re going to give you a week off, and we’re going to start working out after that.’ And he told me I couldn’t come in the gym. He didn’t even want me in the gym until the Final Four was over, and I was like, ‘Man, you’re trying to kill me.’

“Even that week that we had off, I was still sneaking in the gym and trying to get some shots up. And when he saw me, he’d yell at me, ‘No, get out. You gotta leave.’ So I always had to sneak in times when I knew he wasn’t going to be there.”

*On the team’s strength-and-conditioning program this spring:

“I would say it’s been very effective … I would say I feel a lot more explosive. We’ve been doing a lot of Olympic lifts. I feel a lot quicker. I feel more explosive when I go into the rim.”

*On turning to his parents after learning that Dave Leitao had been forced out as coach:

“At first they definitely had to help me through it. I was so mad the day we found out. I called my father right away, and he was just trying to calm me down and stuff. But I would say three days later, I was still hurt, but I was like, ‘This is just a business. Things like that are going to happen. I’ve just got to move on and get ready for who the next coach is going to be.‘ “

*On his role in persuading incoming freshman Tristan Spurlock, who signed with U.Va. in November, to stay committed after Leitao left:

“I think we all spoke to him a little bit. He came down here to meet with Coach Bennett a little bit, and we all just told him, ‘Coach Bennett’s a real good guy. You’ll really like him. He’s easy to get along with.’ “

*On assuming a greater leadership role as a sophomore:

“I don’t really know how to explain what I did last year. It was kind of like a leader, but it wasn’t really. I felt like at times I was the young kid, so I was like, ‘All right, I don’t have the right to speak at this moment.’ But in the middle of games, in the heat of the war, when it was time for something to be said, I would always be the one to say something. So it was kind of on and off.

“Coach Leitao, before he left, he told me that next year, this year coming up, I would have to be more of a vocal leader. Instead of just leading by action, you have to be more vocal, so that’s definitely something I’m going to have to work on this year.”

*On his classmate and roommate Assane Sene in the aftermath of Leitao’s departure:

“I guess it’s different for Assane than it was for everybody else. With Assane coming from another country, he doesn’t really have his parents and stuff [close by], so anybody who he gets to build a relationship with, I guess he really grows close to them. So Coach Leitao leaving really hurt him and really impacted him. But we all talked to him, we all helped him, and he’s getting along real well with the [new] coaching staff. He likes them a lot. I think he’s moved on.”

*On whether he’s excited to have Jason Williford, a former U.Va. standout, as one of his coaches:

“Definitely. Back when he was playing, they were winning a lot of games. He knows what it takes to win in this league. It’s definitely going to help us.”

*On his first year as a college student:

“It went all right. At first it was tough. In [summer school last year], I only had, like, one class a day, so I was able to get in the gym whenever I wanted to. But my first semester, with all the classes, it was tough trying to go to class and then trying to work out. I did all right. I just didn’t do as well as I should have. But this semester I did pretty well.”

*On the NCAA tournament (in which U.Va. didn’t participate):

“It was tough. I tried not to watch it at all. Assane’s my roommate, and he wanted to watch it every night, every game that came on. And every time it came on, I would watch for a little while, and then I had to leave the room. Just watching teams that we played, still playing, it just hurt so bad. Like I couldn’t stomach it. Even now, I still have that feeling, watching the NBA playoffs.”

*On the evolution of his game:

“I would say before this year, in high school, I was really more of a perimeter player. I would just stay out around the arc. I really never attacked the basket as much as I did this year. Playing this first year made me grow up a lot. It made me get stronger with the ball, more aggressive, attack the rim harder than I ever did. I learned a lot.”

*On his efforts to improve his perimeter shooting:

“Cory Alexander gave me a few tips, and I feel a huge improvement in my jump shot. It feels a lot more comfortable shooting it. My range is improving.”

Alexander, the former U.Va. star who now is the color analyst for radio broadcasts of Virginia games, told me this morning that he and Landesberg “basically talked about him being prepared for shots before he catches the ball … The most important part of your shot is your footwork long before you ever let the shot go.”

A former NBA point guard, Alexander said he’s also worked with three other Virginia guards – Jeff Jones, Mustapha Farrakhan and Sammy Zeglinski. With them, too, Alexander stressed that good footwork is more important to a shooter than textbook form.

“Curtis Staples is the perfect example,” Alexander said. “The best pure shooter ever to play at the University of Virginia … and with that said, when you look at his shot, it wasn’t that he had the best-looking shot.”
 

Cavs’ Landesberg says he never thought seriously about leaving
By Jeff White
Published: April 30, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – On the day last month when he was named ACC rookie of the year in men’s basketball, University of Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg shot down Internet speculation that he might enter the NBA draft this year.

“I don’t think I accomplished anything for me to leave [early for the NBA],” Landesberg told reporters. “There's a lot of things I want to accomplish before I leave this school, so I'm coming back."

Those public statements notwithstanding, espn.com continued to report that Landesberg was an early-entry possibility. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft passed last weekend, though, and Landesberg’s name is not on the list.

The 6-6 swingman said this week that he’s not sure what led to the espn.com reports. Some people told him he'd be picked late in the first round if he came out this year, but Landesberg said he never seriously considered doing so, even after the March 16 ouster of Dave Leitao as U.Va.’s coach.

“It might have popped into my head for a second, but it wasn’t really nothing to be taken seriously,” Landesberg said. “There was that gap where we didn’t have a coach, and all the guys were wondering, ‘What’s going on?’ I think a bunch of guys, things started popping in their heads about what they were doing to do. But then we spoke to [Athletic Director] Craig Littlepage, and he just made everything more comfortable, the whole situation.”

Two weeks after Leitao stepped down, U.Va. hired his successor, Tony Bennett. For Landesberg, a graduate of Holy Cross High in Queens, N.Y., it was yet another milestone in a freshman year that’s been anything but dull.

“Definitely been very interesting,” Landesberg said with a smile. “Coming in and playing for one coach, building a relationship … It’s basically like starting over and trying to get to know the new coaching staff and be comfortable with them.”

Landesberg, who averaged 16.6 points, 6 rebounds and 2.8 assists, started 27 games in 2008-09. Officially he was a wing, but he often initiated U.Va.'s offense late in close games. Don’t be surprised if he plays some point guard as a sophomore.

“He’s very good with the ball in his hands,” Bennett said yesterday. “The little bit I’ve observed in person with him, he’s got a nice feel for the game and the ability to find people and pass. He’s unselfish when he needs to be, but he also has a nose for the basket in terms of getting in the lane and making plays. So he has a lot of those characteristics that you like in a lead guy at times.”

Virginia’s season ended March 12 with a first-round loss in the ACC tournament. Landesberg was soon back in the gym. He knows he must develop his 3-point shot to keep defenders from playing off him. He was 16 for 51 from beyond the arc in 2008-09, with most of those baskets coming late in the season.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t really expected to do much, so a lot of things were open for me,” Landesberg said. “I was able to get to the rim easily, and then towards the end people started realizing what I did, and then I had to change my game around a little bit.”

College coaches who recruited Landesberg raved about his work ethic, and in recent years he’s followed a grueling offseason regimen under the direction of his father, Steve, in New York City.

“We start early, like 5:30 in the morning, and usually end up finishing around 6 or 7 [p.m.],” Landesberg said. “So by the time I get home I’m just dead.”

He’d been looking forward to more such punishment in New York, but he’s now torn. Landesberg recently was one of about 20 players invited to try out for the USA Basketball team that will compete in the under-19 world championships in New Zealand this summer.

He’s honored to have been invited, and if he were to make the team, Landesberg knows, he’d play with and against great competition. “But the workouts I get at home, I would say they’re unmatched,” he said. “I’m still talking about it with my father and Coach Bennett.”

Whatever his decision, count on Landesberg’s returning to school a better player.

“When one of your top players, a guy who had a decorated freshman year, seems to be so serious about improving his game, that always encourages me,” Bennett said.

 

Cowboys coach brings in U.Va. players
By Jeff White
Published: April 29, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE John Phillips and Kevin Ogletree are Texas-bound this week. Would they be participating in the Dallas Cowboys' rookie mini-camp had John Garrett not spoken so highly of them?

Maybe so. But Garrett's praise didn't hurt.

Garrett, the Cowboys' tight end coach, was an assistant at the University of Virginia when Phillips and Ogletree enrolled there as freshmen in 2005. As U.Va.'s wide receivers coach, Garrett worked directly with Ogletree in'05 and'06 before leaving to join the Cowboys' staff.

Dallas drafted Phillips, a 6-5, 251-pound tight end, in the sixth round Sunday. Ogletree, a 6-1, 196-pound wideout, signed a free agent contract with the Cowboys that night.

"It was a pleasure for me to recommend them and talk about them to the Dallas Cowboys," Garrett said by phone Monday. "They represent great character."

Garrett's brother, Jason, is the Cowboys' offensive coordinator. Jason and the rest of the coaching staff listened closely when John discussed Phillips' and Ogletree's strengths and weaknesses.

"Whenever you can get information on a player, all aspects -- character, intangibles, intelligence, ability -- first-hand, it validates it," John Garrett said. "It's first-hand information, not second-hand. They said, 'Well, let's just find out from the guy who coached them.' It's a natural thing."

The Cowboys' minicamp begins with a meeting Friday night. Two practices Saturday and two more Sunday will follow. Neither Phillips nor Ogletree comes in with the accolades of a first-round pick, but each will have a legitimate opportunity, Garrett said, to make the team.

"Obviously, when you're picked later or as a free agent, it's a little bit harder," Garrett said. "But it's hard for everybody. You don't get preferential treatment after the first day. The top draft choices get more money than the later draft choices, but once you're here, if that free agent is better than the draft choice, that guy's going to make the team."

Ogletree was stunned that no NFL team drafted him. But he quickly agreed to a free agent deal with Dallas, in part because of his relationship with Garrett, according to Joe Flanagan, Ogletree's agent. Garrett's presence in Dallas excited Phillips, too.

"I've known him for a while," Phillips said, "and he's always been a great guy and great coach."

Garrett remembers the Cavaliers' first day in pads during training camp in August 2005. Virginia coach Al Groh challenged his players to make a positive impression in a kickoff-coverage drill.

"Well, John raced down there, knocked over a guy and tackled the kickoff returner inside the 20," Garrett recalled with a laugh. "I mean, he just smashed into the wedge, and we were like, 'Who is this guy?'

"John Phillips loves football, he loves to compete. . . . He is just sort of intangibly the consummate player that Al Groh wants in his program: a smart, tough, reliable, dependable player who loves football."

Ogletree, who graduated in December, left U.Va. with a season of eligibility remaining. He's a talented receiver, but pass-catching skills alone may not be enough to earn him a spot on the roster.

Garrett's advice to free agents such as Ogletree?

"You got to volunteer for everything. You want to be on every special team. You want to get as many opportunities and as many looks to increase your chances of being noticed so you can make an impression and make the football team," Garrett said.

 

Christensen, Krzysik and Glading UVa’s Top Athletes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/29/2009

Danny Glading and Mei Christensen were honored at Virginia's annual awards dinner on April 29. Glading received the WINA Award as the top male athlete and Christensen was co-recipient along with Nikki Krzysik of the IMP Award as the top female athletes. Krzysik was unable to attend the dinner.

CHARLOTTESVILLE—Mei Christensen (women’s swimming), Nikki Krzysik (women’s soccer) and Danny Glading (men’s lacrosse) were honored as Virginia’s top female and male athletes for the 2008-09 academic year at UVa’s annual awards dinner Wednesday (April 29) at John Paul Jones Arena. Christensen and Krzysik were co-recipients of the IMP Award as the top female athletes, and Glading received the WINA Award as the top male athlete.

Christensen, a junior from Reston, Va., was named the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Swimmer of the Year after earning All-America honors in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events and competing with four relay teams that earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. She won both the 100 and 200 backstroke events in school, conference and meet record time at the ACC Championships. Christensen was also a member of four championship relay teams and was named Swimmer of the ACC Championships after helping the Virginia women’s swimming and diving team win its second consecutive conference title.

Krzysik, a senior defender from Clifton, N.J., concluded her Virginia career last fall by playing every minute for a team that posted nine shutouts and allowed just 5.1 shots per game during the 2008 season. Offensively, she added three goals and three assists. Krzysik was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned first team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season. She was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy and a first-team NSCAA All-American.

Glading, a senior attackman from Bethesda, Md., leads the Virginia men’s lacrosse team with 51 points this season. He has scored 24 goals and has 27 assists. Glading is a three-time All-ACC selection and he recently became just the sixth player in conference history to score at least 100 career goals and have 100 career assists. He earned second-team All-America honors in 2008 and third-team All-America honors in 2007.

Becky Davis, administrative assistant to Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage, received the Bus Male Award for her years of service to the athletics department.

Dom Inglot (London, England) of the men’s tennis team and Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) of the women’s tennis team received UVa’s ACC Scholar-Athlete Awards. Peter Ferrara (Doylestown, Pa.) of the wrestling team received the Gus Tebell Memorial Award as the senior male student-athlete with the highest grade point average through his four years at Virginia, while Katie Shannon (Downingtown, Pa.) of the women’s lacrosse team received the Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the senior female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years at UVa. Patrick Slebonick (Stafford, Va.) of the football team and Casey Steffan (Long Valley, N.J.) of the softball team were co-recipients of the Ernest H. Ern, Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to student life at Virginia.

Joe Dewey (Columbus, Ohio) of the men’s lacrosse team and Paige Selenski (Shavertown, Pa.) of the field hockey team were co-recipients of the Craig Fielder Memorial Award for overcoming adversity, and Whitney Neuhauser (Barboursville, Va.) of the women’s golf team received the Ralph Sampson Scholarship Award. Emil Heineking (Chardon, Ohio) of the men’s cross country and track and field teams received the Virginia Athletics Department’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award.

Jade White (Hogansburg, N.Y.) of the men’s lacrosse team was the recipient of the Bob Goodman Memorial Award for her service to Virginia athletics as a team manager and Rachel Kelly (Fairburn, Ga.) received the Tim Abbott Memorial Award presented to the student assistant trainer most dedicated to and possessing empathy for the student-athletes. Ryan Hurley (Potomac, Md.) of the men’s swimming and diving team and Casey Steffan (Long Valley, N.J.) of the softball team were co-recipients of the Susan J. Grossman Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding service to student-athletes and contributions to the Student Athlete Mentor Program. Megan Evo (Beverly Hills, Mich.) of the women’s swimming and diving team received the Life Skills Scholarship Award.

Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award recipients included Lauren Elstein (Fredericksburg, Va., field hockey), Peter Ferrara (Doylestown, Pa., wrestling), Ryan Hurley (Potomac, Md., men’s swimming and diving), Jerome Meyinsse (Baton Rouge, La., men’s basketball), Patrick Slebonick (Stafford, Va., football) and Casey Steffan (Long Valley, N.J., softball).

Team Awards
Baseball – Billy Word Memorial Award – Awarded later
Basketball (m) – Sidney Young Memorial Award – Sylven Landesberg
Basketball (w) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Monica Wright
Cross Country (m) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Ryan Foster
Cross Country (w) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Samantha Stafford
Field Hockey – Coaches Award for Excellence – Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn
Football – John Acree Memorial Award – Jon Copper
Golf (m) – Dixon Brooke Memorial Award – Will Collins
Golf (w) – William C. Eacho Memorial Award – Kristen Simpson
Lacrosse (m) – Henry Gaver Memorial Award – Awarded later
Lacrosse (w) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Blair Weymouth
Rowing – Coaches Award for Excellence – Augusta Stratos
Soccer (m) – Stanley Lerner Memorial Award – Ross LaBauex
Soccer (w) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Nikki Krzysik
Softball – Coaches Award for Excellence – Abby Snyder
Swimming (m) – Brooke Maury Memorial Award – Ryan Hurley and Lee Robertson
Swimming (w) – Diane Montgomery Greene Memorial Award – Megan Evo
Tennis (m) – Norton Pritchett Memorial Award – Awarded later
Tennis (w) – Coaches Award for Excellence – Emily Fraser
Track – Z Society – The Lou Onesty Memorial Award – Awarded later
Track – Henry Cummings Memorial Award – Awarded later
Volleyball – Coaches Award for Excellence – Shannon Davis
Wrestling – David Senft Memorial Award – Chris Henrich