Groh simply removing distractions
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
June 21, 2006

Spring cleaning has taken on a different meaning in Virginia’s football program over the past three months and depending on your side of the fence, it can be perceived as either a good or bad thing.

There are quite a few names, some prominent, some not, that have been or are now missing from the Cavaliers’ roster. They all have one of two things in common: they failed to live up to their end of the bargain when they signed football scholarship grant-in-aids or they simply let down the UVa coaching staff.

Either way, coach Al Groh has sent a strong message to those in his program to not abuse the privilege of wearing a Virginia uniform. From a superstar linebacker who was a sure-fire All-American all the way to an unheralded walk-on, it appears that Groh’s patience has worn thin and that second chances (in the case of some, third and fourth chances) are going to be hard to come by in the future.

In program’s interest

While we feel for some of these players, particularly the local ones that we have an affection for and hoped would succeed at Virginia, it’s hard to put all the blame on Groh for wanting to rid his program of players he feels he can’t depend on.

There’s a lot of pressure on coaches to compete for ACC championships and with scholarship limitations and injuries, there’s little room for error. It’s a rare year that at least one ACC football or basketball coach isn’t run out of his respective town for not living up to expectations.

So, a coach must get everything he possibly can out of every player on his roster or risk losing his job.

No explanation needed

While Groh has spent a lot of words defending his actions in excusing some of these players, at least eight that we can think of off the top of our head, he didn’t really need to waste his breath.

He said it best back when he announced Virginia had booted Ahmad Brooks and Vince Redd among others from the team prior to the opening of spring practice and could use it as a standard answer for dismissing any player: that it is an honor and privilege to wear the Virginia uniform and those who take that for granted risk losing that privilege.

We sense that Groh simply was fed up with getting one report after another about players messing up, whether it was classified as academic shortcomings, trouble with the law, or violation of team rules. Enough was enough.

Undermining success

At some point, a discipline problem can undermine a team’s success. We’ve seen that before at Virginia in other sports and certainly at other schools. We’ve had enough conversations with Groh over the years to know that he clearly recognizes these issues can cause a team to underachieve.

How can you blame a coach for wanting to restore order to his program?

Yeah, they’re kids and kids make mistakes. Anyone who has ever been a parent is well aware of that. But when there’s a lot riding on these players, and there’s a lot more of them out there ready to take their place and do it the right way, most coaches are going to go with the ones they know they can depend on.

There’s not a lot of sympathy here for a player who is too lazy to go to class or too lazy to do the class work. If they’re attending class and trying, that’s one thing. Not trying, particularly when there’s plenty of academic support in terms of tutors and more at their disposal, is quite another.

Certainly the coaching staff is more privy to specifics about the players they dismissed than any of us, although sportswriters hear a lot more than they can often print. Modern day coaches put up with a lot more than the old school guys … maybe a derivative of the increased pressure to win.

This columnist once sat outside a prominent ACC coach’s office (not at UVa), waiting for an interview and could easily hear the coach screaming at two players inside his office. The rant was accompanied by the sound of a fist pounding on his desk.

Once the players exited and I walked in, the coach, still red-faced over his anger, apologized for the outburst and explained he had just kicked the two players off his team for getting in a fight with each other in the food line at the school’s cafeteria.

No apology was necessary. It was his program and usually a coach knows what’s best for his own program. After all, it’s all about his own livelihood. Sometimes losing one or as many as eight or even a dozen players might hurt in the short term, but may be necessary in the long run for the good of the program.

That coach is still around and thriving and is adored by that school’s fan base. The players became someone else’s problem, or hopefully, learned a life lesson that helped them down the road.

Athletes need to be reminded that scholarships are not guaranteed for four or five years. They are given out on a year-to-year basis and can be revoked by a coach if the athlete is not living up to his part of the deal.

And once a player flunks out, there are no promises. A coach’s hands are tied when it comes to readmission. He can vouch for a kid, but it is the school that determines whether an athlete will get in or not, just as some potential recruits are rejected for academic shortcomings.

It is popular in our politically correct society to blame someone else for our own problems, even if we created those problems.

The world of collegiate athletics can be a cutthroat business, from recruiting to players transferring over a lack of playing time, to turning pro early, to coach’s showing athletes the door.

You can paint Groh as the bad guy here if you wish, but we see him as we do any other coach trying to win and keep the program strong.

 

Singletary all smiles at UVa camp
All-ACC selection off crutches, eyeing return to full workouts in August
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
June 21, 2006

During Virginia’s Elite Camp at University Hall this past weekend, UVa point guard Sean Singletary looked like somebody in a toothpaste commercial - he had a big smile on his face for the majority of the time.

Singletary hung out with new teammates, such as freshman Will Harris. He chit-chatted with members of the Virginia coaching staff. He joked around with coach Dave Leitao’s son.

It was a far cry from Singletary’s last public appearance in U-Hall at the Southern Invitational in early May.

Back then, Singletary was still recovering from surgery to his right hip that took place just a couple of weeks after the season. He was on crutches and had to take in most of the action from a seat in the stands. Suffice to say, he didn’t look very happy.

But now Virginia’s first-team All-ACC dynamo is off his crutches. While Singletary isn’t expected to return to full basketball-related activities until early August - he’s in the midst of an intense rehabilitation process that is being overseen by the UVa medical staff - at least he’s ambulatory.

“It’s good,” said Singletary, when asked about his hip. “It feels real good.”

This has been the second straight summer that Singletary has spent rehabilitating an injury. Singletary dealt with a bum shoulder last summer.

Last week, Leitao said Singletary was progressing well.

“It’s going fine,” Leitao said. “He spends most of his rehab time now in a pool and on the elliptical [machine]. He’s also doing some weight lifting and stationery shooting. He’s not allowed to jump right now and move anything faster than a walk.”

Beefed up

One of the most jaw-dropping visions of Elite Camp was watching Virginia big man Tunji Soroye walk into the gym.

Soroye, who will be a junior this season, had a noticeably bigger upper body. The 6-foot-10 Nigerian said he was up to 245 pounds. In last year’s media guide, Soroye was listed at 212.

Since the season ended, Soroye has been working out with Virginia strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown - and doing some eating.

“I have three big meals a day,” Soroye said, “and then like five or six [supplemental] shakes a day.”

According to Brown, Soroye has worked extremely hard. “He’s just been on top of it every day,” Brown said.

Not having to recover from a case of malaria - something Soroye had to deal with last summer after he contracted the disease on a visit home - certainly makes things easier.

Mikalauskas going global

Another Virginia player who has made strides with Brown this offseason is Lauris Mikalauskas. The 6-8 Blue Ridge School product said he is up to 262 pounds, a gain of nearly 20 pounds.

Mikalauskas, who will be heading into his sophomore season, said he hasn’t lost any quickness, either.

“I cut down on my body fat and have more muscle than before,” he said.

This week, Mikalauskas is playing for Lithuania in the Global Games that are taking place at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Mikalauskas gets one major perk out of the deal: A ticket to Game 6 and Game 7 (if necessary) of the NBA Finals.

Baker in the mix

One of the most under-the-radar additions to the Virginia program this offseason was guard Calvin Baker, a transfer from William and Mary. Baker averaged 11.6 points and 3.6 assists as a freshman last season before electing to join UVa.

“He won’t be on scholarship,” Leitao said, “but we’ll judge it after a year. He’s a terrific kid who does very well in school and will fit into what our thoughts are about what we want our team to be like as people as much as players.”

Per NCAA transfer rules, Baker - who was named to the Colonial Athletic Association’s all-rookie squad - will have to sit out this season. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining starting in the 2007 season.

“Having a year of college basketball under his belt - and a successful year for him - should help him make the transition to basketball at this level and the day-to-day rigors of it,” Leitao said. “We’re happy that we have him and we’ll see what happens when we get to the fall.”

The 6-2 Baker will be one of two walk-ons joining the program. The other is 6-8 forward Andy Burns of Bishop Ireton in Alexandria.

 

Tat set to enroll at UVa in July
His high school coach says prized recruit Solomon Tat will be in school on time.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Basketball recruit Solomon Tat will enroll at Virginia in July, says Linzy Davis, his coach at Community Christian School in Stockbridge, Ga.

Tat committed to the Cavaliers on Sept. 30, 2005, but did not sign with UVa either in the fall or spring.

It had been reported that Tat's difficulty in obtaining a visa might prevent him from enrolling at UVa for the start of the fall semester.

"You guys [in the media] are really focused on the visa issue," Davis said Tuesday, "but the greater issue was his ability to go over to Europe and make a couple hundred thousand dollars a year.

"People are weighing in on the wrong thing. He was just weighing his options. He's not here illegally. He's a student. He's not working. So, he is abiding by the laws of the United States."

Tat, a 6-foot-5, 219-pound guard, was rated the No. 76 prospect in the country by Prep Stars and the No. 72 prospect by USA Today.

Davis reported that Tat was married in May and will be accompanied by his wife, Aliah, when he comes to Charlottesville.

When asked if visa concerns played in part in Tat's decision to get married, Davis said, "I don't think it had any kind of bearing."

Davis noted that Tat has lived in the United States for more than three years and met his future wife in Georgia. He wasn't sure if Tat would live in UVa freshman housing or live with his wife.

"If you ask my opinion, I say he probably would live with his wife, Davis said. "This is a personal decision he has made in order to be with someone that he loves. There's a lot of people that get married at 18.

"Some of the questions [about visas] are better answered by an attorney. All I can tell you is, he's already here in the United States, he's been cleared by the [NCAA] clearinghouse and he'll be a student at the University of Virginia beginning in July."

Tat is not required to sign a national letter-of-intent to enroll at UVa.
 

U.Va. gains, loses players
Solomon Tat gets married, likely resolving a visa issue. Fellow recruit Johnnie Lett decides to attend junior college.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
June 21, 2006

Turns out Solomon Tat's visa issue had a simple solution: marriage.

Tat, a Virginia men's basketball recruit and Nigeria native, married a Georgia resident last month and has signed with U.Va., his coach said Tuesday. He likely will join the Cavaliers this fall if the NCAA approves his academic records.

The 6-foot-5, 219-pound swingman had committed to play for U.Va., but his status for next season was uncertain because of a visa issue. Tat came to the United States in fall 2003 to play at Community Christian School in Stockbridge, Ga. But Tat's marriage means he's eligible for a conditional green card that would let him stay in the U.S.

Tat dated his new wife for the past couple of years, said Community Christian coach Linzy Davis. "There wasn't any panic. He'd been engaged to the girl."

As for possible skepticism that Tat got married just to resolve his visa issues, Davis said Tat seriously considered playing professionally overseas, an option the coach said was a "major factor" in slowing the signing process with U.Va.

"It's not like this is a person who is desperate and doesn't have options," he said. "He wasn't held hostage to a situation.

"He did not marry her to get a visa. He didn't have to do that."

Davis expects Tat to arrive at U.Va. on July 1. Tat could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Virginia recently learned recruit Johnnie Lett chose to spend two years at Okaloosa-Walton College, a junior college in Niceville, Fla. A senior at B.C. Rain High in Mobile, Ala., Lett planned on playing at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham this fall and joining U.Va. in 2007.

But when the Hargrave arrangement fell apart about two weeks ago, Lett decided to head to the junior college, said Okaloosa-Walton head coach Bruce Stewart.

Virginia head coach Dave Leitao did not return a telephone message. Nor did Hargrave head coach Kevin Keatts.

Tat and his wife must meet with an Immigration and Naturalization Service official six months to a year after getting married, said Nasser Fayad, a Richmond-based immigration lawyer.

They must prove, by showing documents such as joint bank account statements and a lease, that they have a good-faith marriage. (Davis said he believes Tat's wife will move to Charlottesville with him.)

The INS could then grant a two-year conditional green card. After the two years, the INS could give Tat a 10-year green card - even if the couple divorces during the two-year period. "Because the marriage was initially a good-faith marriage," Fayad said.

Davis, who has coached numerous foreign players, said Tat had a student visa to attend Community Christian. But once he graduated this spring, the visa would expire.

He would have to return to Nigeria and endure the slow process of getting a new student visa to attend U.Va.

Recruiting Web site rivals.com ranked Tat as the 114th-best player in the Class of 2006. Two other '06 signees were ranked: 6-9 forward Jamil Tucker (60th) and 6-6 forward/guard Will Harris (90th). The class also includes 6-9 forward/centers Jerome Meyinsse and Ryan Pettinella, a transfer from Pennsylvania who will be a junior next season. Virginia had eight scholarship players last season, none of them seniors. The NCAA limit is 13.

Lett, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward, still would like to attend U.Va., said Stewart. That would depend on Lett's academics. "Hopefully, with two years of seasoning, Virginia would still want him," Stewart said.

Krzyzewski breaks silence on lacrosse team
AARON BEARD
Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski calls the past few months the most "trying time" he's seen at the school, and he withheld comment on the lacrosse scandal until now because he felt it was the right thing to do.

The Hall of Fame coach has won three national championships and reached 10 Final Fours. He has been at Duke 26 years and is considered by many the face of the university.

"If you're going to be in here for the long run, you're going to have trying times," Krzyzewski said Tuesday. "That's just what happens, whether it's a business, a family or a university if you're in it for the long haul."

Krzyzewski said during his annual summer meeting with reporters that he has been trying to "lend whatever guidance or insights I might have into the situation" to school officials, including president Richard Brodhead.

The case, in which three men's lacrosse players are charged with raping a stripper an off-campus party in March, placed the school under intense scrutiny.

Earlier this month, Krzyzewski stood in the back of the room during a news conference to introduce former lacrosse assistant Kevin Cassese as the team's interim coach. Krzyzewski said Tuesday he waited to talk about the case because, "I think it's important for me to remember my place."

"I am the basketball coach. I'm not the president, I'm not the athletic director and I'm not on the Board of Trustees, and don't want to be."

"What I've tried to do behind the scenes is say, 'We're with you. We'll see what happens, and whatever happened if you did it, you should be punished,'" he added. "Giving support does not mean you're choosing sides. Giving support is what a university should do ... because we're in the kid business."

In April, a grand jury indicted team members Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. David Evans, a co-captain, was indicted on the same charges in May.

Mike Pressler, who spent 16 seasons as Duke's lacrosse coach, resigned in April. Krzyzewski said he and his wife, Mickie, welcomed the Pressler family to their home and took them to dinner as a show of support.

"I don't know what Mike Pressler did wrong in this case," he said. "Whether he's judged on a whole other thing, that's another matter. He's a good man."

Pressler, in his first comments since the investigation began, told Sports Illustrated he felt he could have fixed any problems within the lacrosse program. He went on to mention a university investigation that found he was one of two people at Duke who took misconduct by members of the lacrosse team seriously.

"It's on the record: Anytime I'd been aware of something, I took care of it," Pressler told the magazine in a story appearing on newsstands Wednesday. "But the administration felt that wasn't going to be the case. For me to buck that would not be in the best interest of those 47 kids and all the alumni. Take a bullet? I'd do it again."

Krzyzewski added: "A year ago he was playing for the national championship and almost won it. You have to have empathy for people in those situations."

Pressler said he hoped people would remember more than just the scandal when recalling his time at Duke.

"I'm certainly not proud of what happened on March 13," he said. "But in the end you're not judged by one game or one season. You're judged by the body of your work. And in the end I think our body of work has been very positive for a lot of people."