Dave Koehn takes over as UVa’s new voice
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 25, 2008

Last November, Dave Koehn looked around John Paul Jones Arena in amazement.
The play-by-play voice of the men’s basketball program at Vermont entertained thoughts of what it would be like to call the Cavaliers’ plush facility his “office.”
He will soon find out what it feels like to work inside the facility, at Virginia’s Scott Stadium and countless venues in the ACC.
On Tuesday, the UVa and CBS Sports Properties announced the hiring of Koehn as the new “Voice of the Cavaliers,” ending a two-month national search that included 120 applicants. Koehn (pronounced CANE) replaces Mac McDonald, who stepped down April 30 after handling the duties in two separate stints since 1980 that totaled 17 years. McDonald’s most recent tenure began in 1996.
“A chance to become a part of a program like the University of Virginia which has such a rich tradition, is a tremendous honor and truly an opportunity of a lifetime,” Koehn said through a released statement. “My wife and I are excited to get to Charlottesville and become a part of the University and community family.”
Koehn got his start in broadcasting while handling baseball, basketball and football games as a student at Kansas on KJHK, the school’s campus radio station.
From 2001 to 2005, Koehn split time at two Texas universities. After handling football and basketball broadcasts at Sam Houston State, a Division I-AA program that competes in the Southland Conference, he worked at Texas Lutheran University (NCAA Division III) and KWED, an AM station in Seguin, Texas.
The Colorado native was hired at Vermont prior to the 2005-06 men’s basketball season and spent his summers on the airwaves broadcasting minor league baseball for the Vermont Lake Monsters, a short-season Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
While at Vermont, one Charlottesville native gained a great appreciation for Koehn’s ability. Hajj Turner, a Charlottesville graduate who is an assistant coach at Vermont listened to Koehn while watching the Catamounts’ game tape, and the broadcaster’s booming voice stood out.
“That is his strongest quality, but not his only quality,” said Turner. “Dave has the million dollar voice.”
Apparently, Koehn, a Colorado native and a 1999 graduate of Kansas, was in great demand. He was also a finalist for the vacant
play-by-play at Boise State, a job that had 200 applicants. A source privy to information regarding that search said an offer was or would have been forthcoming from the university.
“I am pleased to welcome Dave Koehn to the University of Virginia community as the voice of UVa Athletics,” said Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage. “He brings a wonderful combination of enthusiasm, broadcast experience and talent to the position.
“Dave will help us effectively deliver the stories of our student-athletes, coaches, sports programs and department to UVa fans throughout the country.”
An avid skier, Koehn was a three-time state champion in high school in tennis.
He is scheduled to start his new position on July 7.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Basketball
The NBA draft is tomorrow night, and two former Virginia players - Sean Singletary and Gary Forbes - are hoping to be selected. Neither is expected to go in the first of the draft's two rounds.

Singletary, a 5-11 point guard who was a four-year starter for U.Va., has many fans in the Charlotte organization and could end up there. The Bobcats have the eighth pick in the second round (38th overall).

Forbes, a 6-7 guard/forward, spent two seasons at U.Va., where his coach was Pete Gillen, before transferring to Massachusetts. Unlike Singletary, who's not mentioned in many mock drafts, Forbes appears to be a lock to be selected in the second round tomorrow night.

Not since 2002, when the Chicago Bulls took Roger Mason Jr. early in the second round, has a player who ended his college career at U.Va. been drafted. (Derrick Byars, who transferred to Vanderbilt after two seasons at Virginia, was a second-round pick last year.)

Mason was the only former U.Va. player in the NBA this past season, and the program's low profile at the game's highest level has hurt coach Dave Leitao and his assistants in their pursuit of blue-chip recruits. NBA head coaches include two former Virginia players: Memphis' Marc Iavaroni and Dallas' Rick Carlisle.

Leitao plans to use one of his scholarships for 2009-10 on a point guard, and at or near the top of Virginia's wish list is 5-11 Jontel Evans, a rising senior at Bethel High in Hampton.

"Great kid. Tough. I think they're right on the money on that one," said Boo Williams, for whose AAU program Evans plays.

In this era of specialization, the 180-pound Evans is a legitimate two-sport star. As a junior, he made the all-Eastern Region second team in football (at tailback) and basketball. Bethel was the state Group AAA runner-up in basketball this past season.

Evans' strong performance this month at U.Va.'s camp for elite high school players earned him a scholarship offer from Leitao. Marquette, whose elite camp Evans will attend tomorrow and Friday, also has offered, and Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth are close to following suit, Bethel coach Craig Brehon said yesterday. Evans will focus on one sport in college.

A return trip to Charlottesville for Evans and his family is likely in the next week.

Football
Coach Al Groh told the Richmond Times-Dispatch early this month that U.Va. didn't expect to add a full complement of 25 recruits in February.

If the Cavaliers plan to stop at, say, 23, they're close. With signing day more than seven months away, U.Va. has 16 commitments for 2009 after picking up four recently. Virginia's latest recruits are wide receivers Kevin Royal (6-4, 205) and Tyree Watkins (6-2, 185), tight end Paul Freedman (6-6, 225) and offensive lineman Sean Cascarano (6-6, 270).

Royal, who's from New York, attends school in Greenwich, Conn. Watkins is from Camden, N.J., Freedman from Clearwater, Fla., and Cascarano from Glenview, Ill. Of the four players, Watkins is the most heralded, with scholarship offers from such schools as Penn State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Iowa, Purdue and Connecticut.

Lacrosse
The U.S. under-19 team includes four players from U.Va. - midfielders Nick Elsmo and Rhamel Bratton, long-stick midfielder Bray Malphrus and goalie Adam Ghitelman. Two other current or future Cavaliers - middie Shamel Bratton and attackman Steele Stanwick - were selected for the national team but had to withdraw. Shamel Bratton is in summer school at U.Va., and Stanwick, an incoming freshman, is recovering from a thumb injury.

Stanwick is a candidate to replace the departed Ben Rubeor in Virginia's starting lineup next season. If Stanwick wins the job, rising sophomore John Haldy may move to the midfield, U.Va. coach Dom Starsia said yesterday.

"I think he'd be a dynamite midfielder," Starsia said of Haldy, 6-3, 204, who's from the Philadelphia area.

Miscellaneous
Dave Koehn has been named the new "Voice of the Cavaliers." He's a graduate of Kansas and most recently was the voice for University of Vermont men's basketball, as well as serving as the play-by-play voice for the Vermont Lake Monsters, a Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. - Jeff White

 

Dudley: Singletary is NBA ready
By Bart Isley
Published: June 25, 2008

Some people aren’t convinced that Sean Singletary — a three-time All-ACC guard at Virginia — has what it takes to make it in the NBA.
Charlotte Bobcats forward Jared Dudley — the ACC Player of the Year in 2007 while at Boston College — isn’t one of them.
“He’s definitely an NBA player,” said Dudley, who was in Charlottesville last week for the NBA Top 100 Camp. “He just needs to work on some things — like getting people more involved. He has the time to do it. If he has to go overseas for a couple of years — you do that — but I’m hoping the best for him.”
So is an army of Virginia fans who will be glued to their televisions on Thursday night for this year’s draft.
Dudley knows Singletary well. In 2006, his
No. 11 BC squad was upset by Singletary and company.
“His best quality is his scoring,” Dudley said. “He can shoot the ball well and is hard to guard on the pick and roll. When he got it going, he was hard to stop.
“But on the next level, everyone can score. You have to be able to do the little things — make people better, play defense — especially at point guard.”
Singletary, of course, declared for 2007 draft before returning to Virginia after realizing he wasn’t going to be selected in the first round (only first-round contracts are guaranteed). The Philadelphia native’s goal was to improve on certain facets of his game — those “little things” — and make himself a first-rounder.
Presently, the majority of mock drafts don’t have Singletary getting selected in either the first or second round, though ESPN’s Chad Ford has him going to the Utah Jazz in the second round (with the 53rd overall pick).
“I definitely think he’s a solid second-round pick,” Dudley said. “I think first-round picks are all on potential and who they can see being a star.
“You know, they don’t know sometimes. They mess up just like everybody else.”
Singletary’s stock could be hurt by the fact he didn’t get the national acclaim that other players seemed to achieve by birth right (see North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson) or NCAA Tournament success.
“You have to be like a Stephen Curry and make your name nationally,” Dudley said. “[Singletary] made his name in the ACC but not nationally.”
Dudley knows all about flying below the radar. The 6-foot-7 forward was barely recruited coming out of Horizon High School in San Diego.
Even after tearing up the ACC for four years, there were plenty of people doubting his chances to make it in the NBA.
“All my hard work paid off when I became a first-round pick,” said Dudley, who was picked by the Bobcats with the 22nd pick of the first round. “The guaranteed money and to have [NBA Commissioner] David Stern call your name — it was a lifelong dream.
“But you can’t just stop for that. That’s not the kind of person I am. I want to get better and solidify myself as a good NBA player.”
Charlotte has the ninth overall pick on Thursday night. Dudley believes the Bobcats, who will have a new coach in Larry Brown this season, will look for size. Charlotte has Emeka Okafor but may want to slide him over to power forward.
“I think we’re leaning toward a big man or power forward — the guy from Texas A&M [DeAndre Jordan] I’ve been hearing. Our two and three spots I think we pretty much have solidified.”
Dudley, who made 14 starts as a rookie — he averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds — misses the ACC.
“The game is so much different in the NBA,” he said, “but I’m enjoying it. I have different goals now.”

 

UVa aide eyes bid for 3rd Olympics
UVa volunteer assistant Adam Nelson won silver medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
By Mark Berman
981-3125

The most accomplished athlete on the Virginia campus is not a basketball or football player.

Graduate student Adam Nelson is not as famous in this state as Chris Long or Sean Singletary, and he has never competed for the Cavaliers. But he turns into Superman at track and field meets.

"I kind of think myself more as the Incredible Hulk," Nelson said with a laugh.

Nelson, who has been a UVa volunteer assistant coach for two years, won the silver medal in the shot put at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

The former Dartmouth standout will try to earn a trip to Beijing at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which begin Friday in Eugene, Ore. The top three finishers in each event will advance to the Summer Olympics; Nelson was the shot put champ at the 2000 and 2004 trials.

"The Olympic trials is often more stressful in some ways than the actual Olympics," said Nelson, who will resume his UVa studies in the fall. "Once you make the Olympic team, there's something special about that. There's nothing special about being fourth at the Olympic trials."

Nelson, 33, has already experienced success in Eugene this month. His winning heave of 22.12 meters (72 feet, 7 inches) at the Prefontaine Classic was the best outdoor throw in the world this year. It is only the second-best throw in the trials field, though, since the qualifying period isn't restricted to this year.

The 6-foot, 255-pound Nelson took gold at the 2005 world outdoor championships and won silver at last year's world outdoor meet for the third time. At a February meet at Arkansas, Nelson recorded the third-best indoor throw in history (22.4 meters).

He moved to Charlottesville so he could attend the Darden School of Business and his wife could attend UVa's law school.

But training with UVa throws coach Carrie Lane has also paid off.

"She's really helped me through a time in my athletic career where I have to make changes to the volumes and intensity levels that I can actually train at because I'm just getting older," he said.

Nelson is one of a number of athletes who have been training for the trials at area colleges.

UVa's Billie-Joe Grant, a rising senior, is the 21st seed in the women's discus.

"I'm very excited to go out and compete with the best," she said.

Three ex-Cavaliers who are now UVa volunteer assistants will also be in the trials. Tomika Ferguson is seeded 16th in the women's triple jump, while Dawn Cleary Cromer is the 20th seed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Erin Crawford is seeded 24th in the 400-meter hurdles.

Former Cavalier Kiamesha Otey, who has been training at UVa, is the 17th seed in the women's long jump.

There will be three Virginia Tech hurdlers at the trials -- Sherlenia Green, Queen Harrison and Kristi Castlin.

Green, who was a senior on the Tech team this year, is seeded 13th in the 400 hurdles.

"I've been running track since I was 7 years old," said Green, who missed part of the outdoor season with a stress fracture in her right foot. "It's like, 'Wow! I'm going to the Olympic trials!' "

Green will be a Tech volunteer assistant next year so she can continue training.

Ex-Hokie Brian Mondschein, who has been a Tech volunteer assistant for two years, is the 13th seed in the pole vault. His grandfather Irv Mondschein was a decathlete in the 1948 Olympics.

Mondschein isn't fretting over the Oregon weather.

"Eugene's got a reputation for being real windy, and if you can't handle that, it's real easy for a lot of those top guys to drop out," said Mondschein, a Tech graduate student. "We train in Blacksburg -- it's always windy in Blacksburg."

Tech's Tasmin Fanning, a rising senior, is the 22nd seed in the women's 5,000 meters.

"I have good endurance. I have good speed," she said. "In trials, it's all about strategy and closing speed. If you've got good speed to close, you're in pretty good shape."

Kristen Callan, who was a senior on the Tech team this year, is seeded 21st in the women's hammer throw.

"I know I'm not going to make it [to Beijing], so I'm just going to have fun," said Callan, a Tech graduate student. "It's a good way to end off my Tech career."

Ex-Radford University standout Brian Richotte is the 18th seed in the men's hammer throw. He moved back to Radford in April to train.

"This is going to be my last competition," he said. "I can just go in there and really enjoy the experience, ... rather than putting too much pressure on myself."

Only the top 24 seeds in an event get to compete in the trials. Hokies Justin Clickett (shot put) and Britni Spruill (200 meters) aren't in the top 24 in their events, but they are going to Eugene in case others withdraw.

Doolittle succeeding thanks to hard work
Former ACC standout struggled in rookie ball
By Alan Blondin - ablondin@thesunnews.com

MYRTLE BEACH --Like many of his male classmates in middle school, Sean Doolittle longed to become part of the basketball program at Shawnee High in Medford, N.J., that regularly contended for and sometimes won Beach Ball Classic championships.

His talent took him in another direction - to the diamond rather than the court - but it has nonetheless landed him in Myrtle Beach for another notable athletic spectacle.

Doolittle is competing in tonight's California-Carolina League All-Star Game at BB&T Coastal Field as a member of the California squad.

Doolittle has been doing a lot for the Stockton Ports this season. The 21-year-old is fourth in the California League with 16 home runs and is batting .322, making him the only player in the top 10 in batting average with more than 12 home runs. He also has 22 doubles, a .402 on-base percentage and .583 slugging percentage.

It's been quite a turnaround this season for the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year at Virginia, who pitched, played first base and was a designated hitter in his three years with the Cavaliers.

In the Northwest and Midwest rookie leagues last summer, Doolittle batted just .243 with four home runs in 68 games and tailed off considerably at the end of the season. He was coming off a year in which he pitched 91 innings at Virginia.

"I think I was just run down," Doolittle said. "In hindsight I think it was good for me now, knowing kind of what I have to do with my body to learn how to play everyday. It was very frustrating last year. We had a lot of adjustments when I got to instructional league in the fall, and I think that is where the root of all the success this year comes from."

Doolittle said coaches focused in the fall on incorporating his entire body into his swing, leading to this year's power surge and selection for today's home run derby. He has been predominantly playing first base for the Ports but is also seeing time in the outfield. "I guess that just increases my versatility," he said. "Whatever I can do to get [to the pros] faster, I guess."

Doolittle's family attended numerous games each year at Virginia, and is enjoying his all-star experience with him. His mother, sister and grandparents traveled to Myrtle Beach on Monday and the family spent the day on the beach in North Myrtle Beach.

"I was so excited when I found out I was coming back and my family was coming down, so it worked out really well," said Doolittle, who will also have some former Virginia teammates in attendance tonight.

This isn't Doolittle's first visit to BB&T Coastal Field. Though the Cavaliers' away games against Coastal Carolina were held on the CCU campus, he played as a member of Team USA in a doubleheader against Taiwan at BB&T Field the summer after his sophomore year.

Though the West Coast is a new experience for Doolittle, he wasn't disappointed when the A's selected him with the 41st pick in the 2007 draft and assigned him to the California League. "I wouldn't say it was disappointing, especially with the [Athletics'] reputation for developing talent and giving young guys opportunities," Doolittle said.

The A's recently drafted Doolittle's younger brother, Ryan, who pitched at UNC Wilmington, in the 26th round of the 2008 draft. "Now we're a family in the organization, so it's all good," he said.
 

Police Stand By HHS Probe Posted 2008-06-24
Department Responds To School Board's Own Report
By Pete DeLea

HARRISONBURG - While the city School Board wrapped up its investigation of incidents involving members of Harrisonburg High School's football team, police continue to investigate alleged sales of prescription drugs, a robbery and a claim that coaches were aware of the incidents.

The School Board last week chose not to release an investigative report compiled by an outside investigator. But it did release a five-page statement addressing the alleged misconduct by HHS football players and staff.

The statement indicated that the investigator found that drug distribution did take place among students in the locker room, but "no individual HHS coach had actual, direct knowledge" that pain pills were being distributed.

Despite the board's findings that coaches had no direct knowledge, court documents related to the Harrisonburg Police Department investigation claim they did. An affidavit filed to search Harrisonburg High School on April 9 states the drug distribution was known by several coaches and "at least one coach had direct knowledge of the robbery."

On Monday, Lt. Kurt Boshart, spokesman for the Harrisonburg Police Department, said the department supports the statements in its affidavit.

"We stand by our investigation," said Boshart. "We will let the affidavit stand by itself."

The Shenandoah Valley Multi-Jurisdictional Grand Jury has met regarding the case at least once, according to several sources involved with the case.

"The investigation is still active," said Boshart, who added that charges are pending in the case.

Juveniles Head To Court

Meanwhile, the two juveniles charged in the robbery that led police to the discovery of the prescription painkiller sales to HHS football players are to appear in court today.

The two juveniles, whom police have not named, are scheduled for a preliminary hearing today in Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

On April 11, the CHARGE Gang Task Force charged the two juveniles with felony armed robbery and felony conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

One of the two was charged with felony malicious wounding for cutting a person during the incident, in which a 16-year-old Rockbridge County resident was robbed, police said.

The Robbery

The robbery investigation began when Sgt. Christopher Rush, an investigator with CHARGE, interviewed Alex Owah on Jan. 23 about his involvement of knowledge of an armed robbery.

Owah, then a 17-year-old HHS junior and a running back on the football team, admitted to being involved in the robbery of a friend from Rockbridge County High School, according to Rush's affidavit. He also said two other HHS student-athletes, Ronnell Brandon, 17, and Stedman Jones were involved in the crime.

The robbery occurred on South Avenue in Harrisonburg on Oct. 31, police said.

Owah told investigators that Brandon robbed the 16-year-old at knifepoint and Jones reached into the backseat of a car and stole the victim's duffel bag, which contained clothing, according to the affidavit.

Owah also told investigators that the incident was "only meant to be a scare tactic and not an actual robbery," according to he affidavit.

During the robbery investigation, Owah informed investigators about possible sales of prescription drugs in the high school's locker room by Brandon to members of the football team before games. He also informed police that several coaches had some knowledge of the drugs, the affidavit states.

"Owah stated the pills were being sold too often and too frequently for it not to be noticed and he had also heard of a player approaching one of the coaches about it," Rush wrote in the affidavit.

The claim sparked the investigations by both the Harrisonburg Police Department and the city school system.