Players eager to meet the fans
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 17, 2006

Clint Sintim was sporting a makeshift cast on his left thumb on Sunday, but he doesn’t expect autograph-seekers to take it easy on him today.

That’s just fine with the outside linebacker.

Sintim, like many of his teammates, looks forward to the annual Meet the Team Day, which kickoffs today at Scott Stadium at 3 p.m.

Players are expected to sign autographs for 75 minutes (3:45-5 p.m.).

“It is a real cool way for us just to show our fans our appreciation,” Sintim said. “It is just a chance to say ‘Hey, we appreciate you guys coming out supporting us and bringing in 50,000, 60,000 fans week in and week out.

“There is no way that we can play at the same level without them supporting the team.”

Virginia coach Al Groh agrees.

“Every Saturday our fans give us a lot of love, and we are trying to show some love back by interacting with them personally at Meet the Team Day,” Groh said. “It is one of the fun days of the year. We get to see a lot of old friends and meet some new ones. This gives our fans a chance to meet some of our young and talented players who will be moving into significant roles this season.”

In addition to landing some signatures, fans in attendance can get the 2006 Cavalier football poster, schedule magnet, schedule cards or visit the kids’ zone. Door prizes will also be awarded throughout the event.

Parking for the event is free and fans are asked to enter through the gates on the west side of the stadium.

Don’t be afraid to ask Sintim for his autograph. He is used to it.

“I get a few more requests now,” Sintim chuckled. “I still don’t get as many as Chris Long though.”

Sintim thinks he has figured out how the popular, local defensive end manages to sign so many autographs every year.

“I think he actually has a stamp,” Sintim said.

Tight race

Jordy Lipsey made two starts last year at center for Virginia.

The starts, which came in back-to-back games at Maryland and Boston College, were the first of his college career.

Lipsey might get the chance to make start No. 3 at Pittsburgh on Sept. 2.

Groh said on Wednesday that Lipsey and Ian-Yates Cunningham are in a dogfight for the starting nod.

“Right now,” the coach said, “there is no gap.”

Lipsey reported to training camp at 282 pounds and has managed to keep the weight on, a plus in Groh’s eyes.

Other strides have also been made in Lipsey’s overall game.

“Some of the things as a developing player that plagued Jordy were poor exchanges with the quarterback and penalties,” Groh said. “At this point in practices, and we’ve had officials at almost every practice, there’s a noticeable absence of those things.”

Virginia’s offense averaged 25 points and 373 yards per game when Lipsey started last year, but the Cavaliers lost both road games.

Extra points …

Safety Nate Lyles has impressed the coaching staff in training camp. The junior is making a return from a neck injury that sidelined him from Virginia’s final three games last year. “[It’s the] same old Nate, exactly the same. Whatever you remember him as, that’s the way he is playing,” Groh said. … Only one Cavalier can stake a claim to having successfully made a field goal in a college football game. It’s not Chris Gould, the likely placekicker for the season. Noah Greenbaum, a senior, booted a 41-yard field goal against Temple last year. Groh said thanks to hard work, Greenbaum is now on scholarship. … Backup quarterback Kevin McCabe had what the coaching staff called the best practice of his career on Tuesday according to Groh. McCabe is battling redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell and sophomore Scott Deke to become Christian Olsen’s backup. … Groh was able to sneak out to Scott Stadium last year for part of the Rolling Stones concert. With James Taylor in town for a concert on Wednesday, Groh was asked if he would be attending. Groh’s wife, Ann, he said was scheduled to attend, but Virginia’s coach is holding out. Groh joked that he’s waiting to go see Larry the Cable Guy on Nov. 16 at John Paul Jones Arena.

 

'Hoos Who: Cedric Peerman
Sophomore, Tailback
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 17, 2006

One offer. One decision. One commitment.

Cedric Peerman knew tons of schools would be after his services long before his senior season at William Campbell.

That still didn’t stop the running back from committing to Virginia, the first school to offer a scholarship, way back on May 22, 2003.

At the time, William Campbell coach Brad Bradley called Peerman a “powerful slasher” that possessed great moves.

“‘Explosive’ is the word most often used in reference to Cedric,” Bradley had told The Daily Progress. “He really comes out of his cuts and has good vision.

“College coaches chart broken tackles and he’s a kid who is never going to be taken down on the first hit. He always breaks at least two tackles. You put all that together with his speed and you’ve got something.”

Bradley could not have been more sage.

Peerman stormed onto the scene last year as a redshirt freshman, taking advantage of an injury to former tailback Wali Lundy to rush for 178 yards and three touchdowns in the first three games.

Lundy’s return and a knee injury slowed Peerman (he finished with 258 yards rushing), but neither could keep him off the field as he played in all 12 games.

The sophomore from Gladys made his biggest impact on special teams – he averaged 25.8 yards per kickoff return, a figure only bettered by one Cavalier since 1992 (Marquis Weeks averaged 32.2 yards per return in ’04).

With Lundy fighting for playing time with the NFL’s Houston Texans, Peerman is back and pushing Jason Snelling for carries with Virginia’s first-team offense.

Virginia coach Al Groh has raved about the 19-year-old since his arrival and for good reason.

“[Peerman] is a very dependable person in everything,” Groh said. “Cedric has got Cedric’s business taken care of as thoroughly and proficiently as you can imagine. He’s got it all taken care of by himself, whether it’s class registration, the offseason program, knowing who to block.

“He manages his business extremely well and as a result he gets the maximum production from what he’s putting in. It shows in his grades, it shows in the weight room and it’s certainly showing at the tailback position.”
 

Lundy turns in dazzling debut
By DALE ROBERTSON

Nobody ever thought to call the Texans-49ers game at the end of last season the Wali Lundy Bowl. That matchup was supposed to determine which of the NFL's two worst teams would, by losing, win the right to draft Reggie Bush.

The Texans did their part that day, going down 20-17 in overtime, but Bush wound up playing elsewhere Saturday night.

In a decision that shocked almost everybody, the Texans opted to rebuild their defense around Mario Williams, and the Heisman Trophy-winning tailback from Southern California went to New Orleans.

No matter, apparently. Lundy's Texans debut at Reliant Stadium was remarkably Bush-like, even if his perspective — not to mention contract terms — couldn't be more different.

"I'm just happy to get this opportunity to play in the NFL," the sixth-round draft choice from Virginia said.

In Nashville, Bush rushed six times for 59 yards, breaking one run for
44 as the Saints beat the Tennessee Titans 19-16. In Houston, Lundy also accumulated 59 yards on nine carries with one 25-yard run, and he scored a touchdown from 3 yards in the Texans' 24-14 win.

"I feel like I played a good game," Lundy said. "I still need some work. Some things I didn't do well — maybe y'all didn't see them — so I need to keep working hard.

"I made some good cuts out there and played good on special teams, but there were some blitz pickups that I probably should have stepped up more on. And, obviously, my dropped pass. I took my eyes off it. No excuses."

It's a safe bet Bush had his own locker in the Saints' dressing room.

But Lundy had to share one with fellow rookie Damien Rhodes, who contributed a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Trio combines for 128 yards

The third member of "the trio" — as they call themselves — Chris Taylor, responded to the standard Lundy set in the first half with a 14-carry, 55-yard effort of his own, most of that in the third quarter.

Combined, Lundy, Taylor and Rhodes gained 128 yards, averaging more than 4 yards per rush. Taylor, from Indiana, and Rhodes, from Syracuse, were signed as free agents after not being drafted.

With projected starter Domanick Davis limping on his surgically repaired knee, they've become what quarterback David Carr later called the Texans' "running back by committee."

Lundy insisted he wasn't the least bit nervous making his NFL debut, in which he also returned a punt 12 yards.

"Football is the same sport whether you're playing Pop Warner or you're playing in the NFL," he said. "I've been playing it my whole life."

Asked about the play he broke for 25 yards, he said: "I found a seam and hit it. When you see a seam, you got to go."

Kubiak 'pretty impressed'

New coach Gary Kubiak insisted Lundy's numbers didn't surprise him.

"I expected Wali to play pretty good," Kubiak said of Lundy, who ran for 100 or more yards 11 times in college. "He handles himself like a professional. He's had a great camp. Nothing's too big for him. I was pretty impressed."

Taylor also did his part to try to make fans think "Reggie, who?" by carrying nine times for 39 yards with a long gain of 12 in the third quarter.

"I was just trying to play my game," said Taylor, who had the tough task of following Lundy's opening act. "I missed a couple of cuts, but overall I think it was a decent first game. I'm a bruiser. I'll take my licks and try to move the football."

University of Houston product Antowain Smith made his Texans debut, too, but the 10-year veteran arguably has less to prove than the rookies. He had 10 yards on five carries.

Did Lundy and friends do enough to make Houston stop thinking about Bush — or Vince Young, for that matter?

"No comment," Lundy said, laughing.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 17, 2006

WAITING GAME: Virginia's best receiver, senior Deyon Williams, had surgery Friday to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. Coach Al Groh said doctors haven't given him a target date for Williams' return.

"What I was told was these things can be so individual," Groh said yesterday. "It's going to be determined by constant updates. . . . We're going to wait until the doctors tell us he's ready to go."

Williams' spirits have remained high since his injury was discovered.

"He announced that to the team: 'I'm not going to feel sorry for myself. This is something that happened. I'm going to have a good attitude every day,' and he has," U.Va. wide receivers coach John Garrett said.

"He's been upbeat, and everything went well medically [with the surgery], and he's going to work to get back quickly."

The best-case scenario for Virginia would probably be for Williams to make his 2006 debut in early October. He has a redshirt year available.

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: U.Va.'s annual "Meet the Team" session is today. Gates at Scott Stadium will open at 3 p.m., and players will be available for photographs and autographs from 3:45 to 5 p.m.

Concessions and U.Va. merchandise will be for sale, and fans can pick up posters, schedule magnets and schedule cards. Fans are encouraged to enter on the stadium's west side.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL: In the battle between juniors Jordy Lipsey and Ian-Yates Cunningham for the starting center's job, Lipsey has pulled even.

"Right now, there is no gap," Groh said yesterday.

The 6-3 Lipsey, who's from Longwood, Fla., has struggled to keep weight on since coming to U.Va. But he was at 282 pounds when training camp started this month and hasn't shrunk appreciably. Equally important, he's playing better.

"One of the things that as a developing player has plagued Jordy's game was poor exchanges with the quarterback and penalties," Groh said. "To this point in practice - and we've had officials at almost every practice - there's certainly a noticeable absence of those things."

Lipsey started two games last season, U.Va.'s losses to Maryland and Boston College. Cunningham, about 6-4, 290, started five games at offensive guard as a true freshman in 2003. He redshirted in 2004 because of a back problem. He played in seven games last season, starting one at guard.

ALL IN? Exams ended late last week for the final session of summer school. Groh said yesterday that U.Va. hasn't sent "anyone home because of academics." If that doesn't change, the Cavaliers will enter into the season with a full complement of veterans. Academic issues resulted in the suspensions from U.Va. of about a half-dozen football players for the 2005-06 school year.

BABY STEPS: Sophomore Eugene Monroe, D'Brickashaw Ferguson's successor at left offensive tackle, has moved slowly at times in training camp. That was to be expected, given that Monroe had surgery in April on a dislocated left kneecap.

"I think it's coming along all right," said Monroe, one of the nation's most coveted recruits coming out of high school. "I've been trying to come out here every day and do what I got to do to get better. It's just a day-by-day process."

This is the first serious injury he's had since he started playing football, Monroe said. "But now that it's happening, everyone knows, and now I'm just trying to move on from that and get game ready."

Dave Borbely, Virginia's new offensive-line coach, said Monroe's "injury was unfortunate, but those things happen. And really what it does is, it creates an opportunity for someone else. So it created an opportunity for [sophomore] Zak Stair, and he got much better in the spring because of it. So there's certainly a by-product. It's unfortunate Gene got hurt, but he's come back and he's rehabbed his knee and he's out there fighting through it, and he's doing a heck of a job for us."

DOWN THE ROAD: Ahead of him on the depth chart at safety are Tony Franklin, Nate Lyles, Byron Glaspy and Jamaal Jackson, so Brandon Woods may not play a lot from scrimmage this season. But the 6-2, 207-pound redshirt freshman from Durham, N.C., figures prominently into U.Va.'s long-term plans.

Woods, who switched from wideout to safety late last season, is progressing well, Groh said. "It's just that at that position, the urgency of bringing along a younger player isn't the same as it is at some of the others. We've got four veteran players there."

The plan with Woods, Groh said, is to "reduce his load. Let him learn how to be a safety, play special teams, concentrate on that and really get him in a learning process, where we can just take him from step to step to step as he's ready to learn, and give him a reasonable period of time to really grow into a true safety, rather than just calling him a safety and having to throw him out there." - Jeff White
 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 17, 2006

TIME TO REGROUP: If all goes well for linebacker Jarrell Miller at Fork Union Military Academy this semester, he will be back at the University of North Carolina in January.

"That's absolutely the plan for him right now," Highland Springs High football coach Scott Burton said yes- terday.

Miller, a Parade All-American, signed with the Tar Heels in February. After graduating from Highland Springs, he started summer classes at UNC. Late last month, however, he abruptly left school and returned home because of what a UNC release called "family concerns."

Burton said he spoke last week to Miller, who is due at Fork Union soon. Miller will play for FUMA's postgraduate team and hopes to return to Chapel Hill for the spring semester.

"Assuming that all the personal and family issues that need to be addressed are resolved," Burton said, "that's definitely the plan on both fronts -- Carolina's and Jarrell's."

Burton declined to elaborate on those issues but said Miller is "excited about the opportunity to get up" to Fork Union.

TAKING A BREAK: Virginia Tech players got a nice surprise after their morning practice yesterday. The Hokies were scheduled to have the second of their three two-a-day practices of the preseason, but Tech coach Frank Beamer told them instead to report to a nearby bowling alley.

With preseason half over, Beamer wanted to reward them for what he perceives as a good effort thus far and give them a break from practicing. They'll practice again this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon, scrimmage Saturday afternoon then take Sunday and Monday off. Those days previously were scheduled as off. Classes at Tech start Monday.

ETERNALLY YOUNG: The dean of ACC coaches is Bobby Bowden, who took over at Florida State before the 1976 season. Bowden turns 77 in November but says he has no interest in giving up coaching.

"I have never had a day in my life when I think about retiring," Bowden told reporters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., last month.

One of his sons, Tommy, is starting his eighth year as Clemson's coach.

"Tommy isn't interested in coaching for 10 more years," Bobby Bowden said. "Here I'm 76, and I hope I get in 10 more."

REBUILDING: N.C. State's defense lost three players who were selected in the first round of the NFL draft in April: end Mario Williams, who went No. 1 overall, end Manny Lawson (No. 22) and tackle John McCargo (No. 26), a graduate of Randolph-Henry High.

Also gone are 2005 starters Stephen Tulloch (linebacker), Marcus Hudson (cornerback) and Oliver Hoyte (linebacker). Tulloch was chosen in the fourth round of the draft and Hudson in the seventh.

Given the personnel losses, how good will the Wolfpack's defense be this season?

"I don't know," State coach Chuck Amato said. "I really don't. But the standard has been set there. We had a good spring. There's obviously going to be a lot of young people replacing people who went high in the draft, but that's college football."

The Pack ranked fifth among ACC teams in scoring defense (17.7 ppg) last season and third in total defense.

COMING ALONG: Vince Oghobaase is a promising defensive lineman at Duke whose freshman season was cut short last year by a knee injury.

The nose guard looked good in Duke's first scrimmage of the preseason Tuesday but also told the Durham Herald-Sun that he has work to do before he plays his first game in almost two seasons.

Duke opens against Division I-AA Richmond on Sept. 2.

"A lot of the improvement to my game is going to come with mental stuff," Oghobaase told the newspaper. "I've got to get my mind right, learning the plays more and the schemes of the defense, and then I'll be ready to go.

"I feel great. My body is in way better shape than it was in the spring. I can't explain it in words. I can't wait 'til Sept. 2 to get out there and beat Richmond. I haven't played a game since high school, so I'm very, very excited."

The Herald-Sun also reported that freshman defensive linemen Pontus Bondeson (knee) and Ifreke Okpokowuruk (shoulder) had surgeries that will end their seasons.

PIANO MAN: Georgia Tech defensive tackle Darryl Richard's talents go beyond the football field. He's apparently quite a piano player, as well. He entertained his teammates at their hotel on a bowl trip, defensive end Darrell Robertson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"He's a very talented guy," said Robertson, who noted that Richard's talents don't help his wallet yet.

"We're all kind of broke, so we don't tip him." -- Mike Harris and Jeff White
 

Q&A with Virginia's Al Groh
KEN TYSIAC

The spoils of four straight winning seasons for Virginia coach Al Groh were losing four assistants, including both coordinators, as Ron Prince (Kansas State) and Al Golden (Temple) became head coaches.

All-America linebacker candidate Ahmad Brooks was among three likely starters Groh dismissed from the team, leaving a lack of experience and talent. A streak of four bowl appearances in a row appears in jeopardy with the team counting heavily on freshmen and sophomores.

Q. How solid is Chris Olsen at No. 1 at quarterback?

It's the same as I said the day before spring practice started. Chris Olsen will be the first guy to go into the huddle, and he's going to stay there until circumstances dictate that it should be otherwise, and nothing's happened to change that.

Q. Will you let (safety) Nate Lyles play without any trepidation at all (after recovering from a neck injury)? You're a parent, too, and that's pretty serious stuff.

Obviously I'm a parent to my own children, but in many respects I'm the surrogate parent to all the players. Their welfare is my concern. I was told this (recent) meeting with the surgeon was unnecessary, but we just want to touch every base with this and make sure we're on top of everything. ... I want to hear it from the surgeon.

Q. How best is the new 12-game nonconference schedule structured in terms of home and away, the caliber of opponents?

The way the conference is set up with the two divisions, our perspective is now that the first objective of every season is to win the division. By winning the division, then clearly a team is one game away from winning the conference championship, which is a notable thing to do. And if that's accomplished, then you're in one of the biggest postseason games there is. We look back on that and make all our decisions based on what's best for the team to put us in position to win the division. One of the things that is important in that is early in the season for the team to get challenged, significantly. This first game with Pittsburgh, while a lot of schedules are made well in advance, this game was scheduled fairly recently. We had so many players on the previous team who had played for so long ... (that the 2006 team), they were going to need to step up to some pretty good pitching early. That's the formula that helped the previously mentioned players early when all those guys started as freshmen back in 2002.

Q. I'm hearing you have young guys, inexperience, obviously you've got a first-year starter at quarterback. What do you like about this team?

In the context which I was speaking earlier, it seems to, at a very early stage, have taken ownership of the results of the season.

Q. Is preparing for this season with the young guys any easier because you've done it before?

Sometimes things are referred to as "daunting tasks." It's a lot less daunting. We really answered the same question when those guys started. Part of it is the experience of going through the draft and having rookie players, and part of the reason they're drafted is to improve the team. And they don't improve the team until they get in the games. And when the general manager comes down the hall and asks how come Joe is not playing, he doesn't want to hear that he just needs experience. That's your job, to get him ready. And so we've always had the attitude that when they're ready, we're ready.

Virginia

LAST SEASON: 7-5, 3-5 ACC

RETURNING STARTERS: 6 offense, 6 defense

PLAYERS TO WATCH: WR Deyon Williams, Jr. (6-3, 185); DE Chris Long, Jr. (6-4, 278); CB Marcus Hamilton, Sr., (5-11, 187); OG Branden Albert, So. (6-7, 306)

TOP NEWCOMER: TE Sean Gottschalk, Fr. (6-3, 252)

OBSERVATIONS: Didn't Al and Mike Groh learn from Bobby and Jeff Bowden? Having the head coach's son as offensive coordinator is a recipe for disaster. ... WR Williams is the ACC's most underrated player. ... Player dismissals hurt the talent pool, but Al Groh's discipline is admirable.

SCHEDULE: Sept. 2, at Pittsburgh; 9, Wyoming; 16, Western Michigan; 21, at Georgia Tech; 30, at Duke; Oct. 7, at East Carolina; 14, Maryland; 19, North Carolina; 28, N.C. State; Nov. 4, at Florida State; 18, Miami; 25, at Virginia Tech.

 

Playing days about to end for basketball legend from U.Va.
BY VIC DORR JR.
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 17, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Take a good, long look, basketball fans. Dawn Staley, a once-in-a-lifetime player, is passing by - and passing, period - for the last time.

Staley, a whirlwind of a point guard, emerged from inner-city Philadelphia to become a women's basketball legend at the University of Virginia, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a cornerstone for two women's professional leagues. She will walk away from her sport - as a player, at least - at the conclusion of the Houston Comets' WNBA playoff run. Why? Staley answered with a shrug and a smile that seemed somehow sad.

"It's time," she said. "I'm OK physically. I could keep going if I wanted to. I could probably play for another year or two if I wanted to. But to tell you the truth . . . "

She then uttered five words that must have been as difficult to speak as they were to comprehend. " . . . I just don't want to."

Staley, 36, said she listens exclusively to her heart when making substantive choices. In this case, she said, her heart spoke persuasively.

"The work you have to do to get yourself ready for another season - to me, that's always a good indication" of a player's desire or lack thereof, she said. "In the past, I've always welcomed [the arrival of preseason workouts]. This year, I didn't. This year I fought it - or maybe it fought me - all the way. When you don't get excited about it, when you don't look forward to doing the work, that's when you know: It's time."

One must know Staley to appreciate the magnitude of this decision. In particular, one must understand that the act of playing basketball - and playing it remarkably well - has defined her existence for the better part of the past three decades. Staley acknowledged that she is "losing the thing I love" and said she "can't fathom who or what I'd be right now without this game. I really can't. Growing up and living my life without basketball?"

She shook her head.

"I can't imagine it, and I don't think I'd want to try."

Yes, she said, her promising career as a coach, at Temple University and for USA Basketball, will to some extent soothe the pain of separation.

"But coaching, by itself, is never going to feed that hunger to compete. Not entirely. Not for me. It's never going to completely fill the void. Don't get me wrong: It's going to help. It's going to give me something to focus on and pour my energy into. Who knows? Maybe what I need to do is work so hard at coaching that I exhaust myself and don't have time to think about what I'm missing."

Today, however, she is thinking about it. A lot.

"I'll be honest," she said. "Losing the opportunity to compete at the highest level - that's going to be hard. That's not something I'm looking forward to."

War-torn knees notwithstanding, she already is searching for other outlets. Among the possibilities: training for and completing a marathon.

Some say the extent to which Staley comes to play hard every night will be her enduring legacy. Lavish skills and uncanny instincts notwithstanding, she is universally respected within the women's basketball community as a no-holds-barred competitor. Case in point: While playing for the Richmond Rage of the now-defunct American Basketball League in 1997, she challenged her team's 11-year-old ball girl to a game of horse. Staley insisted upon playing for money: a dollar apiece, winner take all.

Said Staley: "My approach to the game has never been girl-like or boy-like. I like to think of it as an approach without gender. This is me. This is who I am. This is the way I'm going to play. If people like what they see and maybe decide to pay more attention to women's basketball because of the way I play - hey, that's great. But I'm not consciously trying to prove that women can play this way or that way or any way. I don't go out there with a women's mentality or a men's mentality. I go out there with a player's mentality."

Her place in the game's pantheon is secure. Staley, a quintessential point guard, elevated intelligent, fundamental basketball to an art form. She is a three-time Kodak All-American, a two-time college player of the year, a five-time WNBA and two-time ABL all-star, a member of the WNBA's all-decade team and a two-time USA Basketball female athlete of the year.

She will almost certainly be inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., as soon as she is eligible (in 2012). She likely will be given serious consideration for induction to the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Comets coach Van Chancellor described Staley's career with one word, "unbelievable," repeated three times. He applied the adjective to not only to Staley's four seasons at Virginia, but also to her years as a pro and her contributions to USA Basketball. "Believe me: We don't win the gold medal in Athens [in 2004] without Dawn," Chancellor said. He should know. He was the U.S. coach.

Chancellor's assessment of Staley's importance to her sport: "When you take everything into consideration, I'm not sure I see anyone out there who's had a bigger influence than Dawn has had."

U.Va. coach Debbie Ryan agreed.

"In a lot of ways, she's an icon," Ryan said. "She put [the sport] on her shoulders and carried it into a period of tremendous growth."

Staley, who ranks first in Cavaliers history in points and assists and third in WNBA history in assists, said she will leave it to others to determine her legacy. She said she hopes to be remembered not as a player who posted consistently gaudy numbers, but rather as one who treated the game and opponents with the utmost respect and "never, ever cut corners."

Her relationship with her sport, she said, often seems rooted more in fantasy than reality. She reflected for a moment upon the odyssey that carried her from the asphalt and broken glass of her urban childhood to a role as her nation's flag bearer at the Summer Games in Athens.

"I don't think I could write a script like that and make it sound believable," she said. "I don't know if anyone could."