Cavaliers limp into bye week
By Jay Jenkins
Published: September 17, 2008

It could be worse. Florida International has proven that.

Virginia, off to an ugly start in its 2008 campaign, can take solace in the fact that its offense is not ranked last in the nation, albeit one spot from the bottom rung.

Florida International (0-2) has that distinction secured, averaging only five points per game and an NCAA-worst 178 yards per game in total offense.

The Cavaliers (1-2) are not much better — they rank No. 118 in total offense, No. 116 in rushing offense and No. 113 in scoring offense.

Those woes, which have become commonplace in recent history, are merely compounded by Virginia’s inability to slow a pair of opponents on defense.

While the Cavaliers enjoyed success in a 16-0 shutout against Richmond, the unit ranks last in the ACC in rushing defense and betters only 15 national programs in the category. UVa also ranks 93rd in total defense and 97th in scoring defense.

A bye week may have never looked as fruitful to a program looking to rebound.

“This is clearly a continue-to-push-forward week for us,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.

As critical as that may be, Groh allotted three days of rest to ensure that the players were rested and to handle well-timed recruiting duties. The players are slated to return to practice today.

“We are going to have plenty of practice work and give ourselves the opportunity to improve, but we are also trying to keep the long stretch in mind, too,” Groh said. “We don’t want it to catch up with us two weeks from now when the team is worn out and tired after four or five games and really working harder during a bye week than we would during a normal week.

“We’re trying to balance the see-saw on that, get plenty of work in, address some particular issues, develop some players who we hope can help us in the latter part of the season and at the same time not wear the players out to the point that it’s counterproductive.”

Virginia returns to action on Sept. 27 at Duke (2-1) at noon, but before analyzing the opponent, Groh has used the period for self-scouting.

In fact, over the past three days, the coach admitted that he has studied countless film of his players in the most recent loss to UConn, a 45-10 drubbing.

“During that time frame, I would calculate that I have spent maybe 30 hours watching every player on every play on offense, defense, special teams, accessing the player, accessing the scheme,” Groh said. “We have our shopping list, that’s for sure.”

His endorsement

John Bivens, who was an inside linebacker for the Cavaliers, officially joined Virginia’s baseball team on Monday and planted one batting-practice pitch off the Davenport Field scoreboard in right-center field.

Although he allowed Bivens to leave his program, Groh said it was tough personally after monitoring how hard the Virginia native pursued his rehabilitation process following last November’s knee surgery.

Groh said it was quite common to glance out a window at the McCue Center over the summer and see Bivens’ car parked below.

The situation reminded many Virginia fans of what transpired with former safety Willie Davis, who suffered a neck injury after delivering a hard hit against South Carolina in a contest in 2003.

With both cases, Groh said, “it can’t fail to touch your heart when you sit down with these guys and it is easy to see the resignation on their part and that the dreams aren’t going to work out. As we all go deeper and deeper into adult life, we confront that and that is really the first time that they have to confront that circumstance.”

Bivens, who will see time as a designated hitter on Friday in the Cavaliers’ exhibition game with the Ontario Blue Jays, approached Groh about the move.

“John has been able to see it for a long time and just really finally had to face the reality of what it is,” Groh said, referencing the condition with Bivens’ knee.

 

Injury creates an opportunity
U.Va.'s Bivens moves to baseball team after setbacks in football
Thursday, Sep 18, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

John Bivens still has the baseball glove he used as an All-Metro outfielder at Prince George High School, and it's once again part of his daily life.

Bivens, who came to the University of Virginia on a football scholarship in 2006, has given up that sport and joined the school's baseball team. It wasn't a move he wanted to make, but persistent knee problems ended his once-promising football career.

In a span of about nine months last year, Bivens had two operations on his left knee. An inside linebacker at U.Va., he was limited to seven games last season and played primarily on special teams. He didn't participate during spring drills this year and then struggled to keep up during training camp last month.

"I was 10 months out of surgery, and it really wasn't getting better," Bivens said yesterday.

So, after talking with Al Groh and getting his blessing, Bivens approached U.Va. baseball coach Brian O'Connor. Told there was a spot on the team for him, Bivens grabbed the opportunity. He practiced for the first time Monday with O'Connor's club and will play in U.Va.'s exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon at Davenport Field.

Bivens, who has three seasons of baseball eligibility left, grew up dreaming of playing in the major leagues. But he loved football, too.

"I have a passion for both sports," he said.

Groh said yesterday that, after watching Bivens labor in practice this year, he knew this move was a possibility. So did Bivens. Bivens was diligent in his rehab and "really inspirational in the work he did," Groh said, but the knee never came around.

The operation in November "fixed the condition to create a normally functioning knee," Groh said. "But as we've seen on many occasions, to play football, you need more than a normally functioning knee."

As a senior at Prince George, Bivens hit .530 with five home runs and was named Central Region baseball player of the year. He wasn't drafted in the Major League Baseball draft that year, in part because he'd already signed a football letter of intent with U.Va.

The 6-2 Bivens, who will keep his football scholarship this academic year, said he weighs 228 pounds. He'd like to get down to 210 or 215 to reduce the stress on his knee. Where O'Connor might use him isn't clear, though designated hitter is a possibility.

His swing feels good, said Bivens, who bats left-handed, but, "I gotta work on my timing and hand-eye coordination. It's going to take time. I've been out of the game for two years."

Bivens, who ran well enough to play safety at Prince George, was thought to have all the tools necessary to become a standout linebacker at U.Va.

"I don't have any regrets," he said. "I worked really hard. I was 100 percent committed to the football program. I gave it my all."

 

Virginia's team idle, not coach
There are a lot of areas for Al Groh and his staff to address during the off week, especially running and stopping the run.
By NORM WOOD | | 247-4642
September 18, 2008

If Virginia football coach Al Groh could've found a nice cave to crawl in and ponder his team's future in the first few days of this week, he probably would've jumped at the opportunity.

Instead, he turned his office into his own personal hideaway — only emerging after he started to get his arms around every problem facing his team. With UVa (1-2) in the midst of its first off week of the season, Groh said he's making sure his team balances work and rest, but it doesn't sound like he has had much of a respite. He can't afford to take much time off right now.

"I'd say probably in the last 21/2 days … I'd calculate that I've spent maybe 30 hours watching every player on every play on offense, defense and special teams — assessing the player, assessing the scheme in a number of different circumstances," Groh said Wednesday morning. "So, we've got our shopping list, that's for sure."

That's a lengthy shopping list of things to improve.

After announcing last week that sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich wouldn't be traveling with the team for last Saturday's 45-10 loss at Connecticut, Groh added he looked forward to using this week as an opportunity to get a firm grasp on Lalich's status. Lalich, who started the first two games, is slated to appear Sept. 26 in Charlottesville General District Court for a hearing on an alleged probation violation.

If Lalich is available for UVa's Atlantic Coast Conference opener Sept. 27 at Duke, perhaps the quarterback position will stabilize. UVa started sophomore Marc Verica against UConn, and he responded by completing 22 of 30 passes for 158 yards and an interception, but Lalich still is clearly the quarterback of choice.

Even if Lalich returns, Groh must find a way to take some heat off him by spurring the running game, which is averaging an ACC-worst 51 yards per game. Neither Cedric Peerman (96 yards) nor Mikell Simpson (77) has hit the 100-yard mark combined in the first three games.

"I guess we've had one disappointing loss to a I-A team (UConn) and one disappointing loss to a team (Southern California) that's on another level of college football, it looks like," Groh said. "I'm not too pleased with the performance we're getting, so obviously … it's clearly a time to go to work and assess your circumstances, unless you are one of those rare (3-0) teams. The first three games have probably pointed out some flaws on your team that you've been waiting to go to work on. This is clearly a continue-to-push-forward week for us."

Redshirt freshman defensive end Matt Conrath has been a pleasant surprise. He's second in the ACC in tackles for losses (five) and tied for fourth in sacks (two). The bad news is Conrath can't stop the run on his own. UVa is last in the ACC and 104th in the nation in rushing defense (203 yards per game).

UVa's pass defense actually has improved since giving up 350 yards to USC in the opener. Since then, Richmond gained just 175 yards passing and UConn picked up 124. Cornerback Ras-I Dowling, who sat out the USC game with a leg injury and hasn't started this season, likely will help improve UVa's pass defense even more as he rounds into shape.

"We're going to have plenty of practice work and give ourselves the opportunity to improve, but we're also trying to keep the long stretch in mind, too," Groh said. "We want to make sure that, let's say the work accomplishes its purposes in the short term and start making some progress in some areas. … Try to balance the seesaw, get plenty of work in, address some particular issues, develop some players that we hope can help us in the latter part of the season, but at the same time, not wear the players out to the point that it's counterproductive."

 

Flames to face WVU, UVa in football

Twice in coach Danny Rocco's three years at Liberty, the Flames have played early-season football games against Division II Glenville (W.Va.) State. Next year, the Flames will be moving up the Mountain State food chain.

Rocco said this week that the Flames will open the 2009 season at West Virginia University.

What's more, Liberty has signed a contract to play at Virginia, Rocco confirmed.

"It could be in 2012," Rocco said. "It may be for two games. We're talking to [Virginia] Tech, too. I think the years for that are 2014 and 2015."

Liberty would be happy to have Rocco as its coach for those games. The Flames improved their record to 3-0 following a come-from-behind, 19-16 victory Saturday at Western Carolina and are No. 23 in The Sports Network Division I-AA Top 25. They cracked that poll last week for the first time since 1997.

One of Liberty's Big South rivals, Coastal Carolina, played at Penn State earlier this season, "but I'd like to stay in the region," said Rocco, who specifically mentioned Tech, UVa, Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina as ideal nonconference opponents.

Rocco, who has a 17-8 record at Liberty, played and coached at Wake Forest and was an assistant at Virginia from 2001-2005. He also coached at Maryland from 1998-1999.

n Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said this week that UConn and Virginia have had talks about playing in the future. UVa coach Al Groh said he and Edsall discussed the possibility prior to the teams' game Saturday night in East Hartford, Conn.

"Obviously, it's a game with a team from a BCS league and it's a one-hour flight," Groh said. "I certainly wouldn't want to do it on a frequent basis. It becomes more like a conference game and loses a little bit of its zip. But we'd be open to pursuing it."

Changing directions

Chronic knee problems have caused linebacker John Bivens to leave Virginia's football program and join the Cavaliers' baseball team. Bivens was viewed as a potential free-agent baseball draftee in 2006 until he signed for football out of Prince George County.

"From what we could see through our own eyes, watching him labor through [2008] spring practice, it was quite clear that this was going to be a challenging situation for him," Groh said. "He was incredibly diligent during the summer. It was almost impossible to look out the window any time, any day and not see John's car out there.

"Surgery fixed the condition of his knee, which was very serious, to create a normally functioning knee. But to play football, you need more than a normally functioning knee. He's got our support [in playing baseball]. Now, it will just be between John and the curveball."

Connections

Once-prized Virginia recruit Olu Hall, whose last action for the Cavaliers was in 2005, is starting at outside linebacker for Kansas State. Hall sat out the 2006 season to concentrate on academics, then left UVa on the eve of the 2007 season when it appeared he would be ineligible. Hall, rated the No. 1 prospect in Virginia in 2003, is a redshirt junior for the Wildcats.

Quote-unquote

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden on his team's return to the Top 25: "No. 1, don't tell 'em who we played [Western Carolina and Chattanooga], OK? I was surprised that we even broke the Top 25. I vote, and I didn't vote for us."

Package deal

The University of South Florida athletic Web site lists Terrelle Woody under men's basketball as the Bulls' new video and conditioning assistant. That's the same Terrelle Woody who served as the "trainer" and frequent spokesman for one-time Virginia Tech basketball recruit Gus Gilchrist, who is now on the USF roster.

Gilchrist signed with Virginia Tech in the fall of 2006 but later expressed concerns about his safety following the campus shootings in April 2007 and was released from his scholarship.

He enrolled at Maryland but would have been prevented by the ACC from playing for the Terrapins until December of this year.

Gilchrist, who attended two high schools and also was home-schooled for a time, served as best man at Woody's April wedding. According to the Tampa Tribune, USF is making an appeal to the NCAA to give Gilchrist four years of eligibility starting this season.

Odds 'n' ends

Lynchburg College has dedicated the press box at its baseball field in honor of alumnus Dan Wooldridge. Wooldridge. a former ACC basketball official and ex-commissioner of the ODAC, played three sports for the Hornets and is a member of Lynchburg's sports hall of fame. ... Greig Denny, who resigned in 2007 after 11 years as Radford University's athletic director, is the new manager of Virginia Tech's tennis center.

Injury creates an opportunity
U.Va.'s Bivens moves to baseball team after setbacks in football
Thursday, Sep 18, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 07:29 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

John Bivens still has the baseball glove he used as an All-Metro outfielder at Prince George High School, and it's once again part of his daily life.

Bivens, who came to the University of Virginia on a football scholarship in 2006, has given up that sport and joined the school's baseball team. It wasn't a move he wanted to make, but persistent knee problems ended his once-promising football career.

In a span of about nine months last year, Bivens had two operations on his left knee. An inside linebacker at U.Va., he was limited to seven games last season and played primarily on special teams. He didn't participate during spring drills this year and then struggled to keep up during training camp last month.

"I was 10 months out of surgery, and it really wasn't getting better," Bivens said yesterday.

So, after talking with Al Groh and getting his blessing, Bivens approached U.Va. baseball coach Brian O'Connor. Told there was a spot on the team for him, Bivens grabbed the opportunity. He practiced for the first time Monday with O'Connor's club and will play in U.Va.'s exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon at Davenpnctioning knee," Groh said. "But as we've seen on many occasions, to play football, you need more than a normally functioning knee."
ort Field.

Bivens, who has three seasons of baseball eligibility left, grew up dreaming of playing in the major leagues. But he loved football, too.

"I have a passion for both sports," he said.

Groh said yesterday that, after watching Bivens labor in practice this year, he knew this move was a possibility. So did Bivens. Bivens was diligent in his rehab and "really inspirational in the work he did," Groh said, but the knee never came around.

The operation in November "fixed the condition to create a normally fu
As a senior at Prince George, Bivens hit .530 with five home runs and was named Central Region baseball player of the year. He wasn't drafted in the Major League Baseball draft that year, in part because he'd already signed a football letter of intent with U.Va.

The 6-2 Bivens, who will keep his football scholarship this academic year, said he weighs 228 pounds. He'd like to get down to 210 or 215 to reduce the stress on his knee. Where O'Connor might use him isn't clear, though designated hitter is a possibility.

His swing feels good, said Bivens, who bats left-handed, but, "I gotta work on my timing and hand-eye coordination. It's going to take time. I've been out of the game for two years."

Bivens, who ran well enough to play safety at Prince George, was thought to have all the tools necessary to become a standout linebacker at U.Va.

"I don't have any regrets," he said. "I worked really hard. I was 100 percent committed to the football program. I gave it my all."

 

CAVALIERS COACH EXCITED ABOUT FROSH
Sep 17, 2008 | 5:57AM | report this Virginia coach Dave Leitao isn’t under any false illusion.

The Cavaliers coach, who watched as his all-everything point guard Sean Singletary graduated after last season, realizes there will be peaks and valleys this season with a young team that will need to get accustomed to changing roles.

But he was excited about the balance that his club displayed over a Labor Day trip to Canada.

``We could have a team that has three, four or even five double-digit scorers,” Leitao said. ``But the other side is that I realize how young we are and that ever guy has different roles or expectations.”

Leitao didn’t have the team’s most experienced player, senior wing Mamadi Diane, due to surgery on his toe. That allowed him to see what some of the other guys were able to do in terms of having to increase their roles.

Freshman Sylven Landesberg wasted little time making an impact. The heralded 6-foot-5 New York native scored 18 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out four assists in the opening game and had 16 points and 10 boards in the second game of the trip.

``He’d only been practicing with us for about four days, but he has terrific basketball instincts,” Leitao said. “He’s a basketball player and has a multitude of things he can do.”

The most important question is whether redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski and junior Calvin Baker can fill the void left by Singletary in terms of running the team.

``It’s still wide-open,” Leitao said. “Both of those guys are going to play a lot and Sylven can play a little bit at the point, but you get more from Sylven playing off the ball.”

Leitao said that Zeglinski appeared more comfortable in the 10 practices prior to the trip than he did in the games. He was more tentative and tried to run the team rather than being aggressive and trying to make plays.

Baker was nearly the opposite. He’s not a natural point guard and needs to play under control and work on his decision-making. ``Sometimes he gets himself in trouble when he’s overly aggressive,” Leitao said.

RANDOM NOTES: Leitao also said that freshman big man Assane Sene, who didn’t play on the trip, has been cleared and is ready to go this season. … According to Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith, wing Luke Apfeld, who tore his ACL in July, committed to Vermont. … Torrington High (Conn.) big man Jordan Williams told FOXSports.com he’ll take his first official to Maryland on Sept. 26. … Hofstra will host the third and final presidential debate inside the Mack Sports Complex on Oct. 15. The team and coaches will move out of the building by next Friday and will work across the street in the lounge at Margiotta Hall, which overlooks the football stadium. Tom Pecora and the basketball team will have their individual workouts at nearby Adelphi University – Pecora’s alma mater.
 

Sene update
Jeff White
Sep 17, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Dave Leitao’s basketball team traveled to Montreal last month without its tallest player, but Assane Sene has since cleared the administrative hurdles that stood in his way.

On the day the Cavaliers left for Canada, where they played three exhibition games, the university announced that Sene, a 7-0, 225-pound freshman, would not make the trip “due to pending clarification of his initial eligibility status.” (Junior swingman Solomon Tat, because of concerns about his visa, also stayed home.)

The NCAA Eligibility Center, formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse, rules on the academic status of each incoming recruit. Sene is a good student, but his international background made his case more complicated than most, and that caused the delay.

Sene, who’s from Saint-Louis, Senegal, has lived in the United States for only about 16 months. He came to America in March 2007 and enrolled at South Kent School in Connecticut. Sene was a 12th-grader at South Kent in 2007-08.

--30—

Posted by Jeff White

Mein earns promotion on Leitao’s hoops staff
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: September 17, 2008

Virginia basketball coach Dave Leitao announced Wednesday that Tim Mein has been named assistant director of operations/video coordinator for the UVa men’s basketball program.

Mein worked with the team as a manager, associate head manager and head manager for five years as an undergraduate and graduate student.

“Tim Mein did an outstanding job as our head manager the last three years and I have no doubt he will do an equally fine job with his new responsibilities,” Leitao said. “Tim is enthusiastic, dedicated, loyal and attentive to detail. He knows our staff and our players, and I’m pleased he will continue to be a part of our program.”

Mein will manage the office’s video library of opponents, oversee the video exchange program and assist the coaching staff with video preparation and scouting reports. His responsibilities also include assisting with team travel arrangements and other administrative functions.

Mein graduated with distinction from UVa’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2008. He earned a master of teaching degree with social studies education certification (grades 6-12) and a bachelor’s degree in history. He received Dean’s List recognition from 2004-07.

Mein was the head student manager of the Virginia men’s basketball team from 2005-08, the associate head manager in 2004-05 and a team manager in 2003-04.

 

Let’s make a deal
Student leadership should work to replace the draconian sign policy
Isaac Wood, Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer
Published: Thursday, September 18 2008

“E-MAIL me.” Those were University Athletic Director Craig Littlepage’s words when I asked him to explain the sign policy at the football game against University of Richmond. In what was most likely a surprise for him, I did. In his reply, he put his spin on the football game, complimenting the defense while ignoring the anemic offense, before turning his attention to the sign policy. In words that should sound very familiar by now, Littlepage said, “The policy is intended to support and promote sportsmanship and a positive game-day environment.”
The new ban of signs at athletic events, announced in a two sentence declaration in a late summer e-mail, has often been justified by those talking points. Still, each time you hear them, they ring a little hollower. Without signs will our hands be freer so we clap that much louder? Will we spend less time making signs and more time practicing the “Good Ol’ Song”? Or is the reason more obvious and more insidious? With signs banned, the fans who are unhappy with the football program’s mediocrity are that much more easily silenced.
Littlepage’s other justification for the sign ban was one I had not heard. He cited other schools with, in his words, “a similar restriction.” In what was most likely another surprise for him, I checked it out. The first school on Littlepage’s list was Clemson. Assistant Athletic Director Tim Bourret has been at Clemson for 30 years, but said he could find no written policy. In fact, he said the only game-day precautions are to check signs “to make sure there isn’t any bad language.” A sensible policy, yes. “A similar restriction,” not exactly.
Second, N.C. State. Assistant Athletics Director Shannon Yates said their ban applied only to “semi-huge” signs and those on sticks or poles. The reason for the ban? Visibility. In fact, Yates acknowledged that small signs and small flags were permitted, so long as they did not block the view of other spectators. Another sensible policy, but still not a “similar restriction.” The last school Littlepage referenced was our rival, Virginia Tech. Associate Director of Athletics Tom Gabbard acknowledged that signs are prohibited inside Lane Stadium, but called visibility the “number one reason for the ban.” Gabbard, in a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch article also admitted that enforcement was not 100 percent effective and said that students who managed to sneak in signs are allowed to keep them. Andrew Messer, a current Tech student, was unaware of the policy, saying, “I don’t think we have a policy against [signs] or if we do it isn’t enforced.”
In one sense, Littlepage is right. Other schools around the ACC do have policies about game-day signs. But his comparison actually makes our sign policy look even more draconian than before. Nowhere else has the ban been so explicitly about the messages carried on the signs. Nowhere but the University has the policy been justified because it prevents certain types of speech.
There are plenty of problems with the sign ban. What about solutions? The blank sign protest at the football game last Saturday was a good starting point, but it will not, by itself, cause the Athletic Department to cave. Student Council has recently taken up the matter and expects to meet with Littlepage next week. Perhaps they should follow the example of our ACC neighbor, Maryland.
In 2004, Maryland was having trouble with rowdy, obnoxious and obscene student spectators. The state’s Attorney General issued an opinion arguing that banning signs at sporting events would be entirely legal. Bob O’Neil, Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, applauded the eventual decision of the Athletic Department. “Wisely, I believe, the College Park administration declined to accept that invitation and appealed to the fans for civility,” O’Neil wrote in an e-mail. This appeal to fans came in a novel way.
David Krieger, a student, chaired a committee which made a series of recommendations to the athletics department at Maryland. The recommendations eschewed any formal policies or bans. Instead, the students published more light-hearted and appropriate cheers in the newspaper before each game. They also implemented a program where students could trade in profane t-shirts for a free Maryland shirt. Lastly, in a vastly ironic move, they created a “best sign” contest for the Jumbotron, highlighting the best inoffensive signs.
Instead of banning signs, Maryland decided to channel student creativity in a positive direction. They also provide a promising model for us: Let students solve a student problem. At the University, student leadership quieted the “not gay” chant and it can work again. Is that not the very point of student self-governance? A student solution would be more popular, and more effective, than a heavy-handed administrative decree. After all, who can resist being on the Jumbotron?
Isaac Wood is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer