Addition of Forbes shows UVa emphasis on shooters

No hardship appeals in works, Groh says

The more you hear about Virginia men's basketball recruit Gary Forbes, the more he sounds like Roger Mason.

"That's what [UVa] coach [Pete] Gillen says," said Wendell Saunders, Forbes' coach at Baddeker Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y. "When he showed me tapes of Roger Mason, I could see the similarities myself."

Forbes was not rated among the nation's top 50 prospect by the Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook in its post-summer evaluations (he was 52nd) but people probably forget that Mason was a marginal top-50 prospect when he signed with Virginia.

I don't have the back Prep Stars publications in front of me, but Mason was rated 38th by Bob Gibbons after his junior year, 59th before his senior year and 50th after his senior year.

A coach who spent considerable time watching Forbes early in the recruiting process said, "He does everything pretty good. He's not great at any one thing."

Sound like Mason?

By the end of his three-year career, Mason was an outstanding shooter, but he did not arrive at UVa as a great 3-point shooter. Here's a statistic that might surprise some people: point guard Majestic Mapp made more 3-pointers as a freshman (24) than Mason (14).

For that matter, Mapp shot a lot more 3-pointers (75-49)

THE KNOCK AGAINST Forbes, at least early in the recruiting process, was that he was not a great shooter. According to Prep Stars, those questions were resolved this summer.

"I don't know where that came from," said Forbes after his announcement Wednesday. "Everybody in New York knows I can shoot but I had to prove it at a national level."

Gillen has made no secret of a change in recruiting philosophy that has put him on a lookout for shooters. Two of this year's newcomers, transfers Todd Billet (Rutgers) and Devin Smith (Coffeyville, Kan., Community College), are known for their range.

Billet has point-guard size but may play some shooting guard, especially when Mapp or Keith Jenifer is at the point. Other candidates for Mason's shooting-guard spot are Smith and sophomore Jermaine Harper.

All of those players are eligible to return in 2003-2004, when they will be joined by Forbes and combination guard J.R. Reynolds. That sounds like a lot of perimeter players until you look at who rival Georgia Tech has: B.J. Elder, Marvin Lewis, Isma'il Muhammad, Anthony McHenry and freshmen Jarrett Jack and Jim Nystrom.

"It was between [Virginia] and Georgia Tech," Forbes said. "At Virginia, they wanted me to play a '2' (shooting guard). Georgia Tech was looking at me as a '3' (small forward). It was a determining factor as far as playing time and stuff like that."

PROVIDENCE WAS AMONG the first schools from a high-major conference to take a hard look at Forbes, but he was sold on the ACC.

"It's one step away from the league," he said.

Uh, oh, another player thinking about the NBA, Mason's destination after three years at Virginia. Does Forbes expect to be at UVa for four years? I had heard he might have other plans.

"That's [four years] my plan," he said. "If anything comes up [in terms of] going to the NBA, then I'm open."

As for the comparisons to Mason, Forbes said, "We're around the same height, can shoot, put it on the floor, [we're] all-around players. I don't really like to compare myself to anybody, but when people talk, I do take it into consideration. A lot of people compare me in between Paul Pierce and Grant Hill."

Forbes' playing time in 2003-2004 probably hinges on the development of Smith, although it's possible they could play together, with one or the other playing small forward on defense.

When asked for his expectations as a freshman, Forbes said, "Start, well, not start but get a lot of playing time ... hopefully start and be ACC Rookie of the Year."

VIRGINIA FOOTBALL COACH Al Groh said earlier this week that he is not currently contemplating a hardship appeal that would gain an extra year of eligbility for any of his injured players.

Groh said last month that center Kevin Bailey is likely to require surgery for a knee injury suffered Aug. 31 at Florida State and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, but Bailey, a fourth-year junior, already has been redshirted.

Injured UVa players who have never been redshirted include outside linebacker Raymond Mann and cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who, like Bailey, have not played since the Florida State game. Hamilton and running back-kick returner Michael Johnson, who has missed two games with a high ankle sprain, are true freshmen.

There is a clear dropoff between Mann, a junior, and his replacement, sophomore Bryan White. When asked about White's performance in a 38-34 victory over Wake Forest, Groh said "It was kind of a challenging evening for Bryan."

So, Mann is going to play as soon as he's ready. Going by Groh's statement, so will Hamilton and Johnson, both of whom could get an extra year with documentation as to the severity of their injuries. You wonder how much the Cavaliers would need a fifth cornerback (Hamilton), but this is a season unlike any other.

In past years, Virginia (3-2) would be approaching the mid-point of an 11-game schedule. This season, with 13 regular-season games on the slate, an injured player returning this week could play in eight more games.

THE NCAA AWARDS sixth years of eligibility in extreme cases, but Bailey does not meet the general criteria. Usually, the NCAA rules in favor of an applicant who has missed two years -- or parts of two years -- due to injury, like the above-mentioned Mapp.

Bailey was injured most severely of the players hurt at Florida State, but he has ditched his crutches and has been walking around the UVa locker room Monday with a brace but not much of a limp. Clearly, he has been rehabilitating the knee, a standard course of treatment before reconstructive surgery.

IN ORDER TO GAIN an extra year on hardship appeal, a player must have participated in no more than 25 percent of his or her team's games. Rounded off to the next whole number, that would be four games for a team with a 13-game schedule.