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Sore knee keeps Mapp off court
 By ANDREW JOYNER / Daily Progress staff writer
Oct 29, 2002

 
Junior point guard Majestic Mapp's journey back to playing again seems to be a two-steps-forward, one-step-backward process. The 6-foot-3 Mapp, who has had several major operations since tearing the ACL in his right knee in August 2000, is attempting to come back after missing the past two seasons.

Since practice began on Oct. 12, Mapp has surpassed the expectations of the Virginia staff with his play. Mapp, however, has missed the past few practices with continued soreness in the right knee.

If anything, Mapp's being held out of practice is a precautionary step as the recovery timetable during this process has had several peaks and valleys.

Mapp has been optimistic but cautious about his return.

"I'm not going to give myself any percentages right now. I won't know how ready I am until I step out there on the floor. When I'm playing against the best in January and February, when I'm playing against a Chris Duhon or a Steve Blake, then I'll tell you what percentage I'm at," Mapp said earlier this month.

Mapp is one of three point guards on Virginia's rosters, including Rutgers transfer Todd Billet and sophomore Keith Jenifer. Mapp, who is scheduled to receive his degree in Economics in the spring, could have three years of eligibility remaining if he applies to the NCAA for a rare sixth season.

The NCAA allows athletes five years to complete four competitive seasons. In certain cases, usually because of injury, the NCAA does allow a sixth season. That request, however, would not have to be made until the middle or completion of his fifth season.

Another Cavalier on the mend is sophomore swingman Devin Smith. Smith, who transferred from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas last April, is slowed by a torn meniscus in his left knee that was repaired in September.

Deng announcement. Luol Deng, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Blair Academy in New Jersey, has set next Tuesday as the time to announce his college plans. Deng, the nation's No. 2 overall prospect according to rivalshoops.com, will pick from Duke, Indiana, Missouri and Virginia.

Deng, a native of the Sudan, visited Duke this past weekend and already has taken official trips to the other three schools. He visited Virginia in September along with 6-8 power forward Terrence Roberts of St. Anthony's in Jersey City. Roberts recently committed to Syracuse.

Deng's father, Aldo, plans to visit his son in New Jersey this week to discuss his future.

Aldo Deng lives in London with his family that includes nine children. The elder Deng was an influential leader in Sudan's parliament before being imprisoned for six months during a coup in that country in 1993. Aldo Deng was later granted political asylum in England and moved his family there in 1994.

Other recruiting. Pending Deng's decision, Virginia will either have one or two spots to fill for its 2003 class. Virginia already has commitments from 6-6 Gary Forbes of Banneker Academy in Brooklyn and 6-3 J.R. Reynolds of Roanoke, who is spending his senior season at Oak Hill Academy.

The Cavaliers had been recruiting several frontcourt players such as 6-8 Sheray Thomas of Upper Marlboro, Md., Roberts, 6-6 Mike Pilgrim of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and 6-8 Ross Neltner of Ft. Thomas, Ky. Roberts opted for Syracuse while Thomas, Pilgrim and Neltner picked Kentucky, Cincinnati and LSU, respectively.

Among Virginia's current possibilities are 6-8 Linas Kleiza of Montrose Christian Academy in Maryland, 6-9 Patrick Ewing Jr. of National Christian Academy, also in Maryland; 6-10 Paulius Joneliunas of Roanoke Catholic and possibly 6-9 Jason Cain of Philadelphia.

As one might surmise, Ewing is the son of former Georgetown and New York Knick center Patrick Ewing.

Joneliunas and Kleiza are both native Lithuanians who are prepping their senior seasons in the United States. Joneliunas actually would have been a teammate of Reynolds this season at Roanoke Catholic had the guard not transferred to Oak Hill during the summer.

Free throws. Virginia will begin the first of its two exhibition contests on Nov. 10 when its hosts Big Apple Basketball at 3 p.m. at University Hall. … Former Virginia standout Bryant Stith was released Monday by the L.A. Clippers. Stith, the school's all-time leading scorer, played with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. Stith was included in the off-season trade that sent point guard Andre Miller to the Clippers in return for Darius Miles. Stith had not participated in the Clippers' training camp as he was recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. … Former Cavalier Roger Mason Jr., the 31st overall pick in June's NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, was officially placed on the team's injured reserve list Monday. Mason suffered a dislocated right shoulder during a pick-up game in September. Mason, Virginia's leading scorer the past two seasons, underwent surgery on the shoulder on Sept. 12 and is expected to miss four to five months.

 

 

Rushing problems laid on the line


By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

A single carry for 14 yards was all it took for freshman fullback Jason Snelling to lead Virginia in rushing against Georgia Tech.
The Cavaliers rushed for 53 yards as a team and fell to 92nd out of 117 Division I-A teams in rushing offense.

"November is a month that, whether it's for weather purposes or whatever, that you like to be able to run the ball," said UVa coach Al Groh, whose Cavaliers have an open date before resuming play Nov.9 at Penn State.

"Sure, I'd like to be as proficient in that area as possible but sometimes there are very specific reasons why you are good at something or not good something.

"And, sometimes, only time will change those things."

That was a cryptic reference to an offensive line that has played most of the season without its most experienced and celebrated player, center Kevin Bailey.

Bailey suffered a season-ending knee injury in UVa's second game and last Saturday the Cavaliers were without offensive guard Elton Brown for most of the Georgia Tech game.

"Brown only played 13 plays [Saturday]," Groh said. "Going into the season, they were our two best offensive lineman. I'll let you draw your own deductions.

"Our production improved almost overnight last year when [Bailey] went in there as a neophyte center. That's why we had anticipated that he would have quite a year this year."

Brown had twisted an ankle late in the Cavaliers' 37-27 victory over North Carolina on Oct.19 , although he was out of that game for only one play.

Groh feels the open dates will be "a panacea for [Brown's] ills," and the team will not practice for the first part of this week, an indication that other players can use the extra time to rehab.

"I think there are a lot of players who will feel a lot friskier in two weeks than they did" at Georgia Tech, Groh said.

One player who might benefit from the break is freshman outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock, limited to four tackles in UVa's 23-15 loss at Georgia Tech. Blackstock, who entered the game with a team-high eight sacks, said after the game that his back was giving him problems.

Freshman tailback Wali Lundy, fourth in the ACC in all-purpose yardage before Saturday, touched the ball 11 times at Georgia Tech and accounted for 27 yards - almost 100 under his average. Lundy had seven rushing attempts for 9 yards, three receptions for 9 yards and one kickoff return for 9 yards.

Quarterback Matt Schaub accounted for 22 of the Cavaliers' 31 rushing yards in the second half, when he had 279 of his 381 yards in total offense. Schaub's 8-yard run with 2:58 left represented his first touchdown of the year, which he followed with a two-point run.

TRANSPLANTED SOUTHERNER: On the day that Georgia Tech celebrated its homecoming, so did Matt Schaub, whose family has lived in Marietta, Ga., since he entered college in the fall of 1999.

Schaub's father, Dale, worked for CSX before taking a job with Norfolk Southern in Atlanta during his son's senior year at West Chester (Pa.) East High School.

Schaub's roommate throughout his college career, Ryan Sawyer, is a Marietta, Ga., resident who visited UVa with his parents on the same weekend that Schaub and his parents visited in 1998-99.

Schaub is one of six Pennsylvanians on the UVa roster, along with tailback Marquis Weeks, linebacker Rich Bedesem, cornerback Art Thomas, offensive guard Ben Carber and defensive end Braden Campbell. All have started at least one game this year, except for Campbell, a freshman who has played in every game.

ODDS 'N' ENDS: Georgia Tech was the first team to beat Virginia during the 21-game Groh tenure without a 100-yard rusher, although the Yellow Jackets got 95 yards from walk-on P.J. Daniels and rushed for 211 as a team. ... ABC Sports has exercised its six-day option in picking up the Virginia-Penn State game, meaning there will be no announcement on a game time until next Monday.

 

 

ACC's image slipping

By CAULTON TUDOR, Staff Writer

The preseason consensus of ACC football coaches that the conference had improved significantly can essentially be dismissed as summer dreaming.

Given Notre Dame's victory Saturday at Florida State, the regular season probably will end without one ACC win over a top-15 non-conference opponent.

Two opportunities loom Nov. 30: Georgia Tech at No. 5 Georgia and Virginia at No. 3 Virginia Tech.

But short of an upset in either game, North Carolina will wind up with the ACC's best non-league win, a 38-35 triumph at Arizona State (7-2) on Oct. 5. The Sun Devils have risen to No. 16 but still have to face Washington State (7-1) and Southern Cal (6-2).

Among this week's Associated Press Top 25 teams, the ACC's only other victim was No. 22 Iowa State, which lost to FSU 38-31 way back on Aug. 24.

On the flip side, ACC teams have lost to the likes of Miami of Ohio, Northern Illinois and Northwestern.

What went wrong?

Almost everything.

Clearly, the biggest miscalculation was the belief that Florida State, which finished a disappointing 8-4 in 2001, would return to normal.

Though the Seminoles (5-3) should have knocked off No. 1 Miami on Oct. 12, they've slipped enough to no longer rate among the nation's elite programs.

On paper, No. 10 N.C. State looks good enough to play evenly with almost any team out there, but State has played one of its weakest schedules ever, which hasn't helped the conference. The truth is, State probably won't be able to prove how good it is until a bowl game.

Finally, there has been a collective decline in the middle by Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Clemson. All three teams ended last season with bowl victories and were considered capable of winning seven or eight games each in 2002.

Injuries have contributed to their combined 11-13 record but that can't be used as a blanket excuse.

UNC has yet to win at home and is one of the worst second-half teams in the country.

Clemson's defense, which should have been very good, has steadily unraveled.

Tech's offense simply has not looked the same since Ralph Friedgen left to become Maryland's head coach before the Yellow Jackets' 28-14 loss to LSU in the 2000 Peach Bowl.

The consequences of this season will likely start at the top, where changes of some sort seem virtually certain at Florida State. There's no reason to believe Bobby Bowden will retire in a fit of frustration, but he won't idly watch his program slip into mediocrity while two of his former right-hand men, Chuck Amato at NCSU and Mark Richt at Georgia, motor past the Seminoles in the rankings.

The momentum within the ACC has shifted toward NCSU, Maryland, Virginia and possibly Wake Forest. Even if FSU winds up 8-0 in conference play, the Wolfpack could go into the 2003 season as the league favorite.

Virginia, with two more recruiting classes similar to its current freshman group, could have the most talent.

Maryland's coaching staff, which may already be the league's best, won't change dramatically unless offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe and defensive coordinator Gary Blackney land head coaching jobs at top-50 programs.

The future for those programs looks bright. But for now, there's only one hope for the ACC, and that's the Wolfpack. If State slips, the season will end with the conference on the far, far fringe of the national spotlight.

 

 

Bye week provides time for reevaluation
During their week off, the Cavaliers will have time to recuperate while the coaching staff looks to recruiting for 2003
Matt Trogdon
Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
With a two-week respite before the Cavalier football team travels to Penn State, Virginia Coach Al Groh and his staff plan to use their time off to focus on recruiting.

"We're allowed six evaluation days by the NCAA," Groh said. That's when "a coach from a school can go to a high school, talk to the coach, look at tape, pick up academic information from the guidance counselor, attend a game for evaluation purposes

So we're using two of them today and tomorrow."

Last February, Groh signed a recruiting class ranked in the top 10 by a number of analysts. This year's class is beginning to take shape, and looks to be another impressive group of players. Virginia already received verbal commitments from several talented prospects, including strong-armed Pennsylvania quarterback Kevin McCabe and highly-touted Florida center Jordy Lipsey. The latter is considered one of the best offensive linemen in the nation. Groh commented last week that Virginia's top targets were well aware of the team's recent success and were becoming excited about the possibility of contributing to the rise of the Cavalier program.

While the coaches are busy recruiting, the Virginia players will have some time to rest and catch up on their studies. This relaxed schedule contrasts heavily with the practice-laden bye week the Cavaliers experienced after the South Carolina game.

"That was an early bye with a young team," Groh said. "I thought that with an early bye after the third game

with a young team like that there's a lot of players who were still trying to learn our system. At this stage now they've run all those same plays for six more weeks and played six more games with them. It should have built their experience and knowledge base but also probably tired them out a little bit, too."

With Saturday's loss to Georgia Tech, Virginia (6-3, 4-2 ACC) sits in third place in the conference and remains one win away from bowl eligibility. However, the Cavaliers face three ranked teams in their last four games and travel to the unfriendly confines of both Blacksburg and State College.

"This is in general where we hoped to be at this point," Groh said. "I think the [upcoming schedule] looks pretty challenging. Probably kind of a repeat of those first three" games.

For Virginia to secure a bowl bid in its next four games, the team's kicking game will have to improve. Freshman kicker Kurt Smith missed a 25-yard field goal early in the Georgia Tech game, and has been inconsistent for much of the season. The kicking game's unreliability led Groh to go for it on two fourth downs in Georgia Tech territory. Yet, despite his hesitance to rely on his kickers, he tends to leave them to themselves, only offering an occasional word of encouragement.

"Other than to offer encouragement on most of these occasions, I've judged that it may be in everybody's best long-term interest to keep my distance," he said. "I told [Smith] to get his head up, to stop drooping his eyes down, and get ready for the opportunity where he has a chance to do something good."

More than likely, Smith will get that opportunity in the next four games. For the Cavaliers to be successful, it is crucial that he delivers.

 

 

Virginia's Mapp Has Setback


By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, October 30, 2002; Page D03


CHARLOTTESVILLE, Oct. 29 -- University of Virginia point guard Majestic Mapp likely will not play until January after suffering another setback in his bid to return from four knee surgeries, Cavaliers Coach Pete Gillen said today.

Mapp, who sat out the past two seasons after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament the summer after his freshman year, had hoped to be ready when Virginia opens its season Nov. 22. But as he began to ease back into practice with the team in recent weeks, his balky right knee protested.

"The knee is in shock," Gillen said, noting that, until recently, Mapp had spent most of his time doing rehabilitation exercises and was able to play pick-up games only sporadically.

Unfortunately, Gillen said, the Cavaliers have learned in the past two years to proceed as if they won't have Mapp, a high school all-American who was Gillen's first Virginia recruit in 1999. Even before the recent setback, Gillen spoke in conditionals when discussing Mapp's return.

"Hopefully he can play this year. I think he will," Gillen said at the team's media day three weeks ago. "But what percentage, how effectively, I don't know."

With Mapp's return now scheduled for the beginning of ACC play in January, Virginia's three-way competition for the starting point guard job becomes a two-man race between redshirt junior Todd Billet, a transfer from Rutgers, and sophomore Keith Jenifer, who started 15 of the team's 29 games last season.

Cavaliers Note: Junior college transfer Devin Smith, also recovering from knee surgery, has been in and out of practice recently, but should return to full strength relatively soon, Gillen said.