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Tight end recruit spotted at Virginia's victory
 By Mike Farrell / Daily Progress correspondent
Nov 21, 2002
 
State College Area High School (Pa.) star tight end Jonathan Stupar was spotted at the Virginia-N.C. State game on an unofficial visit. Stupar, a 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, will probably take his final official visit to UCLA on Jan. 10.

He's already visited Virginia, Iowa, Arizona State and Florida State and, while he claims there is no leader, the Cavaliers have to feel good about their chances.

A strong Christian community is important for the Stupar family, so this latest visit was a chance to meet the Athletes In Action folks in Charlottesville as Jonathan and his father, Steve, had lunch with the AIA people and Virginia linebacker Kai Parham. Stupar also wanted to take in the game because he had promised to see N.C. State in person as the Wolfpack have been pushing hard for his fifth trip.

Miami, Notre Dame and many others have offered the talented tight end over the last month, but it looks like the Bruins will get the final chance at swaying him. He wants to decide a few weeks after his last trip. UVa desperately wants to team Stupar up with redshirt freshman Heath Miller in their offense. The feeling is that the duo would give opposing defensive coordinators some sleepless nights down the road.

There are only two official visitors I know of at Virginia this weekend as the Cavs host Maryland. One is New Jersey stud athlete Jesse Holley. Holley, a 6-4, 190-pounder who can play safety or wideout in college and is also a terrific basketball player, will take his second official visit after taking a trip to Michigan State in October.

The Spartans have since been eliminated from his list with their coaching situation. Holley is also interested in Michigan, Notre Dame, Maryland, North Carolina and UCLA, but has said that the recruiting process is wearing on him and he'd like to decide soon.

The other visitor is Vincent Redd, a defensive end from Tennessee.

Hermitage High School wideout Fontel Mines and his teammate, tight end/defensive end Duane Brown, both had excellent official visits to UVa last weekend.

Mines, a 6-5, 210-pounder who reminds some of a young Billy McMullen, got to spend some time with the star Virginia wideout talking over everything from running pass routes to how the new coaches treated everyone upon their arrival and how the offense at UVa has developed. Mines gets a very good feel from the UVa players and coaches and has to be considered a Virginia lean although he's still going to take his official visit to Virginia Tech on Nov. 29.

Brown is a bit more of a puzzle. The 6-5, 250-pounder was officially offered by Virginia just a few weeks ago while Virginia Tech offered him in the summer. The Hokies have been recruiting him harder and longer, but he has been seemingly holding out for an offer from the Cavaliers. Now that he has it, and has a good official visit and his buddy and teammate leaning towards C'Ville, one insider told me that he's probably going to commit to Virginia with Mines following their next official visits.

Brown will join Mines at Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 when the Hokies host Virginia in the Cavs season finale.

Phoebus cornerback Phillip Brown has tentatively set his official visits. Virginia Tech will get the first crack at the 5-11, 185-pounder with a visit date of Dec. 13.

Brown, who has scored touchdowns this season as a wideout, cornerback, running back, punt returner and kickoff returner, has tentatively set a date with Pitt for Jan. 10, UVa for Jan. 17 and N.C. State for Jan. 24. However, most observers don't feel he'll get past his first visit as the Hokies have long been his favorite and he'll be visiting with teammate and friend Xavier Adibi, an outstanding 6-3, 215-pound linebacker. Adibi is, of course, the younger brother of Virginia Tech defensive end Nathaniel Adibi and is also considered a heavy lean to the Hokies.

Brown has been quiet over the last couple of months, changing his phone number and avoiding the recruiting crush while he concentrates on his studies. He's yet to qualify by NCAA standards. His Phoebus team is undefeated as expected and the favorite to win the state title again. The Phantoms have looked susceptible to an upset of late however, struggling in a 13-3 win over Kecoughtan a few weeks back and barely beating Lake Taylor 27-21 last weekend. If healthy, Brown, Adibi and company will take on Kecoughtan in a rematch this weekend for the Eastern Region Championship. Adibi suffered a knee sprain and Brown left the game with an injured ankle in the win.

Count UVa out of the race for Brandywine (Md.) Gwynn Park linebacker Wes Jefferson. I'm hearing from some good sources that Jefferson's final five doesn't include the Hoos.

Virginia Tech quarterback commitment Courtney Denson (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) from Miami (Fla.) Central will be taking his official visit to Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 for the Hokies game against Virginia. Denson is still intent on taking some other official visits, although he has no idea what teams he wants to see. He has offers from Florida State, Miami and Florida and likes the 'Noles the best out of the in-state teams. However, he also has offers from schools like Nebraska and Auburn and both are pushing hard for a visit. Denson's season ended in the first round of the playoffs as his Central team was upset by Plantation by a 28-23 score. In that game he threw for 270 yards, ran for another 94 and caught a 24-yard pass as well. He scored three touchdowns.

Denson also told me that his teammate, defensive tackle Bryan Pata, remains committed to Miami but will probably take his official visits. He expects Pata, a 6-4, 260-pounder, to take a trip to Virginia Tech in January but he doesn't expect the big man to change his mind about Miami.

Mike Farrell is the east coast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and provides daily updates on Virginia (http://virginia.rivals.com) and Virginia Tech (http://virginiatech.rivals.com) football recruiting on the network. Log on or call 1-866-2-RIVALS to sign up today.

 

 

Halloween party sparks race discussion
 By KATE ANDREWS / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 22, 2002
 
Jim Roland can sum up in one word his opinion of the three white University of Virginia fraternity brothers who impersonated blacks at a Halloween party, igniting a racial controversy at the old southern school.

"Boneheads."

Although the 49-year-old Roland is a university graduate, he sees students daily at his place of employment, St. Maarten Cafe. Some UVa students on Thursday shared opinions similar to his. Others were more reluctant to criticize. Few expressed true outrage.

"I was very surprised, especially because of all the racial controversy we have all the time," said Sabrina Bortey, a senior. "If I decided to dress as Marie Antoinette or Thomas Jefferson, I wouldn't paint myself white."

Bortey, one of the more outspoken students interviewed Thursday, said the incident is an example of widespread racial problems at the university. A "pimps and ho's" theme party held by architecture students last spring led to a similar racial flareup, she noted.

"The black community sees what people do, and it just feeds the fire," Bortey said.

Others, however, saw less meaning in the Halloween costumes.

"We talked about it at lunch," said Orran Brown, a sophomore who belongs to a fraternity. "I know they don't mean any harm. I think definitely the fact that it was Halloween gave them an opportunity to dress up. Maybe they went a little too far."

The Oct. 31 party that sparked the race discussion was sponsored by Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi fraternities. One attendee went as Uncle Sam, wearing black makeup, exaggerated pink lips and an Afro wig, along with a red, white and blue suit. Two others were costumed as tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, wearing brown makeup on their faces and brown turtlenecks under tennis dresses.

Pictures of the event were posted on the Internet and spread throughout campus via an anonymous e-mail. A student showed them to administrators Monday, leading to the suspensions of both Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi.

Kappa Alpha was cleared of responsibility Wednesday by its national organization, while Zeta Psi remained under "social suspension" Thursday. The three men who wore the controversial costumes belong to Zeta Psi, students said.

Neither fraternity is allowed to hold social events under Inter-Fraternity Council regulations.

Many students said the suspensions were just, although there was some disagreement over whether the incident is indicative of a larger racial problem at UVa.

Patricia Oh, a sorority sister, is friends with some members of Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi.

"The people I know there are very, very bright people and acceptable of other ethnicities," said Oh, a senior.

Shane Fleenor, a fraternity brother who also is familiar with the houses, said Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi are well known as "southern fraternities."

"These are kind of the kids of old money," he said, adding that the houses are among the most visible symbols of UVa's Greek life.

When people stereotype the university, Fleenor said, they often point to the southern houses.

The fraternities should have used better sense in light of their reputations, Oh said. "It's a sensitive situation, and they should know better."

Several people said there was a difference between the man who dressed as Uncle Sam and the two who portrayed the Williams sisters.

"The person that dressed as Uncle Sam in blackface was unacceptable," Brown said.

"When I look at the Williams sisters, that's one thing," Roland said, but as for Uncle Sam, "I find it offensive."

Jason Ballard, a junior and a fraternity member, said there are movements afoot to help diversify students' extracurricular activities.

His fraternity, Sigma Pi, has co-sponsored the "Comfort Zone," a large party involving white, black and Asian fraternities.

The racial problem, Ballard said, is "pretty localized" within certain fraternities.

Students also pointed to "self-segregation" at the university, which has an undergraduate student body that is almost 70 percent white. Blacks make up slightly less than 9 percent of the undergraduate population.

Lauren Hammond, a black freshman, said she likely wouldn't pledge a majority-white sorority.

"I have a lot of white friends, but you get a lot from the sisterhood of black friends," she said.

Sabrina Dhillon, a junior, has seen many students sit only with friends of the same race.

"I think people should branch out more," Dhillon said, but added: "People feel more comfortable around people they can relate to."

 

 

Eight options, five spots: Gillen unsure about Virginia’s starters
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 22, 2002

By Tuesday afternoon, Virginia basketball coach Pete Gillen had settled on two-fifths of his starting lineup.
Travis Watson and Todd Billet will start tonight’s season opener against Long Island University at University Hall. The other starters were to be determined this week in practice.

Gillen says a bit of lineup uncertainty is not a bad thing.

“We have seven or eight guys who could be starters,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a big, big difference.”

Depth and versatility are supposed to be two strengths of the Cavaliers, who are coming off a disappointing 17-12 finish.

On paper, Virginia has ample depth, though not as much as a few weeks ago. Since practice began, the Cavaliers have lost guards Majestic Mapp and Jermaine Harper. Mapp, who has missed the last two seasons with a knee injury, suffered a setback in his recovery and likely won’t play until January, if at all.

Harper was suspended indefinitely after an arrest for driving under the influence earlier this month.

Even without the two, Gillen has plenty of lineup options. He used eight players in Virginia’s second exhibition, a 73-57 win over One World All-Stars on Sunday. All eight played at least 17 minutes.

The one player who barely left the court was Billet, a transfer from Rutgers. The 6-foot-1 junior guard played 39 minutes and scored 17 points.

“He’s not the blur point guard that I’m used to, but good things happen when the ball is in his hands,” Gillen said.

Billet might also be the team’s best outside shooter, so expect him to play major minutes. Watson, the leading returning scorer and rebounder in the ACC, is another fixture.

The other three? Cal transfer Nick Vander Laan and sophomore Elton Brown started the two exhibitions, giving Virginia a big front line. Sophomore Keith Jenifer started alongside Billet on Sunday after missing the first game for violating a team rule.

Also in the mix are freshman Derrick Byars and junior college transfer Devin Smith, both of whom can play guard or forward.

Gillen can probably afford to do some fine tuning tonight. Long Island was 5-22 last year and is starting over with a new coach.

Still, the Cavaliers figure to be tested earlier this season than they were the past two years. LIU is the lone tune-up before the Cavaliers head to the Maui Invitational Tournament. They’ll face Chaminade on Monday and would face either Arizona State or Kentucky in the second round.
 

 

 

'The Hokie fan base is extremely strong. Hokie fans aren't going anywhere'
Disappointed Tech fans are down, but not out

A three-game losing streak has some Hokies questioning game decisions, but not their faith.

By GREG ESPOSITO
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   BLACKSBURG - Freshman Virginia Tech cheerleader Annie Moore peered in the front window of Soulvaki's in downtown Blacksburg on Thursday at the restaurant's "Football Graveyard." She was bummed out because the Hokies will probably play in the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., instead of the Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix thanks to their loss to West Virginia on Wednesday.

    In the window display, eight "Hokie headstones" stood neatly in a row with the score and the name of Virginia Tech's victims in the first eight games. Rest in peace: Arkansas State. LSU. Marshall. Texas A&M. Western Michigan. Boston College. Rutgers. Temple.

    The next three graves remain uncovered, bearing only notes to explain Tech's defeats. The loss to Pittsburgh was due to a "Pittiful second-half performance." The Hokies have "no excuse for what happened in Syracuse."

    Soulvaki's owner Mike Buchanan hasn't written anything about the latest loss, but he has an idea.

    With big games remaining against rival Virginia and undefeated Miami, the season is far from over, he said. So maybe instead of a sign there should be a picture of a turkey and a fork that has yet to be stuck into the bird. The caption would simply read, "Not done yet."

    That was the attitude of many Tech fans in the wake of the team's first three-game, regular-season losing streak in a decade. There was still plenty of orange and maroon on cars, on people and in yards Thursday.

    "We never lose faith in them; it's just been a rough season," Anne Fowler said as she sat at the bar at PK's Restaurant on Thursday afternoon.

    Fowler graduated from Tech in 1999 and works for the university. She watched the Hokies fail to score on two fourth-quarter drives that would have changed the outcome of their 21-18 loss at Lane Stadium on Wednesday night. She said home-game losses are especially tough, because she knows the players and coaches want to win for the fans.

    "They need our support now more than ever," she said. "All football teams go through this."

    Watching ESPN's Sportscenter in the Squires Student Center lounge, Tech students showed a little more frustration than Fowler.

    "I'm wondering what's going on and why they're making weird choices," junior Tom Griffin said.

    Griffin said it's obvious the team's playing hard, but said something's wrong when Tech has two of the top tailbacks in the country, yet quarterback Bryan Randall led the team in rushing Wednesday night. Back at PK's, bartender Ken Leonard said he heard a lot of grumbling about play calling after the game. Much of it concerned the team's inability to get anywhere on three plays when one yard would have meant a touchdown and the lead late in the fourth quarter.

    The real problem, Leonard said, was that the team created unrealistic expectations by beating three ranked teams early in the year and getting off to an 8-0 start. People who would have been happy with an 8-3 record at the beginning of the season started talking about a national championship. Still, Leonard, a Miami Hurricanes fan first and Hokie fan second, respects Tech enough to be wary of the team's visit to Miami at the end of the season.

    Jason Soules , Virginia Tech class of 2000, bought plane tickets, game tickets, rented a car and made hotel reservations for the Miami game when Tech was undefeated. It looked like it would be a play-in game for the national championship. Now it may just be a chance for the Hokies to spoil the Hurricanes' season.

    "It seemed like a worthwhile venture before we lost to Pittsburgh," he said.

    Soules and two of his former classmates, Chris Myers and Scott Wagner, came down from Northern Virginia for Wednesday night's game. They agreed that the crowd's intensity wasn't the same as when the Hokies beat Marshall earlier in the year. The group took some solace in the fact that with the loss, the Hokies are likely to play their bowl game in Charlotte instead of Phoenix. That will make for a much shorter trip if they can get tickets this year.

    "I just don't want to go to another Gator Bowl," Wagner said of the New Year's Day game in Jacksonville, Fla., that Tech has played in for the past two years.

    Fowler said she's excited about going to a new bowl and even though Tech fans are disappointed, they'll never stop supporting their team.

    "The Hokie fan base is extremely strong," Fowler said. "Hokie fans aren't going anywhere."

 

 

3rd loss leaves Tech in shock

Lee Suggs says he made it into the end zone on second-and-goal, but it wasn't the only bad break for Tech.

By RANDY KING
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech's football team has gone 0-for-November and suddenly all those preseason predictions that the Hokies would win eight games this season are in vogue again.

    The Hokies are almost assuredly bound for the Continental Tire Bowl following their third flat of the month, a 21-18 jack job by West Virginia on Wednesday night in Lane Stadium. The Hokies are starting to resemble a stranded motorist on the side of dark highway in the middle of the night.

    They're shaking their heads in disbelief. They're steamed. They're stunned. They can't get any help from anyone. They must be wondering what bad is coming next down the road.

    No one in shellshocked Hokie Nation could have envisioned such a nightmare three weeks ago. What a nightmare it is: three straight regular-season losses for the first time in a decade.

    "Oh, yeah, everybody is [in shock] because we don't take losing well around here," Tech senior safety Willie Pile said. "We're a successful program and we pride ourselves on doing it right every time."

    Tech (8-3, 3-3) has dropped three straight conference games and, barring a monumental upset Dec.7 at No.1 Miami, will finish with a losing league record for the first time since the Big East went to a round-robin schedule in 1993.

    "We're in one of those deals where it seems like things don't go our way right now," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. "We just can't catch a break right now."

    They can't make one, either. Like in its 50-42 triple-overtime loss Nov.9 at Syracuse, Tech squandered two late-game chances to win.

    Down 21-16, Tech had the ball second-and-goal at the WVU 1 with 4 1/2 minutes left. The Hokies, a supposed smash-mouth bunch, couldn't muster the final yard, even on two pops by usually automatic "TD Lee" Suggs.

    After the game, Suggs said he crossed the goal line on the second-down shot up the gut.

    "I know I was in the end zone," said Suggs, who has been there 50 times in his past 24 games. "My whole arm was over [the goal line]."

    Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said he also thought Suggs had scored.

    "I felt [Wednesday night], from what I saw from my vantage point upstairs, that he had gotten in," Stinespring said Thursday. "That's not a great vantage point. I saw how my kids up front reacted. They thought he was in. Lee thought he was in. From the angle the game copy was shot, you can't conclude anything from the film."

    On third down, Randall lost ground on a sneak, backing the ball from the 5-inch line to about a foot away from the goal line. On fourth down, Suggs was tripped up behind the line of scrimmage when diving linebacker Grant Wiley one-armed his lower legs.

    "On the fourth down, quite honestly, I thought the backside linebacker [Wiley] made a terrific play," Stinespring said. "He leaped the pile. I thought up front ... we could have been better on some little things that would have prevented him from getting the angle he got."

    After WVU took an intentional safety rather than punt from its own end zone, Tech got another chance at the 50 with 2:30 left. Randall drove the Hokies to the WVU 11 with 21 seconds left. Instead of going for a 28-yard field goal on second down to tie the game and force overtime, the Hokies decided to let Randall have one last shot into the end zone.

    Randall's shot ended up hitting him in the foot. His pass for 6-foot-4 Ernest Wilford in a heavily populated end zone was intercepted by Brian King with 12 seconds left.

    "I thought about going for the field goal before the last play," Beamer said. "We were going to throw it into the end zone, just not take a sack. If we didn't get that one, we were going to go for a field goal on the next play. [Randall] thought he could make a play, he thought he had it, he just didn't quite get it far enough back there."

    On a night he ran for a career-high 125 yards and threw for 168 more, Randall could only think about what could have been.

    "You've got to make that play," a red-eyed Randall said. "Put the ball up in the back and then if he doesn't catch it then it's out of bounds. I've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball when we get down there and get a field goal, at least."

    Tech also had a 27-yard TD run by Suggs midway in the third quarter nullified by a holding penalty on guard Luke Owens. Tech eventually punted, and seven plays later, backup tailback Quincy Wilson burst untouched through a gaping hole in the Hokies' defense for a 42-yard TD that put WVU up 21-10.

    "One play can kill you and it's killing us right now," Tech linebacker Vegas Robinson said. "We've got to bounce back against Virginia [Nov. 30]."

    While Tech appears en route to a likely matchup with Georgia Tech in the inaugural Dec. 28 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the resurgent Mountaineers (8-3, 5-1) have bigger plans.

    "We got to beat Pittsburgh [on Nov. 30] and hope somebody will knock off Miami," Cobourne said. "I want a Big East championship ring."

    Cobourne said he had no doubts that WVU would beat Tech for the first time in five years.

    "We felt we were the better team," said Cobourne, who had 80 of WVU's 263 rushing yards. "Tech had given up 200 and some yards rushing the last two games and that's what we do best. Let us rush the ball and we're going to grind the clock out and win games.

    "When [the Hokies] were ranked [No. 3], they were playing ball. Then they just got a little cocky and started saying they weren't going to lose any games. And teams took that personally. That's just what happened."

 

 

Time running out for Cavaliers' Mann?

Cavs offer Roanoke Catholic big man

By DOUG DOUGHTY
 Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Thursdays

One of Al Groh’s favorite adjectives is “dramatic,” which is a good way to describe the recent fall from grace of junior outside linebacker Raymond Mann.

Mann, a starter when healthy since the start of the 2001 season, was what hockey people might call a “healthy scratch” for the Cavaliers’ game last Saturday against North Carolina State.

Mann was in uniform but never got in the game. Neither did his back-up, sophomore Bryan White, as Groh moved inside linebacker Merrill Robertson to the outside and started sophomore Richie Bedesem on the inside.

(The first question I got Wednesday from a Virginia Tech assistant who had been peeking at UVa film was, "Who’s that No. 53?)

UVa fans are starting to become familiar with No. 53, Bedesem, who had 13 tackles in the Cavaliers' 14-9 victory over the Wolfpack. Bedesem was elevated to the starting lineup after playing two snaps in Game 9 at Georgia Tech and 20 snaps in Game 10 at Penn State.

A knee injury caused Mann to miss five games at mid-season but he had been back for three games when Groh made his moves after a 35-14 loss at Penn State.

“I’m sure it’s not the most uplifting thing that’s ever happened to him,” Groh said. “I’ve spoken to him about it, told him that if he keeps working on his game [and] keeps his enthusiasm, good things will happen to him."

It seems that time is beginning to run out for Mann, who would have benefitted from a redshirt year when he played 111 plays as a true freshman in 2000, moved from defensive end to outside linebacker before Groh’s first season in 2001, then got hurt this year.

Mann, once billed as a promising pass-rusher, has three sacks in his college career.

“I try to be sensitive to the personal issues with the players and then go on what I see," Groh said. "I think that that's something players probably like. If a coach says, 'I'm just going to go on what I see,’ then you know he's not going on opinions."

Opinions or reputations. Mann was the Gatorade state player of the year in 1999 as a Hampton High School defensive lineman and was rated the No. 2 prospect in the state behind Fairfax High School running back Brandon Royster, who went to Stanford.

"Usually, when a player comes back from an injury during the season, it's when he's ready to come back and play, not when he's ready to come back and be perfect," Groh said. "That's the nature of trying to hustle back and get ready for the season.

"I think it's unusual for any player to come back and jump in the lineup and say, 'Hey, here I am. You know, it's me again,' and everything's the same. There usually is an effect. Probably, he's not back to the same level of physical capability as before he was hurt.

"If he is, his game is rusty."

ANALSYSTS USUALLY LOOK at coordinators when judging the performance of a coaching staff, but when asked Monday about the development of the Cavaliers' offensive line, Groh twice mentioned the contributions of line coach Ron Prince.

While a veteran offensive line struggled and eventually had to be overhauled in 2001, UVa has done some good things this year with a line that included two true freshmen (left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and right guard Brad Butler) and two redshirt freshmen (tight end Heath Miller and left guard Brian Barthelmes) during crunch time against N.C. State.

Prince might not make sexy copy ("If you've seen Ron, he’s Big Sexy," Groh insisted) but the UVa offensive line has withstood injuries that sidelined center Kevin Bailey in the second game and right guard Elton Brown for the past two games. Groh has said that Bailey and Brown are the Cavaliers' two best offensive linemen.

"If I answered the question in terms of, ‘Hey, here's where the tremendous development in Ron Prince has been,’ then that would make it sound like he wasn’t ready for his job last year, which wasn’t the case,” Groh said.

“He did a very good job with the group that he had last year. He's done a fine job in molding this group from nothing, from nowhere. We had one player [Bailey] who had been a center for four games and two players [Brown and right tackle Mike Mullins] who had been starters for four games.

“That was it and [with injuries] we've constantly had to insert new personnel in there. He's been just like the player, no 'woe is me, I lost this guard.' He takes the personnel that he has and goes to work with it.”

ODDS 'N' ENDS: Groh confirmed that Virginia has added Troy (Ala.) State as a 12th opponent for next season and that the Trojans will come to Charlottesville ... Roanoke Catholic boys' basketball coach Dick Wall said that UVa has offered a scholarship to Paulius Joleniunas, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound Lithuanian. Joneliunas also has offers from South Carolina, SMU, Texas, Richmond and West Virginia and was in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Monday night to watch North Carolina play Penn State.

 

 

Seniors: last call at Scott
Groh's plan for growth has produced 7 wins

BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 22, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE - They came to the University of Virginia to play for George Welsh. Midway through their college careers, however, the winningest football coach in ACC history retired.

In came Al Groh, who'd coached the New York Jets in 2000 after 12 seasons as an NFL assistant. Once Groh evaluated the players he'd inherited, he did not say, as George Allen had in Washington years before, "The future is now."

Instead, Groh proclaimed, "Our greatness lies in the future," vowing to replenish the Cavaliers' depleted talent pool.

Virginia's veterans couldn't wait forever. Stage one of Groh's rebuilding project produced a 5-7 record in a season when such players as Billy McMullen, Angelo Crowell, Jerton Evans, Mike Mullins and Merrill Robertson were juniors. They entered 2002 with palpable focus.

"I think it was just, 'No more excuses,'" said Crowell, an inside linebacker who leads Virginia in tackles.

"Last year, at the beginning of the season, we were just learning a lot. That was not an excuse any more. We had to get it done. It was our last year."

Groh recalls two team meetings, the first held two days after U.Va. closed last season by upsetting Penn State, the second on the opening day of spring practice this year.

At each meeting, Groh said, his rising seniors "just sat there with that look on their faces like, 'Hey, Coach, we're going to have a good team.' They were just determined that they were going to have a good team."

Lo and behold, that's what has happened. Virginia (5-2, 7-4) hasn't dominated, but a team picked to place eighth in the ACC is bowl-eligible and will finish no worse than tied for second if it knocks off 18th-ranked Maryland (5-1, 9-2) tomorrow night.

U.Va. closes the regular season Nov. 30 at Virginia Tech. For the Wahoos' 10 seniors, their final turn at Scott Stadium is at hand. Those who redshirted as freshmen, such as Mullins, Alex Seals, Shernard Newby and Chris Williams, entered Virginia in 1998. Crowell, Evans, McMullen and Robertson arrived a year later.

"This is it," said Robertson, an L.C. Bird High graduate who starts at linebacker. "I can't ask for anything much better than this. We've been winning games, and I'm playing well."

Had Robertson and his classmates not bought into Groh's philosophy, had they sowed dissent or rebelled against the new regime, progress might have come more slowly. But they'd seen the program slip in Welsh's final years - Virginia finished 6-6 in 2000 - and didn't care for mediocrity.

"I was ready to get better, ready for the team to get better," said McMullen, the all-ACC wideout from Henrico High.

Likewise for Robertson.

"Coach Groh's background, where he's from and what they did, you can't do anything but buy into," Robertson said. "The people he's coached, the coaches he's been around - Bill Parcells, the Jets, the Patriots - you couldn't ask for anything better."

On a team that would rely heavily on freshmen and sophomores, the seniors couldn't afford to let Groh and his assistants do all the teaching. Not if they wanted to leave as winners. Groh has often cited the example team captains Crowell and McMullen set in practice and in the weight room.

Crowell said: "I had to exert myself more emotionally, be more talkative, to help get some of these things done this year."

For all the praise Groh has lavished on a touted freshman class that includes starters D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Darryl Blackstock, Tom Hagan and Willie Davis, the second-year coach knew his upperclassmen would determine how quickly his program ascended.

Yesterday he called them "the foundation of this squad." Groh's respect for his seniors has been apparent all season, and the feeling seems to be mutual.

"Our first season we didn't win that many games," Crowell said, "but I can see the program coach Groh is putting together here, and I'm just glad to be a part of it. Because this program is going to win a lot of ball games."

Seals, who came to U.Va. as a walk-on, was put on scholarship by Groh and has emerged as one of the team's most valuable players.

"You can feel that something really special is going to happen here in the next two or three years," Seals said, "and to be part of the beginning of that is something I'm very proud of."


 

 

At U.Va., the sound of music is on eBay

Nov 22, 2002
One day soon, a group from Virginia Tech could own the University of Virginia Pep Band for a few hours.

"They're trying. That's what we hear anyway," said Adam Lorentson, a U.Va. junior from Herndon who is director of the school's Pep Band.

The Pep Band has put itself up for auction on eBay.com. The high bidder will get the band's services for one performance. In normal eBay auctions, the winning bidder pays shipping costs. In this case, Lorentson said, the winning bidder will pay transportation costs.

The auction ends Sunday at 7:36 p.m. As of last night, it had drawn 50 bids and was going for $229.26.

The high bidder as of last night was not from Virginia Tech. But Lorentson said he knew of at least one group from Tech that was involved in the auction. He wasn't sure of the exact identity of the bidders.

"We're doing a Pep Band awareness week right now, and one of our members suggested this auction," Lorentson said. "We figured it might get some attention. We didn't really know what to expect."

Lorentson said he made it clear in his communications with the Virginia Tech bidders that the band would play its material, not theirs. As long as the winning bidders agree with that, the band will go wherever it has to for the show.

Even to Virginia Tech. They'll be there anyway next weekend for the Virginia-Virginia Tech football game.

The U.Va. Pep Band, known for its irreverence, wouldn't make any fun of the Hokies.

Would it?

"Oh, no," Lorentson said with a laugh. "We would never do that. - Mike Harris

 

 

Jensen hopes to get the stops needed to make Virginia go
New Cavaliers assistant focuses on defensive side

BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 22, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE Al Groh has a defensive coordinator. So too, for the first time, does another head coach at the University of Virginia.

Meet Rod Jensen, the newest member of men's basketball coach Pete Gillen's staff. Jensen is the guy on the Cavaliers' bench who's especially animated when opponents have the ball. Defense lies at the heart of his coaching philosophy.

"Good or bad, that is my reputation," said Jensen, 49, who compiled a 109-93 record in seven seasons as Boise State's coach. "My upbringing has been very strong-willed at the defensive end."

Roger Mason Jr., U.Va.'s leading scorer last season, now plays for the Chicago Bulls. But he's heard from his former teammates about the Cavaliers' new assistant.

"They say the only language he knows is defense," Mason said. "It's kind of funny: That could have helped us last year."

In each of U.Va.'s final seven games, its opponent shot at least 50 percent from the floor. During that stretch, Maryland shot 61.5 percent, N.C. State 60.4 and Wake Forest 57.9.

The Cavaliers, who were ranked No. 4 in December, collapsed during the season's final six weeks. They failed to reach the NCAA tournament and finished 17-12 after losing in the NIT's first round.

Numerous factors contributed to the Wahoos' downfall, but the biggest might have been their porous defense. That's a big reason why, after Gillen's top assistant, Tommy Herrion, left in the spring to become coach at the College of Charleston, Jensen emerged as such an attractive candidate.

"Rod is a tremendous defensive coach," Gillen said. "He worked for Dick Harter, who's probably the top defensive coach alive, dead or yet to be born."

After 12 seasons as an assistant at Boise State, Jensen ascended to the head coach's chair in 1995. In'98-89, the Broncos went 21-8 and were Big West Conference tournament runners-up. In 2001-02, though, Boise State joined the tougher Western Athletic Conference and fell to 13-17.

In March, Boise State dismissed Jensen. In April, Herrion left for Charleston, S.C. Gillen considered filling the vacancy from within his circle of hoops acquaintances, but several people he respects, including Gene Corrigan and former U.Va. coach Terry Holland, encouraged him to look at another option.

At N.C. State, Herb Sendek's assistants include former Ohio coach Larry Hunter, a key player in the Wolfpack's turnaround last season. At Connecticut, Jim Calhoun's staff includes ex-Holy Cross coach George Blaney. Holland himself had hired Dave Odom as an assistant at U.Va. after Odom's stint as East Carolina's coach.

"People I respect in our administration and people I respect in basketball said, 'Pete, get a veteran guy who's not from your [coaching] family,' " Gillen said.

Jensen had ties to U.Va. His daughter Kate graduated from the university in May, and Jon Oliver, Virginia's senior associate AD, played at Boise State when Jensen was an assistant there.

When he heard Gillen discuss his team's defensive woes, Oliver said, "In my mind, I kind of knew who the person was who could help him with that."

So Oliver mentioned Jensen to Gillen and U.Va. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, a former head coach at Penn and Rutgers. In July, Gillen hired Jensen to build a respectable defense.

Jensen's teams at Boise State didn't press fullcourt, a trademark of Gillen's clubs. "He think press is something you do with your pants," Gillen said.

Nor have Jensen's teams run the way Gillen's typically do. Even so, Jensen said, "I'm not opposed to pushing the ball and being aggressive offensively. I just think you have to be aggressive at both ends of the floor."

Jensen won't go out on the road recruiting. Gillen, who has yet to win a postseason game with the Cavaliers, wants him to focus on teaching and coaching.

"As a head coach, you need as much help as you can get," Gillen said. "The big thing is, he has experience. Rod can do a lot of things to help take pressure off me."

Jensen, a Utah native, grew up in Michigan and California. He graduated from the University of Redlands in 1975 and later began his college coaching career there. He spent the'82-83 season at Penn State, under Harter, before moving back to the West.

"In my heart of hearts, I think we'll be a better team with Rod Jensen," Gillen said. "We lost a terrific coach in Tommy Herrion. I think we got a terrific coach in Rod Jensen."

 

 

As easy as A-C-C
November 19, 2002
Editor's Note: It’s early in the season but the Bulls’ 2002 draft picks are already paying big dividends.

Jay Williams recorded the first triple-double of his career, scoring 26 points with 14 rebounds and 13 assists versus the Nets on Nov. 9. Williams’ feat was the Bulls first triple-double since Michael Jordan’s in 1997 and is the sixth-fastest in NBA history.
Lonny Baxter has been a key player off the Chicago bench. Against Milwaukee on Nov. 13, Baxter scored 8 points in the final period as the Bulls battled back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Roger Mason Jr., who was injured over the summer and underwent surgery to repair his dislocated right shoulder, continues to work towards a comeback and hopes to be back on the court soon.
Once the fiercest of rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Bulls’ second round draft picks, Roger Mason Jr. and Lonny Baxter, along with first round pick Jay Williams, are now teammates who spent a lot of time sweating, running, shooting and weight-lifting together this summer at the Berto Center in Deerfield.

In fact, rookie camp was like an ACC reunion in Chicago for the three newest Bulls from the East Coast.

“I’m here with someone from my hometown,” chirped the 6’8”, 260-pound Baxter, who along with Mason Jr. is originally from Silver Spring, Maryland. “And to be here with Jay Williams, it feels like I’m home already.”

The three saw plenty of one another during their respective college careers and have the utmost respect for each other’s considerable skills.

“Lonny’s a warrior,” says Mason Jr. “He gets the job done, and I know he’ll get the job done at this level because he’s succeeded where everybody thought he wouldn’t at other levels.”

“They both beat me a couple of times,” says Williams of his fellow rookies. “The best thing about Roger is he’s very [dogged]. When Duke played Virginia, we tried to put a lot of different people on him, but he’s very hard to stop.”

“A lot of people question my size,” says Baxter, “but it’s all about my heart.”
Baxter, 23, who played power forward and a little center at the University of Maryland, helped his team reach the NCAA Final Four his junior and senior years. He snared a team-best 14 rebounds and added 15 points in the NCAA Championship game win over Indiana last spring. He closed out his Maryland career second in rebounds (998), sixth in career points (1,858), fourth in blocked shots (227) and fourth in free throws made (431).

Williams, 21, the celebrated 6’2” guard from Duke, was the consensus NCAA Player of the Year and the number two pick overall in the 2002 NBA Draft. He won the Naismith and Wooden Awards, and was named the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year. He concluded his Duke career third in assists (644), fifth in steals (235), second in three-point field goals made (313) and led the Blue Devils to a 95-13 record in 108 games played there, including the 2001 NCAA National Championship.

The 6’5”, 199-pound Mason Jr., 22, played at the University of Virginia. As a sophomore and junior, he led the Cavaliers in total points. And in all three of his collegiate seasons, he led the team in free-throw shooting, setting a school record, with a career 86.9 percentage from the charity stripe. He also played both backcourt positions at Virginia.

Mason Jr., who was picked 30th, and Baxter, chosen 44th in the Draft’s second round, have known each other since junior high, when they played pickup games in the neighborhood and later competed on different AAU teams in the Washington, D.C. area.

They both went to China last summer with the U.S. World University team and played against fellow rookie Yao Ming in the semifinal game. (“He’s a presence,” says Mason Jr. of Yao. “He’s agile. I think he’s a great player.”)

Roger’s college coach has only good things to say about the player he says performs best in big game situations. “Roger’s a tremendous person– a class guy,” says Virginia’s men’s Head Basketball Coach Pete Gillen. “He’s one of the top student-athletes I’ve been fortunate to coach.” [Mason Jr. majored in urban planning and intends to finish his degree during the offseason]. “In addition,” says Coach Gillen, “Roger helped us win 56 games over three years and go to postseason play each time.”

Mason Jr. can’t wait to make his debut in a Bulls uniform: “I’m confident we’re going to progress as a unit and great things are going to happen here in Chicago.”
Gillen compares the rookie to former Bulls guard John Paxson.

“Roger’s personality, demeanor and class is very similar to John Paxson’s,” says the coach. “[The bottom line is,] Roger’s a winner. He’ll be a great representative of the Chicago Bulls both on and off the court.”

In addition, the newest Bull has some hidden talents, as well. Though Mason Jr., the oldest of five children, always excelled at sports– he led his high school basketball team to the Washington, D.C. city championship his junior year, played football his freshman year and ran track for three years– started playing the piano at age nine. As a freshman at Virginia, Roger played a duet during Midnight Madness activities with UVA hoops fan and recording artist Bruce Hornsby, who’s not a bad keyboard player himself.

“We played a little jazz,” says Roger, who added that the super-talented Hornsby “made me sound good.” And, last season, before a nationally televised game against Rutgers, Fox Sports asked Roger to record a piano introduction for their broadcast.

His outgoing personality probably helped calm any nerves. When asked to describe himself, he says he likes people, interacting with the guys on the team and getting to know different personalities and cultures.

Another important fact about this newest Bull: When Mason Jr. arrived at Virginia, he insisted that the “Jr.” always appear after his name. This was to honor his father, a physician who passed away due to kidney disease when he was 11. Several years after his father’s passing, his mother Marsha married former Washington Redskins standout Otis Wonsley. Both his mom and stepdad have offered advice to Roger, who decided to leave school one year shy of graduation to make the jump to the NBA.

“My mom said to follow my heart. She knows I’ll get my degree. She’s invested a lot in me, so I’m not going to let her down, but she understands that playing the NBA is a dream of mine.”

His stepdad, a former running back and kick returner, advises him on the business end of things. “He knows that hard work is what makes you a better player, so he always encourages me to work as hard as I can.”

Bulls Coach Bill Cartwright is hoping that Mason Jr. will turn out to be another pick like last year’s top second-round pick, Trenton Hassell, who became a starter for the Bulls.

“He’s a terrific shooter, a terrific competitor and a tough defender so we’re really fortunate that a lot of teams passed on Roger and we were able to get him at number 30,” proclaims Cartwright.

Roger’s even happier than Cartwright that he’s a Bull, and hopes his performance in Chicago will send a message to those who didn’t pick him earlier in the draft.

“I was told I could have gone anywhere from 14 to 31,” he explains. “Four or five years from now, I want people to say that they made a mistake by drafting someone else.”

Bulls Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations, Jerry Krause, is passionate in his praise of this year’s draft picks.

“The three youngsters we got are all the same kind of people: They’re all tough, they’re all smart, they’re all dedicated and they’re all winners.” The third rookie in the group, Baxter, who majored in criminal justice, said there’s no other place he’d rather be than right here in Chicago.

“It’s an honor to be here. I’m glad the Bulls chose me,” Baxter announced at the beginning of the summer, when the three first met the media in Chicago. Those who know him often describe Baxter as a quiet, soft-spoken guy. Moreover, the phrase “hard-working” is the most common one associated with the big man.

Jay Williams says he’s glad to have former ACC foes Lonny Baxter and Roger Mason Jr. on his side now.
“He’s always on time, both off the court and on,” says Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams. “He’s the guy who’s always where you need him to be. Not flashy and never fashionably late, he’s simply the man who’s in the right place at the right time.”

“Lonny’s a beast down low,” says Mason Jr. of his friend and new teammate. “He always works hard.”

Baxter was voted the Most Valuable Player of Maryland’s NCAA Regional in each of the past two seasons, averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last season. He joined his more flamboyant teammate, Juan Dixon, as the highest-scoring tandem ever to win a NCAA Championship, and finished his own career with 107 victories in a Terrapins uniform.

“A lot of people question my size but it’s all about my heart,” says Lonny. “I give all I got every night on the court.” Coach Cartwright agrees. “Lonny’s a hard worker, a banger, a rebounder. He comes from a winning system– he knows how to play– and win.”

While the quiet Baxter won’t brag about himself, Gary Williams is happy to lay it on the line.

“Lonny’s strength is his durability and toughness, and he has a great touch around the basket. He also knows how to win,” Williams says. “But I’m sure people will look at him and question how well can he shoot from the perimeter. Like most players his size, like Karl Malone, [good] outside shooting can come with time. If he had to become tough or had to learn how to run, that would be different. However, Lonny already has those things. Because of his work ethic, I have no doubt that his outside shooting will develop and he will become a very solid NBA player for a very long time.”

This ACC reunion looks promising for Windy City hoop fans and the Chicago Bulls. “I’m confident we’re going to progress as a unit and great things are going to happen here in Chicago,” predicts Mason Jr. “We’re young, but the coaches here do a very good job of teaching and I’m looking forward to getting better and becoming a great basketball player for Chicago and the Bulls.”
 

 

 

Overachieving Cavs make Groh top coach in ACC

By FRANK DASCENZO : The Herald-Sun
fdascenzo@heraldsun.com
Nov 21, 2002 : 4:51 pm ET

The college football season isn’t over, but I don’t care. I’m voting Virginia’s Al Groh 2002 ACC coach of the year.

You may label it a privilege of the profession. This guy has his team bowl eligible with a 7-4 record when, before the season, I figured he’d be about 4-7.

Yes, I know the Cavs could drop their last two games — Saturday vs. Maryland and Nov. 30 at Virginia Tech — but, as I said, I don’t care.

Groh has done more with less than anyone in the ACC. He starts — what is it? — eight true freshmen and look at that league record, 5-2.

Here’s what I really admire about Groh’s kids: They can come from behind to win. Virginia leads all ACC teams with four second-half rallies, including three in the fourth quarter. Over the last two seasons, the Cavaliers have trailed in seven of Groh’s 12 victories, and of Virginia’s last nine wins, six have come after the Cavs fell behind at halftime.

I know what you’re thinking. How can it not be Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen? It’s got to be The Fridge (again) because this guy has become the best coach in the league now that Florida State’s Bobby Bowden actually has three non-conference losses before the end of November.

And I know Maryland could stick it to the Cavs at Scott Stadium and you’ll all be saying what a foolish thing to do, to make a choice before all the facts and figures and wins and losses and postgame handshakes are in.

Too bad, privilege of the profession.

I didn’t think the Cavs had a prayer of winning seven games, but they’ve convinced me how resilient they are and that has a lot to do with Groh’s coaching. He has blended old school with love of his alma mater, and it has worked nicely.

Sometimes I detect little things, like a head coach chewing out a player for failing to complete an assignment. I watched Groh do this on television last week when his Cavaliers upset N.C. State. I also watched Groh show a lot of class after the game.

The Cavs haven’t played an N.C. State-like schedule, either. They’ve lined up with Colorado State and Penn State and, in case you’ve missed it, Groh must have taken a cue from his predecessor, George Welsh, because Virginia swept the Big Four (Wake Forest, Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State).

The Cavs could have allowed two turnovers to do them in against the Wolfpack, but they didn’t. The Cavs trailed UNC by 21 points at halftime but won. The Cavs trailed Wake Forest by 17 at halftime and won. The Cavs lost the statistical battle — and clearly time of possession — at Duke but won.

Call Groh’s kids overachievers if you must, but four of Virginia’s wins have been against ranked teams. Quarterback Matt Schaub, who should be considered for ACC player of the year, leads the league in passing efficiency and ranks No. 8 nationally. He has thrown a touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games and already owns a Cavaliers-record 23 touchdown passes.

Yes, Virginia, Al Groh has my vote right now.


 

 

Sophomore Starks gets in gear after shaky initial year
Maryland: Homesick and out of shape last season, the defensive tackle has adjusted to college ball, emerging as a play-making force this year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Christian Ewell
Sun Staff
Originally published November 22, 2002

COLLEGE PARK - College football was a wake-up call for Randy Starks. Arriving at Maryland 15 months ago, the 295-pound freshman found the game he encountered a far cry from what he'd envisioned.
Here, coaches hollered at Starks, ordered him to run wind sprints, made him ride the bench. None of that had happened back at Westlake High in Waldorf. And Starks didn't like it.

"I wanted to go home," he said.

Sure, he missed his mother and her home cooking, but the Terps' tongue-dragging practices really got to him. "I was too tired to be homesick," he said.

Starks still misses home, but much has changed for the sophomore defensive tackle, who has become Maryland's most dangerous defensive player outside of E.J. Henderson.

In last week's 30-12 defeat of Clemson, Starks accounted for six tackles, including two for losses. He was also credited with three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups he made while dropping into coverage.

"He's a defensive back at heart," cornerback Curome Cox said.

One coach keeping an eye on Starks will be Virginia's Al Groh, whose team plays Maryland tomorrow in Charlottesville, Va.

Starks helps the team's run defense - "the linebackers are making a lot of plays, and he's been the one keeping blockers off of them," Henderson said - making opposing offenses one-dimensional.

"The one who comes to mind is [Wisconsin's] Wendell Bryant, and he was the first-round pick of the Cardinals," Groh said of Starks. "[Starks] has the physical abilities to do that in his future. He's a guy who, when the play is over, this guy was tough to block, however that comes about."

Starks' teammates and coaches expected this. Coming out of high school, he stood 6 feet 4 with size-16 feet, and agility that helped make him a basketball standout at Westlake. Starks was ranked as the second-best football player in the Mid-Atlantic by recruiting publication SuperPrep.

By choosing Maryland over Penn State and Virginia Tech last February, he gave the first recruiting coup to then-new coach Ralph Friedgen, who called it "a statement for our program" and publicly said he expected Starks to immediately contribute in 2001.

But the freshman sensation arrived out of shape, shocked by the tough love from defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo during preseason camp.

Starks couldn't do one "gasser [sprint drill] without being tired." Cox needed to physically push him across the 53-yard field and back so he could beat the 17-second deadline the coaches imposed.

Sollazzo's voice sounds like sandpaper feels. It seemed honed in on Starks during that time, to teach the finer points of defensive line play and to draw out more intensity than Starks was accustomed to giving.

"I don't think he'd say they were fun," Sollazzo said of the earlier sessions. "We go full speed. You can't take any plays off for us."

And when Starks made a mistake, "his facial expressions would give him away, and he looked bad," said defensive line teammate Durrand Roundtree. "We picked up on that and we needed to fix that, because we were going to need him. No one is going to stop Randy Starks if he doesn't want to be stopped."

Glimpses of his potential appeared during Starks' freshman year, as he learned the system while playing both at tackle and end.

In Maryland's 20-17, name-making victory over Georgia Tech last season, he was the one who pushed a Yellow Jackets lineman back into tailback Joe Burns, who fumbled in overtime, with Maryland recovering to end the game.

By the end of the season, he had six tackles, one for a loss, in the Orange Bowl loss to Florida. He was the hope to join the line, which was losing graduating senior Charles Hill.

"Randy's done that and more," said Friedgen, who added that Starks also appears to be more of a student than he was last year. Friedgen said he had to "read him the riot act" a couple of times last year. The difference from other players is Starks is listening. "He's not doing the same things as a sophomore."

Starks now knows what to expect. Though Cox had to push him on a few gassers this August, he showed up ready to play on just about every defensive down, something he couldn't have done in 2001.

He's also prepared for what Sollazzo demands.

"He now tells me it's made him a better person," said Beverly Starks, the player's mother. "They just want him to play to his potential. He now knows that it's not personal."

The importance of playing his best was driven into him during the Duke game, when lineman C.J. Feldheim went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Coincidentally or not, an already strong season has gotten better for Starks in the past three games, with 20 tackles (eight solo), 10 quarterback hurries, three tackles for losses and four broken-up passes.

"I realize that when C.J. got hurt, your season could end at any time," Starks said. "You have to play every game as if it's your last."
 

 

 

 Posted on Thu, Nov. 21, 2002

BCS, individual ACC awards still up in air
DAVID DROSCHAK
Associated Press

RALEIGH - The longest football season in Atlantic Coast Conference history still has its share of unanswered questions heading into late November.

The conference's BCS representative is up in the air between Florida State and Maryland.

And who is the ACC player-of-the-year?

Last year's winner - Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson - is a top candidate, but he's not a clear-cut pick. Quarterbacks Philip Rivers of North Carolina State, Matt Schaub of Virginia and Scott McBrien of Maryland will be given a lot of consideration, as will running backs Chris Downs of Maryland and freshman star T.A. McLendon of N.C. State.

And don't forget Maryland return specialist Steve Suter, who has four returns for TDs to set an ACC record.

The two top coach-of-the-year candidates face each other Saturday as Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh will match strategy as No. 18 Maryland (9-2, 5-1) puts its eight-game winning streak on the line at Virginia (7-4, 5-2).

The Terrapins haven't allowed more than 21 points in any game during the streak as Henderson has stepped up his play following offseason surgery.

Maryland is 3-0 in ACC road games, having won at Duke, North Carolina and Clemson.

"It's always tougher playing on the road," Friedgen said. "I think you have to coach it up and talk about it. You've got to deal with a hostile environment and crowd noise. You have to hang in there and fight for the full 60 minutes."

Maryland, last year's ACC champion, can still get the ACC's major bowl bid by winning its final two games over the Cavaliers and Wake Forest, coupled with a Florida State loss this weekend at N.C. State (9-3).

The Seminoles (8-3, 7-0) may also have to lose to No. 19 Florida on Nov. 30 in order for Maryland to be ranked high enough to come out on top in the league's tiebreaker policy.

However, Florida State can lock up the outright ACC title and eighth 8-0 conference mark in 11 seasons by beating the Wolfpack.

"It sure would be nice to get to a major bowl with a good record," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said when asked about his final two regular-season games.

N.C. State started 9-0 and was ranked 10th in the nation, but has dropped three straight by a combined total of 15 points.

"It's frustrating," N.C. State linebacker Dantonio Burnette said. "We have to get our minds back focused on the winning edge of things. The first nine games of the season we really got after people. We had the mentality that we were going to go out there and play to our potential and not play down to our competition. We have to go out and play our A game."

Elsewhere in the ACC on Saturday, North Carolina will try to beat Duke for the 13th straight time and avoid its first 10-loss season since 1989.

In non-conference games, South Carolina is at Clemson (6-5), while Wake Forest (5-5) will try to become bowl eligible against Navy. The Demon Deacons return to action after an unusual two-week layoff.

Duke's last win in the North Carolina series came in 1989, a 41-0 victory by coach Steve Spurrier. Since then, the Tar Heels (2-9, 0-7) have scored at least 30 points eight times in the series but head into this one last in the ACC in scoring offense (18.2).

Meanwhile, Wake Forest hasn't posted consecutive six-win seasons since 1987-88.

"I think they're aware that we have a chance to have a good year and possibly play after the season is over, but we have to go take care of business," coach Jim Grobe said. "We weren't able to do that last season. We need to do it now."


 

 

Schaub's Numbers Add Up, but He's Not Counting
Virginia QB Credits Team With His Impressive Figures
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, November 22, 2002; Page D06


CHARLOTTESVILLE

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub is well aware that he has set three school passing records this season and is about to set more. In recent weeks it's all he's been asked about. But Schaub maintains he isn't all that excited by the attention.

"You know, it's been a good year for us -- and me personally -- but it really shows how much a lot of guys have . . . helped me out," he said. "It hasn't just been me doing all those things out there. It's all the guys around me that have helped me to accomplish those things."

Schaub prefers to shift the praise to his teammates, but his individual statistics suggest he is nearing the end of the most productive season by any quarterback in Virginia history. The 6-foot-5 redshirt junior owns program records for completions (237), attempts (346) and touchdown passes (23). He is on pace for nearly 3,000 passing yards and more than 3,000 yards of total offense -- figures well beyond the current records -- as well as a record 68.5 completion percentage.

"I've been very impressed with him," said Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen, whose Terrapins (9-2, 5-1 ACC) play at Virginia (7-4, 5-2) on Saturday evening. "I think he's one of the better quarterbacks we've seen all year."

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno had similar praise: "Matt is a really good football player. He is a big, tough kid who throws the ball well."

The compliments weren't flying as fast early this season after Schaub threw a crucial interception and was generally outplayed by freshman backup Marques Hagans in Virginia's season-opening loss to Colorado State. Hagans started the next week at Florida State, but Schaub won back the job by throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns after coming in late in the first half.

Since then the Cavaliers have won seven of nine games and become bowl eligible. They can finish no lower than third in the ACC and would move past No. 18 Maryland into second place with a victory Saturday.

Schaub's development has been among the most important factors in Virginia's surprising season. He said he is much more comfortable now with the pro-style offense that Virginia Coach Al Groh installed when he was hired in January 2001 and which Schaub learned with co-starter Bryson Spinner (who has since transferred).

"Implementing a new system, there was going to be a time period of adjustment," said former Virginia quarterback Tim Sherman, who now co-hosts the team's radio pregame show. "Neither of them were getting as much work as they needed in practice. Now he's got the full command of the offense."

Once he figured out the system, Schaub embraced it because "it gives you a lot of opportunities for some big plays and to have some fun, as opposed to just grinding the ball and running."

Yet with fewer limitations comes greater responsibility.

"This probably would be considered a fairly sophisticated scheme for college football," said Groh, whose son Mike -- now Virginia's wide receivers coach -- held several of the records Schaub is breaking. "It does require quite a bit of preparation and decision-making, and as a result, quite a bit of accountability."

Schaub has been able to make quicker, better decisions about where and when to throw the ball. His 147.7 passing efficiency rating is the nation's eighth best and his six interceptions in 346 attempts -- a 1.7 percent interception rate -- is one of the ACC's 15 best of all-time.

To a degree, those figures reflect the number of short passes Schaub throws to his running backs and tight ends. The Cavaliers used that to help compensate for a running game that has struggled for much of the season. But Sherman, who threw 203 passes all season in 1996 while playing for George Welsh, theorized that Schaub's accomplishments could be more impressive because opponents focus more on stopping Virginia's passing game.

"Defenses are ready for them to come out throwing, but he's still getting 200 to 250 yards a game, throwing two or three touchdown passes," Sherman said.