U.Va.’s young offensive line has grown up in a hurry
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 23, 2002

Just a few weeks ago, the starting guards were backup tackles. The center began the season as the long snapper.
The tackles? Thank goodness for the tackles. They’ve been fixtures all season.

Meet the Virginia offensive line, version 5.0.

This is the latest manifestation of the Cavaliers’ ever-morphing quintet. It’s the one that powered Virginia’s upset of No. 22 N.C. State last Saturday, the one that will take the field against 19th-ranked Maryland today.

A more unlikely line, you’re not likely to find in the ACC. At many schools, the linemen are the players with the receding hairlines. With all the blocking schemes players are asked to learn and all the beef they are asked to move, the O-line is generally no place for the young of heft, or head.

The Cavaliers, by necessity more than design, have shattered that mold. This time last year, two of Virginia’s starters were in high school. Another was a redshirt and a fourth played only on special teams.

From tackle to tackle, the Cavaliers start a true freshman, a redshirt freshman, a sophomore, a true freshman and a senior. Toss in the tight end and four of the six starters are freshmen.

And did we say the line “powered” the upset of N.C. State? Poor choice of words. This line, which averages just 277 pounds, doesn’t “power” anyone.

“We have more speed guys than heavy-set guys,” guard Brian Barthelmes said. “More athleticism than those big ogres.”

Line Lite did something right against N.C. State. The Cavaliers rushed for 197 yards, their second highest total of the season, against the ACC’s top-rated defense. All but 51 yards came in the second half.

“I think it might be stretching the point a little bit to say that in 30 minutes we improved dramatically,” coach Al Groh said. “But, we got the yardage out of it that we needed.”

At this point, you would think Groh might settle for mere competence, given all the injuries and shuffling that have taken place.

It began back in August, when center Kevin Bailey, considered the team’s best linemen, suffered a season-ending knee injury against Florida State.

Zac Yarbrough, a sophomore who had played primarily as the long snapper, replaced Bailey. Then guard Mark Farrington went down. He was replaced by Ben Carber, a junior who had never appeared in a game.

Farrington returned, only to be beaten out by Barthelmes, a redshirt freshman who began the season as a tackle.

Two weeks later, guard Elton Brown, considered the team’s best lineman after Bailey, left the Georgia Tech game with a stress fracture in his right foot. Brown has missed two games, and just returned to practice Monday.

Carber replaced Brown, but was beaten out by true freshman Brad Butler.

Only the tackles – true freshmen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and senior Mike Mullins – have been constants.

“Guys come in and out of the lineup; that’s the way it goes,” Groh said. “We don’t talk about it. We don’t say, ‘So and so’s not playing; you have to step up.’ ”

The most important constant has been the man doing the patching all season, coach Ron Prince. Players say Prince’s teaching ability, and blocking schemes, are the keys to overcoming a lack of bulk and experience.

“I think we’re pretty much the only line in the ACC that runs the way we do,” Yarbrough said. “A lot of it is help, getting double teams on the guys we need to, and basically taking care of the matchups.”

Players say Virginia’s pass-blocking schemes emphasize help over one-on-one matchups.

“You can trust your center, your guard, your tackle. They’re going to help you,” Barthelmes said. “If you’re getting beat on the edge, you know where your help is coming from.”

Knowing more than one position helps, too. Players say Prince requires them to learn all three line positions.

At 290 pounds, Barthelmes is one of the heavyweights on the line. Mullins also goes about 290. Yarbrough and Butler are closer to 275, and Ferguson an almost-slender 265. All three freshmen expect to add bulk in the coming years, and seem to have the frames to do it. Butler is 6-foot-8, Barthelmes 6-7 and Ferguson 6-5.

 

Cleanup on aisle 10
Lost deer goes Krogering/Buck in Search of Lost Hokies' Defense?

By TOM ANGLEBERGER
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   BLACKSBURG - A confused deer, lost in the Gables Shopping Center, headed through two sets of automatic doors and proceeded to run amok in Kroger on Friday morning.

    "It was a buck, probably a six-pointer," said customer Valerie Belcher, who said she hugged a cashier as the panicked animal came toward her. "We watched it just jump right over us."

    After a frantic run through the store, the deer ran back out of the building and onto North Main Street, where it was hit by a van before disappearing, said Blacksburg Police Officer M.G. Mickey.

    Like many Virginia localities, Blacksburg has such a quickly growing deer population that the animals have gone from cute to public safety hazard. The problems are usually confined to gardens and roads, though, not shopping centers.

    "Not often that you see a deer go Krogering," said Mickey.

    No one in Kroger was injured, but employees had some minor messes to clean up and the store was buzzing with excitement.

    "I felt like that Elvis song - 'All Shook Up,'" said Margaret Cates, who hid behind her cart, then sought refuge in the First Citizens Bank branch located in the store.

    "He was all over the store," said Kerrie Cook, a teller at the bank. "He was just so frazzled he didn't know what to do."

    She said the deer, which was already injured, entered through the automatic doors near her counter. Sometimes slipping on the linoleum, it went through the U-Scan checkout area and down aisle 10.

    Sushi chef Wayne Fleming said the deer jumped through his area, and he had trampled sushi containers to prove it. He called it a "natural disaster."

    Linda Jilk was shopping with her daughter, Eliza, at the time.

    The 2 -year-old already had Santa Claus on her mind, and when she saw the deer, she made the natural connection.

    "Somebody yells, 'There's a deer in the store,'" said Jilk, "and Eliza's like, 'Santa's reindeer?'"

    Jilk, whose planned purchase of butter was stepped on by the deer, said it was a surreal scene.

    "People were jumping up on things - screaming and yelling," she said. "Everybody was so worried for the deer. He was just running so quickly and he was large."

    She said she then tried to keep people away from the doors, so the deer wouldn't be scared to exit.

    When he finally ran out the door, everyone cheered, she said.

Improving Cavs look to end Terps' title bid

With a win, UVa would clinch a second-place tie in the ACC and likely go to the Gator or Peach bowls.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   When Virginia was picked to finish eighth in the ACC before the football season, the Cavaliers drew inspiration from a Maryland team that won the 2001 ACC championship after being picked seventh.

    In many respects, UVa has resembled the 2001 Maryland team. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers today, so have the Terrapins.

    Maryland will be looking for its ninth straight victory when the Terps (9-2, 5-1 ACC) visit Virginia (7-4, 5-2) today for a game that will be televised by ESPN2 starting at 5:30 p.m.

    "I think it's a very big game for both programs," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said.

    Technically, the Terrapins can still tie Florida State for the ACC championship and could get a Bowl Championship Series berth if they finish six spots ahead of the Seminoles in the BCS standings.

    Virginia, an eight-point underdog, would clinch a second-place tie in the ACC by beating the Terrapins and in all likelihood would play in the Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl.

    UVa had dominated the series, beating Maryland nine straight times before losing 41-21 at College Park, Md., last year in Friedgen's first season.

    The Terps haven't won at Scott Stadium since 1990, when they overcame a 21-7 deficit in a 30-23 victory over a UVa team that had been ranked No.1 in the country for three weeks previously.

    Little was expected from the Terrapins this year when they were blanked by Notre Dame 22-0 in the season-opening Kickoff Classic and an injury to 2001 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Bruce Perry cast doubt on the offense.

    Maryland already was without second-team All-ACC quarterback Shaun Hill, who is with the Minnesota Vikings, but the Terrapins have become an offensive juggernaut thanks to unheralded quarterback Scott McBrien and tailback Chris Downs.

    McBrien, from nearby DeMatha High School, spent two seasons at West Virginia before transferring to Maryland in the summer of 2001 without the guarantee of a scholarship. Downs, a senior, had four carries in his career before this season.

    McBrien, sluggish early, threw three touchdown passes last Saturday in a 30-12 victory at Clemson and has passed for 1,906 yards, with 12 touchdown passes for the season.

    Friedgen took notice of McBrien's play on the scout team last year and offered him a scholarship, although McBrien, a left-hander, had an unorthodox delivery and little background with the option that Maryland likes to run.

    "I thought he had a very strong arm and a very quick release," Friedgen said. "Because he's so accurate, I thought he had a chance."

    Perry, finally rounding into form, has seen playing time in recent games but the Terrapins will continue to look to Downs, who has five 100-yard rushing games and stands at 995 for the season.

    "Chris always worked hard," Friedgen said. "He's had some problems fumbling and catching the ball but always had quick feet and was a tough guy. But, with the number of guys we had back, I really didn't see him figuring in this year.

    "When he came back for fall practice, he wasn't mishandling the ball, he was catching the ball, he wasn't making mistakes. It probably took me too long to realize this kid was our best back."

    Virginia's other concerns include Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson, the 2001 ACC Player of the Year, and a Maryland special-teams unit that includes 5-9, 187-pound sophomore Steve Suter, who has returned four punts for touchdowns.

    UVa has some threats of its own, including junior quarterback Matt Schaub, who has thrown at least one touchdown pass in a school-record 11 consecutive games and needs 9 passing yards to surpass the total of 2,510 by current receivers coach Mike Groh, the single-season record holder.

    "That's already come out of the trophy case," Groh's father, Al, said.

Billet big in clutch for Cavs

Todd Billet scores 20 points in his Virginia debut and comes up with a key block to help avoid the upset.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   CHARLOTTESVILLE - In the 18-month period since Todd Billet announced his intentions to transfer to Virginia, not once did anybody mention his shot-blocking ability.

    The record indicates that Billet gets fewer than one blocked shot a month, but he had a memorable one Friday night to help preserve a 90-86 Cavaliers' victory over unheralded Long Island University.

    "We came within an eyelash of making the national news," UVa coach Pete Gillen said. "We wanted the win. They were desperate for a win. I don't think they play anybody in the Big East. They don't play anybody in the SEC or Big Ten. This was their glamour game."

    Senior center Travis Watson had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers, who also got 20 points from Billet, making his UVa debut after spending his first two years at Rutgers.

    Billet made five 3-point field goals, but his biggest basket of the night came on a 10-foot runner that gave the Cavaliers an 86-81 lead with 1:29 left.

    There were 10 seconds remaining on the 35-second clock when time was called with 1:31. First-year LIU coach Jim Ferry advised his players not to let Billet take an open 3-pointer.

    "I'm pretty good friends with his brother from the Jersey shore," said Ferry, "so I know Todd's game pretty well. I kept telling our guys, 'Make him cross the line. Make him cross the line.'"

    Billet drove from the right wing, stopped and lurched forward for his only two-point field goal of the night.

    "I don't like him doing that," Gillen said. "It's not my favorite shot. He's not very tall and there are just too many big bodies and long arms in there."

    LIU got the margin back to three, 89-86, when Billet, came up big again. His block of an Antwan Dobie 3-point attempt with 11 seconds left was the seventh block of his 59-game college career.

    "He jumps like I do, maybe a little better," Gillen said.

    Dobie, the leading scorer in the Northeast Conference last year, got the best of the Cavaliers for most of the night and finished with 15 points and seven assists. His backcourt mate and fifth-year senior, Maurice Yearwood, hit five 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points.

    "Antwan Dobie's one of the best guards we've played against in my five years here," Gillen said.

    UVa point guard Keith Jenifer had seven assists, contrasted with one turnover, but missed all seven of his shots from the floor. On top of that, Virginia was outrebounded 41-30 by shorter LIU, which shot 48.5 percent against a Cavaliers defense that supposedly had improved.

    The Blackbirds, who finished 5-22 after losing 16 consecutive games to start the 2001-2002 season, briefly held the lead at 47-46 early in the second half and were tied 56-56 with under 12 1/2 minutes left.

    That's when sophomore forward Jason Clark came off the bench and scored eight straight points for the Cavaliers and a total of 10 points in fewer than 2 1/2 minutes. He finished with a career-high 12 points in 17 minutes.

    "While I was on the bench, [teammate] Majestic Mapp told me, 'Jason, you're going to be our sparkplug,'" Clark said. "Part of me believed it, part of me didn't. Majestic was sitting over there, just talking, but next thing you know, it came true."

Cavs thwart LIU upset bid
U.Va. hangs on to win opener, 90-86
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press

Published November 23, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia coach Pete Gillen soaked through yet another suit, and the sold-out crowd in University Hall made noise until the end. Of course, the end against a team like Long Island University should have come by halftime, but that's another matter.

Todd Billet scored 20 points and blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining as the Cavaliers held on for a 90-86 season-opening victory over the Blackbirds on Friday. Virginia never trailed from the moment the game was 61/2 minutes old, but it could never put away a team that finished 5-22 last year and was rated 304th out of 327 Division I teams in The Sporting News' preseason issue.

"We came within an eyelash of making national news," Gillen said. "But hey, we beat a very good team that played great. So we'll take it and run."

The Cavaliers led 80-71 with 4:18 remaining, but an 8-0 run by LIU turned it into a one-point game 60 seconds later. The Blackbirds had a chance to tie, but Billet stuffed Antawn Dobie as he attempted a 3-pointer from the left wing. Billet saved the ball to teammate Keith Jenifer, and the Cavs survived.

It was the seventh career block for Billet, a 6-foot transfer who played two years for Rutgers. He couldn't remember any of the previous six, but it's safe to say this was the biggest.

"At that point of the game, when you're down three points, you have to guard the line," said Billet, who was 5-of-10 from the arc himself. "You don't want to get beat with a 3-point shot, and the way they were shooting, you want to contest it."

The Cavaliers didn't contest much. The Blackbirds went 10-of-29 from the 3-point arc and shot 48.5 percent from the floor. Not the kind of stuff newly hired assistant Rod Jensen, essentially Virginia's defensive coordinator, hoped to see. LIU also outrebounded the Cavs 41-30.

This, keep in mind, from a team that was picked 10th in the 12-member Northeast Conference. "In all honesty," LIU coach Jim Ferry said, "I thought we should have been picked 11th or 12th."

After avoiding what came dangerously close to being perhaps the second-biggest upset in school history - behind only the Chaminade shocker in 1982 - the Cavs were to leave for the Maui Invitational today. Virginia opens Monday afternoon against ... Chaminade.

 

Cavs can finish 2nd by beating Terps
Virginia's home finale is a big one

BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 23, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE - Eight football teams in the ACC would not have minded one bit if E.J. Henderson had passed up his final year of college eligibility to enter the NFL. Maryland's All-America linebacker chose - for a variety of reasons, including an aching back that needed surgery - to remain in College Park.

"I'm happy with my decision," Henderson said. "The season's going well for the team, and I think the best is yet to come."

The 6-2, 243-pound graduate student - Henderson received a bachelor's in sociology in May - leads the Terrapins in tackles for the third straight season. His presence is a huge reason 18th-ranked Maryland, for the second straight season, ranks among the ACC's premier teams.

"He's really been, I think, one of the players - both in production and men-tality towards winning - that has helped move that program along," said Al Groh, Virginia's second-year coach. "Having dealt with that position as a position coach [in college and the NFL] for a long time, I enjoy watching him play."

Groh would enjoy a U.Va. victory tonight more. In their home finale, the Cavaliers (5-2, 7-4) can assure themselves a second-place finish in the ACC by knocking off the Terps (5-1, 9-2) on ESPN2.

"It's fun to be involved in a game like this," said Groh, whose team finished tied for seventh in the conference last year.

Maryland has lost five straight at Scott Stadium. A win tonight, coupled with a Florida State loss at N.C. State, would put the Terps in position to clinch a share of a second straight ACC title - and keep alive their dream of returning to the Bowl Championship Series.

"It's a very big game for both programs," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said, referring to Groh's and his.

The Terrapins' season has reflected that of Henderson, the reigning ACC player of the year. Maryland, which opened with a loss to Notre Dame in the Kickoff Classic, has won eight straight since falling 37-10 to FSU on Sept. 14. Henderson, who had surgery in April to remove bone spurs from his back, started in the opener but wasn't ready to dominate.

"Personally, I think I've had my ups and downs," said Henderson, who's from Aberdeen, Md. "There have been some games I thought I stunk up the joint. . . . Overall, I'd give myself a B, B-plus."

Others aren't as critical. Maryland leads the ACC in scoring defense (14.8 ppg), and Henderson is a finalist for three national awards: the Butkus, the Lombardi and the Nagurski. He's averaging 11.4 tackles, fifth-most in the ACC, and has recorded 5½ sacks.

"I think he started off a little slow, but he's playing very well right now," Friedgen said.

Henderson was the ACC's defensive player of the year in 2001, and teammate Bruce Perry received the award for offense. Perry, a junior tailback, has been slowed by injuries this season but has finally started to regain his 2001 form. For all the challenges Henderson and Perry pose, however, Groh worries as much about three other Terps: kicker Nick Novak, punter Brooks Barnard and returner extraordinaire Steve Suter.

"You've got the premier placekicker, the premier punter and the premier return man in the conference all on the same team," Groh said. "There's been a lot of individual plays that have dramatically impacted the outcome of the game by any one of those three players. And then besides those individual plays there's been a tremendous field-position advantage to Maryland's side in almost every game."

Virginia's seniors have played on teams that won seven, six and five games, respectively.

"I want to go out with a nice taste in my mouth," linebacker Merrill Robertson said. "This would be the first team that I've been on here that won eight games."

Added classmate Billy McMullen, the Cavaliers' leading receiver: "If you got trouble getting up for this game, something's wrong for you. You shouldn't be here. It's a big game for us: for the seniors and for the whole team."
 

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."
 

Virginia Q&A
Will new faces carry the Cavaliers to new places?

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

Q: What's new in Pete Gillen's program?

A: Gillen enters his fifth season in Charlottesville with a new assistant - former Boise State coach Rod Jensen - and four talented players who were elsewhere or not eligible last season: freshman Derrick Byars, sophomore Devin Smith and juniors Nick Vander Laan and Todd Billet. At least three of them are likely to be starters: the 6-10, 255-pound Vander Laan at center, the 6-5 Smith at small forward and the 6-0 Billet at one of the guard spots. Vander Laan and Billet sat out last season after transferring from California and Rutgers, respectively. Smith, a terrific outside shooter, was a first-team junior-college All-American in 2001-02. The 6-7 Byars, a fourth-team Parade All-American last season, may eventually start at shooting guard. Gillen also hopes to be able to use Majestic Mapp at point guard at some point this season. Mapp has missed the past two seasons with knee problems.

Q: Who's gone?

A: The Cavaliers must replace three of their top four scorers from 2001-02, including four-year starters Chris Williams (14 ppg) and Adam Hall (9.7 ppg). Guard Roger Mason Jr., Virginia's leading scorer the past two seasons, gave up his final year of eligibility to enter the NBA. Mason led the Wahoos in five categories last season, including scoring (18.6 ppg), assists (4.1 per game) and free-throw percentage (88.1). J.C. Mathis, a 6-8 post player whose role diminished dramatically late in the season, transferred to Michigan. Finally, Tommy Herrion, Gillen's top assistant, left to become head coach at the College of Charleston.

Q: How does the non-conference schedule look?

A. More than respectable. After an opening-night tuneup against lowly Long Island, Virginia joins an elite field in Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. If it beats Division II Chaminade, U.Va. would probably face Kentucky in the semifinals. Potential championship-game opponents: Massachusetts, NCAA runner-up Indiana, Utah and Gonzaga. The Cavaliers' slate also includes road trips to Michigan State, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Ohio, and a home game with Georgetown.

Q: In March 1998, Gillen took over a down-and-out program and quickly turned it around. The Cavaliers advanced to the NIT in Gillen's second season and to the NCAA in his third. So why the grumbling about the state of his program?

A: Much of the discontent can be traced to the Cavaliers' collapse last season and their continued inability to win in postseason. That they were a seriously flawed team became apparent as the 2001-02 season wore on, but no one expected the Hoos to fall as fast or as hard as they did. When the NCAA tournament field was announced in March, Virginia, which had been unbeaten and ranked No. 4 nationally in December, was on the outside looking in. Gillen's club, plagued by shoddy defense, poor chemistry and shaky perimeter shooting, finished 17-12 after losing 10 of its final 13 games. Persistent rumors of off-the-court antics involving U.Va. players didn't bolster confidence in the current regime, and neither did the arrest this month of sophomore guard Jermaine Harper, who was charged with driving under the influence and suspended indefinitely from the team.

Q: When will Harper rejoin the team?

Gillen said Tuesday that he hadn't determined when Harper's suspension would end. Harper hasn't been practicing with the team and won't accompany it to Hawaii next week.

Q: Will this team fare better than its immediate predecessor?

A: It should, and not only because the ACC lost so many marquee players - among them Jason Williams, Juan Dixon, Mike Dunleavy, Anthony Grundy, Chris Wilcox and Darius Songaila. Led by Travis Watson, Virginia has perhaps the ACC's top frontcourt, and the addition of Billet, Byars and Smith should result in significantly better perimeter shooting. Mason was the only Cavalier to hit more than 28 3-pointers last season. At Rutgers, Billet made 82 treys in 2000-01, and Smith sank 108 of 236 attempts (45.8 percent) from beyond the arc at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College last season. Virginia isn't as quick as in recent years, so it may not press as much, but it should play better halfcourt defense. Finally, with Billet eligible, Gillen no longer lacks a veteran point guard.

Q: Come March, will U.Va. be singing yet another chorus of the postseason blues?

A: It's too early to tell, of course, but it's safe to say that Gillen's critics will multiply if the Cavaliers stumble again. Since beating Kansas in the third round of the 1995 NCAA tournament, U.Va. has dropped 12 straight postseason games. Not all of those losses came on Gillen's watch, but Virginia fans' frustration is growing. The Cavs haven't won a game in the ACC tourney since'95, when they beat Georgia Tech in the first round. Virginia was ousted in the NIT's first round in both 2000 and 2002, each time at University Hall.


 

Terps gear up to shift into 1st
Friedgen seeks to lift UM from 2nd in ACC by beating Virginia today; Part of equation: Fla. State losing; Cavaliers on own climb after defeat by Seminoles
Sun Staff
Originally published November 23, 2002



As long as there's a chance that Florida State will lose to North Carolina State this afternoon, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen is still thinking big going into his team's football game at 5:30 p.m. today at Virginia.
In the Atlantic Coast Conference race, third-place Virginia (7-4 overall, 5-2 ACC) breathes down the necks of the second-place and 18th-ranked Terrapins (9-2, 5-1). That gives Maryland something to defend, but Friedgen's motivation is to catch No. 14 Florida State (8-3, 7-0), which has its final chance to fall in league play.

"I don't want to be in second place," said Friedgen, whose team is looking for its first win in Charlottesville since 1990. "I want to be in first place - that's why I want to win the game."

Two Maryland wins, combined with a Florida State loss today in its 3:30 p.m. game, would allow the school a share of its second straight ACC title, and could be enough for a Bowl Championship Series berth.

The Terps lost to Florida State, 37-10, but league rules state that the loser in a head-to-head matchup can win a tiebreaker over the victor for the league's BCS bid if it is ranked at least five spots ahead in an average of the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls.

This position is rewarding enough for the Terps, who lost two of their first three games before rattling off eight straight wins. The nine wins came against opponents that appear weaker than Florida State and Notre Dame, the teams Maryland lost to, but the Terps remain proud of the streak even if they don't get a BCS bowl.

"I wouldn't be disappointed," quarterback Scott McBrien said when asked about being co-champions. The Terps won sole possession last year. "You get the ring, you get the trophy. That's something that you always want. It would be great, considering the start we had."

But unless the Seminoles lose in Raleigh, N.C., Maryland and Virginia are playing for second place. Like Maryland, Virginia suffered a blowout loss to Florida State early on, and has since turned its season around.

The Cavaliers, 5-7 last year in Al Groh's first year as coach, were picked to finish toward the bottom of the ACC. After starting 0-2, they have won seven of nine.

With 23 touchdown passes, against only six interceptions, quarterback Matt Schaub has given Virginia a presence he never provided last season. Schaub has thrown for 2,502 yards and attempts 31 passes a game because the run game averages only 116 yards.

"It's a great challenge for us to go into - they plan to throw the ball a lot," Maryland cornerback Curome Cox said, though he doesn't expect his defense to change. "We like to shut down the run and play the pass, so we can make things one-dimensional."

In a 14-9 win last week that kicked then-No. 22 N.C. State out of the polls, Virginia did find a way to run, getting 129 yards from Marquis Weeks and nearly 200 overall. The Cavaliers, ranked near the bottom of the ACC in most defensive categories, shut down a Wolfpack team that is averaging 35 points.

Maryland could become the third ranked victim of Virginia this year, after N.C. State last week and then-No. 22 South Carolina on Sept. 7. Though the Cavaliers are out of title contention - doomed by a 23-15 loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 26 - beating the Terps would be another sign of progress.

"The objective is to win the championship," Groh said. "As you aim for that, I think you get higher and higher, and since that's not something we can aim for at this exact moment, we're going to aim for as high as we can get."

With a win, the Terps would clinch at least a bid for the Gator Bowl, played on Jan. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla.. Even if they lose, the Terps might be preferable to Virginia in the Gator in a tiebreaker situation if they beat Wake Forest next weekend.

Friedgen said he has no desire to peek at the score of the earlier Florida State-N.C. State game. He just wants his team to take care of its business.

"Worst-case scenario, we go to the Gator Bowl," Friedgen said of the possibility with a win. "We lose, and we could go anywhere."