Virginia keeping Groh
Sunday, Nov 09, 2008 - 11:03 PM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- University of Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage was emphatic last night when asked about the 2009 football season.

"Al Groh will be our head coach," Littlepage said via e-mail.

That will be the case, Littlepage confirmed, even if U.Va. loses its final two regular-season games to finish with a losing record for the second time in three years.

Groh "and his staff have done a good job and our team has responded well," Littlepage said. "We have great wins against ranked teams and we're in the mix for divisional and conference championships."

After losing three of its first four games this season, Virginia won four straight to take over first place in the ACC's Coastal Division. U.Va.'s victims during that streak -- Maryland, East Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia Tech -- all have been nationally ranked at some point this season.

Since then, however, the Cavaliers have dropped two in a row to fall to fifth in the Coastal.

This is Groh's eighth season as coach at his alma mater. His record with the Cavaliers is 56-42 overall and 34-28 in ACC games. He's twice been named ACC coach of the year, most recently in 2007. After finishing 5-7 in 2006, Virginia went 9-4 last season.

Groh's contract runs through the 2011 season. It would cost U.Va. more than $5 million to dismiss Groh, 64, after this season.

Virginia (3-3, 5-5), off this weekend, hosts ACC rival Clemson (2-4, 4-5) at Scott Stadium on Nov. 22. U.Va. closes the regular season against Virginia Tech (3-2, 6-3) at Lane Stadium on Nov. 29.

As the Cavaliers' coach, Groh has a 1-6 record against the Hokies, and the losses often have been one-sided.

 

UVa linebacker likely to miss rest of season
Media General News Service
Published: November 10, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The five true freshmen whom Al Groh has used this season are likely to assume prominent roles on the University of Virginia football team in years to come.
For one, however, his first season may be over.
Groh said Sunday that outside linebacker Cameron Johnson, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, probably won’t play again during the regular season.
Whether the Cavaliers will advance to a bowl game is uncertain. They must win one of their two remaining games to become bowl-eligible.
Virginia (3-3, 5-5), off this weekend, hosts ACC rival Clemson (2-4, 4-5) at Scott Stadium on Nov. 22. UVa closes the regular season against Virginia Tech (3-2, 6-3) at Lane Stadium on Nov. 29.
Johnson, a 6-4, 250-pound graduate of Gonzaga High in D.C., suffered a high-ankle sprain Oct. 25 at Georgia Tech. The Wahoos won that game but have dropped two in a row since their visit to Atlanta, losing 24-17 in overtime to the Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 1 and 28-17 to Wake Forest on Saturday.
“It’s mis-named in a lot of ways,” Groh said of the high-ankle sprain. “It’s down in that area, but it involves the bones up above the ankle, sometimes a lot more than it involves the actual ankle ... and that’s the case with him.”
 

Cavs’ backs against the wall
By Jay Jenkins
Published: November 9, 2008

In a few blinks of the eye — yet again — Virginia was trapped behind the 8-ball away from home.
As was the case in a loss at Connecticut two months prior, the Cavaliers stumbled out of the gate and failed to position themselves properly for the ultimate reward: sole possession of first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
Wake Forest made the Cavaliers’ sluggish start prove costly as it stormed out to a 25-point halftime lead that eventually provided a 28-17 victory, essentially producing the nail for UVa’s ACC title game coffin.
Maybe it should have been expected — Virginia is now
6-14 in its last 20 road games.
Losing, however, forced Virginia (5-5, 3-3) to contemplate the challenge of obtaining a berth in a bowl game. The Cavaliers have a bye week before facing Clemson at home on Nov. 22 in what should be termed a must-win to salvage postseason hopes.
“We definitely understand what is at stake,” Virginia safety Byron Glaspy said. “We have five wins and we have two more games, so we are going to do everything that we can on this bye week to really get prepared to win those next two.”
The final regular season game comes at Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 at a venue that the Cavaliers have failed to leave victorious from since 1998.
A handful of Virginia’s players said holding serve against Clemson, or even upsetting Virginia Tech in Blacksburg would certainly require better focus from the opening kickoff.
The Cavaliers committed four turnovers against the Demon Deacons (three interceptions, one fumble) and were flagged for nine penalties.
“I think it was just the mental aspect,” UVa right tackle Will Barker said as to a reason for the loss. “Not everyone was completely focused on the game, especially being down early.
“It was just a lack of focus that all those penalties came from.”
Wake Forest, which became bowl eligible with its sixth victory and remained a factor in the ACC’s Atlantic Division title race, scored four touchdowns in the game’s first 27 minutes. Virginia managed to score a pair of second-half touchdowns, but that merely changed the final boxscore.
How did it happen?
“It was just the fact that [Wake Forest] came out with a purpose and we were especially pretty slow to start,” Barker said. “Give them credit, they came out here to win and they did.”
Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry admitted that his team has extra motivation. Although it was not mentioned directly by coach Jim Grobe, a Virginia grad, the Demon Deacons had lost 20 of the last 21 meetings against Virginia.
“[Grobe] usually doesn’t say too much before the game. But you could tell it meant something special the way he walked around the locker room and made sure everybody’s head was on straight,” Curry said. “At halftime he was talking more. You could just sense it from him that he really wanted this win.”
Compounding matters in a season in which Virginia allowed Duke its first league win in four years, Virginia last left Wake Forest with a loss in 1983.
“We’ve been owned by them for so many years,” Grobe said. “So for me, personally, it just was one that I really, really wanted.
“And I never said anything to the kids about it because I didn’t want to put too much pressure on those guys. But I don’t know if I’ve had one that I enjoyed more, just because we’ve had so many tough losses to those guys.”
Virginia will need a Wake-like resolve to create the opportunity to play in a game in December in a bowl game in Washington, D.C., Boise or San Francisco or a similar low-level bowl venue associated with the ACC.
“We need to have a short memory about this game — forget about it,” Barker said. “We need to think more about Clemson. We are going to try and go out there one week at a time and win each game, and hopefully, if things work out, it could be a pretty nice offseason.”

 

Reeling Cavaliers seeking good bye
November 10, 2008 12:35 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--

Usually, college football players prefer to take the field every Saturday, especially after unsettling defeats. But Clint Sintim is a realist.

The senior linebacker knows the Virginia Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) need time to regroup if they want to earn the sixth bowl trip in head coach Al Groh's eight-year tenure.

Virginia is one victory away from the mandatory six wins to become bowl-eligible, and it's been that way since a 24-17 victory over Georgia Tech on Oct. 25.

Since then the Cavaliers have lost two straight games, most recently a lackluster 28-17 setback to Wake Forest on Saturday at BB&T Field.

They've dropped from first place in the Coastal Division of the ACC to fifth in two weeks.

That's why Sintim said the Cavaliers desperately need the upcoming bye week to prepare for a Nov. 22 home date with Clemson. They need to beat the Tigers or Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 to become bowl-eligible.

"I think the bye week might be good for us," Sintim said. "I think it will give us a chance to focus on the things we didn't do well [on Saturday]. We're obviously not a perfect team."

The Cavaliers have been far from perfect the past two weeks. They committed four turnovers and nine penalties against Wake Forest.

Senior tight end John Phillips said the Cavaliers may have been focusing too much on the ACC race.

"We might have got ahead of ourselves a little bit," Phillips said. "Coming into this [Wake Forest] game, we knew we could kind of control our own destiny as far as the ACC went."

That's no longer the case. And some of the reasons have been perplexing to the Cavaliers.

Senior running back Cedric Peerman went 443 career touches without a lost fumble, but has suffered two the past two weeks.

"I guess it's just the Lord's way of humbling me," Peerman of his sudden fumbling problems.

His teammates have been humbled, too.

Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica earned plenty of praise during Virginia's four-game winning streak, but he's been partly to blame for its current woes. He threw three interceptions against Wake Forest, bringing his season total to 12 compared to eight touchdowns.

Groh appreciates what Verica has done as a former fourth-string signal caller, but he's growing worried about the turnovers.

"There's a lot of good plays there. He's doing a lot of good things," Groh said. "But clearly, what has to stop is the interceptions."

One of the picks on Saturday wasn't Verica's fault. The ball bounced out of the arms of intended wide receiver Kevin Ogletree and into the hands of Wake Forest safety Kevin Patterson, who turned the interception into a 53-yard touchdown sprint.

The play is typical of the many kinks the Cavaliers must work out this week if it hopes to be away from home for the holidays.

"We have the capability of having some good games. We just didn't play one [on Saturday]," Sintim said. "So I think the bye week is definitely necessary to straighten out some of the things we didn't do well."

 

Three articles in one
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Published: Monday, November 10 2008

A favorite method of all sportswriters for hooking the reader into an article is to capture a particular moment or sequence of a game that is defining or epitomizes the game’s theme in some way. Said writer then finds a clever method of connecting this moment to the entire game, flowing like a brook into the mouth of a gentle river.

In Virginia’s 28-17 loss to Wake Forest — which began with a 28-3 implosion in the first half — there were many such instances to choose from. As a fan of Virginia football, I was incensed with the team’s play; as a journalist, I was in heaven.

So rather than paint a picture of just one example of Virginia’s mediocrity Saturday that leads into an entire column, I can’t resist trying them all. Instead of one long editorial, I will choose to write the beginning of three — just a few graphs apiece, as we say in the biz — and the end. Let your imagination run wild to fill in the gaps.

(Disclaimer: I’m an amateur writer and make no claim that I have any idea what on earth I am doing.)

Article 1: The fall from glory.

With under two minutes in the first quarter, Wake Forest had the ball on the 42-yard line and it was 3rd down and about an acre. Junior quarterback Riley Skinner dropped to pass and saw freshman wide receiver Devon Brown streaking down the sideline. Senior safety Byron Glaspy was positioned perfectly; the receiver and the ball were in his sights. Worst scenario, I think to myself, it’s batted down. Best case, it’s an interception. (Sound familiar?)

But as the ball moved further along its trajectory, Glaspy began to appear as if he was trying to chase a butterfly. He started facing one way, misjudged the ball, turned the other direction, slipped and ultimately fell down as Brown made the catch in stride for a 42-yard touchdown.

Talk about déjà vu. The only play more devastating this season than Glaspy’s error Saturday was when he fell down against Miami last week, resulting in the game-tying touchdown that sent the game to overtime.

And as Glaspy fell helplessly to the ground again Saturday, so fell Virginia off its high horse of potentially achieving first place in the Coastal Division with its 28-17 loss to Wake Forest.

Article Two: The Longest Yard.

Put your arm at your side. Now pick it up, and reach forward three feet.

On 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line, that’s about all you have to do. So when sophomore quarterback Marc Verica lined up under center following a 43-yard pass to junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree to the 1-yard line, I marked it down: touchdown, senior running back Cedric Peerman. Midway through the third quarter, even down 28-3, there was still hope; 25 points is a blowout, but 18 is manageable.

But on first down, Peerman was stuffed for a 1-yard loss. Second down: Peerman to the left, no gain. Third down: Verica is given the option of handing off to Peerman or faking the handoff and taking it himself, coach Al Groh said. Verica chooses to keep the ball himself and loses 4 yards.

“It looked like we probably had a score there if the ball was handed off,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.

On 4th-and-goal from the 6-yard line, the Cavaliers go for it, and who can blame them, being down 25 points. Verica, with another man open in the end zone, makes the intriguing decision of hitting a well-covered Peerman at the 9-yard line, and he gets taken down immediately. Demon Deacon football.

As one reporter in the press box put it, if Virginia ran a QB sneak four times, it gets in. Or at least it doesn’t move back 8 yards.

But there was no sneak in Al Groh’s mind on that series, and there was nothing sneaky about Wake Forest’s 28-17 win either, as the Demon Deacons opened up a 25-point halftime lead on Virginia, the largest deficit the Cavaliers faced since the 3-31 loss to Duke Sept. 27.

Article 3: Peering ahead.

Cedric Peerman doesn’t fumble.

Or so we thought. After fumbling the ball to the opposition for the first time in his career on the play that spelled defeat last week against Miami, Peerman fumbled yet again Saturday to give the ball back to Wake Forest.

There was indeed a lot of fumbling Saturday; up in the press box, I nervously fumbled with my soft drink, and on the field, Virginia fumbled away any chance it may still have had to win the Coastal Division, as the 28-17 loss to the Demon Deacons now puts the Cavaliers in the position that is familiar from a month ago: wondering if they will even make a bowl game.

(Skip to the end)

...The common sports cliché for up-and-down seasons is they are like a roller coaster ride; there are ups and downs, twists and turns, quick accelerations and sudden screeches to a halt.

And sometimes, you think you’re going to be sick.

 

Back to square one
Ernie Washington, Cavalier Daily Gameday Editor
Published: Monday, November 10 2008

Remember how in the movie “Men in Black” Tommy Lee Jones used a little machine to erase people’s memories of certain events? Well it is almost as if he decided to wipe the entire month of October off Virginia football players’ minds Saturday, because they decided to play the same inexcusable and pathetic brand of football that they played throughout the month of September.

Don’t be fooled by the 28-17 final score, because if you, like a number of other people on Grounds, weren’t able to watch a Virginia game for the sixth time this year because it was on ESPNU, you missed one the most atrocious first halves of football Virginia has ever played.
“We created a script for ourselves here tonight that, as it played out, was going to make it very difficult for us to win the game,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “Between the penalties and the turnovers, we fed the supply line of Wake Forest points.”

Boy did Virginia ever do so in the first half. After Virginia’s first drive — which naturally resulted in a three and out for the Cavaliers — Virginia running back Keith Payne committed a personal foul on the Wake Forest punt return that set the Demon Deacons up right near midfield. On the ensuing third-and-8, however, Kevin Crawford was called for offsides, which gave Wake Forest an easier opportunity convert the third down, which they did. Wake Forest junior quarterback Riley Skinner hooked up with junior tight end Ben Wooster on a 2-yard pass on third-and-goal that not only put Virginia in a 7-0 hole but also marked the fifth straight game that the opponent scored on its first offensive drive.

The next two Virginia drives perfectly illustrated the penalties and turnovers Groh mentioned. On the first drive, not only did Virginia offensive lineman Eugene Monroe commit a false start, the once dependable senior running back Cedric Peerman coughed the ball up and Wake Forest recovered the fumble. In the subsequent Virginia drive, Monroe — you guessed it — committed another false start penalty. Additionally, even though the Cavaliers received an early Christmas present when the punt bounced off of Wake Forest’s Kevin Harris and Virginia’s Chase Minnifield, Marc Verica proceeded to throw an interception when he was hit by Wake Forest senior linebacker Aaron Curry right as he was about to throw it, and junior defensive tackle Boo Robinson came down with it.

“Mentally, we were a little off,” junior offensive lineman Will Barker said. “Especially in the beginning [of the game].”

The supply line of points continued as Skinner on a third-and-15 threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Devon Brown. What made the play even more frustrating was that Virginia safety Byron Glaspy completely misjudged the pass and fell down, a play that symbolized the efforts of the Cavaliers.

“It seems like the ball just carried further than I anticipated,” Glaspy said about the play.

The second quarter saw much of the same from the Cavaliers. Even though Robert Randolph hit a field goal to make the score 14-3, Wake Forest proceeded on a 15-play, 71-yard touchdown drive aided by ­— and this is a recurring theme — a pass interference penalty by safety Corey Mosley on a third-and-goal. On Virginia’s next offensive drive, adding to the supply line of Wake Forest points, Verica threw a pass on third down that went off the hands of Kevin Ogletree and into Demon Deacon cornerback Kevin Patterson’s, who returned it 53 yards for a touchdown to put Wake Forest up 28-3.

“Clearly, what has to stop is the interceptions,” Groh said. “We’ve come down to North Carolina twice and probably turned the ball over 10 times in two games. That’s why we’re going home unhappy.”

Of course, to top it off, in the third quarter when Virginia had a first-and-goal at the Wake Forest 1, the following sequence happens: Peerman is stuffed for a loss of 1 yard, Peerman is stuffed for no gain, Verica fakes handoff runs to the right for a loss of 4 yards and then, instead of throwing the ball in the end zone on fourth down, Verica throws left to Peerman at least 5 yards outside the end zone and loses 3 yards. I’m sorry, but that sequence was absolutely pathetic to watch. If you can’t punch the ball in from a first-and-goal at the 1, you don’t deserve to play big boy football. Virginia did score two touchdowns late, but all I needed to see of the Cavaliers occurred in the first three quarters. I wish I had done like one of the other journalists at the game and fallen asleep midway through the second quarter in the pressbox, because it was that bad.

Now Virginia is back to square one. The Cavaliers have two games left. They could win both — yes, I believe they can beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg — but they could easily lose both — and lose them badly. Virginia needs to decide which team to show up as. If the Cavaliers decide to show up like the team from October, they will run around on defense, make clutch plays on offense and find a way to steal these two games. If they decide to play like the team from October, however, not only will they embarrassingly find themselves out of a bowl game, but the question has to be raised: Does Al Groh deserve to remain as Virginia’s coach? We’ll see.

 

Farrakhan earns guard slot
Left-hander shines, starting in shooting role in Cavaliers' win
Monday, Nov 10, 2008 - 12:06 AM

U.VA. 87, SHEPHERD 52
College basketball exhibition

By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Shooting guard Jeff Jones started 25 games as a freshman in 2007-08 and ended the season by scoring 26 points against Bradley in the College Basketball Invitational semifinals.

Yet when the University of Virginia basketball team's starting five took the floor yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena, Jones was on the bench. Classmate Mustapha Farrakhan started at shooting guard against Division II Shepherd University, and the 6-4 left-hander justified U.Va. coach Dave Leitao's faith in him.

In 18 minutes, Farrakhan totaled nine points, five assists and three rebounds to help Virginia hammer Shepherd 87-52 in an exhibition seen by a smattering of fans. Farrakhan hit 2 of 3 shots from beyond the new and longer 3-point line.

"He's played well [in preseason practice], give or take a day or two," Leitao said. "But he's been very consistent. Not just making shots or making plays, but just his effort and his attentiveness, especially on the defensive end. He's done a real good job of bringing some energy, some know-how, and we're getting to see he's got a pretty good basketball IQ. He's earned a spot in the rotation."

Jones didn't mope about his new assignment. He made 6 of 12 shots from the floor, including 3 of 6 from long range, and led the Cavaliers with 18 points.

"It's all about sacrificing," Jones said. "My role today was coming off the bench and being a sixth man. It was for the good of the team."

Jones' freshman season was marked by wildly uneven performances. After scoring 15 points in Virginia's third game, an upset of Arizona, he reached double figures only three more times, the final coming in the CBI.

Compared to Farrakhan, however, Jones had an All-America campaign. Farrakhan, who's from the Chicago area, played in only two of the Cavaliers' final 11 games. He finished the season with a scoring average of 0.9 points.

"Last year, it was very stressful," recalled Farrakhan, whose grandfather Louis Farrakhan is the Nation of Islam leader. "It's not easy. Certain freshmen go through it. I just happened to be one of them that went through it."

Farrakhan played well Nov. 1 in U.Va.'s closed scrimmage against West Virginia in Charlottesville, and his confidence continues to grow.

"Last year, I got my feet wet a little bit," he said. "Now this year, it's looking a lot better for me."

Another sophomore, power forward Mike Scott, had 10 points and 14 rebounds yesterday for U.Va., which opens the season Sunday against Virginia Military Institute at John Paul Jones Arena.

A former VMI starter, 6-8 senior Justin Jarman, led Shepherd with 16 points (on 8-for-11 shooting) and 13 rebounds yesterday. Sophomore forward Liki Turner, who starred at Richmond's Benedictine High, added 14 points for the Rams.

 

Exhibition win serves as tune-up for season
Four players score in double figures as Virginia routs Shepherd 87-52 at John Paul Jones Arena
Ernie Washington, Cavalier Daily Gameday Editor
Published: Monday, November 10 2008

Sophomore forward Mike Scott led the Cavaliers with 14 boards against Shepherd. Scott also scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. As expected, Virginia dominated Shepherd in yesterday’s exhibition game 87-52. What Virginia head coach Dave Leitao was looking for, though, was how his team performed throughout the game, and he seemed satisfied with his team’s efforts.

“We’ve got a long way to go and we’ve got to figure some things out with some people and lineups,” Leitao said. “But we’ll take today as a step forward and learn and grow and try to get better.”

Some fans might expect offensive production to be the Cavaliers’ focal point, considering scoring machine Sean Singletary is now playing for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Leitao, however, noted that defense could be the key to the season and he was pleased with his team’s efforts yesterday holding Shepherd to 27.4 percent shooting from the field as well as forcing 17 turnovers.

“My mindset has been coming into the season that we have to do a better job defensively at every stage all season long, beginning with today,” Leitao said. “I thought pretty much that we did that.”

It might have surprised some Cavalier fans that sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan started this game over fellow sophomore guard Jeff Jones. Farrakhan had a solid showing, though, putting up 9 points and three rebounds while dishing out five assists in 18 minutes of play yesterday.

“He’s played well — give or take a day or two — but he’s been very consistent, not just making shots or plays but his effort and attentiveness especially on the defensive end,” Leitao said. “He’s done a real good job of bringing some energy, some know-how. We’re getting to see that he’s got a pretty good basketball IQ and he’s earned a spot in the rotation.”

Farrakhan has focused on being a good defender, and this may help him earn more playing time in this coming season than last year.
“In practice I’ve been really focusing in on the defensive end, trying to be a good defender,” Farrakhan said. “I’ve just been trying to do the right things and it’s working out for me.”

Though freshman guard Sylven Landesberg did not start the game, his appearance drew loud cheers from the fans, and for good reason. Landesberg is the first McDonald’s All-American to play for Virginia since Majestic Mapp joined the team in 1999. He had a good showing yesterday with 13 points and five rebounds and an impressive 10 attempts at the free-throw line, of which he made seven.
“I like to attack the rim, so getting to line is big part of my game.” Landesberg said.

Another aspect of the team to look for yesterday was the play of the big men, and while some struggled at times — like senior center Tunji Soroye who only played five minutes of the game in large part because of foul trouble — others looked good, such as Mike Scott who had 10 points, but more impressively 14 rebounds.

“If we can get that kind of rebounding from [Scott] every day, then that’s a pretty good role for him,” Leitao said.

Obviously Singletary’s absence at the point guard position will be something Cavalier fans will notice throughout the season. In his place, junior guard Calvin Baker did not play his best game yesterday, scoring 4 points along with contributing two assists, but Leitao believes practice might have had something to do with that.

“The times that he’s been able to practice, three or four days at a time or what have you, he’s been, probably on the perimeter, anyway, our best and safest player,” Leitao said. “He struggled a little bit this week in practice just because of the choppiness of his practices.”
Baker’s backup, redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski, also had ups and downs during his time on the court.

“I thought he did a good job.” Leitao said of Zeglinski’s play. “He tried to make a couple of plays that weren’t here and as a result turned the ball over, and I would have liked to see him be a little bit more aggressive for his own offense because I think that sets up his passes, but he’s been up and down a little bit. About a week and a half ago we had a conversation about how he needs to approach everything, and from that point I think he’s been a little bit better.”

Virginia’s regular season starts Sunday at home when the Cavaliers faces VMI at 4 p.m. The team is ready for the season to start.

“A lot of people are saying that we are going to finish at the bottom of the [ACC],” sophomore forward Mike Scott said. “That’s basically all of the motivation we need.”

 

UVa rolls in exhibition opener over Shepherd
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 9, 2008

Heading into this season, it was widely assumed that Virginia would start Jeff Jones, Sammy Zeglinski or Sylven Landesberg in the backcourt alongside Calvin Baker.
So, on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, it was something of a surprise when sophomore Mustapha Farrakhan started in UVa’s exhibition against Shepherd, a Division II college located in West Virginia.
“He’s been very consistent — not just making shots or plays, but in his effort and his attentiveness, especially on the defensive end,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, when asked about the decision to start Farrakhan. “He’s done a real good job of bringing some energy and know-how. I began to see that he has a pretty good basketball IQ.
“I thought this was an opportunity to give him the first look and see how he would react to it, and I thought he did pretty well.”
Farrakhan, who barely got off the bench last season, finished with nine points and five assists in 18 minutes of action as Virginia cruised to an 87-52 victory in front of a crowd of 2,019.
The grandson of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, was 2 of 3 from 3-point range and looked quite comfortable as a starter.
“When I heard the news, I just said to myself, ‘Well, OK, just keep the same mindset that I’ve been having,’” Farrakhan said. “Just keep an even keel and play my game.”
Just as encouraging as Farrakhan’s performance was the play of Jones, the sophomore who started most of last season. The Philadelphia product finished with a game-high 18 points off the bench.
“I have a lot more confidence,” said Jones, who switched his uniform number this year from 1 to 23. “The second year is a new me. I’m glad I went out there and showed people what I’m made of — the new me.”
Jones said he will have the same mindset whether he starts or comes off the bench.
“I’m just going with the flow right now,” he said. “Every team has to make sacrifices. It’s something you need to do to win championships.”
Virginia, which opens its season on Sunday at JPJ against VMI, was in control against Shepherd from wire to wire.
The highlights of the first half were back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Mamadi Diane (14 points) and Mike Scott (10 points, 14 rebounds) that put UVa up 23-14.
All game long, Shepherd struggled on offense. The Rams shot just 27 percent — something that pleased Leitao.
“I thought by in large there are some things to work on, but we did a better job than I thought we would at this stage,” he said. “We have a long way to go and have to figure out things with people and lineups and things, but we’ll take it as a step forward and learn and grow from it.”
The game marked the JPJ debut of Virginia freshmen Sylven Landesberg, Assane Sene and John Brandenburg. The most impressive, as expected, was Landesberg. The McDonald’s All-America from New York City finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.
“The first half I was a little scared and a little jittery,” Landesberg said, “but in the second half I got adjusted.”
With just over a minute to play in the game, Landesberg, to the delight of the Virginia bench, threw down a vicious dunk on Shepherd guard Derek Gallagher.
However, he was called for a travel on the play.
“I just looked straight to the bench after the dunk to see my teammates,” said Landesberg, laughing. “They were all making faces. They’re clowns.”
Dunks
Calvin Baker, who started at point guard and finished with four points and two assists, expounded on the stress fracture in his foot that has kept him from practicing on a consistent basis. “[Doctors] said if I play on it, I run the risk of it fracturing all the way and that could be worse, but that [I] can take the chance,” said Baker, who is wearing a special insole in his sneaker. “I sat down with Coach and my family and they left the decision in my hands, and of course I made the decision to play.” …Jamil Tucker, who has battled a shoulder injury in the preseason, looked pretty good, scoring seven points. …The fan who has sat behind the Virginia bench for the last three years with the sign that reads, “Put Lars in” was back with his same sign, despite the fact Lars Mikalauskas is no longer on the team.