U.VA. NOTES
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Cavs rooting for Georgia Tech
After cheering for Maryland over the weekend, Virginia football players, coaches and fans will be pulling hard for another Atlantic Coast Conference rival Thursday night.

This time it's Georgia Tech. In a critical Coastal Division game, the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 7-3) host first-place Miami (4-2, 7-3). Virginia still has a chance to represent the Coastal in the ACC championship game, and Al Groh's team got some help Saturday when Maryland upset North Carolina (3-3, 7-3). Now the Cavaliers (3-3, 5-5) need Georgia Tech to knock off the Hurricanes.

If the Wahoos advance to Tampa, Fla., they'll almost certainly do so by finishing tied for first in the Coastal with Miami, Georgia Tech and UNC, each at 5-3 in ACC play.

Should that happen, the first tiebreaker would be each team's record against the other three. U.Va. and UNC would each be 2-1, and Georgia Tech and Miami would each be 1-2. Because the Cavaliers beat Carolina in their head-to-head matchup, they would then claim the Coastal's spot in the ACC championship game.

For this scenario to play out, Georgia Tech must beat Miami, and then Virginia must win its remaining regular-season games: Saturday against visiting Clemson and Nov. 29 at Virginia Tech (3-3, 6-4). Also, Miami must close the regular season Nov. 29 with a win over N.C. State, and UNC must beat N.C. State on Saturday and Duke on Nov. 29.

Detrick to miss rest of season
Add sophomore linebacker Jared Detrick to the list of U.Va. football players sidelined with significant injuries.

In the first of its two weekly reports, U.Va. announced yesterday that Detrick has a wrist injury that will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Detrick, who has played primarily on special teams, made 10 tackles in nine games this season.

Also out for the year with injuries are linebackers Aaron Clark (knee) and Cam Johnson (ankle) and tailback Mikell Simpson (shoulder).

Zeglinski plays well against VMI
Point guard Sammy Zeglinski played only 62 minutes last season, when an ankle injury in early December ended his first season.

Now a redshirt freshman, Zeglinski came off the bench Sunday to help Virginia opens its men's basketball season with a 107-97 victory over Virginia Military Institute at John Paul Jones Arena.

In 31 minutes, Zeglinski had 11 points, six assists, four rebounds, two assists and only three turnovers against VMI's relentless pressure.

"I keep forgetting, this is really his first big experience in college," U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said.

Meanwhile yesterday, Sylven Landesberg was named ACC rookie of the week. Against VMI, the 6-6 freshman totaled 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

South Florida at JPJ tomorrow
South Florida (1-0) of the Big East Conference visits tomorrow night. USF opened Friday with a 60-46 win over Southern Methodist.

Tickets remain for tomorrow's 7 p.m. game. Lots of tickets. The crowd of 9,955 at the opener Sunday was the smallest ever for a regular-season men's game at the JPJ, which opened prior to the 2006-07 season. -- Jeff White
 

UVa’s ‘little guy’ comes up big
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 17, 2008

Sylven Landesberg had one of the most impressive debuts by a college basketball freshman this season. It was so good that he was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Monday.
Meanwhile, Mike Scott looked like the second coming of Moses Malone on the glass, collecting 10 offensive rebounds.
But the Virginia player whom VMI coach Duggar Baucom was talking about first in the wake of his team’s 107-97 loss on Sunday was Sammy Zeglinski.
The UVa point guard had career highs of his own in points (11),
assists (6) and rebounds (4).
Zeglinski’s biggest impact on the game was his press-breaking ability. The 6-foot Philadelphia native showed a knack for making the right decisions.
“I think the little guy, I think Zeglinski’s going to be good,” Baucom said. “I think he was a question mark coming into the game. He was kind of unproven.
“We’re not ACC pressure, but our emphasis is to put pressure on the point guard, and for him to play 31 minutes and only have three turnovers against what we like to do — I think is pretty good.”
On a couple of occasions, Zeglinski — not known for tremendous athleticism — showed sneaky agility in the open court, getting all the way to the rim for layups or dishing off to open teammates at the last second for easy shots.
“I thought there were some times in the first half where he would break a double team and then back up a little bit,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “My thing was just take it as far as they’ll let you go. Take it to the foul-line area and look at your options. Make a jump stop, make some plays.
“I felt like he managed that a whole lot better as the game went on.”
For Zeglinski, who played in just eight games last season due to an injured ankle, it was a great way to start the season. The William Penn Charter School product said playing against an up-tempo opponent like VMI catered to his strengths.
“You get a lot of possessions and get to make decisions in the open court and get people easy layups,” said the redshirt freshman. “I love playing that way.
“I think as the game went on, I felt more and more comfortable. I haven’t felt this healthy in a long time and it felt really good to be out there.”
With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Zeglinski broke VMI’s full-court pressure with a perfect pass to Scott who connected on a 3-point play that essentially put the game out of reach.
Zeglinski almost looked like an NFL quarterback throwing a screen pass as he sucked in a pair of VMI defenders before burning the Keydets’ defense down court.
“I knew they wanted to double me,” Zeglinski said. “I just didn’t want to push the issue. I wanted to make them commit to me and then find the open man. Mike flashed perfectly and he caught it and made a helluva shot.”
Overall, Leitao certainly liked what he saw out of Zeglinski, the first player to commit to his program during his tenure.
“I keep forgetting that this is his first big experience in college, so [he’s] not going to be perfect,” Leitao said. “We have a lot of things to clean up with him, as we do with everybody, but I was particularly happy when Calvin [Baker] couldn’t go back in (due to cramps) that he managed the game the way he did.”

 

Cavs snag a win on Rocky Top
John Moorehouse Daily Progress correspondent
Published: November 17, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, Tennessee’s home venue of Thompson-Boling Arena has been a house of horrors.
Monday night, Ryan’s Cavaliers staged an 83-82 win coup over the defending national champions on their own court.
Monica Wright scored 35 points for Virginia (2-0), and Britnee Millner hit the decisive free throw with 6.4 seconds remaining.
“It ranks way up there,” Ryan said. “It’s something that will go down as one of the better games but for Monica, the way she led is the most important thing. She didn’t tell people what to do — she empowered them.”
Defeating the defending national champions on their home court should have a seismic effect on the national polls, and a positive one for the 15th-ranked Cavs.
“For our team this is definitely a confidence builder,” Millner said. “We are a top-ranking team.”
Wright’s final points came on a fadeaway jumper that tied the game at 82-all with 39 seconds remaining. The sixth-ranked Lady Vols (1-1) went to freshman Shekinna Stricklen for a baseline drive, but she missed and Millner came out of a scrum under the basket with the ball. Stricklen bumped Millner for her fifth foul, sending the sophomore to the line for the decisive free throw.
Millner hit the front end of the double bonus. Tennessee senior Alex Fuller corralled the rebound, but a precious 4.3 seconds ticked off before the Lady Vols called timeout. With 2.1 seconds remaining and three-quarters of the court to traverse, it wasn’t enough time to set up a play. Tennessee never got a shot off, and the final horn sparked a wild celebration at center court by the invading Cavaliers.
“Everyone was just so ecstatic,” Wright said. “We definitely feel like it’s part of history.
“This place is definitely legendary.”
And, for Ryan, a place where bad
memories were made before tonight.
“My memories about being in this building and being in the locker room we’re in tonight are not very good,” Ryan said. “We were in the exact same locker room in 1990, my first Final Four, and I was very nervous and didn’t know how to act.”
Virginia lost that game to Stanford, and fared no better in the three subsequent trips to Rocky Top.
“Every other time I’ve come here, it was usually just a complete drubbing,” said Ryan, whose 2002-03 squad ended its season here with a 30-point loss to UT in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
No drubbing this time. Instead, Virginia handed Tennessee just its 19th loss since the Lady Vols began playing at Thompson-Boling in 1987.
“I thought we played a team that was mentally and physically a lot tougher than us and that’s very disappointing,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. “There’s not many times in my career I can say that, thank goodness.”
Virginia led early, but the advantage evaporated as part of a 21-3 onslaught by Tennessee in the first half. The Lady Vols started the run with 12 unanswered points, while the Cavs committed turnovers on six straight possessions. In spite of that momentum swing, Virginia trailed by a reasonable 43-35 margin at halftime.
“Really when I got in the locker room they were the ones that kind of talked,” Ryan said.
Paulisha Kellum and Lyndra Littles, the two players out of the lineup due to injury and academic reasons respectively, did most of the talking.
“By the time I got in here, they understood,” Ryan said.
Wright scored seven of Virginia’s first nine points in the second half, and the Cavs quickly made it a one-possession ballgame.
Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way.
Aisha Mohammed added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds for Virginia. Whitny Edwards scored 13, 11 in the second half.
Glory Johnson and Briana Bass, two of seven freshmen on the UT roster, scored 13 apiece to lead five Lady Vols in double digits. Johnson also got whistled for a technical foul with 3:38 left when she got tied up with Edwards going for a loose ball.
“That better not happen again,” Summitt said of the technical.
Tennessee was without two starters—Angie Bjorklund and Vicki Baugh, the lone returnees from the rotation for last season’s national championship squad.

 

Harper hits right stride
Clemson QB finds himself atop the ACC in pass yards
By PAUL STRELOW - pstrelow@thestate.com

tool goes here CLEMSON — Media voters for the All-ACC team might want to consider changing the offense's personnel grouping.

Based on the credentials of the quarterback candidates, the trendy Wildcat formation featuring a running back taking the snap perhaps would give the first team more legitimacy.

It wasn't supposed to be that way, of course.

But it has taken until the final third of the regular season for the prohibitive preseason favorite, Clemson senior Cullen Harper, to reappear on the radar.

"He's starting to play like we all expected him to play," interim coach Dabo Swinney said. "As much maligned as he's been, Cullen has started to settle in and put together a little run here."

Probably not enough of a run to snag the all-conference honor, which figures to go to a veteran quarterback who leads his team to the ACC title game the next two weeks.

Yet unofficial offensive coordinator Billy Napier suggests in recent weeks Harper has played at a level comparable to his peak in last year's 27-touchdown, six-interception season.

In three games as the starting quarterback under the Swinney regime, Harper has thrown for 253, 240 and 292 yards, respectively, to vault into the conference lead in passing yards per game (207.5).

Before the coaching change, Harper reached 200 yards once in six games.

Several factors can be tied to Harper's about-face, none more important to Napier than an apparent change in how he handled scrutiny from both outside and inside the program.

Napier, who said two weeks ago that Harper "kind of forgot what got him to where he was at," said the quarterback finally appears to care less about what others think — and for the better.

"He's finally competing, I think," Napier said. "Whereas before he was more worried about making a mistake than he was the final product of winning and losing."

Senior running back James Davis even wondered whether fan support for Willy Korn finally took a mental toll.

Harper shrugs off both notions, claiming the only differences in his play have been related to health and how he is used.

Swinney and Napier have removed the kid gloves from the offense and taken a more aggressive approach.

An increased emphasis on a vertical passing game — which plays to Harper's arm strength — has been evident both in his increased touchdowns (six in Swinney's four games, four in the previous six) and continued interceptions (six under each coach).

Harper's reinvigoration has coincided with the minor shoulder surgery after the Georgia Tech game last month.

While the procedure was performed on Harper's left, non-throwing shoulder, both Swinney and Napier believe the surgery has freed Harper from worrying about protecting the shoulder when he spots pressure coming.

Harper has not been a scrambling threat, but he now has proven adept at squirming away from a potential sack to roll out of the pocket and throw the ball away.

"He's a really good, really effective scrambler, and obviously earlier in the year he was more consumed about getting hurt than he was being effective," Napier said.

"And I think he's finally figured it out. He's made his mind up that he doesn't care. That's the way, at some point, that you have to play. ... Your total focus is on what's the score."
 

Lengthening 3-point arc forces players to adjust
Rule change moving 3-point line to 20 feet, 9 inches has little effect on shooting but changes spacing, creates confusion
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Published: Tuesday, November 18 2008

Junior Calvin Baker’s 37.3 percent shooting from behind the arc was second for Virginia last year. With the new 3-point line this season, players must now contend with both the men’s line (orange) the women’s line (blue). As the 2008-09 men’s basketball campaign gets underway, there is one question that coaches, players, fans and media alike are trying to answer: What is the effect of the new 3-point line?

The rule change to move the line back was passed in the spring of 2007 to take effect starting this season; the line now sits 20 feet, 9 inches from the basket, one foot further than the previous line of 19 feet, 9 inches.

With the three-ball turning into a short jump shot in recent years as big men expanded their games to the perimeter and as players became more athletic and versatile on the whole, basketball has clearly become a perimeter-based game; in 1986-87, Division I games averaged 9.1 3-point attempts per game, an number that has climbed steadily to an all-time high of 19.07 3-point attempts per game last season.

“I think [the 19-foot-9 line] gave almost everybody a license to think that they were shooters when they weren’t,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “Now maybe players and coaches have more of a proven ground to see if you can do it or can’t do it based on their percentages.”

In the Cavaliers’ first regular-season game with the new line, their 107-97 win against VMI Sunday, they shot three of 16 from 3-point range and appeared to leave many 3-point shots short, particularly in the opening minutes. Given that the Cavaliers sank 42.1 percent of their 3-point shots in their exhibition against Shepherd, however, the low shooting percentage was likely influenced more by other factors.

The new line “really hasn’t [had an effect on the low shooting percentage] in the preseason, practices and games and things like that — the scrimmage game and exhibition game,” Leitao said, noting that against full-throttle VMI, “I think that the threes that we were trying to take were from full-court action, which sometimes aren’t the best.”

When asked about the new line during the preseason, players around the ACC agreed: A foot doesn’t change their mindset all that much.
“I don’t think it’s a big difference at all,” North Carolina junior guard Wayne Ellington said. “As you start to play with it, you don’t even notice any difference.”

VMI led the nation with 11.6 3-point shots made per game last year, and coach Duggar Baucom agreed that the new line will not have a big effect on his game plan.

“We’re still going to shoot them,” he said.

More important differences, Leitao noted in the preseason, occur with how the players view the new line.

“You take [the 19-foot-9 line] — guys typically would shoot not really at [it], they’d shoot a foot, foot and a half behind it,” Leitao said. “You move that line back, they move back. They’re not toeing the line; they’re attempting longer shots than the line requires them to.”
Leitao added that this reaction was unexpected.

“I thought that they would just take the normal shots that they had been taking all along, which is well within the range that they can shoot,” he said.

Even beyond the 3-point shot itself, Leitao and other coaches have noted the differences in floor spacing — just as shooters expand their range, defenses are forced to stretch themselves to cover the extra space.

“It’s more room that the defense has to have to chase you around — in the post, and recovering, close-outs, things like that,” Leitao said. “If you can become a good ball-movement team, then maybe you can take advantage of that spacing.”

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg disagreed with the Virginia coach’s assessment preseason.

“I think the biggest thing you’re going to see this year is that the new 3-point line is going to shrink the court,” Greenberg said. “Not everyone is going to be closed out to that line. I think certain guys are going to be gapped off the ball because [from 19 feet 9 inches] it’s a two, not a three. I think it’s going to take away driving lanes because people are not going to have to extend as far out.”

In addition, whereas Leitao said his players have been backing too far off the line, Greenberg said the biggest adjustment for his players is getting behind it.

“We’ve shot a lot of two-pluses,” Greenberg said. “That’s the worst shot you can take.”

Then, there’s the added factor of the line simply being confusing. The women still shoot from the old line that coincides with the top of the key; both players and referees now have to keep track of which line they are standing behind.

Leitao said there were proposals to fix this problem, but none passed the scrutiny of the NCAA Rules Committee.

“We talked about making it one thick line ... The men’s team would just shoot behind a different color, because it was one thick band,” Leitao said. “But, that didn’t pass, so what we settled on is something that aesthetically doesn’t look very pretty, and is a little confusing at the same time, and will cause stoppages in action.”

Greenberg even suggested moving both the men’s and women’s lines to the Olympic line, which lies 20 feet, 6 inches from the basket.
“I think we need to go to the Olympic line so we can have some uniformity,” he said. “I think the women need to do it also, so we can have one stinkin’ line on the court.”

With all of the added dimensions that the new 3-point line adds, Leitao noted the importance of keeping practice conditions consistent with the new game setting.

“Even in our practice gym we have both [the men’s and women’s lines],” Leitao said. “You don’t want to be in one gym and have two lines, and another gym being one line — there’s a little bit too much confusion, and you don’t have enough uniformity to promote that consistency that would hopefully make the play consistent.”

 

One and done? Fine by me
Eric Strow
Published: Tuesday, November 18 2008

In 2007, it was Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. In 2008, it was Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. And, in 2009, it could be B.J. Mullens and Demar DeRozan. The top two NBA Draft picks from each of the past two years were college freshmen who jumped to the pros after one year on campus, and this season could follow the same trend. The fact that these players have all had success in their lone college seasons, or are poised to do so this year, shows that college programs — cough Virginia cough — should absolutely take chances on recruiting players who might jump ship after just one year at the collegiate level.

This column was inspired by the news that Rivals.com’s No. 10-ranked high school senior, 6-foot-10 power forward Renardo Sidney is interested in coming cross-country from Los Angeles to play basketball at Virginia next year. According to Rivals, Sidney — who was in attendance this weekend as the Cavaliers beat the Keydets from VMI — is considering Virginia, LSU, Mississippi State, USC and UCLA. But, word is that Sidney wants to be like Beasley and take a non-power program into the national spotlight, before (in all likelihood) declaring for the NBA Draft. That would essentially rule out his two hometown teams, giving the Cavaliers an even better chance to land this potential super-frosh. And, even though rumors have circulated online that Sidney is considering playing his one season between high school and the pros abroad, à la Brandon Jennings (who opted out of his scholarship to Arizona to play professionally in Europe this year), it would be a worthwhile investment to throw the kitchen sink at a prospect of Sidney’s caliber.

The one-and-done guys I already named have helped their schools significantly. Rose led Memphis to the national title game in 2008, while Oden took Ohio State to the Final Four the year before. Durant was the first freshman to ever be named AP National Player of the Year, and Beasley brought Kansas State to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. It’s fair to say that landing a top-10 recruit, like these guys all were, can push a program up a level in as little as one year.

That could definitely be the case for the Cavaliers, who missed the NCAA Tournament last year and were picked to finish last in the ACC this year. Now, I’m not saying that’s going to happen — and quite frankly, with the talent on the Cavaliers’ roster this year, it shouldn’t — but if Virginia doesn’t make the tournament this year, coach Dave Leitao might start feeling the pressure of the hot seat. Signing a player with Sidney’s potential will quiet all the doubters this year and could only help protect Leitao’s job security down the road.

I’m the kind of fan who can’t help but think about the future of the team as well as the present. So, please excuse me for getting a little ahead of myself, but I would love to see a lineup next year that features current freshmen Sylven Landesberg and John Brandenburg and current sophomores Jeff Jones and Mike Scott taking the court with a player like Sidney. It’s realistic to say that Virginia will endure growing pains this year with only two seniors on the roster and without a floor general like Sean Singletary. But next year, when the current underclassmen have an extra year of experience, the Cavaliers could make moves and surprise the ACC like they did in 2007.

The point of all my rambling is to say that, while some people don’t like the idea of recruiting players who might only stay in school for one year, I’m all for it. It can only help a team to have a very talented player on the court on a nightly basis, and the coaches have to change strategies every year based on personnel anyway.

 

London endures tough season off field
Dave Fairbank
November 18, 2008

It's Monday afternoon of game week and, per usual, University of Richmond coach Mike London is thinking about his football team.

The Spiders' annual season-ender at rival William and Mary this Saturday has playoff implications, so of course he will do everything in his power to prepare his team to play well.

Football, however, occupies only a portion of London's thoughts. That's because the Peninsula native and rookie head coach is all-in, personally and emotionally, with his players.

From the day he was hired last January, London has operated from a simple creed:

"They don't care how much you know," he said, "until they know how much you care."

Nothing in the coaching manual prepares someone for some of the situations London has faced. He and the Spiders have endured the standard quota of injuries large and small, but a sizeable minority of players has lost loved ones: friends, grandparents, immediate relatives.

One player lost a brother. Another just had his mother pass after she unexpectedly fell into a coma. He and London communicated daily, the player asking for advice when doctors inquired about removing his mother from life support.

The Spiders dedicated a win to the player and presented him with a game ball. The player planned to place the ball in his mother's casket as a tribute to both her and to his teammates.

"This has been a year that's been gratifying on the field, but behind the scenes …," London said, his sentence trailing off. "People come up to you and say, 'Hey, beat William and Mary; hey, beat JMU …' But behind the scenes, if people only knew."

Here's the thing: London doesn't necessarily believe in fate, but he does believe in timing and experience. He has tried to convey strength to his players from his own family ordeals.

Notably, London's 13-year-old daughter, Ticynn, has overcome a rare genetic disorder that weakens the immune system and leaves victims susceptible to cancer. Five-and-a-half years ago, she underwent radiation and chemotherapy, and then a bone-marrow transplant, with Mike as the donor.

Along the way, she demonstrated courage and resilience that inspired London and his wife, Regina, and those around her.

"Having been through the thing with my daughter," London said, "I felt like there's something I can offer, in terms of encouragement and hope and perseverance. There's something about being in the right place at the right time to handle a situation like that."

London figured that, as an assistant coach, he was shielded from many of the personal trials his players endured. It's part of the learning curve that he embraces as a new head coach.

"There's been a tremendous amount of growth on my end, from a maturity standpoint," he said. "Just being able to offer these guys some kind of solace. … I can communicate with these guys and draw from previous experiences about feelings and a lot of other things. It's weird. I can't even put it into words."

London, 48, inherited a veteran team that returned 16 starters from last season's Football Championship Subdivision semifinalists. He is far more animated than predecessor Dave Clawson and goosed the pace of practices, but he didn't try to reinvent the wheel.

"He's an easy guy to talk to," defensive end Sherman Logan said. "He has an open-door policy. You can just go up and talk to him if you have any kind of problem, or if you just want to sit down and shoot the breeze with him. He's a great guy to talk to about anything besides football."

London actually is in his fourth stint at UR. He was a standout defensive back for the Spiders, Class of 1983. After chasing bad guys as a Richmond city cop in the mid-'80s, he broke into coaching with the Spiders in 1988.

He then spent four years as defensive-line coach at William and Mary before returning to UR from 1994-96. Stops at Boston College, Virginia, with the NFL's Houston Texans, and Virginia again preceded his getting the big office at Richmond.

"No question he has a great understanding of football," Tribe coach and former boss Jimmye Laycock said. "But the thing I remember the most, and I've certainly followed him and stayed close with him over the years, is what a good person he is.

"If you're a very, very good person, you treat people right, you do things the right way, you're going to achieve success, and I think that's what's happened with Mike."

London talks as much about developing his players off the field as on. He understands that he will be judged on wins and losses, but he believes that if he recruits the right kind of people and devotes his energy to both areas, success will take care of itself.

"This age of what's going on right now and what you see in our country," London said, "these players want to know that you've got their back. Now, they want discipline, too, and we have discipline, but they want to know that you've got their back, so on the flip side, when it's time to play a game, they give you everything they've got."