An old rivalry renewed
Virginia, James Madison set for first meeting in two decades
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 16, 2003

By sheer proximity, Virginia could play no Division I opponent any closer than James Madison.

For 20 years, however, the approximate 60-mile drive between the two schools has become a vast expanse.

The schools played a series of very competitive contests during the seven-game history of the series from 1977-83 with the most memorable being a 53-52 UVa victory on Dec. 30, 1980, at Godwin Hall in Harrisonburg.

“I think we led that game for perhaps 39 minutes and 10 seconds and that was a Virginia team that went on to the Final Four that year,” said then-JMU coach Lou Campanelli, currently the coordinator for officiating of the Pac-10. “Virginia was No. 3 in the country, I think, at that point and the game came right down to the wire. Lee Raker hits a jumper for them late to win it. … It was just a great, great game but a real heartbreaking loss for our kids.”

Campanelli, who led the Dukes to three NCAA appearances from 1981-83 before leaving Harrisonburg to coach at Cal, has little problem remembering every little detail of those games. There are obvious reasons for that.

“The games were hard-fought and intense. We were spirited rivals and for us to play an ACC team, a team at the national level of UVa at the time with Ralph Sampson and all was just a big opportunity for us,” Campanelli said. “We had only been a Division I program for a couple of years and were looking to upgrade our schedule. Certainly playing Virginia was a big upgrade.”

UVa coach Terry Holland remembers the games in the same way.

“Our battles with the Dukes after they got their program going were pretty intense and often close affairs as they played a very disciplined game that kept them close to almost anyone,” said Holland, who added the Campanelli’s team nearly upset eventual national champion North Carolina in the NCAA’s in 1982.

At the time, the rivalry reached a near-perfect convergence. JMU was the up-and-coming program, while Virginia had established itself on the national stage. Add in that Sampson was a Harrisonburg native and the general contention between the state schools, it created the intensity referred to by Campanelli and Holland.

“Certainly at the time, to play an ACC school and to play the University of Virginia was a wonderful opportunity. It was a period when James Madison had a very good basketball team and, again, to play a top team like Virginia was such a great opportunity,” said Virginia athletic media relations director Rich Murray, who had served as JMU’s sports information director from 1972-83. “There was a lot of excitement. I can’t speak to what it meant for the JMU students at the time but certainly from the team standpoint, it was a meaningful opportunity.”

After that game in 1980, Virginia and JMU met four more times before the series stopped. Virginia played for just the second time in Harrisonburg as JMU opened its Convocation Center on Dec. 1, 1980. Sampson, then a senior, led Virginia to a 51-34 victory. The series ended with a 53-50 UVa win on Dec. 3, 1983 at U-Hall.

The teams haven’t played since. At the time, the series was halted for perhaps the same reasons that made it so intriguing. Or more appropriately, the intensity of the rivalry just escalated too much according to Holland.

“The rivalry just got too heated. The games started to get very physical and after the games there were some things said about our players, etc. that were uncalled for,” Holland said. “The same was true for some other in-state schools. Several games had ugly physical incidents that, after trying hard to schedule in-state schools, made me question why we would go out of our way to play these institutions if it was endangering our own players and program.”

Added Dean Ehlers, the athletics director at JMU from 1971-93: “I think Virginia was not real happy with the ticket situation here for one of the games and that was just a misunderstanding. I also think they didn’t like their treatment from the crowd and some other things that I didn’t necessarily agree with. I think Virginia and Virginia Tech were always considered above us. They were in the big conferences and had a limited number of games to play. Looking back at the whole thing, we were grateful they came here to play us and they did us a favor.”

When asked Monday about scheduling JMU now, Gillen claimed he wasn’t really aware of the past history. Rather, he said tonight’s game was spurred by conversations with current JMU coach Sherman Dillard.

“We haven’t played them in a long time. Sherman is a friend of mine and we’ve been trying to get together for a while for a game. … I’ve never asked specifically why we haven’t played in such a long time. We have 11 Division I-A schools in the state and they’d all love to play the University of Virginia. You can’t play everyone in the state with 11 teams,” Gillen said. “This is a one-year contract. It’s a one-shot deal but maybe we can get together in the future.”

Added Dillard: “We are looking forward to the game. Pete and I have been talking for three or four years about playing. It finally came to fruition this summer. … I think our players are excited about it. Just as it was for me growing up, you turn on the tube and see ACC basketball. You look at the ACC as the pinnacle of college basketball and I think our players want to see how they can compete against them.”

Of course, Gillen put his own comical spin on the game when introduced by Murray at a news conference Monday at U-Hall.

“It hasn’t been publicized as much as we like but it will be the Rich Murray Cup. Rich was an esteemed SID there. We bought his contract out for a lot money,” Gillen quipped.
 

UVa sets bowl ticket sales recored
Over 20,000 tickets have been sold
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
December 16, 2003

Eleven days before kickoff, Virginia already has sold more tickets for the Continental Tire Bowl than it did for any of its previous 13 bowl games.
By the close of business Monday, fans had purchased 20,063 tickets through UVa’s ticket office, surpassing the previous record of approximately 18,500 for the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl and the 1998 Peach Bowl.
The bowl also is likely to credit Virginia with about 2,500 more ticket sales through other sites, such as Ticketmaster, according to UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage. That would bring the school’s total figure above 22,500, breaking the former mark of 21,000 for the 1998 Peach Bowl.
“As you can imagine, we are extremely happy and very enthused about the response we’ve had on the part of the Virginia fans,” Littlepage said.
Most of those tickets were sold in the first few days they were available. The UVa ticket office reported 218 more sales on Monday. At that rate, Virginia’s total figure is likely to get in the range of 25,000 by the time the Cavaliers (7-5) play Pittsburgh (8-4) on Dec. 27 at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
UVa coach Al Groh set an ambitious goal of selling 30,000 tickets upon accepting the bowl invitation on Nov. 30. Though reaching that figure seems unlikely, he called the current amount of sales “terrific” and he hasn’t given up hope of getting close to 30,000.
“I’m sure that many people are waiting to buy tickets as Christmas presents, so I would expect there will be a significant surge in sales in the next few days,” Groh said, smiling. “Anybody who isn’t thinking that way must have coal in their wallet or Scrooge on their mind.”
The UVa ticket office phone numbers are 800-542-8821 and (434) 924-8821. Prices are $27.50 to $67.50 per seat, depending on location.

Playoffs…duh. To Groh, the controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series merely confirmed what he already thought about how Division I-A college football determines its national champion. Or in this case, perhaps, national champions.
“When they take the oxygen mask off my face and they say, ‘Do you have any last words?’ I’ll be saying, ‘Tell ‘em to have a playoff,’” Groh said. “You know, some things make too much sense.”
Groh votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, which, like the AP poll, has Southern Cal ranked first. He said he put LSU at No. 1 on his ballot, followed by Southern Cal. LSU will play Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, with the winner - under BCS rules - earning the national title from the coaches. Southern Cal likely will stay No. 1 with the writers if it beats Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Regardless, Groh believes playoffs would be superior to the current system despite the arguments against them, such as more missed class time.
“Any time you want to maintain the status quo, you can always create scenarios to support that,” Groh said. “Obviously Colgate and Delaware are doing just fine with the setup they have, playing for [the Division I-AA] championship this Saturday. I don’t think it’s going to cause those schools to lose their academic reputation or most of their student body to fail out of school, but maybe there’s a greater difference between the two levels than I understand. …
“Ask the basketball coaches how they would feel if instead of having the NCAA tournament, they just said: OK, we’ll take these two teams, we’ll take Michigan State and Florida…and match them together in one game in Albuquerque. You think the fans and coaches would be excited about that?”
Loss of Ross. Groh said there was “a very good likelihood” that Kevin Ross, his running backs coach the past three seasons at UVa, will join Army’s coaching staff. Bobby Ross, Kevin’s father, was named Army’s coach last week.
Ross, 38, will coach in the bowl game, Groh said, and his position will be filled quickly afterward. “I think we have some ideas in mind,” Groh said.

Return of Ryan. Senior receiver Ryan Sawyer did not play in the second half of Virginia’s 35-21 victory over Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 after suffering a bruised kidney while getting tackled late in the first half.
“At first, I was afraid that would be it for me,” he said.
Fortunately, doctors cleared Sawyer to practice and he should be available to start the bowl game. He is third on the team - and the leading wideout - with 36 receptions for 436 yards and two touchdowns.

Developing situation. The Cavaliers completed their final exams Monday and began preparing specifically for Pittsburgh in Monday afternoon’s practice.
Their first five practices following the Virginia Tech game did not focus on the opponent and included many developmental periods for younger players, such as backup quarterbacks Marques Hagans, Anthony Martinez, Kevin McCabe and Chris Olsen.
“These practices have given many players an opportunity to do two things,” Groh said. “One, to improve themselves, and two, to prove themselves, or at least get a headstart on those two missions.”
 

Tire Bowl proves a hot ticket
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Of the various challenges issued when Virginia was invited to the Continental Tire Bowl, none seems more attainable than Craig Littlepage's vow to become the lead team in ticket sales.

Littlepage, the Cavaliers' director of athletics, reported that UVa already has sold more tickets through its ticket office than it did last year, when it was credited with a total of 22,000 tickets.

That included 18,507 tickets sold through the UVa ticket office. As of the close of business Friday, more than two weeks before the Dec.27 meeting with Pittsburgh in Charlotte, N.C., UVa had sold 19,845 tickets.

"We're selling between 200 and 400 a day and I anticipate that we would be able to sell several hundred tickets daily until this time next week," Littlepage said. "If you went back and looked at a two-year history of all the teams participating in bowls in '02 and '03, there probably are not many that have sold 20,000 tickets in consecutive years."

Littlepage estimated that the total number of tickets sold to UVa fans, including outlets such as Ticketmaster, is close to 22,500. He attributed part of that differential to a computer shutdown that made it impossible to contact the UVa ticket office for part of the first day on which tickets became available, Dec.1.

"A number of people didn't want to continue to hold and went to other sources to purchase their tickets," Littlepage said.

A sellout crowd of 73,535 attended the inaugural Tire Bowl last year, a majority of them from West Virginia, a 48-22 loser to the Cavaliers at Ericcson Stadium.

This year, it should be a Virginia crowd. Littlepage said that when he talked to Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Bourne, the Panthers had sold 3,000 tickets as of 10 days ago. Littlepage confirmed that Pittsburgh has been selling tickets to students for $10. Face value is between $27 and $52.

Calls to the Pittsburgh sports information office were not returned.

"Questions were posed by students: 'Pitt's selling them for $10 and we're not. Why not?'" Littlepage said. "The answer is obvious. [Pitt] came up with that strategy as a way to move tickets.

"We were not anticipating the same kind of issue in terms of selling our allotment [12,500]. We expected to be able to sell more than our allotment."

Littlepage estimated that Virginia's final ticket sales would range from the mid-20,000s to 27,000 - not quite the 30,000 that head coach Al Groh had set as a target.

"I'm sure that many people are waiting to buy tickets as Christmas presents," Groh said Monday. "So, I would expect there would be a significant surge in sales over the next couple of days. Anybody who isn't thinking that way must have coal in their wallet."

Staff change?

Groh said he thinks there "is a pretty good likelihood" that Kevin Ross, who is in his third season as running backs coach, will leave UVa to join the coaching staff at Army, where his father, Bobby, was named head coach last week. Groh said he has some ideas on a replacement, although Kevin Ross is expected to remain at UVa at least through the bowl.

Sawyer OK

Ryan Sawyer, whose 36 catches ranked first among UVa wide receivers, has been cleared to play in the Tire Bowl after missing the second half of the UVa-Virginia Tech game. Sawyer was taken to the emergency room of the Virginia Medical Center after he started spitting up blood.

"I was pretty scared for a while," said Sawyer, who watched UVa's second-half comeback on a hospital television while being treated for a bruised kidney.

Fellow fifth-year senior Art Thomas took Sawyer's place and had three catches for 66 yards in the second half, including a 49-yard reception on the Cavaliers' first play of the second half.

 

Batch of Freshmen Making the Grade
Wake Forest's Paul Is Off to Fast Start
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Page D07

It is just December, or, as Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser said, "So early, we're just approaching the quarter pole."

Yet what better time to get a read -- yes, an early one -- on the league's freshmen, who haven't been through the rigors of ACC play, yet have all been able to stick their toe in the water to see how it feels? In doing so, keep in mind the warning of Maryland Coach Gary Williams: "You don't judge freshmen on one season."

Or part of one season. Thus, these are instant, not final, analyses.

Prosser appears to have one of the best of the bunch in guard Chris Paul. Prior to last night's game at Southern Methodist, the 6-foot Paul led the league in steals (3.8 per game), was third in assists (5.8), second in assist-to-turnover ratio, averaged 12.2 points and has what Prosser considers to be the essential ingredient for a smooth transition from high school to college.

"I think it's their character," Prosser said yesterday. "I think [Paul] has a high basketball IQ. He's bright enough to know that he has a lot to learn, so he listens. But at times, he's too deferential. We're trying to work that out of him."

One freshman who is not deferential is Duke's Luol Deng. Not only is Deng, a lean 6-8 forward, leading Duke in scoring (14.4) but he also leads in shot attempts at 12.1 per game, no small feat on a team with trigger-happy guard J.J. Redick. No freshman has led Duke in scoring since Johnny Dawkins, now the Blue Devils' associate head coach, did so in 1982-83.

Virginia forward Gary Forbes has been just as essential. He leads ACC freshmen in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (7.0). Florida State's Alexander Johnson and Von Wafer are combining for nearly 18 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, a big reason the Seminoles (8-0) have tied their best start in history. Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry yesterday was named the league's rookie of the week and has an extremely rare quality for a freshman -- he's a fundamentally sound and ferocious defender. North Carolina State has found an unexpected starter at point guard in lightly regarded freshman Mike O'Donnell.

It is not, however, an easy transition, and coaches expect many of those players will find bumps as the conference season gets underway. Some already have. Clemson's Vernon Hamilton inherited the Tigers' point guard job. But during Clemson's three-game losing streak headed into last night's game against East Tennessee State, Hamilton had just seven assists to go with 14 turnovers.

Maryland guard Mike Jones scored 10 points in his college debut, then played just 18 minutes in the next six games as Williams pushed him to become more complete. Jones scored eight points in Maryland's victory over Pepperdine Sunday.

"I think he showed a little bit, besides being a very good shooter, just how quick he is with the ball," Williams said. "That's what we're trying to get him to do besides shoot the ball. We all know he's a good shooter, but there's more to it than that."

Jones smiled after the game -- finally. But he seems to have learned that getting frustrated, just a quarter of the way through your freshman year, won't help.

"It has been difficult," Jones said. "But I don't think I've ever gotten down. I always stay up, regardless of what happens in the game. If anything, I just take it out in practice or in the weight room."

Demon Deacons' Dilemma

Prosser has an interesting dilemma: He lost the ACC player of the year in forward Josh Howard, now with the Dallas Mavericks, yet he might have too much talent. "Sometimes, depth can be overrated," he said.

But watch the Demon Deacons' lineup over the coming weeks. Sophomore center Eric Williams has thus far been able to stay out of foul trouble and is averaging 16.2 points per game. Forward Jamaal Levy leads the team in rebounding (8.8 per game). Paul has earned one starting guard spot; sophomore Justin Gray can be one of the league's most explosive scorers and junior Taron Downey has started at the point for the past two years.

So Wake Forest has a three-guard lineup, at least for now.

The upshot? Forward Vytas Danelius, the league's leading returning rebounder and a preseason all-ACC choice, has been playing as a reserve as he battles back from a variety of injuries. A delicate situation? Prosser said, for now, it's not.

"I think we have to count on the character and fiber of our players," Prosser said. "Everyone wants to start, and everyone wants to play. I don't want anybody who wouldn't want to do those things. But it factors back to trust in me. Do they trust that I'm doing the right things? To this point, they've been a very selfless group of kids."

The Deacons' reward: a Saturday game at No. 4 North Carolina (6-0), the first ACC game of the year.

Try, Try Again

How did North Carolina center Sean May end up with 21 rebounds -- a Smith Center record -- in Sunday's lackluster 64-53 victory over Akron? He kept missing shots and grabbing his own boards. May, who entered the game shooting 63 percent from the floor, made just 3 of 18 against the Zips, and 10 of his rebounds were offensive. . . .

Maryland's victory last week at Florida -- then, somehow, the top-ranked team in the nation -- was the first time an ACC team has beaten a non-conference, No. 1 team on the opponent's home floor. Point guard John Gilchrist, who fouled out of that game after scoring 18 points, was named the league's player of the week following his 24-point, seven-assist effort against Pepperdine. . . .

In the latest AP poll, released yesterday, the ACC has more ranked teams than any other league: Nos. 3-5 in Duke, UNC and Georgia Tech, No. 14 (Wake Forest) and No. 25 (Maryland). The Yellow Jackets haven't been ranked this high since 1985-86, when they were the preseason No. 1 team in the nation.
 

JMU, U.Va. end separation
Series will resume tonight after teams last met 20 years ago
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 16, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Since the start of the 1984-85 season, the University of Virginia men's basketball team has faced each of the following at least four times: Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Military Institute, Richmond, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, Liberty, Radford and George Mason. U.Va. has met Hampton twice during that span.

From that lengthy list of state Division I programs, conspicuously absent is James Madison. U.Va. hasn't played JMU since Dec. 3, 1983, a stretch that will end when they meet tonight at University Hall.

No additional games have been scheduled between these state foes, but it's "a game that makes a lot of sense for both schools," Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said, "and I'm hopeful it won't be another 20 years before we play again."

The series, which U.Va. leads 7-0, began Nov. 25, 1977. The teams met four times during Ralph Sampson's legendary career at U.Va., including two games at JMU in the 7-4 All-American's hometown of Harrisonburg.

Terry Holland was the Cavaliers' coach for each of those seven victories over JMU, with Lou Campanelli on the other bench. Holland, now a special assistant to President John Casteen at U.Va., said yesterday that he halted the series with JMU because "the rivalry just got too heated. The games started to get very physical, and after the games there were some things said about our players, etc., that were uncalled for."

Ultimately, Holland recalled, "I said, 'All right. This is going the wrong way. This is not healthy.'"

Later, when Lefty Driesell became JMU's coach, he wanted to resume the series with U.Va. But he also insisted on home-and-home series with major-conference opponents and wanted the Cavaliers, of the mighty ACC, to come to Harrisonburg. No thanks, said Virginia, which had little to gain and much to lose in such a matchup.

So why are they playing tonight? Both teams needed a game, and their respective head coaches have ties. Former JMU star Sherman Dillard, who succeeded Driesell in 1997, is in his seventh season in charge at his alma mater. Pete Gillen, a former VMI assistant, is in his sixth season with the Cavaliers.

"Sherm Dillard's a friend of mine," Gillen said. "He's been asking, 'Hey, can we get together?' and we were able to do it.

"It's a great school. When I was at VMI, [JMU] was a big rival of ours. We have great respect for them. Sherman was a great player at James Madison, he's a class guy, and I have a lot of respect for him as a person and a coach."

U.Va. (5-0) already has played Virginia Tech and VMI this season. Still to come is a Jan. 5 date with William and Mary at U-Hall.

The state's other 10 Division I teams, Gillen said, "all would love to play the University of Virginia every year: Radford and JMU and George Mason and VCU and William and Mary, everybody. You can't play everybody in the state, because it's 11 Super Bowls, and sooner or later your bowl's going to get broken, and your head gets broken. You've got to be judicious in who you schedule."

The Dukes (2-3), of the Colonial Athletic Association, won't have to worry about facing U.Va. junior Jason Clark tonight, Gillen said.

The 6-8, 235-pound forward, who has yet to practice with the team or play this season, took his last first-semester exam yesterday. Clark was academically ineligible for the first semester, and his status won't be determined before tonight's game. Virginia plays Friday night at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

"We hope to get him back" this week, Gillen said, "but I don't know that for sure."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 16, 2003

PROBABLE DEPARTURE: The Dec. 27 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., may well be Kevin Ross' last game on Al Groh's staff at the University of Virginia.

Groh said yesterday there's "probably a pretty good likelihood" that Ross, who's in his third season as U.Va.'s running backs coach, will join his father at the U.S. Military Academy "some time in the coming weeks."

Bobby Ross was named Army's head coach last week. Kevin Ross, 38, is a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. The younger Ross was not available for comment; Groh doesn't allow his assistants to speak to the news media during the season.

If Ross leaves, Groh said, the Cavaliers would look to fill the staff opening "pretty quickly. I think we have some ideas in mind."

One candidate would figure to be former Cavaliers safety Anthony Poindexter, who's in his first season as the team's graduate assistant for offense. Poindexter was an All-America for coach George Welsh at Virginia.

The second Tire Bowl matches U.Va. (7-5) and Pittsburgh (8-4) at Ericsson Stadium. ESPN2 will televise the 11 a.m. game.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT: Groh has long advocated a Division I-A playoff system, and the controversial pairings in this year's Bowl Championship Series have only strengthened his position. Southern Cal, the top-ranked team in both major polls, won't take part in the BCS "title game."

"When they take the oxygen mask off my face and say, 'Do you have any last words?' I'll be saying, 'Tell 'em to have a playoff,'" Groh said, croaking out that last sentence.

"Some things make too much sense. . . . Obviously, Colgate and Delaware are doing just fine with the setup they have, playing for [the Division I-AA] championship Saturday. I don't think it's going to cause those schools to lose their academic reputation or most of their student body to fail out of school. But maybe there's a greater difference between the two levels than I understand."

On his latest ballot for the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, Groh said, he voted LSU No. 1 and Southern Cal No. 2.

ONE HAPPY DEVIL: The Cavaliers practiced Saturday afternoon, so offensive tackle Davon Robb couldn't attend the state Group AAA, Division 5 final. But when practice ended, the 6-8, 265-pound redshirt freshman called his father for an update from University of Richmond Stadium, where Hopewell and Massaponax were battling.

His father's report delighted Robb, a walk-on at U.Va. who played for Marshall Parker at Hopewell. The Blue Devils romped 41-14.

"I was glad we won," Robb said yesterday. "I told everybody around here, especially" Jason Snelling and Anthony Martinez - graduates of L.C. Bird and Patrick Henry, respectively.

"I was glad for Coach Parker," Robb said. "If anybody in the Central Region deserved to win, it was him."

HO, HO, HO: For the second straight year, the Cavaliers will spend Christmas in Charlotte. Look for 6-6, 330-pound offensive guard Elton Brown to reprise his role as Santa Claus at the team party.

Last year, Groh recalled, the "biggest glitch in the bowl week was that whoever was supposed to bring the Santa suit didn't bring it. And so, when we went [looking] for the Santa suit on Christmas Eve, it couldn't be found. So all of the sudden Gerry Capone is driving around Charlotte going to costume and novelty shops at 4 o'clock on Christmas Eve, trying to find a Santa suit."

U.Va.'s associate athletic director for football administration, Capone "does everything that needs to be done, and that was one of the things," Groh said. "How could we have a Christmas party without Santa? I forgot where it was, but he found a Santa suit at 5 o'clock on Christmas Eve so Elton could be Santa at the party the next day."

Brown said he doesn't know if he'll play Santa again, but he'll do so if asked.

"It was fun," he said.

UNDECIDED: Brown, a second-team all-ACC pick, received the Jacobs Trophy as the conference's top blocker. A junior who didn't redshirt in 2001, Brown is eligible to enter the NFL draft after this season. He said yesterday that he hasn't decided if he'll return to U.Va. for his senior year.

"Any player who puts himself in the position to make that decision, of course it's going to cross your mind," Brown said. "But right now, I'm just focused on going to Charlotte and winning the game."

Groh spent 13 seasons on NFL coaching staffs, and he's discussed Brown's pro prospects with the Hampton High graduate.

"A coach of his stature," Brown said, "I can't do anything but respect what he says and listen to him. But like I said, that is not even on my mind right now. I'm just trying to help my team win this game." - Jeff White