Bowls might need a little wakeup call
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 18, 2003

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering why Virginia was labeled a bad traveling bowl team ...
Yeah, we know that Wahoo fans didn’t show up big for the now-defunct Micron something or another bowl in Fort Lauderdale, or the Independence Bowl in Shreveport or the bowl in Hawaii. But then again, who does?
Bowls, particularly some of the less important ones, need a reality check. Unless their game is conveniently located to at least one of the schools participating in their bowl, then they shouldn’t expect great attendance. If the bowl isn’t a BCS game, the game is likely to mean less to the fans of the schools involved unless the game is close by.
Clemson has had a reputation for being a great traveling team. Sure, when the Tigers are in the Peach Bowl (a two-hour drive from campus) or maybe to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl.
Last year, Clemson sent practically no one to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. This year, N.C. State, another one of those schools that supposedly travel well, has sold only 5,000 of its allotted 12,500 tickets to face Kansas next Monday in the Tangerine. Kansas has sold only 2,000.
Last year, State sold more than 26,500 for its Gator Bowl win over Notre Dame. Some claimed there were as many as 40,000 Wolfpack fans in the stands. Two years ago, State sent 8,200 fans to Orlando in its Tangerine Bowl loss to Pitt.
This year, Clemson sold all of its tickets to the Peach Bowl and could have sold 40,000.
Plain and simple, it’s all about location. Virginia has sold 20,000 tickets back-to-back for the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte (a four to five-hour drive). Would the Cavaliers have sent that many to the Peach Bowl? Yes. To the Tangerine? No way.
The Tangerine is too far away and too difficult to get to, especially three days before Christmas. Meanwhile, the Tire Bowl is one of the best things that ever happened to the ACC.
If you can have a bowl game in Charlotte in late December, why not have one at FedEx Field near D.C.? The Redskins sure don’t seem to be using it.

Hip, hip hooray. Because of a problem to his left hip, Duke’s 6-foot-10 sophomore Shavlik Randolph nearly ended his hoops career.
The condition: torn labral, cartilage-like material that surrounds the hip joint, in addition to a bone spur, were correct via surgery last spring. That put Randolph on crutches for 10 weeks, but now the pain is nearly gone.
“I was really close to not being able to play basketball again,” Randolph said. “I feel like I was given a second chance to play by God and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
He admits that he is still feeling the aftershocks and it still gets sore when he plays. But it’s much better now.

May Day. North Carolina center Sean May said that if the Tar Heels had kept Matt Doherty as their coach, chances are the 6-9 sophomore would be somewhere else.
“I was pretty unhappy with the situation I was in with my foot,” May said of an injury that kept him sidelined most of the season and the turmoil that surrounded the team prior to Doherty’s forced resignation and the hiring of Roy Williams. “It was [Doherty’s] last year and we weren’t really getting along that well. I’m glad I stayed because I’ve got a hall of fame coach now who hopefully is going to make some things happen for me in the future.”
May considered transferring, but wouldn’t divulge to where. He did confirm that Indiana (his father Scott May’s alma mater) never entered the picture.
Bonus baby. Clemson hoops coach Oliver Purnell has an interesting perk in his contract that allows him to be paid bonus money for wins against NCAA Tournament teams. Purnell could earn up to $16,000 for no more than five selected victories.
The coach, who interviewed at Virginia before the Cavaliers hired Pete Gillen, has a six-year contract at Clemson worth around $700,000 per year. One stipulation is that the athletic director notifies Purnell by Oct. 1 of each year with games that qualify for the bonus money.
From there, the coach designates five teams. If he beats them, he gets bonus money.

The greatest. Perhaps the two greatest football and basketball players in N.C. State history, quarterback Philip Rivers and basketball star David Thompson, both graduated last night.
Rivers enrolled at State in January of 2000 after graduating early from high school. Thompson last played for State in 1975, but just completed work on his degree in sociology last summer but graduated in a ceremony yesterday.
Rivers received his degree in business.

T.A. too fast. N.C. State tailback T.A. McClendon, who beat Virginia with a long run in the final two minutes of the game last month, will likely play in the Tangerine Bowl despite misdemeanor traffic charges from October.
McClendon was stopped for driving 90 mph in a 65 zone in Interstate 40. The 19-year-old sophomore was also charged with driving after consuming alcohol while under the age of 21. His Breathalyzer test registered 0.03, below the state’s drunken driving threshold of 0.08.

Short yardage ... ... UNC now has vacancies for a defensive coordinator and secondary coach now that Dave Huxtable has left the program to coach linebackers at Central Florida. ...Asked if he is superstitious enough to duplicate everything Virginia did at last year’s Continental Tire Bowl (when the Cavs whomped West Virginia), Coach Al Groh replied: “We’re not that superstitious ... plus, at my age, my memory isn’t that good. I can’t remember where I put my car keys.” ...Groh, by the way, votes in the coaches’ poll and confirmed that he voted LSU No. 1 and USC No. 2. ...The Cavs still haven’t filled out next year’s football schedule, which includes a home game against Syracuse. Groh said that UVa wants to play someone who can return the game for a home-and-away series over the next two seasons.
...Fourth-year Indiana coach Mike Davis said that Wake Forest freshman guard Chris Paul “may be the best point guard we’ve played against since I’ve been at Indiana.” Paul scored 20 points, had eight assists and five steals to lead the Deacs past the Hoosiers 100-67. “It’s impossible to pick him up full court and it’s impossible to guard him when you try and press.”
...It was great to see N.C. State’s players wearing plaid patches on their jerseys in tribute to the late Norm Sloan, who died last week at 77. Before the game against Hartford, State coach Herb Sendek brought Sloan’s trademark plaid jacket to midcourt and placed it over a chair during a pregame ceremony. ...Now, that’s class. ...Finally, the results are in and Virginia’s football radio network member Jimmy Casella has been named “ACC Spotter of the Year,” for an unprecedented fifth time.
 

Old-school: Smith hopes to bounce back
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 18, 2003

Virginia junior swingman Devin Smith has an “old-school kind of game” according to his coach.

These days, Smith is just feeling a little old.

Suffering through a herniated disc in his back, Smith has been dealing with the aches and pains usually reserved for those a little older than his 20 years.

“Most of the time, getting up in the morning is the worst part of the day. You are sleeping all night and the back gets sore,” said Smith, attempting in no way to sound crotchety. “As the day goes on, the back loosens up and it gets better.”

Smith says the pain often “comes and goes” and that has certainly translated to his on-court performances in the early season.

Smith, whose “old-school game” is defined by intangibles such as defense, rebounding and general court sense, had struggled offensively through the first five games.

Smith entered Tuesday’s game against JMU averaging 6.0 points a game and a woeful 1-14 from behind the 3-point arc. Last season, Smith was the eighth in the ACC in 3-point percentage (38.6).

In the 90-80 victory over JMU, Smith finished with 19 points and connected on two of his five 3-point attempts. The shooting performance from the arc wasn’t his best but was certainly an improvement.

“It was good to make a few. It definitely gives you confidence. Sometimes, you just have to shoot yourself out of the slump,” Smith said.

That shooting was just part of what quite obviously was Smith’s best and perhaps most “comfortable” performance of the season. Smith made a series of athletic inside moves for dunks and layups that signaled that Tuesday was certainly in the “goes” category in relation to his back pain.

“He was great tonight. I just hold my breath every day. He’s getting treatment all the time. He was a lot closer to himself tonight,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. “He had 19 points and six rebounds. He’s a tough guy. He’s probably our toughest kid in terms of being a competitor. He won’t back down and we need that toughness.”

Added teammate Todd Billet: “Devin’s been practicing more with us. He was moving great tonight. You guys probably noticed that. He had a couple of dunks and that’s a guy with a herniated disc. He’s learning to play with that and is obviously playing better and feeling better. He’s getting his legs back and that’s so important as a shooter.”

Virginia now travels to Los Angeles for a contest Friday evening against Loyola Marymount. While the game presents obvious dangers as it’s the Cavaliers’ first contest outside of the Commonwealth, Gillen has other worries concerning Smith specifically.

The coach isn’t quite sure how Smith’s back will react to a five-hour plane ride.

Smith only has limited concerns on the matter.

“I’ll try to slide into the exit row. Sometimes that’s not easy. Maybe I’ll just sit on the floor and do whatever I can to get comfortable. I’ll probably just go to sleep though,” Smith said.
 

Injury doesn't slow Hardy
Cavaliers' safety has been playing most of season with torn ACL
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 18, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Tough guy, that Jermaine Hardy. He's played the past 10 games with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and he'll be in the starting lineup when Virginia takes on Pittsburgh in the Continental Tire Bowl.

Most of his teammates figure to spend Jan. 6 relaxing, recovering from a 13-game season, which will end Dec. 27 at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

Hardy, a starting safety, has other plans that day. He'll have surgery to repair the right knee he injured Sept. 6 in Virginia's second game, a 31-7 loss at South Carolina. The 5-11, 208-pound junior from Roanoke disclosed the extent of his injury in a locker-room interview with two reporters Tuesday.

"I couldn't let you all know during the season," Hardy said with a smile, "because teams would have been coming for me."

Hardy and promising sopho- more Willie Davis began the season as U.Va.'s starters at safety. But Davis suffered a serious injury against South Carolina that ended his season. With his partner sidelined, Hardy said, "I had to suck up all my injuries and just give the team what I got."

Hardy, who played through his injury Sept. 6, said he didn't learn until a few days later that he'd torn his ACL.

"I was shocked," he recalled. "When they told me that, I thought, 'Torn ACL means you're out for the season.'"

Not in all cases. Doctors told Hardy he wouldn't further damage the ligament by playing. The pain didn't faze him. Hardy could run on his knee, so he strapped on a brace and remained in the lineup.

"If I can stay out there and play, I'm going to go ahead and play," Hardy said. "I'm not going to be selfish like that and just stay on the sidelines. I know my team needs me out there, so I'm going to go out there and play."

After Davis got hurt, junior Jay Dorsey started the next five games alongside Hardy. Opponents burned Dorsey repeatedly, though, and U.Va.'s coaches finally moved starter Jamaine Winborne from cornerback to safety.

Hardy, a reserve corner in 2001 and'02, suddenly was the team's most experienced safety.

In U.Va's win over Georgia Tech on Nov. 22, Hardy went to the sideline after reinjuring his knee. A sideline examination revealed no serious damage, however, and Hardy soon was back on the field.

"We needed everybody, and he knew that," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said after the game. "I appreciate what he did, to go back out there in those circumstances."

Hardy suffered another setback in the Nov. 29 regular-season finale when his head collided with the knee of Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick. The hit left Hardy woozy, and another sideline exam followed. Before long, though, his head cleared, and Hardy returned to help the Cavaliers beat the Hokies for the first time since 1998.

"I'm not at the top of my speed, but I'm not slow," Hardy said. "I'm at 80, 85 percent. I've just got to find more angles and different tactics to get me to the spot."

Hardy ranks third on the team in tackles with 93 and has intercepted two passes. He's forced two fumbles.

"I'm kind of like a rookie back there," he said, "but I think I'm playing reasonably well. I just hope the coaches are satisfied with my play this year."

Hardy could well emerge as an all-ACC candidate as a senior. Depending on how his post-surgery rehabilitation goes, that could be as early as 2004 or as late as'05. He hasn't redshirted at U.Va.

"It's always an option," Hardy said, "but I'm going to try my best to get back and help the team out [next season]."

SAFETY CONCERNS: Dorsey is no longer practicing with the team and won't play in the Tire Bowl. "Personal issues," Groh said yesterday. With Dorsey gone, U.Va.'s reserves at safety are true freshman Robbie Catterton and redshirt freshman Lance Evans.