Cavs lacking perimeter defense
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 30, 2003

When N.C. State faces Virginia, it resembles the Wolfpack playing a game of H-O-R-S-E among themselves more than it does a contest against the Virginia defense.

On Sunday night in the ACC opener for both teams, the Wolfpack connected on six of their first eight attempts from behind the arc in the second half en route to an 86-69 victory.

In total, the Wolfpack connected on 11 of its 27 3-point attempts and has now made 37 of its last 85 treys against the Cavaliers dating back to the 2002 ACC quarterfinals.

Statistics - other than those against Virginia - show that N.C. State is really not that good of a 3-point shooting team. The Wolfpack entered Sunday’s game dead last in the ACC in 3-point shooting (31.1 percent) and was in the middle of the ACC pack in that category last year.

“We made the mistake of not getting back to the shooters after they penetrated. We didn’t adjust. They hit shots against zone and against man. They were on fire. They were rolling pretty good,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. “Part of that is that our defense has to be better and part of that is they shot it real well.”

One could only conclude that it’s something about Virginia that brings out the best in the N.C. State’s shooters. Yet, N.C. State players did float to that same assumption, rather they just said they were in that “zone” that shooters love to speak of frequently.

“We were just on tonight,” said N.C. State’s Julius Hodge who had a game-high 21 points. “Our offense was clicking. We got a couple of new pieces we put in and we were making shots and playmaking. It definitely felt good.”

That might be something of a naďve conclusion, however, considering that defending the 3-pointer has been a particular UVa.

Against two of its last three opponents - James Madison and N.C. State - Virginia has allowed 24 treys in 55 attempts. That’s not a great statistic for a team whose emphasis at the beginning of the season was defense.

“We have to do a better job defending the 3. We’ve worked on that, believe it or not. It’s been a concern of ours,” Gillen said.

Added senior guard Todd Billet: “We’ve talked about being better on defense but we weren’t tonight. They were shooting the ball well but also getting an extra second or two to shoot the shots. We have to make some adjustments to make up for that.”

Compounding N.C. State’s hot shooting was the fact that the Cavaliers struggled from the perimeter. Virginia made just three of its 19 attempts from behind the arc and still have not had a good outside shooting night all season. Actually, the Cavaliers have supplanted the Wolfpack at the bottom of the ACC in 3-point shooting (31.2 percent).

“We need our veteran guys - Todd [Billet] and Devin [Smith] - to shoot it better,” said Gillen of that duo which was a combined 2-for-13 from 3-point range.
 

Virginia football has many positives
Only six of 24 starters in bowl were seniors
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published December 30, 2003

Back in August, when everyone was undefeated and a title contender, Virginia coach and resident NFL historian Al Groh sounded this note of caution:

"In 1992, the New England Patriots were 2-14," Groh said. "In '93, Bill Parcells was the head coach and the record improved to 5-11. In '94, the team went 10-6 and made the playoffs, and that caught everybody's attention. Guess who they were next year? Everybody's hot young team.

"Everybody told them how good they were. They started listening to the press, they started listening to the fans. The only people they didn't listen to were the coaches. Guess what that team finished? Six-and-10."

Groh was the Patriots' defensive coordinator through it all, which is why he felt the need to remind his players - and the media, for that matter - to not get ahead of themselves. After a surprising 9-5 finish in 2002 that easily could have been reversed, the Cavaliers were everybody's hot young team for '03. The Sporting News picked them 10th nationally and first in the ACC. But by the middle of October, that conference championship was out the window.

So based on preseason expectations, Virginia's 8-5 finish and fourth-place tie did not make for a successful follow-up. Yet it wasn't a step back. The Cavs finished their season with a victory in the Continental Tire Bowl, just as they did last year. And looking ahead, it's hard to imagine they won't be one of everybody's hot young teams going into the 2004 season.

"I won't be around when this team gets really good," said senior cornerback Muffin Curry, who played his last collegiate game in Charlotte. "I wish I could be around for that, but I'll be watching it happen as a Cavalier fan."

Of Virginia's 24 starters in the Tire Bowl, only six were seniors. Eleven were freshmen or sophomores. The Cavs' top six tacklers were underclassmen, including gifted rookie linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham, who became downright scary.

For the second year in a row, U.Va.'s defense improved down the stretch. The Cavaliers' last three opponents averaged 18 points and 344 yards. The Cavs shut down Georgia Tech's P.J. Daniels, the ACC's rushing leader; Virginia Tech's Kevin Jones, probably the best tailback in the nation; and Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

"We've been working very hard to become a significant defensive team," Groh said. "It's a process that has to be gone through to accomplish that, and we're moving down that process. I think in the future we'll be a defensive team that really good defensive players want to play on."

Groh has some good defensive players returning. End Chris Canty finished with 104 tackles, leading all ACC linemen in stops for the second year in a row. Outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock's numbers were down as a sophomore, but he remains one of the best pass rushers around. Parham packs a wallop, and Brooks is an astonishing combination of speed and power.

Offensively, Virginia again will have more running backs than it can use, one of the nation's best tight ends in Heath Miller and all five starting linemen. What it's losing is quarterback Matt Schaub, who owns every meaningful passing record in school history. And you don't easily replace a guy who completed 69 percent of his passes for 5,928 yards and 46 touchdowns in his last two seasons.

"I can't imagine there are many players in the country who have done as much to carry their team over a long period of time as he has," Groh said.

The talk of the town next spring will be the four-way competition to succeed him. Marques Hagans, who threw for three touchdowns in a win at Western Michigan, should go in as the front-runner. But Chris Olsen, a transfer from Notre Dame, will be in the mix. So will Anthony Martinez, who had a nightmarish start against South Carolina, and Kevin McCabe, who redshirted this season as a freshman.

If someone emerges to provide a solid presence, Virginia probably will go into next season with at least similar expectations it carried four months ago. Only this time, those expectations should be more realistic.

The ACC becomes tougher next fall with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech. But with the talent they have returning - and another strong recruiting year, which is off to a promising start - the Cavaliers won't be looking for another trip to the Continental Tire Bowl.

"If you can't go to the BCS, this is a great bowl to be in," tailback Wali Lundy said. "But hopefully, we can leave it for somebody else next year and go to the BCS."

Cavaliers don't defend, so they won't contend
Published December 29 2003
David Teel

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Well, we knew every ACC game this basketball season couldn't match Wake Forest's pre-Christmas triple-overtime escape at North Carolina. And on the second evening of conference play, Virginia and North Carolina State confirmed the obvious.

Neither the Cavaliers nor Wolfpack appeared to be ACC contenders before preseason practice began, and neither looked the part Sunday night as State pulled away for an 86-69 victory in the conference opener for both.

The Wolfpack's defense was poor. Virginia's was worse. That about summarizes it.

How bad were the defenses? The Cavaliers scored on nine of their first 10 possessions of the second half but drew only one point closer. Not good.

Shame of it is, Virginia's transition offense is formidable. With center Elton Brown trimmed down and capable of running the floor, the Cavaliers (8-1) are athletic at every position. But it's mighty difficult to run a fast break consistently when the opponent shoots better than 50 percent.

State shot 50.8 percent Sunday, 57.7 in the second half. The Wolfpack made 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, eight more than the Cavaliers.

And if State (6-2) is going to riddle Virginia, what might other ACC teams do? The Wolfpack entered the game ranked last among conference teams in scoring, shooting percentage and 3-point percentage.

"We just couldn't match them," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We didn't play smart. ... We need our veterans to really be solid."

But Gillen's veterans didn't produce. Todd Billet missed nine of his 12 shots. Brown committed seven of the team's 18 turnovers. Devin Smith, playing despite a cranky back, missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

Conversely, State's seasoned players were outstanding, especially junior wing Julius Hodge. He complemented his game-high 23 points with six assists and five steals.

Not that Virginia's effort was weak. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Wolfpack and never backed away from an elbow or scrum. Still, absent vastly better ballhandling and perimeter defense (zone and man-to-man), Virginia's in for a long ACC season.

Gillen tried everything. He wasted three of his five timeouts in the first 15 minutes. For one brief first-half stretch, he used a lineup of four freshmen and a sophomore.

Presumably, Gillen called the timeouts to settle his team. But whatever he said didn't seem to register. After Gillen's third stoppage, the Cavaliers waited all of five seconds before Derrick Byars hoisted a rushed 3-pointer from the right wing. He missed, and State's Levi Watkins countered with a wide-open 3 that gave the Wolfpack its largest first-half lead at 29-22.

"They would have been effective against any team today," Gillen said of State.

Fans and media have ridiculed Gillen for his early non-conference schedule, and rightfully so. But N.C. State's Herb Sendek was equally lame. UNC Asheville, Howard, Florida A&M, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Hartford? Come on, Herb. Unlike Virginia, you've qualified for two consecutive NCAA tournaments. Show some confidence in your program. Play somebody.

Only twice did the Wolfpack encounter reputable programs, and twice it lost - at Michigan in a mandatory ACC-Big Ten Challenge game and at South Carolina. Yet as inviting a target as the Wolfpack appeared, the Cavaliers had to overcome their Raleigh demons - six consecutive defeats here, four at the RBC Center. RBC, in case you care, stands for Royal Bank of Canada, a Tobacco Road staple rivaled only by BBS - barbecue, beans and slaw.

But Virginia couldn't exorcise those demons. The Cavaliers have lost seven straight here and 13 of their last 14 ACC road games. The boys in "Animal House" lived for road trips. Not this bunch. Not yet.