Leitao way loud and clear for Cain
U.Va. forward responds well to tongue lashings from Cavaliers' coach
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 17, 2005

More than once this season, Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao has charged onto the court to intercept Jason Cain before the 6-10 forward could reach the bench.

Leitao, who at 6-7 can be an intimidating presence, rushes not to praise Cain but to criticize. The coach's messages are loud and, occasionally, profane.

"There's probably no guy I get on more in games and practices," Leitao said.

His style couldn't be more different than that of his predecessor at U.Va., Pete Gillen, but Leitao's tough-love tactics are paying dividends. Cain, a junior from inner-city Philadelphia, is playing the best basketball of his career and says he doesn't mind Leitao's screaming.

"He says he rides me the most because I have the most potential," Cain said, "and he doesn't want to see my potential go to waste and have me become a lazy player when I can help the team so much."

Cain. 20, entered this season with career averages of 2.2 points and 2 rebounds. So it qualified as news when he came off the bench Dec. 4 to score 15 points and grab 11 boards against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Three nights later, Cain totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds against Fordham.

"I've been playing this way in practice for awhile," said Cain, who's averaging 7.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 22.7 minutes, "and now it's starting to click so I can use it in games."

If you're expecting Leitao to lavish praise on his pupil, prepare to be disappointed. He expects more from Cain.

"I would no way say that, because he's had two good games, he's ready to become an All-American," Leitao said. "You have to do it over the long haul."

Cain started seven games last season, but his role never was defined clearly under Gillen. In seven other games, he never left the bench. Cain played seven minutes against North Carolina on Feb. 16. Three days later, against Maryland, he played 29. The next time, he played 11.

"That was my problem the first two years," Cain said, "trying to find where I fit in, what my niche was on the team."

Gillen stepped down under pressure in March. A month later, U.Va. hired Leitao, who'd spent the previous three seasons as DePaul's coach. Cain realized he could benefit from the change.

"It was pretty much a chance for me to start over and not let what happened the first two years happen this year," he said.

He's yet to start this season for U.Va. (3-3), which plays at 10th-ranked Gonzaga (6-2) tonight. Still, Cain said, "I can't really complain. I'm in games at the end."

The 215-pound Cain usually lines up at power forward for Virginia. A look at his long, lean frame, though, reveals that power isn't his forte. He's gained 25 pounds since arriving at U.Va. in 2003, but Cain poses problems for opponents with his athleticism, ball skills and rebounding instincts, not his strength.

He's developed a cult following at U.Va. His fans call themselves "The Assemblage of Cain" and started a Web site (www.people.virginia.edu/~djw7d/cain/cain.html) in Cain's honor.

On the road, opposing students taunt him about his facial hair. That doesn't bother Cain, who's firm on this point:

The 'stache stays.

Cain shaved his trademark mustache last season. The clean look soon disappeared, however, and don't expect to see No. 33 without his mustache again any time soon.

"I really can't see myself without it," Cain said.

 

UVa faces formidable Gonzaga, Morrison
Some Cav fans dub the meeting 'The Clash of the 'Stache'
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
December 16, 2005

SPOKANE, Wash. - University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar calls him the best offensive player in college basketball since Carmelo Anthony. Sports Illustrated compares him to Larry Bird. ESPN's Jay Bilas can't stop talking about him - which says a lot since the guy's not from Duke.
The guy is Gonzaga's Adam Morrison - as dominant a force in hoops this season as Reggie Bush has been in football.

Tonight, J.R. Reynolds and Mamadi Diane will be the two main players trying to guard Morrison when Virginia plays Gonzaga - the No. 10 team in the nation - here in the frigid Pacific Northwest [where it is expected to drop to six degrees].

A few things to keep in mind about Morrison: He is the first Gonzaga player to ever be named a preseason All-American. He leads the nation in scoring with an average of 28.5 points per game. He has a knack for hitting huge shots.

He also sports a mustache that rivals UVa's Jason Cain's. Some Cav fans have been referring to this game as "The Clash of the 'Stache."

Obviously, Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao hasn't concerned himself with that. His strategy for defending Morrison?

"Other than pray?" Leitao joked. "He's the best player in America. [Opposing teams] have put some good people on him so far, they've played a very good schedule - and he's still leading the country in scoring.

"Trying to slow him down is more the thing we're going to try, rather than try and stop him."

At 6-foot-8, with an ability to play inside and outside, Morrison is a matchup nightmare. His game is similar to Northwestern's Vedran Vukusic, who scored 21 against the Cavs on Nov. 21 - only Morrison is much more talented.

"You put maybe our best perimeter defender in [Reynolds] on him and we have a size disadvantage," Leitao said. "If you put [Diane] on him, you have a little more size but you also have more inexperience.

"You start to look at your options and don't really like any of them, but at the same point in time we have to do something that will hopefully disrupt his rhythm."

A few weeks ago, in one of the best college basketball games in recent memory, Morrison scored 43 points in the Zags' triple-overtime win over Michigan State at the Maui Invitational.

Morrison had somewhat of an off night in his last game against Oklahoma State. He finished just 6 of 14 from the field. However, his 3-pointer off the glass as time expired gave the Zags a 64-62 win.

Most coaches rave about Morrison's ability to move without the ball. Many call him a throwback kind of player. With his floppy hairdo and old-school socks, Morrison looks like a character from the 1970's show "The White Shadow."

The most remarkable thing about Morrison, a former Gonzaga ballboy who grew up in Spokane dreaming of playing for the Zags, is that he is a Type 1 diabetic. He must constantly monitor his blood sugar level during games.

Morrision is far from one-dimensional. In addition to leading the team in scoring, he also averages six rebounds and almost two steals per game.

Reynolds, who may get the first crack at defending Morrison - who is six inches taller - knows the Cavs have their work cut out.

"He's one of the best players in the nation," Reynolds said. "He can drive, he can shoot and dribble. He's just a tremendous player."

DUNKS: Leitao said the Zags (6-2), who have a 27-game home winning streak, aren't just a one-man team. He's particularly wary of post player J.P. Batista, who is averaging 20 points and almost nine rebounds per game. "He's as good a post player as there is in America and is getting overshadowed because Morrison is playing so well and commanding so much attention," Leitao said.

The Cavs (3-3, 0-1) last appearance in the NCAA Tournament came against the Zags in 2001. The Zags won the first-round game in Memphis, 86-85.

Leitao said he's hoping for more production out of sophomore wing Adrian Joseph, who is shooting just 38 percent from the field (6-25 from 3-point range). "I'd like to think that he's a better shooter and scorer than his numbers indicate," Leitao said, "but you are what your numbers say you are. What we've been talking about with him is setting up everything off the catch and the shot. When he puts it on the floor sometimes, he may not be ready to create a better situation than if he had an open shot."

The Cavs were a brief topic of conversation on the "Mike and the Mad Dog" radio program - which is simulcast on the Yes Network - in New York City on Thursday. Mike Francessa and Chris Russo, the show's hosts, were discussing Fordham, which beat the Cavs last week. "They beat Virginia?" said an incredulous Francessa. "Virginia must have been without their first eight guys. That doesn't say too much about Virginia." Russo then mistakenly called Leitao "Lee-tow."

 

Blocking of 'pass-catching' tight end Miller prompts raves
Bears plays show the team's top rookie is more than just a good-hands guy
Friday, December 16, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Heath Miller did not catch a pass in Sunday's victory against the Chicago Bears, a game in which Ben Roethlisberger distributed the ball to seven players. It was only the third time this season, and second since he became the No. 1 tight end, that Miller did not catch a pass in a game.

Nonetheless, ask Miller which game has been his best in a season in which he is rapidly emerging as one of the National Football League's best tight ends, and the rookie from Virginia barely hesitates with the answer.

"I think it could have been the last game," Miller said.

Which is all anyone needs to know about Heath Miller.

Miller did not catch a pass in the 21-9 victory against the Bears, but he has had plenty of praise thrown his way since the game, some of it coming from coach Bill Cowher.

Miller was one of the reasons the Steelers rushed for 190 yards against the NFL's No. 1 defense, and one of the prime reasons Jerome Bettis scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 1 and 5 yards.

"From an overall standpoint, I think I played pretty well on the line of scrimmage," said Miller, a No. 1 draft choice.

"I really had a lot of fun on Sunday, especially because it was really my first time playing in the snow. It was fun to be out there rolling around in the mud and playing as well as we did."

Yesterday, Miller was named recipient of the Joe Greene Great Performance Award, given annually to the team's top rookie in a vote by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association of America. Miller received the award primarily because he is second to Hines Ward in receptions (33) and touchdowns (6) and is on the verge of setting a team record for touchdown catches by a rookie tight end.

It was not because he had developed into such a good blocker in his first NFL season. But it could have been.

And he demonstrated why on two significant plays against the Bears.

The first came on Bettis' 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, a play in which Miller turned Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye and planted him on his backside in the middle of the pile.

"I was able to get my hands inside," Miller said. "And I probably used a little nudge from J.B. in the back to help me out a little bit."

Then, in the third quarter, Miller and tight end Jerame Tuman sealed the left side of the Bears defensive ends so thoroughly that Bettis had a wide gap to score on a 5-yard touchdown run, though not before running over Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher.

"He's blocking really well, but he's blocked really well since he came in here," Tuman said. "A lot of that is just attitude. Sure, you got to have a certain physical aspect -- you're not going to be in the league if you don't have those physical abilities -- but it's what kind of person you are. If you're a blue-collar guy, you're going to take pride in that part of it. And he's done that since he came in. He's done that week in and week out."

It's not just Tuman who thinks that.

Former Bears Coach Mike Ditka, who holds the NFL record for touchdown catches by a rookie tight end (12), has already called Miller "the best blocking tight end in the NFL."

Whether Miller has attained that level in less than a season is certainly fodder for debate. But offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, also a former tight end, said Miller "is probably the best blocking rookie tight end I've ever seen."

It is certainly not the type of testimonials expected to be bestowed on Miller, who was rated the No. 1 tight end in the draft and won the John Mackey Award last season as the nation's best tight end as a junior at Virginia.

He is known as a pass-catcher, and can still have one of the most productive seasons for a rookie tight end in NFL history if he can finish with a flurry. He needs three touchdown catches in the final three games to tie Atlanta's Junior Miller (9 in 1980) for second place on the all-time list, behind only Ditka.

But Miller does not have a touchdown catch in the past six games after catching five in a four-game span. Part of the reason: He has been used in fewer pass routes so he can help rookie left tackle Trai Essex, who will start his fourth game in five weeks against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Essex has had to face Baltimore's Terrell Suggs, Dwight Freeney of Indianapolis and Chicago's Alex Brown in three of those games.

"Love [Miller], love him," said Vikings coach Mike Tice, also a former tight end. "I loved him coming out [of college]. I think he's going to be an elite player. He's really coming on. I don't know how much credit you give him as a blocker, but I thought he was a lot better blocker coming out than people gave him credit for. He's pretty well-rounded as a player."