Sickly Singletary struggles in loss
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
December 6, 2007
The 13,603 fans on hand at John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday night had to be
scratching their heads as they watched their beloved Sean Singletary.
The Virginia guard clanged open jumpers. He missed on fairly easy drives to the
basket. He was even off target from the free-throw line.
What they probably
didn’t realize: The All-ACC guard was so sick that he could barely talk.
Singletary was under the weather.
Unfortunately for Wahoo Nation, Singletary’s supporting cast didn’t pick him up
as Syracuse defeated Virginia, 70-68.
“Everybody is obviously disappointed with the outcome,” said Virginia coach Dave
Leitao. “I thought both teams played pretty hard.
“[Syracuse] had a lapse at the end of the first half. We had one for the
majority of the second half. You’re not going to do that against good teams and
get away from it. We got away from our gameplan on both ends of the court.”
The loss snapped Virginia’s 12-game home winning streak that dated back to last
season. It was UVa’s second loss in the brief history of JPJ.
Singletary was just 3 of 14 from the field for 10 points. He had nine assists
and five rebounds, but was a very uncharacteristic 2 for 8 from the free-throw
line, including several costly misses in the second half.
“Whether it was illness, fatigue, whatever – he didn’t have his rhythm today,”
Leitao said. “He had made 22 straight [free throws] before that.
“But there is nothing he could do that would draw criticism from me. He’s done
far, far more than anybody could ever have imagined and will do much before his
career is over. When he has a night that is less than perfect, the last thing
any of us need to do is throw criticism his way.”
Singletary was not available for comment afterward. Adrian Joseph, who had a
team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, said his teammate was hooked up to an IV in
the locker room.
“We knew he wasn’t feeling well all this week,” said Calvin Baker, who had eight
points, but was just 3 of 10 from the field. “It’s hard because he’s our leader.
We wanted to play hard for him, but I feel like we kind of let him down.
“He couldn’t be at his best because he was sick and I feel like we should have
stepped up a little more.”
Virginia, which led 36-29 at the half, was able to hang around until the end.
After a Joseph put-back basket in transition, UVa trailed 66-65 with just under
2 minutes to play.
However, Joseph was schooled on the other end when Syracuse freshman Donte Green
(20 points) easily backed him into the post and connected on a jump hook.
In the final minute, Syracuse wouldn’t allow Virginia to get off a game-tying
3-point attempt. The Orange still had fouls to give and used it to their
advantage.
Final chance
UVa’s last gasp came with 1.2 seconds remaining. After making the front end of a
one-and one, Singletary intentionally missed the second try, but Syracuse came
down with the rebound to end the game.
Virginia (6-2), as has become custom, lived and died from 3-point range. For the
second game in a row, UVa launched 32 triples. In the win over Northwestern, the
Cavaliers downed 16, but they only hit 11 against Syracuse.
“I thought there were a lot of possessions where we settled [for 3-pointers],”
Leitao said. “Instead of being a 20 or 22-footer, it ended up beinga 25-footer
which is longer than we normally take.”
“We did not drive the gaps or seek to get the ball below 15 feet. We didn’t make
post passes. As a result, you take normally what is an advantage and you make it
a disadvantage.”
Shut down inside
Not surprisingly, Virginia got very little offensive production from its big men
as the guards bombed away against the Orange’s 2-3 zone.
“For the most part, our big guys did a good job inside, kind of holding things
down in there,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. “When Virginia did get in
there, [we] made them take tough shots.
“We just wanted Singletary not to get into a rhythm where he could get going. We
wanted someone near him all the time, and I think that was the key to the game.”
Virginia started sluggish, missing five of its first six shots from 3-point
range. The Cavaliers looked a little befuddled as to how to attack Syracuse’s
zone.
The Orange took a 15-8 lead on a 3-point play by Eric Devendorf.
Virginia was able to turn things around behind some solid efforts from its
bench. Baker penetrated inside and found Lars Mikalauskas for a layup that led
to a 3-point play.
Two possessions later, Will Harris scored on a put-back basket. Harris later
drilled a 3-pointer to cut Syracuse’s lead to 20-16.
Mike Scott helped lead the surge. The freshman played good post defense on
Arinze Onuaku and hit the boards hard.
The prettiest play of the half came when Singletary hit Joseph with a no-look
pass inside. Joseph converted on a layup to give UVa a 25-24 advantage, its
first lead since the first minute of the game.
“He was trying his best out there,” Joseph said, “but he was hurting.”
Dunks
Jamil Tucker did not play. He had the flu. … Virginia hosts Longwood on Friday.
…Singletary scored in double figures (10) for the 30th consecutive game, the
longest active streak in the ACC.
Cavaliers get reminder of point guard's importance
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
December 6, 2007
One day in October, Virginia coach Dave Leitao got a scary look into the future
and didn’t like what he saw.
All-ACC point guard Sean Singletary, the face of the Cavaliers’ basketball
program, went down in a heap during a preseason practice. The senior had to
dismiss himself for a closer look by the trainers.
Leitao was jolted into reality. Looking around the practice court, the coach
realized what his team would have been like had Singletary not returned for his
senior year.
Wednesday night, Leitao got an even clearer look as to exactly what Singletary
meant to his basketball program in a 70-68 home loss to unranked Syracuse.
Hampered by the flu bug all week, the Cavaliers’ floor leader obviously wasn’t
himself. Physically drained from the illness, Singletary did what you would
expect from him. He gave it all he had.
On this night, it wasn’t enough.
Struggles from the field
A 40 percent shooter from both inside and beyond the 3-point arc, he was well
off the mark, connecting on a mere 3-of-14 from the field, 2-of-7 from 3-point
range. Even more revealing, Singletary missed six of eight free throw attempts,
unthinkable for a guy who had missed only three in the previous seven games and
had hit 22 in a row coming in.
Virginia fans would expect nothing less than Singletary making a valiant effort
against a young, but talented Syracuse squad looking for blood in ACC territory.
While the Cavs attempted to rally around their leader, poor execution and lack
of patience against Jim Boeheim’s trademark 2-3 zone defense did them in,
especially with an ailing Singletary having barely enough energy to answer the
bell.
Pair of problems
The coach voiced a laundry list of complaints about his team’s effort, but
mostly it boiled down to two major factors: the Cavs played too soft defensively
and abandoned their offensive game plan.
Those shortcomings led to Virginia’s second loss in 22 games at John Paul Jones
Arena, snapping a 12-game home winning streak. That was secondary to why the
Cavaliers lost, with or without a healthy Singletary.
“As good as a perimeter shooting team as we are, against a team that plays 40
minutes of zone defense, we started settling for shots,” Leitao said of his
team’s 11 for 32 shooting performance from Bonusphere (4-for-15 in the second
half). “Instead of being a 20 or 22-footer, it ended up being a 25-footer, which
is longer than we normally take.”
Naturally, Boeheim, who had noted coming into the game that his young team had
struggled mightily on defense, was content to sit in the zone and take advantage
of Virginia’s inaccuracy.
Boeheim didn’t get into the Hall of Fame by luck. His game plan was to attempt
to keep Singletary out of rhythm and implored his team to keep a body near the
UVa guard all the time.
He knew that the Orange couldn’t do that in man-to-man because Singletary, at
least a healthy one, could come off the pick-and-roll and have a field day. Not
so against the zone.
“I think that was a big key to the game,” Boeheim said. “We just got to their
shooters. I just thought we did a good job of defending.”
Still, the Cavaliers kept it close and held their last lead at 61-58 with 6:32
to play. Syracuse answered with an 8-0 run, but Virginia still had a chance and
trailed 68-67 with six seconds to go.
Whether or not the Orange realized Singletary wasn’t 100 percent, they still
knew he was dangerous and with fouls to give in the waning seconds, made sure he
didn’t beat them.
“I couldn’t let him get a clean shot,” said Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf. “Sean
Singletary has made that shot. I had to foul him.”
Virginia’s players certainly felt the affects of not having their leading scorer
and best player up to par.
“If effects us a lot because everything flows through him offensively and
tonight he wasn’t himself,” said senior forward Adrian Joseph, who took up some
of the slack with one of his best performances (19 points, 13 rebounds).
Freshman forward Mike Scott hasn’t been around that long, but quickly recognized
the fire in Singletary’s heart.
“After shooting his free throws and the 3’s he was taking, I don’t think he was
taking them with the confidence that he normally does,” Scott said. “You could
tell during timeouts he was frustrated with himself.”
Everyone knew that a less than full-speed Singletary would greatly impact this
team, but just how much?
“We always look for Sean to pull us through,” Scott said. “As Coach Leitao said,
that’s not supposed to happen. We are supposed to uplift each other. We can’t
just put it on [Singletary’s] shoulders.”
It was a painful lesson for the Cavaliers, but beating Syracuse under the
circumstances would have been difficult. With Singletary, Virginia takes this
one and gains valuable RPI credit down the road.
Leitao, who refuses to make excuses for losing, will impress upon his team in
upcoming practices that it needs to execute and listen better, with or without
Singletary, in the future.
For their own sake they had better take heed.
Syracuse 70, Virginia 68
Cavaliers don't deal well with Singletary's malaise; Syracuse rallies for
handsome road win
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When Sean Singletary goes 3 for 14 from the
floor and 2 for 8 from the line against a top-flight opponent, the University of
Virginia men's basketball team is in serious trouble.
So it was last night against Syracuse. With their all-ACC point guard battling
flu-like symptoms and operating at much less than peak efficiency, the Cavaliers
fell 70-68 before a listless crowd of 13,603 at John Paul Jones Arena and an
ESPN2 audience.
"It affects us a lot," said junior forward Adrian Joseph, who led U.Va. with 19
points and 13 rebounds. "Everything flows through him offensively. Tonight he
wasn't himself, and it hurt us a little bit."
Virginia led by seven at halftime, but Syracuse (6-2) dominated the final 20
minutes. Its trademark 2-3 zone forced the Cavaliers (6-2) to settle for
uncharacteristically long 3-point attempts -- they finished 11 for 32 from
beyond the arc -- and the Orange never let Singletary, sick or not, out of its
sight.
"The key to beating this Virginia team coming into this game was make somebody
else but Sean Singletary beat us," said Syracuse freshman point guard Jonny
Flynn. "And I think we did that in the second half."
Singletary, a 6-0 senior, entered the game having made 22 consecutive free
throws. He missed his first five last night. His sixth miss -- with 1.2 seconds
left and U.Va. trailing 70-68 -- was intentional, but Syracuse secured the
rebound and the victory.
"I don't think they lose a lot of games here," Orange coach Jim Boeheim said.
"This was a good win for us."
Indeed, the loss was only the second for Virginia at the JPJ, which opened
before the 2006-07 season. The Cavaliers trailed 66-61 with 2:40 left, but
baskets by reserve guard Calvin Baker and Joseph made it a one-point game at the
1:34 mark.
On Syracuse's next possession, the ball ended up in the hands of 6-11, 226-pound
freshman Donte Greene, who overpowered the 6-7, 201-pound Joseph to score
inside. Moments earlier, U.Va. coach Dave Leitao had substituted Joseph for 6-6,
245-pound Will Harris. No matter who was covering Greene, Leitao said, it would
have been a tough matchup for Virginia.
Greene, who may be NBA-bound sooner rather than later, finished with 20 points,
10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. He was 4 for 7 from beyond the
3-point arc.
"He is long, with a touch," Leitao said. "He can play inside or outside."
With 5.3 seconds to play, Flynn made both ends of a one-and-one for a 70-67
lead. Rather than let U.Va. attempt a 3-pointer that might have forced overtime,
Syracuse chose to foul Singletary in the open court.
"I couldn't let him get a clean shot," said Orange guard Eric Devendorf, an
offseason workout partner of Singletary. "Sean Singletary would have made that
shot, so I had to foul him, and Arinze [Onuaku] did a great job getting the
rebound to seal the game."
His poor shooting aside, Singletary still totaled nine assists, five rebounds
and two steals. He's never been one to duck the media, but he needed an IV after
the game and so didn't meet with reporters. Leitao offered unqualified support.
"Whether it was illness or fatigue, he didn't have his rhythm all day today,"
Leitao said. "But there's nothing that he can do that can draw criticism from
me. He's done far more than anybody could ever imagine and will do much more
before his career is over."
Singletary, who finished with 10 points, wasn't the only Cavalier with health
issues last night. Sophomore forward Jamil Tucker missed the game because of
illness. In the end, though, No. 44's off night was the big story.
"I feel like we kind of let him down," Baker said. "We should have stepped up a
little bit more. We can't have collapses like that."
Orange sneak by
UVa's unusual miscues lead to a win for Syracuse.
Doug Doughty
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The odds of Virginia losing a men's basketball game at John
Paul Jones Arena are roughly equivalent to the odds of Sean Singletary missing
five straight free throws.
Singletary ended up with a career-high six missed free throws Wednesday night
and the Cavaliers lost for only the second time in 22 games at their two-year
home, 70-68, to unranked Syracuse.
Singletary's three-point play with 7:36 remaining gave Virginia a 57-56 lead
that the Cavaliers subsequently turned into a three-point lead, but he missed
his last five shots from the field and finished 3-for-14.
He was 2-for-8 from the line, including an intentional miss on the back end of a
one-and-one opportunity with 1.2 seconds left.
"It's not gut-wrenching," said coach Dave Leitao in response to a question.
"It's me knowing that he's not balanced. Whether it's fatigue, illness or this,
that and the other, he didn't have his rhythm all day. Shucks, he'd made 22
[free throws] in a row before that."
Singletary entered the game as a career 85.3-percent free-throw shooter, with
more than 500 attempts. He was 45-of-48 (93.8 percent) in UVa's first seven
games this season.
"There's nothing he could do that's going to draw criticism from me," Leitao
said. "He's done far, far more than anybody ever could have imagined and will do
much, much more before his career is over. On a night when he's less than
perfect, the last thing any of us need to do is throw any criticism his way."
Singletary did not speak to the media after the game, but teammates said he had
been sick all week and that he received fluids intravenously at halftime.
At one point, team physician Dr. Danny Mistry left his seat in the stands and
attended to Singletary on the UVa bench.
"Coming in at halftime, you could tell that Sean wasn't himself," UVa freshman
Mike Scott said. "Missing free throws like that, you know that's not Sean."
The Cavaliers took a while to adjust to the Orange's 2-3 zone defense and found
themselves trailing 15-8 with less than 5 minutes elapsed. However, UVa started
hitting from outside and went on a 17-5 run that resulted in a 36-29 halftime
lead.
Surprisingly, undersized Virginia had a 19-14 halftime bulge on the boards but
the Orange's size began to take a toll.
UVa had no answer for Donte Green, a 6-foot-11, 226-pound freshman who finished
with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Greene hit four 3-point field goals, three of them in the second half, and used
his length to post up Adrian Joseph for the huge basket that put Syracuse on top
68-65 with 1:09 left.
Joseph, a 6-7, 201-pounder who is playing power forward this year after three
years on the perimeter, did what he could. He finished with 19 points, including
12 in the second half, and 13 rebounds.
As usual, the Cavaliers tried to win the game from outside, taking 32 of their
64 field-goal shots from behind the 3-point arc. The Orange, knowing that
Virginia did not have much of an inside threat, was able to expand its zone.
"They tried to penetrate at the end," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, "but
that's not always that effective. You get in there and not have anything because
the big guy is waiting for you. We just wanted Singletary not to get in a
rhythm."
Of course, the Orange had nothing to do with Singletary's lackluster free-throw
shooting.
"We really defended that well tonight," Boeheim said with a chuckle. "We were
really good there. Everytine he went up there, we thought it was going in."
So did his teammates.
"That was the story of the game," UVa guard Calvin Baker said. "I feel like we
kind of let him down; we should have stepped up a little more. We can't have
collapses like that."
Star’s bad cold puts chill in U.Va.
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 6, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE
Syracuse’s surprisingly sticky 2-3 zone defense was responsible for much of
Virginia’s shooting woes in a 70-68 Cavaliers loss to the Orange Wednesday
night, but it couldn’t account for the strangest line on the post-game stat
sheet.
It read “2-8” and it belonged to Virginia’s Sean Singletary, who was about as
close to automatic from the free throw line as any player in the ACC heading
into Wednesday’s game, having made 22 straight, and 45 of 48 on the season.
On Wednesday, though, Singletary stepped to the line eight times and missed six
attempts. It was the last thing anyone would have expected from the senior
guard, the Cavaliers’ unquestioned leader, and go-to player.
“I thought he was going to make them all,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
That’s a prudent assumption on many a night, but not on one when Singletary was
apparently battling a cold. Coach Dave Leitao and several Virginia players said
Singletary had been under the weather all week. Forward Mike Scott said
Singletary received intravenous fluids at halftime.
That goes a long way toward explaining 2 for 8 from the free throw line, but
give Syracuse (6-2) credit, too, for Singletary’s 3-for-14 performance from the
field, and his 2-for-7 night from 3-point range.
The Orange, in Boeheim’s estimation, hadn’t stopped anyone all season, giving up
107 points in a loss to Massachusetts, and 89 in a season-opening win over
Siena.
Against Virginia (6-2), Syracuse found its defensive groove, forcing the
Cavaliers to settle, on many possessions, for long jumpers with the shot clock
running down.
“They had very few open looks,” Boeheim said. “The ones they had took them so
long to get that there was a lot of pressure on the shooter.”
Virginia hoisted 32 3-pointers and hit just 11, for 34 percent. Not terrible,
but the Cavaliers had been shooting 44 percent from 3-point range coming into
the game.
Making perimeter shots is always a key to attacking a zone defense. But without
any inside scoring to keep the Orange defense honest, Syracuse pushed its zone
out farther on the court as the game went on.
“We just settled for a shot,” Leitao said. “Instead of it being a 20, 22-footer,
it ended up being a 25-footer, which is longer than we normally take.”
Only forward Adrian Joseph had any success getting to the rim, grabbing 13
rebounds and scoring on several drives and put-backs. But like everyone else,
Joseph had little success from 3-point range, going 3 for 10.
Joseph said Singletary’s struggles had a ripple effect on the team.
“Everything flows through him offensively,” he said. “Tonight, he wasn’t himself
and it hurt us a little bit.”
Still, Virginia led by seven at the half, and held a 3-point lead with six
minutes left.
Syracuse kept chipping away, and went on an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead
with 4:15 left. Virginia cut it to one, before the Orange went inside to
6-foot-11 freshman Donte Greene, who scored on a jump hook over the 6-7 Joseph
with 1:04 left.
The smaller Cavaliers had no answer for the long and versatile Greene all night.
He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Greene also blocked three shots and changed several more, anchoring the back of
the zone defense.
Out on the front of the zone, the Orange did a good job shadowing Singletary,
who was unavailable for comment after the game.
“Whether it was illness or fatigue, he didn’t have his rhythm all day today,”
Leitao said. “But there’s nothing that he can do that can draw criticism from
me.”
With leading scorer Sean Singletary fighting the flu and an
uncharacteristic off night, Virginia stumbles.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
11:38 PM EST, December 5, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE - In the game's final seconds, Sean Singletary
stepped to the free-throw line.
On a normal night, that would be cause for optimism. But the look on
Singletary's face told everyone that this wasn't a normal night.
Singletary, Virginia's top scorer and emotional leader, spent halftime with an
IV in his arm as he fought the flu. The toll was obvious in the senior guard's
3-for-14 shooting night as the Cavaliers fell 70-68 to Syracuse on Wednesday.
With Virginia down three, Singletary was fouled with 1.2 seconds to play before
he could launch a 3-point shot. Before he walked to the line for two shots, he
hunched over, hands on his knees, breath coming in short gasps, exhaustion in
his eyes.
Singletary swished the first foul shot -- one of just two makes in eight tries
for the 94 percent free-throw shooter who'd missed just three all season and had
made 22 straight coming into the game. But after he missed the second shot on
purpose, Syracuse's Arinze Onuaku grabbed the rebound to secure the Orange's
victory.
"We just wanted Singletary not to get in a rhythm where he could get going,"
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We wanted to keep somebody near him at all
times."
After the game, Singletary stayed in the locker room, getting another IV, while
his teammates absorbed his 10-point night -- 10 points under his season average.
"Coming out of halftime in warmups, he didn't look like himself, and then
missing frees throws -- I knew Sean wasn't himself," freshman forward Mike Scott
said.
And without the Singletary they knew, the Cavaliers (6-2) crumbled, shooting
barely above 40 percent and making just 11 of their 32 3-point shots.
Virginia fell behind by seven points twice in the first half, but figured out
the Orange's 2-3 zone long enough to put together a 17-6 run for a 36-29
halftime lead. But Syracuse (6-2) took the lead back in the second half and
slowly stretched it, going up five, then eight on Syracuse freshman Donte
Greene's 3-pointer with 9:40 to play.
Greene had a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Adrian Joseph, who led the Cavs with 19 points, hit back-to-back 3s to pull
Virginia within 56-54 with 7:51 left. U.Va. got within a point three more times,
but couldn't take the lead.
With 5.3 seconds left and his team up one, Syracuse freshman guard Jonny Flynn
made two free throws to cap his 6-for-6 performance from the line.
That gave Virginia one last chance. But Eric Devendorf fouled Singletary before
he could try to shake off his nightmarish game with a tying 3-pointer.
"He didn't have his rhythm all day today," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
"(But) there's nothing he can do that's going to draw criticism from me.
He's done far, far more than anybody could have ever imagined and will do much
more before his career is over. So when he has a night when he's less than
perfect, the last thing any of us need to do is throw any kind of criticism his
way."
But observers can wonder: Can the Cavaliers win without Singletary on his game?
"He's our leader, our captain, and we just have to step up," junior guard Mamadi
Diane said.
That didn't happen Wednesday.
Poor shots, poor choices
David Teel
11:41 PM EST, December 5, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE
This is how the University of Virginia's basketball team will
lose: Rather than challenge and probe a quality defense, the Cavaliers will
settle for 3-pointers. Deep 3-pointers that, as games unfold, invariably miss.
It's understandable, really. Virginia has shooters aplenty and nary a low-post
threat.
When in doubt, hoist.
It happened last month against Seton Hall and again Wednesday night against
Syracuse.
Riding a freshman forward who's NBA-bound sooner rather than later, the Orange
snapped the Cavaliers' 12-game home winning streak, 70-68.
But as jaw-dropping as Donte Greene's 20-point, 10-rebound, three-block
performance was, Syracuse won with defense -- the 2-3 zone that has become its
trademark under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim.
Funny thing is, Boeheim had been disgusted with his team's defense to date. Why,
just last week Massachusetts lit up the Orange for 107 points, the most ever by
a visitor to Syracuse's Carrier Dome.
"That's the best we've been defensively all year," Boeheim said Wednesday.
Virginia (6-2) made life easier for Boeheim's bunch.
Yes, Cavaliers All-America guard Sean Singletary was flu-ridden and clearly
without his sea legs. But that doesn't excuse his teammates for becoming 3-happy
and not making the defense work.
"We did not drive the gaps," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "We did not make
post passes."
Consequently, the open 20- and 22-footers Virginia was accustomed to became
contested 24- and 25-footers. The difference showed on the stat sheet as the
Cavaliers missed 21 of 32 attempt from beyond the arc -- 34.4 percent accuracy.
Virginia entered the game as one of the nation's best 3-point shooting teams at
43.8 percent, worlds better than the school record of 37.2 percent set in
2002-03.
"When you see a zone, you automatically start to think '3-pointers' " guard
Calvin Baker said, "because a zone is designed to not let you into the paint. ?
We were more tentative, not wanting to make mistakes."
The Cavaliers' reliance on jump-shooting cost them against Seton Hall, too, when
they missed 21 of 28 deep attempts.
But what else to do? Feed Ryan Pettinella or Laurynas Mikalauskas in the post?
They don't have a fluid move between them.
Freshman Mike Scott, who produced four points, four rebounds and a blocked shot
in six first-half minutes, has potential. But as his nine quiet second-half
minutes showed, he's not quite ready for prime time or Tyler Hansbrough.
No, the answer is for the guards to create more off the dribble, to pass smarter
and faster. Then and only then will Virginia find the mid-range game it will
need come ACC play in January.
Good as the ACC may be, it's difficult to imagine the Cavaliers encountering a
freshman Greene's equal. He's 6-foot-11 and leads the Orange in scoring at 19
per game. He has post-up moves, 3-point shooting range and precocious instincts.
Greene's moxie showed most with five minutes remaining when, without hesitation,
he launched a 3-pointer from the left corner. The shot was true, giving Syracuse
(6-2) a 63-61 lead it never relinquished.
Greene's flair showed most a minute earlier when he stole Baker's cross-court
pass to start a fast break he finished with a tomahawk dunk.
"He can play inside, he can play outside," Leitao said. "It's a tough matchup
for anybody. We were at a disadvantage size-wise. We were at a disadvantage
length-wise. ... He's intelligent, and he had good rhythm."
Greene made five of Syracuse's final seven field goals, the last with 1:04
remaining on a set inbounds play. As the 6-7 Joseph attempted to defend him from
behind, Greene scored easily down low to goose Syracuse's margin to 68-65.
"When he was in the post, he's so much taller than me, there's not much I could
do about it," Joseph said.
The Cavaliers close December with four winnable home games that should send them
to Xavier on Jan. 3 with a 10-2 record. Ten days later, Virginia opens its
conference season, at Duke.
Given that upgrade in competition, Leitao's concise assessment of Wednesday
merits attention.
"We had a lapse for a majority of the second half," he said. "You're not going
to do that against good teams and get away with it."
Singletary battles flu-like symptoms as Cavs fall
By Andy Bitter
abitter@newsadvance.com
December 6, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia fans have become so accustomed to greatness out of
Sean Singletary that on the rare occasions that he struggles, like he did
mightily Wednesday against Syracuse, battling flu-like symptoms so severe he
required an IV after the game, it's shocking.
Singletary had his worst game of the season in a 70-68 loss to the Orange, just
the second time in 22 games the Cavaliers have lost in the two-year history of
the John Paul Jones Arena.
The senior guard clearly wasn't himself, scoring a season-low 10 points, going
3-for-14 from the field and, even more uncharacteristically, 2-for-8 from the
free throw line. A career 85 percent free throw shooter, he had made 22 straight
entering the game.
"He didn't have his rhythm all day today," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
"There's nothing he can do that will draw criticism from me. He's done far, far
more than anyone could have imagined and will do much more before his career is
over.
"So when he has a night when he's less than perfect, the last thing any of us
need to do is throw any kind of criticism his way."
Syracuse (6-2) still wasn't going to give him a chance to come through in the
clutch, though. The Orange led 70-67 after getting two free throws with 6.1
seconds left from freshman Jonny Flynn, who finished with 18 points.
Singletary pushed the ball up the court to try to get a look at a 3, but
Syracuse fouled him a split-second before he got the shot off.
"I think the last 20 times I've seen that happen ? I'll bet about 80 percent of
the time I've seen teams come down and shoot and make it," Syracuse coach Jim
Boeheim said. "I didn't want him to get a good look. I didn't used to do that."
Singletary made the first to pull Virginia (6-2) within 70-68. He intentionally
missed the second, but Syracuse's Arinze Onuaku grabbed the rebound to secure
the win. The Orange were the first team to out-rebound the Cavaliers this year,
holding a 39-36 advantage.
Virginia struggled all night with shot selection and trying to contain
Syracuse's fabulous freshman Donte Greene.
The Cavaliers were befuddled by Syracuse's 2-3 zone, even though few teams have
been this season. The Orange had been giving up 78.9 points a game and lost to
Massachusetts 107-100 just last week.
You couldn't tell Wednesday. Virginia failed to get any penetration into the
heart of Syracuse's zone, settling for 3-pointers -and not high-percentage ones.
The Cavaliers were 11-for-32 from 3-point range. Adrian Joseph, who scored a
team-high 19 points to go with 13 rebounds, Singletary and Calvin Baker combined
to go 7-for-24.
"I feel like we were a little too passive against their zone," Baker said. "I
think if we were a little more aggressive, shots would have started to fall
more."
Defensively, Virginia had no answer for Greene, a 6-foot-11, 226-pound forward
who many predict will be a be a one-and-done candidate for the NBA. Greene
finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, hitting shots from all over the court,
inside and out.
He scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime, helping Syracuse turn a
seven-point halftime deficit into an eight-point lead at one point.
The Cavaliers whittled the deficit to 66-65 with 1:31 left, when Syracuse got
the ball to Greene in the post. Leitao had just subbed out the bulkier Will
Harris for the slimmer Joseph. Greene backed him down and sank a mini-hook shot
to give the Orange a three-point cushion.
"It didn't matter who was in the game," Leitao said. "Our four-men were smaller.
That post was going to come regardless."
UVa usually has a go-to guy of its own, but he was nearly out of commission
Wednesday.
"It definitely affects us," Virginia freshman Mike Scott said of Singletary's
off night. "We always look to Sean and he pulls us through. ? But we can't put
it on his shoulders."
Chris Long wins Hendricks award
By Jeff White / Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
December 5, 2007
Virginia defensive end Chris Long led the ACC in sacks with 13.5 and tackles for
a loss with 18.5. He was also tops among the league's defensive linemen with 6.2
tackles per game this year. (The Daily Progress/Andrew Shurtleff)
University of Virginia senior Chris Long today was named the winner of the Ted
Hendricks Award, which is presented annually to the top defensive end in college
football.
The award is named for the former University of Miami All-American and Pro
Football Hall of Famer.
Long, the ACC defensive player of the year, is the third Cavalier to win a
national award in football. In 1941, Bill Dudley received the Maxwell Award as
college player of the year. In 2004, Heath Miller received the Mackey Award as
the nation's top tight end.
"It is a great honor to win this award," Long said in a statement. "[Hendricks]
and my father were teammates with the Raiders for several years, and my dad
talks about the passion and enthusiasm Ted demonstrated on the field. I try to
play to the same high standards at which Mr. Hendricks played."
There were eight finalists for the Hendricks Award. Long received more than 60
percent of the votes, the most ever in the award's history.
The Ted Hendricks Foundation will honor Long at a banquet in the spring.
Bowling for Bucks
As the University's football team heads to the Gator Bowl, Focus examines the
financial side of postseason college football play
David Moltz, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Though this year's Cavaliers have fought their way into postseason football play
on their own merits, they will ultimately share the financial fruits of their
labor with the rest of the member schools of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders Jan. 1 in the 63nd annual
Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. As one of the oldest continuously played
college bowl games, the Gator Bowl has a generous payout of $2.5 million per
team. In comparison, some ACC teams participate in bowls with payouts as low as
$750,000 per team. Only two ACC-bound bowl games have higher payouts than the
Gator Bowl: the Chick-fil-A Bowl at $2.825 million and the Bowl Championship
Series Orange Bowl, intended for the ACC champion, at $17 million.
One thing, however, is consistent for all bowls with ACC tie-ins, that is bowl
games that have a contractual obligation with the conference that the bowl will
invite one of the conference's bowl-eligible member schools: No matter the size
of the payout, the respective ACC bowl team must share its bowl earnings evenly
with the other teams in the conference. Though some conferences offer larger
cuts for the actual bowl-participant, the ACC has decided to operate otherwise.
"You want to protect the viability of all of your conference members," said Jon
Oliver, University executive associate athletics director. "All the conference
members agreed and came together. When you pool your money and it's equally
distributed, everybody in the conference is protected."
This type of payout sharing ensures the conference's worst team -- the
struggling 1-11 Duke -- is paid the same amount in postseason bonuses as the
conference's best team --the recently crowned ACC champion Virginia Tech.
Though Oliver said programs such as Duke's pull their financial and promotional
weight with their success during men's basketball season, one Virginia Tech
official noted that his team's success was more financially rewarded in its old
conference.
Before joining the ACC in 2004, Virginia Tech was a member of the Big East
Conference. According to Randy Butt, Virginia Tech's associate director of
athletics, the Big East had a significantly different arrangement for
bowl-payout sharing. If Virginia Tech was still in the Big East, a BCS bowl
appearance this winter would have earned it a larger portion of the payout than
it will receive this year as a member of the ACC.
"There's a little more of a reward in the Big East," said Butt. "At the end of
the year, there was a lot less money to distribute to all of the [Big East]
schools."
Travel expenses
When an ACC team is selected to attend a bowl game -- the conference has eight
guaranteed tie-in games if enough teams qualify -- the conference sets aside an
expense allotment to help that team cover travel costs. The Cavaliers have a $1
million expense allotment for their trip to this year's Gator Bowl, which will
cover expenses related to the travel and lodging of the team, marching band,
cheerleaders and official entourage.
The Cavaliers' expense allotment can be affected by the University's ability to
sell tickets to the Gator Bowl, a requirement of most bowls. If the University
is unable to sell the required 13,500 tickets, according to Oliver, it must
cover the unsold tickets with money from its expense allotment. The ACC,
however, offers some assistance in the event that a school has problems selling
tickets to far-flung bowls. This safety net from the ACC attempts to help teams
from losing money when participating in bowl games.
"The ACC has been doing this for a while and understands it's not in the best
interest of its member institutions to go to bowl games and lose money," Oliver
said. "If you lose money going to a bowl game in the ACC, it's because you've
chosen to do something over and above your basic expenses to travel to that
game."
Though some schools have the potential to lose money participating in bowl
games, Oliver noted that since coach Al Groh's arrival in 2001 the team has
never gone over budget for a bowl game. Even bowl games with lower payouts, such
as the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, have significantly higher expense
allotments to cover potentially expensive travel. In the case of a trip to Boise
this month for ACC-team Georgia Tech, the bowl payout is $750,000 and the
expense allotment is $1.1 million. Teams generally take a paired-down group with
them on trips to these distant bowls, Oliver added, noting that the University
is typically conservative in its bowl travel plans, no matter the location.
"Some schools decide that they're going to make it a giant celebration for the
entire university," Oliver said. "If you try and do that, then it can get
expensive. We're very clear on what we can cover, and the University is very
supportive to keep it within the budget limits we have."
For Virginia Tech, however, a trip to this year's Orange Bowl will be a grand
affair. As winners of the ACC title and as a participant in a high-profile BCS
bowl game, Virginia Tech's expense allotment is the most of any conference team
at $1.6 million. This will only begin to cover the cost of the university's bowl
expenses, Butt said, adding that the school budgets a surplus into its athletics
budget to cover any excess cost of attending a bowl. The last time the Hokies
were in a major BCS bowl game -- the 2005 Sugar Bowl -- they had to fund
additional expenses not covered by the Big East's expense allotment.
"We understand that the cost is not going to be covered by the expense
reimbursement that we receive, so we just plan accordingly," Butt said. "Since
we've been in the ACC, based on our knowledge of how the revenue sharing works,
we understand what we're up against."
Butt said he would be surprised if other programs did not exceed their expense
allotment when traveling to a bowl game. He added that schools spend their
allotment in different ways. Virginia Tech will use part of its $1.6 million
expense allotment to offer bonuses to its coaching staff, something the
Cavaliers have not done explicitly with such funds in the past.
The Cavaliers' last bowl-game trip to the 2005 Gaylord Hotel Music City Bowl in
Nashville, Tenn. resulted in a $963,475 price tag in part because the University
was unable to sell all of its allotted tickets, resulting in a cost to the
University of $248,115. This, along with lodging and per diem for all included
in the official party, added up to the almost $1 million expense of the team's
last major trip.
National exposure
This year's Gator Bowl will be nationally televised on CBS. Only one other bowl,
the Capital One Bowl, will be shown at the same time on New Year's Day on ABC.
Aware of this national exposure, University officials have prepared some
halftime promotional spots to be shown during the game. According to University
spokesperson Carol Wood, these spots will feature high-profile University
figures quoting Thomas Jefferson about the University's founding and purpose.
Wood said this spot will put a focus on the University's primary commitment to
academics.
"It is difficult to accurately measure the impact of a national athletic event
on a university," Wood said. "When universities combine outstanding academics
with outstanding athletics, they will often see an increase in applications.
Alumni and friends of the University take notice of such events, and it gives
them an increased feeling of pride in their alma mater. This can sometimes be
translated into increased financial support."
Though contributions to the University as a result of the Cavaliers' appearance
in a bowl game are a possibility, the University's true financial gains this
bowl season will be shared equally with its peers in the ACC. The conference
will receive about $28.425 million in bowl payouts this season before giving
expense allotments to its participating teams.
In reference to the Cavaliers' profit from being in a bowl game this season,
Oliver said, "We would have benefited from the payout no matter what happened."
Sadler chooses Pitt
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
December 6, 2007
Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt achieved the unimaginable for the second time in
four days.
Thanks to successful last-minute efforts during an in-home visit Tuesday night,
Wannstedt landed tailback Cameron Sadler, from Monroeville, Penn., for the
Panthers’ 2008 recruiting class.
Sadler, a three-star recuit, picked Pitt - and proximity to home - over offers
from Virginia and West Virginia. The news shocked many, inside and out of
Virginia’s coaching staff, as it had appeared that Virginia was the frontrunner
throughout the final stages of the recruiting process.
Down to the wire
And, Sadler, who stands at 5-foot-6 and 170 pounds, admitted he was still unsure
of his destination 45 minutes before entering an evening press conference he had
called to announce his decision.
“I decided I was going to Pitt at 5:15,” said Sadler, despite boasting several
weeks before National Signing Day: “I went out to breakfast this morning with
[Virginia coach Al] Groh. Coach Wannstedt came over to my house last night. He
made a huge impact on me and my family.
“Even at breakfast today, I just kept thinking, ‘Pitt, Pitt, Pitt, Pitt.’ I feel
like I can go down there and build on something.”
The Panthers, who have lost 12 of their last 17 games, beat then-ranked No. 2
West Virginia on Saturday, 13-9, to finish with a five-win season.
“Throughout the recruiting process, I got to meet a lot of great people and see
a lot of great places,” Saddler said during his press conference. “I can only
pick one university. All three are great places.
“The University of Pittsburgh has a wonderful coaching staff. The University of
Virginia showed me a great time, and probably recruited me harder than anyone
else. West Virginia has one of the more exciting offenses in college football.”
The Cavaliers currently have 14 commitments for the Class of 2008 and have
between four and six scholarships available.
While many Virginia fans fear that Sadler’s decision may impact his teammate,
four-star linebacker Shayne Hale, Virginia’s top remaining target, sources close
to Hale told The Daily Progress on Wednesday that Virginia is in excellent
standing.
Hale’s decision is expected in January.