Bounce in his step
Healed from ankle injury, Scott set to take his Cavs career to new heights
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 - 12:15 AM Updated: 12:33 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE The Mike Scott whom Rob Lanier recruited was renowned for his above-the-rim exploits. The Mike Scott who plays for the University of Virginia -- the same person -- has dunked only twice this season.

"I can't even imagine him not being extremely athletic," said Lanier, a former U.Va. assistant who's in his first season on Billy Donovan's staff at the University of Florida.

Those who watched him play for Chesapeake's Deep Creek High, Boo Williams AAU or Hargrave Military Academy's postgraduate team agree that we've yet to see the explosive Mike Scott, the one who soars for dunks and blocked shots.

And that bodes well for Virginia. Because even at less than 100 percent, the 6-8, 233-pound freshman is starting to carve out a significant role on a team desperate for frontcourt contributions. His natural position is power forward, but Scott has played some center for the Cavaliers (7-2), too, and he's shown a shooting touch not often seen in athletic big men.

"I can play the wing, play the post, whatever needs to be done," Scott said.

In little more than 14 minutes per game, he's averaging 5.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. He's 13 for 26 from the floor -- 1 for 2 from 3-point range -- and 19 for 23 from the line. Only one Cavalier has grabbed more rebounds that Scott.

"He's a guy with a nose for the basketball," U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said.

Imagine where Scott might be had he not hurt his left ankle in June. That injury -- the dreaded high-ankle sprain -- was expected to sideline him for four to six weeks. Instead, it hindered him into preseason practice. Only recently has he started to regain his trademark bounce.

It's been "very frustrating, very humbling," Scott said of the injury, but his teammates and coaches applaud his perseverance.

"He's growing," Singletary said. "He's not able to be explosive on his post moves yet, but he's doing a good job of boxing out and rebounding and running the floor."

Scott, born in Washington, D.C., moved to Chesapeake when he was 8 and later blossomed into a star at Deep Creek High. He wasn't seriously recruited by ACC schools, though, and when Temple's legendary coach, John Chaney, offered him a scholarship, Scott accepted. He signed with the Owls in November 2005.

"Great kid, with a hell of an upside," Chaney said before this season.

Had Chaney not retired in March 2006, Scott almost certainly would be at Temple today. But Chaney's decision prompted Scott to reconsider his commitment, and he asked Temple to release him from his letter of intent. After the Owls agreed, however reluctantly, Scott enrolled at Hargrave, hoping to attract interest from higher-profile programs.

It didn't take long.

"We knew a little about him," Lanier recalled recently, "and I was talking to [Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts] one day, and he said, 'I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but you need to come down and check out Mike Scott. He's playing real well.' And we did, and exactly what Kevin said was happening was the case."

The son of a retired Marine, a no-nonsense disciplinarian, Scott adjusted easily to life at Hargrave. It helped that two of his classmates and friends from Deep Creek -- Ras-I Dowling and Billy Cuffee -- were on Hargrave's postgraduate football team. Dowling and Cuffee are at U.Va. now, too.

"It wasn't that bad, except for the food," Scott, laughing, said of Hargrave.

Keatts encouraged him to expand his shooting range, and 3-pointers became part of Scott's repertoire. Daily workouts against teammates Jeff Allen and Jeremy Jacob -- now first-year forwards at Virginia Tech and Georgia, respectively -- added to Scott's game, too.

"I think he's just one of those guys who come on strong later in his career," Lanier said. "Fortunately for us, he ended up going the prep-school route."

 

Cavs nab Fork Union offensive lineman
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
December 11, 2007

Virginia was late - very late, in fact - to the party, but Austin Pasztor still accepted what could be considered a belated birthday present.

Exactly two weeks after turning 17, Pasztor, an offensive tackle at Fork Union Military Academy, became the 15th verbal commitment for the Cavaliers’ incoming recruiting class.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder did not surface in significant fashion on Virginia’s recruiting radar until FUMA postgraduate coach John Shuman delivered game film to the Cavaliers’ coaching staff at the McCue Center.

Pasztor, a native of Ontario, Canada, was asked to visit Virginia this past weekend and received a scholarship offer before the visit concluded Sunday.

Boasting previous offers from Temple and Division I-AA Youngstown State, Pasztor jumped at the chance to play a short drive away from where he will accept his high school diploma. Other programs, including Iowa State and North Carolina State, were heightening interest of late.

The path to Fork Union was remarkable in itself - Shuman spotted Pastzor in August when a Canadian All-Star team traveled to FUMA to participate in a scrimmage. By the end of the contest, FUMA’s highly regarded coach saw something he craved: a massive body that played with power.

Although Pastzor was eligible to have played on the prep squad at Fork Union, Shuman and his understudy agreed that he was in need of a grander challenge, one that came with the postgraduate squad.

Pastzor projects as a tackle at Virginia, but mentioned to Shuman that the coaching staff did not rule out a shift to guard. Regardless, the young Canadian adds to already deep collection of offensive linemen in the program. And prior to Monday, the Cavaliers had verbal commitments in place from guard Corey Lewis (6-7, 280 pounds), tackle Matt Mihalik (6-7, 275) and Aaron Van Kuiken (6-7, 285).

The recruitment, as short as it was, also serves as a positive step in strengthening the bond between Virginia and FUMA. While the Cavaliers, in recent years, have boasted players from the military academy, including current inside linebacker Jon Copper and long snapper Danny Aiken, it was common belief that the two programs were not exchanging Christmas cards.

With four or five scholarships remaining, Virginia’s recruiting class has taken shape with just under eight weeks remaining before National Signing Day (Feb. 6). It is widely believed that the emphasis as the class is completed will be placed on landing at least one wide receiver and a defensive back for a secondary currently boasting two seniors and two juniors on the depth chart.

Pastzor will be the first Canadian-born football player to play for the Cavaliers since linebacker Andreas Karelis lettered in 1996 and 1997.

 

Canadian commits to Cavs
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 - 12:06 AM

The University of Virginia's latest football recruit hails from Canada, by way of Fluvanna County.

Austin Pasztor, a 6-6, 305-pound offensive lineman, committed yesterday to U.Va. after visiting over the weekend.

Pasztor, a senior at Fork Union Military Academy, is from Tillsonburg, a town of about 15,000 in southwestern Ontario. He traveled to FUMA in August with an all-star team from Ontario and distinguished himself in a scrimmage against coach John Shuman's postgraduate squad.

Shuman offered him a spot at Fork Union, and Pasztor, whose goal was to play college football in the United States, accepted.

Pasztor, an excellent student who played hockey before he started high school, turned 17 last month. He knew something about the Cavaliers, having seen them play on ESPN growing up in Canada.

"And of course when I found D'Brickashaw Ferguson went there, that was a big plus," he said yesterday.

On a FUMA team loaded with college prospects, Pasztor started at left offensive tackle. He also attracted scholarship offers from Temple and Youngstown State, and other schools were showing interest.

"He picks up everything," Shuman said. "After a redshirt year, he'd be a four-year starter [at U.Va.]."

Pasztor is the 15th player to commit to the Cavaliers for 2008. -- Jeff White

 

Bannister finds life, basketball after UVa at Liberty
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogres.com | 978-7250
December 11, 2007

LYNCHBURG - An immature and spiteful person may have blasted the Virginia basketball program, said some unflattering things about coach Dave Leitao, maybe taken some potshots at the team’s medical staff.

But former UVa point guard TeeJay Bannister wasn’t about to do that.

After Liberty’s recent win over Niagara, Bannister relaxed on a leather couch inside of the Vines Center. With his girlfriend by his side, a smiling Bannister expressed no ill will about the way his Virginia career ended.

The Jacksonville, Fla. native is focusing on his final year of college basketball at Liberty. Bannister calls his move to Lynchburg “a new beginning.” To that end, he has changed the spelling of his first name from “T.J.” to “TeeJay.”

“My mom spelled it for me like that when I was young,” Bannister explained.

So far, so good for TeeJay.

Bannister is averaging 8.8 points and 5.9 assists for Liberty, which is off to a 5-4 start. He dished out nine assists against Kentucky on Nov. 21, then had a season-high 11 versus Longwood.

The performances had to feel particularly good for Bannister, who had to sit out last season, per NCAA transfer rules, when Liberty went 14-17.

As Bannister watched helplessly in 2006-07, his former teammates at Virginia were winning a share of the ACC regular-season title and making it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.

Bannister was actually in attendance at John Paul Jones Arena when UVa defeated Duke.

“I was just like, ‘Man, they finally beat them!’” Bannister said. “I felt like I was still a part of it. I was just really happy for them.”

In the offseason, Randy Dunton - the coach Bannister thought he would be playing for at Liberty - was fired.

Bannister admitted there were some moments when he wondered if he had made the right decision to leave Virginia.

“Anytime you make a change like that, going into a new environment, you’re going to be a little upset,” said the 5-foot-11, 176-pound Bannister. “At first I was [upset], but then I started getting adjusted.

“God makes everything happen for a reason.”

Former Virginia coach Pete Gillen recruited Bannister out of high school. As a freshman, he averaged 3.6 points and 3.0 assists, then 4.3 and 3.6 as a sophomore - a season that included a game-winning shot against Western Kentucky.

But Bannister’s career took a nosedive when Leitao took over in 2005.

Bannister suffered a sports hernia injury during the preseason. He tried to play through it, then elected to have surgery. Then he returned to the lineup before he was 100 percent and aggravated the injury.

About midway through the season, Bannister broached the idea of taking a medical redshirt in order to preserve a year of eligibility. However, he had already appeared in too many games.

When he finally returned to the court, he seemed to fall out of favor with Leitao and didn’t play very much.

“It was a humbling experience,” Bannister said. “I have a lot of regrets about that year, but I’m not going to sit here and make any excuses because everything happens for a reason. I don’t look back.”

A sheepish grin crossed Bannister’s face when he was asked about his relationship with Leitao.

“It is what it is,” Bannister said. “I don’t talk to him. I talked to coach [Rob] Lanier about a month ago. He just told me to keep my head up, but I haven’t spoken with coach Leitao at all.

“I’m just glad what happened, happened. Things happen. You can’t hold grudges or anything like that. If I saw him today, I would still speak to him and ask him how he and his family are doing. There’s no bad blood for me.”

Bannister said he loves playing for first-year Liberty coach Ritchie McKay.

“He’s not just teaching me about basketball,” Bannister said. “He’s also teaching me to be a better person.

“I feel like I got my love [for the game] back. Coach McKay has really brought that back out of me.”

Bannister’s teammates are happy he’s on their side.

“TeeJay is great,” said Liberty junior Anthony Smith. “He just brings so much to the team that we were missing last year. He’s a true point guard and just brings so much ACC experience.

“He’s a great leader. He tells you what you need to do.”

McKay, who has had previous head-coaching stops at New Mexico, Oregon State, and Colorado State, believes Bannister is under-rated as a player.

“I had an NBA point guard in Milt Palacio, and I’m not kidding - [Bannister] can get in the lane better than any guard I’ve had,” McKay said. “His decisions when he gets in the lane are getting better. As he improves as a leader and decision-maker, so goes Liberty’s chances to be good, average, great.”

There’s no doubt that Bannister could have helped Virginia out last season when it had no real backups for Sean Singletary.

Bannister said he still talks to Singletary and remains close with several Virginia players. He visits friends in Charlottesville almost every weekend. Two weeks ago, Bannister paid a late-night visit to the White Spot to grab a Gus Burger.

After Liberty’s win over Niagara, Bannister was greeted by former teammates Mamadi Diane, Adrian Joseph and Lars Mikalauskas as he walked out of his locker room.

“Whenever we can, we try and support each other,” said Bannister, who also stays in close touch with Virginia big man Tunji Soroye. “I miss everybody back in Charlottesville, man. Even Coach Leitao. And I miss the fans and our student section.

“But I think God had other plans for my life and I’m just happy to be here now.”