New hire eager to retool U.Va.‘s offense
Jeff White
Published: December 30, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE Given an opportunity to extend football coach Al Groh's contract, University of Virginia officials declined to do so late last month. The Cavaliers finished 5-7 for the second time in three years, and it's no secret that another losing season could mean the end of Groh's tenure at his alma mater.

That didn't deter Gregg Brandon, who says he had no trepidation about signing on with Groh at U.Va. They've known each other since Groh's days as an NFL assistant. Brandon, 52, recently was hired as the Cavaliers' offensive coordinator, replacing Groh's older son, Mike.

"In college football today, it's really what have you done for me lately," Brandon said in a phone interview. "I'm not really concerned about Coach Groh's security there. I'm concerned about what I can do for him to help Virginia win games. The opportunity to work with him outweighed his current situation."

Brandon comes to U.Va. from Bowling Green, where he spent eight seasons: the first two as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator, the final six as head coach. He went 44-30 at the Mid-American Conference school before being fired last month.

"To say that I was a little bit surprised, yeah, especially with the things that we had accomplished there," Brandon said. "But it's a crazy business, and life goes on."

From the experience, he said, "I've got a lot better perspective now on what it takes to be a head coach as well as a good assistant. I think from sitting in the big chair, as you put it, I have a greater appreciation now as an assistant for what the head coach is going through, I'll guarantee you that."

Before working with Meyer at Bowling Green, Brandon had been an assistant at Weber State (under Mike Price), Wyoming, Utah State, Northwestern (under Gary Barnett) and Colorado (again under Barnett). Barnett was Brandon's high school coach in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Brandon's trademark is the spread offense, and that's what Groh hired him to install at U.Va. But the Tucson, Ariz., native hasn't always focused on that side of the ball. Brandon coached linebackers at Weber State in 1985 and at Utah State in 1991.

"It was eye-opening from the perspective of how defenses try to stop offenses," Brandon recalled. "It just gave me a better handle on that, and looking at stopping an offense from a defensive perspective, I think, helped me evolve as an offensive coach."

His recent visit to Charlottesville wasn't Brandon's first. After the 2004 season, in which the Falcons averaged 506 yards and 44 points per game, Brandon and Tim Beckman, then his defensive coordinator, came to U.Va. to talk X's and O's with Groh and his assistants.

In his eight seasons at U.Va., Groh has made tight end a marquee position, showcasing the skills of such players as Heath Miller, Tom Santi, Jonathan Stupar and John Phillips. Will that change in the new system?

"We're going to play the best players," Brandon said. "If the tight ends are some of our best players, then we'll find a place for them. At Bowling Green, we used a tight end quite a bit when we had one that's a pretty good player.

"It's really a matter of if your tight end is as good as your fourth receiver, because we play with a lot of four-receiver sets. If the tight end is your secondor third-best receiver, or your best receiver, then we're going to find a place to get him in there."

Brandon is not averse to running the football, whether it's a quarterback or a tailback picking up the yards. The Falcons ranked 21st nationally in rushing offense in 2003 and 18th in 2006.

"Again, it's all based on players and what you can do," Brandon said. "The offense has the flexibility to run and throw, and that's what you need. You can't be one-dimensional."

Brandon has yet to meet the players he'll be coaching, but he has looked at game tapes of Marc Verica, Jameel Sewell and Vic Hall, among U.Va.'s candidates at quarterback.

"I think all three of those kids can have a space in the system," Brandon said. "Again, film study's one thing. I want to meet them, talk to them and see what they can do in spring football. There's some basic elements of the offense that we're going to run, but I think all those kids have abilities that potentially can fit our system."

 

Farrakhan steps up in Cavaliers’ victory
By Whitey Reid
Published: December 30, 2008

ATLANTA — The only thing more impressive than Mustapha Farrakhan’s career-high 12 points in the win at Georgia Tech on Sunday night was the size of his fan club.

In attendance at Alexander Memorial Coliseum was a large contingent of Nation of Islam followers, including Farrakhan’s father and a number of his uncles.

Farrakhan, the grandson of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, said the entourage flew in for the game from Chicago.

“It was fun,” said Farrakhan, when asked about playing in front of family. “I just went out there and tried to play my game and be aggressive.”

Virginia coach Dave Leitao’s decision to go with Farrakhan over the struggling Jeff Jones paid quick dividends. Moments after entering the game, Farrakhan knifed into the lane and dished to a wide-open Sammy Zeglinski, who knocked down a 3-pointer.

Later in the first half, the Chicago native — known as “Mu” to his teammates — showed his full arsenal. Farrakhan knocked down two 3-pointers and also scored on a strong drive to the basket.

In addition, the sophomore went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. He’s now 10 of 10 for the season from the stripe.

“I feel like I’m getting my legs up under me a little bit and just playing confident,” said Farrakhan, who had zero turnovers in his 16 minutes. “I’m just trying to stay aggressive and do what [Leitao] wants me to do on the court.”

For some time, Farrakhan — who started the first two games of the season before getting demoted to the bench — has looked like one of the best shooters on the team. When media members have been allowed to attend practice, his stroke has seemed silky smooth.

“Mu has always been a great shooter,” said Virginia forward Jamil Tucker, who tied his own career high of 15 points against the Yellow Jackets. “I think he has one of the best forms I’ve ever seen.”

“Every time he shoots the ball, I think it’s going to go in,” added guard Calvin Baker, another hero from Sunday’s game. “He’s just been so much more confident than he was last year. You can see it in shootarounds and he’s been becoming a better leader and everything. He’s coming into his own.”

Sylven shines (again)

Nearly lost in the euphoric win was the stellar play of freshman Sylven Landesberg, who had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. It was the sixth time in 10 games that the New York City native has scored over 20 points.

“He’s good,” Leitao said, pausing for emphasis. “As much as anything, he’s got a poise about him. I don’t think he knew the difference between a Friday night in Queens, N.Y., and a Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga.”

Big shot Jamil

NBA player Robert Horry has become known as “Big Shot Bob” for his late-game heroics. On Sunday, Tucker proved worthy of such a moniker. The junior, who hit a couple of clutch shots for Virginia last season, hit the game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation.

“It felt real good,” said Tucker, who was 6 of 7 from the field and also had six rebounds, “but it was a shot that I felt like I made for my team, not myself. That made it all the better.”

Dunks

The win by Virginia was it first league-opening road triumph since a victory over Florida State in 1994-95. … Virginia wore its orange uniforms for the first time this season. … After winning at Georgia Tech last season, Sunday’s win marks the first time since 1981-82 and 1982-83 that the Cavaliers have won consecutive games at Georgia Tech. … Senior captain Mamadi Diane didn’t score in six minutes. … Jones, because of Farrakhan’s effectiveness, logged just two minutes. … Mike Scott had his second consecutive double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds).

 

Littles leads Virginia to victory
By Bart Isley
Published: December 30, 2008

With Monica Wright stuck on the bench, Lyndra Littles made sure Virginia didn’t waste a strong defensive effort in the first half.

Then she repeated the feat in the second half.

“Lyndra had an incredible game tonight,” said Virginia coach Debbie Ryan. “She’s just such a talented kid. She can dribble bust and we can run her as a guard — that makes it tough for the opposing post player.”

The senior forward poured in a career-high 33 points and pulled down seven rebounds while earning most valuable player honors in the Cavalier Classic as Virginia held off Louisiana Tech 68-52 on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Littles had 19 points in the first half off the bench and played 33 minutes, well above the 19.3 minutes per game she’s averaged since her return this semester. Littles didn’t even notice that she’d logged that many minutes until after she picked up her fourth personal foul, took her spot on the bench and assistant coach Curtis Loyd let her know they needed to get her a break anyway.

“I was like, ‘How long was I in there?’” Littles said. “He told me and I was like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ When the game is like that, you don’t realize how tired you are and how long you’ve been in there because it’s exciting and it’s fun.”

Littles scored her final bucket on a jumper with 1:17 to play. Shortly thereafter, Ryan took Littles out, and the senior received a standing ovation from the John Paul Jones crowd in light of the 33-point outing.

“It’s more exciting because we won,” Littles said of setting a new career high. “It’s something the team and I can enjoy together.”

It was Virginia’s defensive effort though that set the stage for the victory. Virginia held the Lady Techsters to just 20 points in the first half, capitalizing on seven steals before the break.

“I was really proud of our defense in the first half, I thought it was exceptional,” Ryan said. “We were very quick to the ball in the first half.”

Chelsea Shine aided the defensive effort with three blocks, while Ariana Moorer completed a solid all-around game with three steals to go with her nine rebounds and three assists. The freshman guard committed just two turnovers, which helped give the Cavaliers a 25-7 advantage in turnover margin.

Virginia cleaned up on the offensive glass, pulling down 25 offensive boards to Louisiana Tech’s 13. That created a number of second chance opportunities for the Cavaliers that led to 27 second-chance points.

The Cavaliers wisely and luckily got Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell into foul trouble early in the contest. That limited the Lady Techsters’ leading scorer and rebounder (17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game) to just 20 minutes, 11 points and four rebounds. Tech didn’t go away easily in the second half though as Adrienne Johnson scored 12 points to lead the way, but Virginia managed to force enough turnovers to hold off a second-half charge.

Wright, who also made the all-tournament team, spent half the night on the bench after picking up her fourth personal foul less than three minutes into the second half. She was tagged with her second midway through the first, forcing Ryan to take her out.

Still, Wright finished with 11 points in her limited minutes. She also provided a scoring threat for the Cavaliers in the closing minutes after Littles got called for her own fourth and took a short break.

Lay-ups

Littles’ former career high was 32 points back on March 1, 2007 against Clemson. … Littles came off the bench for the fourth straight game, and Ryan said that she still had to earn her spot back, that everyone has to earn their spot — but Ryan also indicated that 33 points was a pretty good way to get that done. “Lyndra has to earn her way back and this is a fair way to do it,” Ryan said. … Kelly Hartig started for Virginia, but left after four minutes because she was sick. Ryan said a flu bug has been running its course through parts of the team and that Hartig couldn’t keep anything down.