'Hoos Retain Lead in Directors' Cup Race
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 12/17/2009
Dec. 17, 2009
9:40 a.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The latest standings were released Thursday morning, and UVa continues to lead the Directors' Cup competition for Division I schools.

Virginia has 337 points, 100 of which came from the NCAA men's soccer championship that George Gelnovatch's team won last weekend in Cary, N.C.

North Carolina is second with 283 points. Stanford, the perennial champion in the Directors' Cup competition, is third with 281.

The final fall standings will be released Dec. 23. Still to be figured in are football and volleyball, sports for which UVa won't get any points.

A year ago, UVa was in 11th place coming out of the fall. Virginia finished eighth overall in 2008-09.

-- Jeff White
 

London maintains fast, furious schedule
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: December 17, 2009
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When Mike London was introduced as Virginia’s new head football coach a week-and-a-half ago, he described his hiring as a whirlwind experience.
In a mere three days, he watched his University of Richmond team lose in the final minutes of the FCS playoffs to being officially offered the UVa job, to being introduced as the new Cavaliers’ coach.
If he thought that was whirlwind, then I don’t know how he would describe his first 10 days on the job.
We caught up with London on Tuesday night in Richmond, just before he hit the recruiting trail for the rest of this week as he attempts to lure more talent toward Charlottesville.
So, what has the Cavaliers’ boss been doing his first week or so on the job?
How about this for an itinerary: had personal interviews with every player on Virginia’s roster; hired four assistant coaches; took in some state high school championship games; contacted the school’s 11 committed recruits; chatted with Hall of Famer George Welsh; and hit the road to recruit.
Oh, yes, and managed to spend some time with his family back in Richmond.
Meeting the team
The UVa players were his top priority. He scheduled personal interviews with every Cavalier player in his office, so he could get to know those that he hadn’t met while serving as Virginia’s defensive coordinator prior to taking the UR job in 2008.
He not only wanted to get to know them, but to explain his expectations of them before they went home for Christmas, so that when they return, they will know what they’re going to face in offseason training.
London also wanted to talk to them about respect and understanding what it will take to restore Virginia as a winning program. Part of that will be a history lesson.
“Who’s Chris Slade? Who’s Shawn Moore? Who’s Herman Moore?” London said. “You guys need to know who those people are, you need to know and understand the history of this place.”
A bit of history
While London has served two coaching stints here under Al Groh, he didn’t mind getting a bit of a history lesson himself on Tuesday from the guy who wrote most of UVa’s success: George Welsh. The Hall of Fame coach still maintains an office in University Hall and dropped by to welcome London back to the program.
“We spent about half an hour just talking about football, staff, people, recruiting, a lot of things,” London said of the conversation.
“Why wouldn’t I embrace Coach Welsh? It was like, ‘Just come on in Coach and tell me how did you do it?’ I mean, 19 years ... if I could just stay [at UVa] half that long.”
Welsh coached UVa, previously the Sad Sack of college football, to national prominence during his 19-year career as captain of the Good Ship Wahoo.
The man who built Virginia football had some good advice for the new coach.
“He told me to be myself,” London said. “Don’t try to change because people want you to change.”
London recounted the national championship game last year when Richmond won the FCS title and showed more emotion than some seemed to accept. He got a little criticism for his outburst of passion.
“I remember somebody was saying at the championship game — I was jumping up and down — to act like you’ve been there,” London said. “Well, that was the problem. I hadn’t been there. I guess there’s a Head Coaching Etiquette Book 101 that says ‘head coaches shall not jump up and down.’”
London said that Welsh also told him to surround himself with good people when it came to assembling a staff, something he will continue to do as the month progresses. Speculation is that former UR head coach Jim Reid, now a linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins, will be his choice as UVa’s new defensive coordinator, and that Atlanta Falcons quarterback coach Bill Musgrave could be his top choice for the offensive coordinator’s job, although some are hoping that former UVa coordinator Gregg Brandon will get an interview.
Brandon has always contended that his spread offense would have worked at Virginia given time (it hasn’t been an instant transition at Michigan under Rich Rodriguez), and that given the appropriate quarterback, magical things could happen at UVa, where perhaps an offense just a little bit abnormal would help.
London said he will stress academics to his players and that going to class and turning in class assignments on time are just as important to him as carrying out assignments on the practice and playing fields.
True to his word, the new Virginia coach’s first recruiting trip was back home, to the “757” on Wednesday, where he was invited to speak at a Virginia High School League clinic, something he quickly accepted.
“We want to be welcome in the Tidewater because the Tidewater is welcome at our place,” London said.
It was the first stop in three days of planned recruiting, so don’t expect him to sit still very long. London has a lot of work to do.


 

'Hoos Play Waiting Game with Scott
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 12/16/2009
Dec. 16, 2009
5:12 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With the next game fast approaching, UVa forward Mike Scott's status remains uncertain.

Scott, first-year coach Tony Bennett's top rebounder and second-leading scorer, sprained his ankle Dec. 5 and missed Virginia's 68-67 loss at Auburn two nights later.

A 6-8 junior from Chesapeake, Scott hasn't practiced with the team since he got hurt.

The Cavaliers, who were off Tuesday, reconvened Wednesday afternoon, and Scott did cardiovascular work on the side while his teammates practiced on the main court at John Paul Jones Arena.

Final exams are under way at UVa, and Bennett's team hasn't played since the Auburn game. Virginia (4-4) returns to action Saturday night against UNC Wilmington at JPJ.

Scott averages 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds, and there's not another player on the roster who comes close to duplicating his skill set.

Against Auburn, the Cavaliers' other post players -- Will Sherrill, Jerome Meyinsse and Assane Sene -- combined for 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Jamil Tucker, a 6-9 senior, may be another option at some point. But Bennett said Wednesday morning that Tucker, who took a personal leave of absence before the season, hasn't been cleared to play.

Tucker has been practicing with the Wahoos since late last month.

-- Jeff White

 

Big Night for UVa Hoops Recruit
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 12/17/2009
Dec. 17, 2009
6:48 a.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- To a U.Va. basketball team with few frontcourt options, Will Regan will be a welcome addition next year.

Regan, a 6-8 senior at Nichols School in Buffalo, N.Y., is part of the highly regarded class that signed with Virginia last month. (It also includes 6-9 James Johnson, 6-6 Joe Harris, 6-4 K.T. Harrell and 6-7 Akil Mitchell.)

In Western New York, the young season's most highly anticipated high school showdown was Wednesday night. Regan starred as Nichols knocked off perennial power Niagara Falls.

The Buffalo News has an excellent report on the game.

-- Jeff White
 

Nichols tops Niagara Falls in boys basketball
Regan scores 25 in battle of No. 1s
By Keith McShea
News Sports Reporter
Updated: December 17, 2009, 6:08 AM / 0 comments

The voting for next week's large school poll will be a lot easier.

The choice is Nichols.

The Vikings (4-0) handed Niagara Falls the program's worst loss to a Western New York opponent by beating the Wolverines, 68-53, Wednesday night at St. Mary's of Lancaster. The teams were co-No. 1s in this week's Buffalo News poll after each received five first-place votes and 95 points.

It is only the fourth time Falls (2-1) has fallen to a local team in the school's 10 seasons.

"The fact they have [that record against Western New York teams] says a lot for their program, and it means a lot for us to beat a program like that," said Nichols senior Will Regan, who scored 25 points and earned Player of the Game honors. "Last year we were so close [a 57-56 loss at Falls], we could have won that game and we were really frustrated about that. It's kind of revenge for us. They won last year, they finished the season well, and we struggled. We want to make statements this year, starting with this."

The marquee matchup of the Monsignor Martin-ECIC Challenge featured Falls of the Niagara Frontier League, but nobody seemed to mind among the standing-room-only crowd of about 2,000.

Nichols used a 13-0 half-ending run to take a 34-21 halftime lead. Falls cut it to 44-41 after the third quarter. Junior Maurice Respress had a tremendous fast-break layup off a steal while being fouled that had Falls fans on their feet. That cut the lead to 43-38 and Mike Carson (10 points) hit Falls' fourth three of the quarter to make it 43-41.

The Vikings started the fourth with a 10-4 run — which included a three by Ron Canestro (15 points) — to go up, 50-43.

Nichols took a 52-45 lead with about five minutes to play after a dunk by Regan finished off an outstanding fast break (highlight above).

Regan was 11 for 12 at the line in the fourth quarter, including eight straight to make up an 8-0 Nichols run, as the Vikings took a 62-48 lead with 2:19 left.

Senior Davon Marshall led Falls with 15 points while junior Kenny Stokes had 10.

Since the Wolverines were born in 2000-01 — following the merger of LaSalle and the old Niagara Falls high schools — they had lost only to Bennett (2002) and Sweet Home (2007) in Section VI championship games and to St. Joe's during the 2005-06 season. All games were single-digit decisions.

"We didn't do the little things we needed to do to win the game," said Niagara Falls coach Giulio Colangelo. "We had turnovers and missed a lot of easy shots. In the third quarter we cut into the lead but we couldn't get over the hump.

"For this team, they don't study the history [of the program]. What's important is that we build on this and find ways to get better."

Niagara Falls has another tough matchup Saturday, when it plays at Canisius at 3:30 p.m. as part of the Crusaders' Tom Keenan Memorial Tournament.

The next stop for Nichols and coach Greg Plumb is at the prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., from Dec. 26-31.

The three-day event concludes tonight with another tripleheader at St. Mary's. Cardinal O'Hara plays No. 7 small school Depew at 5 p.m.; St. Francis takes on neighbor Hamburg at 6:45 and No. 8 large school St. Joe's plays No. 5 large school Sweet Home.
 

Lea pushing for schedule diversity
College Notebook

By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

It was hard for Roanoke City vice mayor Sherman Lea not to notice when it was reported that Virginia would be entertaining VMI in football next season.

VMI is one of two Football Championship Subdivision (previously Division I-AA) teams that are planning to visit Scott Stadium next year, along with Richmond.

Lea, a prime mover behind the Western Virginia Education Classic that brings two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football programs to the Roanoke Valley each year, has pushed for Virginia Tech and Virginia to consider scheduling Hampton and Norfolk State.

Hampton and Norfolk State are the only historically black colleges or university programs in Virginia that compete at the Division 1-AA level.

Lea said he has had several exchanges with Tech athletic director Jim Weaver, who said that Tech would be more inclined to schedule a Division 1-AA team with which it has more of an established rivalry, James Madison or William and Mary for instance.

Weaver had indicated in a follow-up conversation that he "had contacted Norfolk State about the possibility of a game next season but they could not work it out," Lea said. "He further stated that it would be something both schools would continue to talk about in the future."

Lea said he would not challenge Virginia's record on diversity, especially given the Cavaliers' appointment of new head football coach Mike London, one of two African-American head coaches at a BCS (Bowl Championship Series) program at the time of his hiring. However, Lea pointed out that Norfolk State has a higher average attendance than VMI and could bring as many fans as the Keydets and possibly more.

"It seems as though the other ACC schools that have HBCUs in their states are playing those schools when the schedules allowed," Lea said.

Indeed, Miami played Florida A&M and Clemson played South Carolina State, both fellow members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with Hampton and Norfolk State. Norfolk State has played Rutgers and Kentucky in back-to-back seasons.

An opening developed on Virginia Tech's 2010 schedule when Western Michigan asked out of a scheduled game in order to become the first Mid-America Conference team to play at Notre Dame.

"We were looking at every I-AA program in Virginia," Weaver said Wednesday. "I prefer to keep the money in state."

UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said he has not been approached by either Norfolk State or Hampton but did hear from Division II Virginia State about a possible game this past season in honor of Virginia State's president, Eddie Moore, who is retiring.

Virginia did not have an opening this past season and has one Division 1-AA opponent in place for every year through 2015. UVa has two Division 1-AA opponents next year, Richmond and VMI, but Littlepage said he would rather play one per year.

Curtis brings a new philosophy
By Whitey Reid
Published: December 17, 2009
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Virginia fans have never seen it before, but guard Sammy Zeglinski can dunk — and we’re not just talking about a Woody Harrelson just-barely-over-the rim alley oop from the movie, “White Men Can’t Jump.”
In practice, Zeglinski can dunk on a consistent basis.
Before this season, that wasn’t the case. The 6-foot Zeglinski, now in his third year in the program, wasn’t exactly known for his leaping ability.
Today, nobody is happier about Zeglinski’s newfound hops than first-year Virginia strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis. The fact that Zeglinski can rise above the rim and throw down — even if it’s only in practice — is an example of everything that Curtis believes in when it comes to training basketball players.
“At the end of the day, I think speed and explosiveness is always paramount in sports,” said Curtis, a former Wahoo basketball player from 1995-98.
Curtis’ philosophy is different from former UVa strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown, who believed in putting more of an emphasis on a player’s overall strength.
In past years, Virginia players sometimes looked more like
bodybuilders than basketball players.
“I looked at them and said, ‘I don’t think you guys move the way basketball players should move,’” Curtis said. “So we basically focused on their ability to acquire movement skills.”
That emphasis was easier to undertake because of the work Brown had done. Curtis said his predecessor, whom he has known for many years, left the players with a great foundation of strength, not to mention a solid work ethic.
“My main priority was to make them run faster, jump higher, be able to complete those tasks that are necessary in basketball,” said Curtis, who, along with Virginia assistant coach Jason Williford, was a member of the program’s 1995 Elite 8 team.
“Sometimes you’ll have kids that can lift the weight room, but can’t carry out simple basketball tasks. My biggest thing was to, first and foremost, develop that level of athleticism in our guys so that they can do those things that are important to basketball. The strength can come later.”
Senior Jamil Tucker is one player Curtis has changed dramatically. The 6-foot-9 Tucker, under Curtis’ direction, dropped 30 pounds in the offseason.
“To be bulky and strong, I didn’t think served its purpose for him, especially for his game,” Curtis said. “He’s a guy who would rather be out on the perimeter anyway.”
While the results may not
always be that obvious to fans, Virginia coach Tony Bennett says that Curtis’ influence has been huge this season. In addition, he expects Curtis to play a vital role in the program’s future. Before arriving at Virginia, Curtis, a 33-year-old Richmond native, worked for six years with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and a year at the University of Michigan.
“From a recruiting standpoint I almost feel like we’ve got a secret weapon with Mike,” Bennett said. “He’s worked with the elite, the best. If you watch him work with our players, it’s unique what he does…
“He’s the most sport specific functional strength coach that I’ve ever seen because he understands what’s required for a basketball player.”
Bennett first became aware of Curtis a few years back when he was at Washington State and Curtis was at Michigan. Bennett’s father, Dick, was taking part in a coaching seminar at Michigan and had the chance to observe Curtis.
“He said, ‘You need to get to your strength coach and you need to get him to go learn what this guy from Michigan is talking about,’” Bennett recalled. “He said he was blown away by how relevant he was and how good he was.”
When Bennett needed a strength and conditioning coach at Virginia, he knew exactly who to call. Initially, Curtis, who had an offer to return to the NBA, was apprehensive about a Wahoo redux.
“I could have gone a number of different ways,” Curtis said, “but the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and be with a coach who I truly believe is going to get this thing going in the right direction was too much for me to pass up.
“I had to come back. I wanted to be part of something special, and I think Tony Bennett is something special.”
Curtis has only been with Bennett for a few months, but he already mentions him in the same breath as other coaches he has worked under, including Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, Dave Odom and John Beilein.
“He’s right up there,” said Curtis, who was hired by the legendary Jerry West when he worked for the Memphis Grizzlies. “In addition, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever been around.”