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 SabreMail - June 25th, 2004 |
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If you attended all of UVa's athletic events last school year, I'd say two things to you. No. 1: Wow, get a life. And No. 2: At least you left happy about two-thirds of the time. The Cavaliers won 64.4 percent of their athletic contests in 2003-04, the best mark of the 13 Division I schools in the state. It was the eighth time in the past 16 years (but first time since 1998) that UVa has finished first in the Virginia Sports Information Directors' all-sports survey. (VCU was second at 61.7 and Virginia Tech was fifth at 55.8.) That's a nice achievement for an athletics department that prides itself on across-the-board success. But as UVa fans, we know winning isn't everything. Playing hard, playing fairly and competing with integrity are all important. So just as critical as the win-loss record, if not more so, is the fact that athletics did nothing to embarrass the University. No NCAA investigations or probations. A minimum of off-the-field incidents. We'd be ashamed if the Cavaliers were caught cheating or were failing to graduate their student-athletes. But as long as they're doing those things, hey, they might as well win games and championships, too. After all, anyone can lose with class. It's way more fun to win that way.
John Galinsky |
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| Recruiting News |
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This Week In Recruiting By Chris Horne Football recruiting...
Possibles include North Hall (Gainesville, GA) tailback TJ Pitts (UVa offer) and Irvington (NJ) wide receiver Todd Dorcelus (no offer). So far there are no commitments for the week. UVa is up to 17 total commitments for the 2005 class, by far the most out of any Division I-A school in the country. Texas A&M is second with 11 verbals. Updates for this week include Duquesne (PA) tailback Shane Brooksand Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ) linebacker Brian Cushing. Brooks named UVa as his favorite while Cushing said the Cavaliers are at least in his top three if not number one. Both are considered top targets for the Cavs.
For more recruiting information and updates, please see Sabre Edge.
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| News and Notes in UVa Sports |
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Will O'Connor remain a Cavalier?
It should come as no surprise that other programs might want to hire O'Connor. He led the Cavaliers to a 44-15 record, a second-place finish in the ACC and an NCAA regional berth (hosting, no less) this spring, engineering a remarkable turnaround for a program that had been mired in mediocrity. His energy, enthusiasm and preparation worked wonders for UVa baseball. It's also no shock that O'Connor would listen to Auburn's overtures. After all, the Tigers play in the baseball-rich SEC, have a 4,000-seat stadium and plenty of fans. Their previous coach, Steve Renfroe, also reportedly earned $275,000 per year in total compensation, according to reports. UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said he values O'Connor and will try to keep him, though he did not get into specifics. It's unlikely Virginia will pay O'Connor as much as Auburn might offer, so it may depend on how loyal he is to the school and his players. It would be a shame to lose such a fine coach right after he laid the groundwork for something special. For more information on UVa baseball, please see the link below.
Katstra on the money The Virginia Athletics Foundation has all sorts of reasons to raise money these days. A new basketball arena. An increase in scholarships. Other facility projects. You name it. The Cavs need your cash. Good thing for UVa that Dirk Katstra is in charge of collecting it. Katstra, in his eighth year as VAF executive director, was named the 2004 Fund Raiser of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. Under Katstra's direction, the VAF will raise nearly $11 million this year in its annual fund to support student-athletes in 25 programs. All of those programs will be fully funded for the first time next school year. He has also helped raise $84 million for construction of John Paul Jones Arena, which is expected to open in 2006 at a cost of about $130 million. Of course, Katstra, who called it "a team award," couldn't have done it without the hard work of everyone else at the VAF -- and without your checks. UVa basketball hires two assistants It took a little while, but Pete Gillen filled both vacancies on his coaching staff this week with the addition of John Fitzpatrick and Mark Byington. Fitzpatrick, 46, is a veteran assistant coach who has been at five schools over the past 22 years. Most recently, he spent four years at Houston under Ray McCallum. Byington, 28, was a Virginia prep star at Salem High. He played at UNC-Wilmington and began his coaching career as a student assistant at UVa. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston. They replace Rod Jenson and Scott Shephard. Byington will be Gillen's director of basketball operations, while Alexis Sherrard will move up from that job to be an assistant coach. For more information on Virginia men's basketball, please see the link below.
UVa, Gonzaga to play two-game series Remember when Gonzaga beat Virginia by a point in the 2001 NCAA men's basketball tournament. Still mad at the Zags for that 86-85 defeat? Well, now you can watch the Cavaliers try to get some revenge. The two teams agreed to a two-game series, with UVa traveling west to face the Washington state school in the 2005-06 season. Virginia will play host to Gonzaga the following season. Bannister cleared of charge Rising sophomore point guard T.J. Bannister was found not guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, Monday in Charlottesville General District Court.
Bannister was among seven people arrested April 18 after fights broke out following a fraternity party at UVa. He started 10 games as a freshman and is expected to compete with incoming freshman Sean Singletary for the starting job next season.
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| What's New on TheSabre.com? |
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Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week
Here's a look at Virginia's commitments, needs and desires on offense for the 2005 class, which is off to a phenomenal start with the likes of quarterback Vic Hall and tackle Eugene Monroe. The Cavaliers also remain in the chase for other top national recruits like tailback Toney Baker (right).
That hope might be a bit grandiose, but if Bradshaw's high school career is any indication, he might be worth a look at several positions. After spending two years at wide receiver, the Bluefield, Va., native played running back, safety and punter along with returning kicks and punts last season. But when figuring where Bradshaw will play in college, it's instructive to keep his size in mind.
Less than a decade ago, the University of Virginia athletics department was best known for four sports. Football, men's basketball, women's basketball and men's soccer were the school's most successful programs and accounted for the majority of UVa's points in the Directors' Cup standings. These days, things are far different. In the 2003-04 school year, only men's soccer, of the former marquee sports, produced points toward the Cup. Instead, success has come from new sources such as baseball, men's tennis, wrestling, and swimming and diving, which in turn gives new reasons for hope regarding the state of athletic competition at UVa.
Why? Because, as Virginia coach Brian O'Connor says, "Ryan plays the game the right way." Zimmerman also plays it well enough to have earned a shot at representing his country. The rising junior third baseman is in Durham, N.C., right now at the 2004 USA Baseball National Team Trials. He is one of 36 players, all collegians, vying for 20 spots on the final roster. Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week Chris Horne provides updates for Edge subscribers concerning UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see below.
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Having trouble sorting through recruiting lists of dozens of players? Dial into our recruiting war room, and we'll break things down for you.
If Ahmad Bradshaw had his way, he would never come off the football field. That's the way it worked at Graham High School, and that's the way he hopes it will work when he joins the Virginia Cavaliers next season.
