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   SabreMail - March 18th, 2005
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Should Virginia be a basketball school? A football school? Can it be both?

Greg Waters wrote an interesting article for Edge subscribers today called Basketball or Football? Must UVa Make a Choice? The gist of it is that most schools, by choice or circumstance, end up devoting more resources to one of those revenue sports than the other. The reason? It's too expensive and often impractical to try to fund nationally elite programs in basketball and football. Few schools successfully compete at the highest level in both sports. Better to focus on one and hope for the best in the other.

What's striking, I think, is that Virginia is demonstrating a commitment to football and men's basketball right now that is extremely rare. Just in the past decade, UVa has spent nearly $90 million on Scott Stadium's renovation and expansion while investing heavily in Al Groh's program. At the same time, a $130-million basketball arena is being built and there is talk of paying the new coach $2-3 million annually (if it's the right guy...Tubby?).

Those are extraordinary expenditures for any athletic department - and a display of great generosity by the fanbase - and it demonstrates the administration's stated commitment to excellence in all sports. But it raises some important questions. Can the school continue to support both sports at that level? Will the football and basketball programs eventually have to compete with each other for funds? Is it realistic to expect BCS bowls and Final Four appearances? What's the payoff?

Right now, the football program is strong but not a national power. The basketball program is in the ACC cellar. We'll be happy if either one becomes a championship contender in the near future. For the time being, why choose? It's exciting to see the school strive for excellence in both major sports, but until football or basketball reaches that elite level, let's take heart in noting that Virginia remains one heck of a lacrosse school.

John Galinsky
Editor
TheSabre.com
[email protected]


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  •    Recruiting News

    This Week In Recruiting
    By Chris Horne

    Basketball recruiting...

    Laurynas Mikalauskas

    Despite the departure of Pete Gillen as head basketball coach, all three of Virginia's 2005 recruits have indicated that they plan on fulfilling their letters of intent. So UVa's class of 6-6, 180-pound DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) wing forward Mamadi Diane, 6-8, 240-pound Blue Ridge (St. George, VA) power forward Laurynas Mikalauskas and 6-10, 235-pound Cherry Creek (Denver, CO) center Sam Warren remains intact.

    Of those recruits, look for Mikalauskas, who averaged 22 points and 13 boards this season, to make the biggest impact next season. With Elton Brown and Jason Clark out of eligibility, the low post will be an area where a young player could contribute. Also, don't be surprised if Diane provides some quality minutes off the bench next season. He has a solid all-around game and is a team-oriented player. He can defend, rebound and make the open shot. This season averaging about 13 points and earned first-team WCAC honors.

    Football recruiting...

    There is nothing much new on the recruiting scene as of late. It appears that Virginia, like many other programs, is in the evaluation stage right now. Most of the top prospects on UVa's board likely have been offered, but don't be surprised if some players that haven't received offers yet become top priorities as well.

    More offers will come out during the May evaluation period, which is when coaches can speak to recruits and visit schools once again. There are also some combines over the next few months where recruits can show their skills and bump up their stock. The Nike camps are one example of this. Another is the Blue Chip combine in New Jersey on May 2nd.

    For more recruiting information and updates, please see Sabre Edge.

       Support TheSabre.com's Sponsors

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  •    News, Notes and Fan Discussion

    Post of the Week

    Must say I found this post on the basketball board amusing, plus it started an interesting thread...

    Subject: So I get to my office and RABID Dookie is not there. Called in sick. I check up
    Posted by: hooyah on Fri Mar 18 2005 10:09:22 AM
    Message: on him and his kid says he's on way to Charlotte. So I tell kid call his Dad ( who'se not answering sec'ty) and tell his Dad I have a quick question. Idiot Dookie calls me. Driving to Charlotte w/ his Dookie brother he admits and apologizes. Pulled this crap during ACC tourney on me though I allow games to be shown here. He better hope its worth it. I told him he's fired and just had his Nextel shut off. We're pulling all his Dook crap off his walls now-- Hope they blow it down there for all their lying flopping ferret fans.

    For the entire thread, please see the link below.

  • Basketball Message Board

    Gillen's gone, so who's next?

    UVa AD Craig Littlepage

    As you may have heard, Virginia is looking for a new men's basketball coach. If you think you're qualified, please send a resume and cover letter to Craig Littlepage.

    Of course, the UVa athletic director surely has a list of potential candidates already, though few people really know the names on that list or which ones are at the very top. By god, that won't stop us from speculating.

    Tubby Smith? Rick Barnes? Mike Montgomery? Rick Carlisle? Dave Leitao? Mike Brey? Karl Hobbs? Mike Anderson? Jeff Capel? If you've been visiting our message boards and reading the papers, you've seen these names, plus several others. Most of them are currently coaching in the NCAA tournament or in the NBA, so Littlepage may have to wait before openly going after his top guys.

    That's OK. We can be patient. After years of mediocrity, we can wait another month for a new era of Cavalier basketball to begin.

    For the Sabre's story on the ACC tournament quarterfinal, please see the link below.

  • Gillen, Cavs Finished Off by (Who Else?) Duke

    For the Sabre's story on Pete Gillen's departure, please see the link below.

  • Gillen Era Ends at Virginia

    Women's basketball in NCAA tourney

    One Virginia basketball team is still playing right now. The Cavalier women made the NCAA tournament field as a #6 seed and will face #11 seed Old Dominion tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

    UVa's streak of 20 NCAA tournament appearances ended last year, but the Wahoos bounced back with a good season and earned an at-large bid. Problem is, they didn't beat any team as good as Minnesota, their likely opponent in the second round if they win tomorrow. To stick around past this weekend, Virginia will need to raise its game. Fortunately, LaTonya Blue and Siedah Williams, both of whom missed the ACC tournament with injuries, are expected to play.

    For more information on UVa women's basketball, please see the link below.

  • UVa Women's Basketball

    Men's lacrosse remains unbeaten

    One year after going 5-8, the Virginia men's lacrosse team is 5-0 and returning to its normal place among the sport's elite.

    The second-ranked Cavaliers beat No. 8 Princeton 11-7 last Saturday, then defeated Mt. Saint Mary's 11-4 on Tuesday, getting balanced scoring in both home games. They face Towson tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Klockner Stadium before travelling to Baltimore for a showdown with No. 1 Johns Hopkins next Saturday.

    The top-ranked and defending national champion UVa women's team, meanwhile, suffered a letdown after crushing its first two opponents. The 'Hoos fell to No. 10 Penn State 10-7 at Klockner last Friday, then bounced back with an 11-5 win over Richmond on Sunday. They play at North Carolina tomorrow at noon.

    For more information on UVa men's lacrosse, please see the link below.

  • UVa Men's Lacrosse

    For more information on UVa women's lacrosse, please see the link below.

  • UVa Women's Lacrosse

    Baseball team blanking opponents

    Mike Ballard struck out nine in last Friday's shutout of Marist.

    Twenty games into the season, Virginia's baseball team already has set a school record for shuouts. The Cavs recorded three more last week and have seven this season, breaking the previous mark of six.

    For the most part, however, the Wahoos are shutting down lousy opponents. Their shutouts have come against the likes of Bucknell, Longwood and Marist (twice). They were pounded for 33 runs in a three-game series against Wake Forest, so they have something to prove this weekend when they take on Maryland in an important three-game set at Davenport Field.

    At 0-3 in the ACC (14-6 overall), Virginia must show it can contain ACC bats if it plans to be a contender in the conference.

    For the Sabre's weekly update on UVa baseball, please see the link below.

  • Around the Horn: 19 Games, 7 Shutouts

    For more information on UVa baseball, please see the link below.

  • UVa Baseball



  •    What's New on TheSabre.com?

    Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week

  • Basketball or Football? Must UVa Make a Choice?, Greg Waters

    Image: JPJ ArenaVirginia is spending $130 million on a new basketball arena and may spend millions more on a new coach. The university recently spent $90 million on Scott Stadium's expansion and has invested heavily in Al Groh's program. Clearly UVa is striving to compete at the highest level in both major sports, but is that a realistic expectation? Fact is, few schools in the country excel in both. Many schools, either consciously or by circumstance, have decided to become either a football school or a basketball school. Must Virginia make that choice?

  • Rashawn Jackson: Bus or Race Car?, Tim Sprinkle

    Image: Rashawn JacksonIt's not every day that you come across a high school football coach who's willing to call one of his star players a "freak of nature," but for Saint Peter's Prep head coach Rich Hansen, an exception is probably in order. After all, 6-1, 245-pound running back Rashawn Jackson doesn't exactly fit the typical "big man" mold. "He's got soft hands, quick moves, good speed and does things that guys of his size just don't do," Hansen says. "I'd say he's kind of an athletic anomaly."

  • For Littlepage, Pressure's On, John Galinsky

    Image: UVA AD Craig LittlepageNow that Pete Gillen is gone, we can finally start discussing who might become Virginia's next men's basketball coach. Oh, we've been doing that for months already? Then let's talk about why this coaching search may be the most important in UVa history, and why Craig Littlepage has his work cut out for him. In the next month or so, Virginia will have a new basketball coach. In a little over a year, it will have a new basketball arena. If things go poorly, it may soon have a new athletic director.

  • Would Things Have Been Different With Clark?, John Galinsky

    Image: Jason ClarkWASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pete Gillen and Mike Krzyzewski had a ready explanation for Virginia's losing record this season - Jason Clark. If only Clark had remained eligible and Devin Smith had stayed healthy, Coach K said when asked about Gillen's likely dismissal, "they win 20 games, they go to the NCAAs and the point is moot." Hmm, was it really that simple? Hardly. To me, it's ridiculous to make Clark a scapegoat for Pete Gillen's shortcomings as Virginia's coach.

  • Gillen, Cavs Finished Off by (Who Else?) Duke, John Galinsky

    Image: Coach Pete GillenWASHINGTON, D.C. - If this was the 211st and last game of Pete Gillen's coaching career at UVa - and it almost certainly was - the finale was fitting. Despite a decent effort, Virginia lost to Duke 76-64 in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Friday night at the MCI Center. That should sound familiar. After all, the Cavaliers have been ousted in the ACC quarterfinals (or earlier) in all seven of Gillen's seasons, the last three times by Duke. The 'Hoos are 2-15 against the Blue Devils under Gillen, his worst record against any ACC opponent.

    Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week

    Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

    Football

  • Around the State: Updated Offer Lists
  • 2006 Class: Chris Bell a Top Target
  • Gateway's Smith Drawing Heavy Attention
  • Johnson Receiving ACC Interest
  • 2006 Class: Elkin LB/DE Terry Adams
  • 2006 Class: The Nation's #1 Player
  • 2006 Video: Oscar Smith DE Brian Whitmore
  • Linemen Lead E.C. Glass Into 2005

  •    Sabre Edge

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    All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers.

    If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!

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