Shortly after Virginia's recent win against Miami in University Hall, coach Dave Leitao mused that he was worried that his team might "still be drinking the North Carolina Kool-Aid." Obviously, the team wasn't experiencing any sugar hangovers as the Cavaliers blasted the Hurriances, 71-51. Unfortunately for me, Leitao did not issue any similar Kool-Aid warnings to the Wahoo fans.

That's right, PASS THE KOOL-AID! I'm all in!

I know, I know. Don't get too excited. Try not to get carried away. Let's see how it plays out. Well, I can't help it. I really think this edition of Virginia basketball has a legitimate shot at postseason play in either the NIT or the NCAA Tournament. After three straight ACC wins, the Cavs stand at 10-6 and 4-2 with 11 regular-season games to play. Even a 4-7 record the rest of the way would leave UVa at 14-13, which would likely get the team into the NIT with an additional ACC Tournament win. Here's the thing, though. I don't see any possible way that this team goes 4-7 in its next 11 games. (Knock on wood).

Why? My reasoning is simple, really. The Cavaliers play defense and rebound. Any team that does those two things will have a chance to win any game on the schedule. So far (with the exception of Florida State), this team has capitalized on those opportunities by making enough plays down the stretch to win games. I don't think that will change in the coming 6 weeks or so. In fact, I think the Cavs will continue to make those plays and go at least 6-5 in the next 11 games. That gives the Cavs a 16-11 record before the conference tourney. And that, regardless of what they do in the ACC Tournament, would get them into a postseason slot.

So, pass the Kool-Aid! And make mine a double shot of Blue Devil Blueberry because the Hoos are headed to Cameron and I'm all in.

Kris Wright
Editor
TheSabre.com

Last weekend was a success for the Hoos, who managed three commitments among the official visitors. On Sunday, DT Gavin Smith and TE Jack Shields became the newest members of the 2006 recruiting class. Then, on Wednesday, RB Brent Carter verbally committed as well, giving Virginia 25 total commitments.

Gavin Smith, a 6-4, 265-pound prospect out of Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.), chose Virginia over South Carolina, North Carolina State and North Carolina. He had an excellent official visit to SC the previous weekend, but felt comfortable with the UVa players and decided to commit. An outstanding wrestler as well, Smith is a good athlete who could play defensive tackle as well as nose tackle.

Jack Shields is a 6-5, 250-pound prospect out of Boston College High School in Boston, Massachusetts. Shields chose Virginia over offers from Connecticut and Vanderbilt and late interest from Boston College. A versatile player, he played wide receiver his freshman and sophomore years, quarterback as a junior and tight end and defensive end as a senior. He is being recruited by UVa as a tight end and shows good speed (electronic time of 4.79 in the 40) and size for the position.

Shields comes from good blood lines, as his father was a linebacker for Notre Dame.

Brent Carter, rated a 4-star running back by Rivals.com, chose Virginia over offers from Boston College, Minnesota, Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others. At 6-3, 205 pounds, he says he has drawn comparisons from college coaches to another pretty good tall running back - former Ohio State and NFL star Eddie George.

In his senior season, Carter rushed for 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns. He chose UVa after an excellent official visit experience, his first ever experience at UVa. In the end, he chose UVa over Penn State.

Godfrey will choose among Clemson, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The 6-3, 240-pound Lee County (Sanford, N.C.) star heads to Virginia Tech tomorrow for his final official visit. Robinson, a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker prospect out of Scotland School for Veterans Children (Scotland, PA), will decide between Connecticut and Virginia early next week.

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SabreMail Contest, Week #17: What's Your Best Basketball Memory in University Hall?

Doug Kornreich: Without a doubt, my best UVa Basketball memory happened my first year of college. I'm pretty sure it was Feb. 14 1986, and the 21-0 University of North Carolina (#1 in the nation) came into U-Hall. It was to be televised on ESPN, and Dick Vitale (who was just starting out in those days) was in the house. I think it started really late, like 9 p.m. for TV purposes, and the crowd was without a doubt excited. It was totally electric in U-Hall.

My memory of the game at this point is a total blur. The thing that struck me more than anything was how loud it was in U-Hall. The noise was deafening with each basket that made it more clear that we were going to knock off the #1 team in the nation. The chant "21 and 1" was everywhere. Every basket, every turnover, and even every rebound was met by more yelling and screaming. Even through entire TV timeouts the crowd was so loud, I felt that I had to cover my ears.

After the game was over everyone was throwing the plastic soda cups, and they were flying like confetti. I remember seeing Dick Vitale being pelted by plastic cups (apparently his chrome dome made him an inviting target) and I also remember him shaking his fist at the crowd and swearing he'd never come back to U-Hall. I'm not sure if he ever has been back, but he wasn't back in my remaining time at Virginia.

And afterwards, people were running around screaming. For some reason people were toilet papering all the trees around the new dorms as celebration. Without a doubt it was the most excited I ever saw and felt U-Hall. And it created an addict who's been into Virginia Basketball for 20 years now.

Coach Frank McGuire gets a technical foul early for challenging a reporter from across the floor. UVa one down at the end, over a minute to play, and Parkhill has the ball, dribbling with his back to the basket at the sideline even with the top of the key -- he backs in, he dribbles -- he backs in, he dribbles -- down to 10 seconds, the crowd starts counting off the time. He backs in, stops at the top of the key, turns, fires, and makes it over Roche to win, 50-49, as the horn goes off. At the time, it was the biggest win in Cav history and BP literally put UVA basketball on the map. Everything else after that is gravy, but that one shot turned the whole program and the whole concept of UVA basketball around. It was never the same after that shot

For more basketball memories, check out the Post of the Week below!

Post of the Week

Subject: The Last Ball in U-Hall
Posted by: Skeets on Wed Jan 25 2006 1:10:44 AM
Message: Just five games remaining at University Hall. I just got back from the game..I took my 12 year old son - he was the one that won the butt-bouncing contest at the under 12:00 timeout in the second half.

It will most likely be my last game in U-Hall. I had to go see the place one more time. The whole "Last Ball in U-Hall" is emotional for me. I mean, it's just a building, right? But, oh, what memories.

I've been going to basketball games in Charlottesville for nearly 40 years, so I pretty much started viewing games around the time U-Hall was built.

I saw Charlie Scott play there - the first African-American to play for UNC. My first real vivid memory was beating a ranked NC State team in 1970 or '71 when backup center Lanny Stahurski made the winning layup - he got a feed from All-American guard Barry Parkhill who was quadruple-teamed on the in-bounds play.

I remember Gus Gerard (6'8" Center) absolutely SCHOOLING Tree Rollins of Clemson, who at least stood 7'2" - I think Gus went off for like 30 points in that game and had one move one the baseline where he dribbled the ball between Rollin's legs and made a reverse layup.

And then there were the Wally Walker years. To me, that defined UVa basketball. I know that for lots of people, UVa basketball was defined by Lamp, Raker, and Sampson. Not for me. It was Billy Langloh, Marc Iavoroni, Steve Castellan, and that bunch. Winning the ACC Tournament in 76 was sweet.

I was fortunate enough to see every single UVa home basketball game during my four years at the U (1977 - 1981)...every game. My dad was a season ticket holder and if I didn't get student seating (by getting my section picked, or later by mailed letter lottery), then Dad would save me one of his seats.

The Carolina game in 1981 was absolutely insane. They had Perkins. Worthy. Jordan. And.oh well they had Doh Matt too, but they were truly an awesome team. They were beating us by 16 points. The crowd literally willed UVa to come back. When Othell Wilson hit a jumper from the free throw line to put us ahead, the place went bonkers. I mean U-Hall was never louder. Never. What a win that was.

Another incredible game was Super Bowl Sunday when the hostages were released from Iran. UVa hosted Ohio State and All-American center Herb Williams. Rumor had it that Ohio State and their proud Big Ten heritage would actually play man-to-man against the Ralph Sampson-led Cavaliers. I mean, NO ONE played Ralph man-to-man his entire collegiate career did they? I remember a sign that day --- "Ralph Smokes Herb" - just a classic. I think Ralph hit for 30 or maybe even 40 that day. He had one sick alley-oop dunk off a half court pass from Jeff Jones that actually glanced off the backboard. "Tootsie" (that was my favorite Ralph nickname) just calmly stuffed it home.

Another great sign: "The Only Good Pack Is a 6-Pack". Then there was Maryland. Remember the time that every paying customer got a Lefty Dreisel face sign that had a gas gage on "E" imposed on his forehead? Bozo O'Brien. Brian Magid that could flat out shoot the lights out.

I remember Barry Parkhill scoring 51 versus Baldwin Wallace. Hey, it was Baldwin Wallace, but 51 points? Pretty good.

Who could forget Richard Morgan going off against Carolina? 1986, with interim coach Dave Odom at the helm --- 36 points and a fast-break three that nearly brought the roof down. Bryant Stith. Junior Burrough. Mel Kennedy. Harold Deane. Adam Hall. Beating Duke. Adam Hall on the scorer's table afterwards reveling in it all.

There were some low points too. I was one of probably < 3000 there that saw us lose to Liberty. I remember a home game versus Ga Tech that we absolutely had - in the bag. And we lost it on a last second three from the top of the key.

And there were non-basketball memories. Heck, I saw the Dead there. Bob Dylan. Little Feat (at their peak). The Molly Hatchet/Outlaws concert was a good double bill. I remember when we lost to Houston in the Final Four in 1984 (Jimmy Miller, Kenton Edelin) - I went to U-Hall. Joe Jackson was playing there. A terrible concert, but it seemed to heal the wound of losing a close game.

Tonight's performance by Sean Singletary might rate among the best individual performances ever at U-Hall. "Only" 29 points, but he certainly took over the game.

Tonight was my last trip there. I saw a fraternity brother at half time and I said, "Let's take a stroll around the ole gal one last time, shall we?" And we did. And we sang the Good Ole Song. And we won.

And right now I am crying.

Yeah. Just a building...

• To read the entire thread, click on the Men's Basketball Message Board

While the Cavaliers recent success on the hardwood has most of the Cavalier nation excited, the rest of Virginia's sports teams have been posting some impressive accomplishments as well.

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Four football players were named to the All-ACC Academic Football Team. To be eligible, a player must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the fall semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career. UVa's four honorees are tied for fourth-most in the conference with North Carolina. Duke led the way with eight selections, while Miami and Virginia Tech both had five. Virginia's honorees were linebacker Mark Miller, PK Kurt Smith, DB Marcus Hamilton, and TE Tom Santi.
• The No. 1 men's tennis team defended its ranking with a win against No. 33 VCU on Wednesday. The 4-3 win opened the new Indoor Tennis Stadium at the Boar's Head Sports Club in style with 527 fans in attendance.
• The Virginia Department of Athletics is giving $50,000 from its share of the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl football game proceeds to academic programs. For the second year in a row, athletics has split the money into two $25,000 gifts, one going to the Cavalier Marching Band endowment, and one to Faculty Senate to support a graduate student fellowship recognizing excellence in teaching and research.
• The 19th-ranked women's swimming and diving team won 11 of 16 events to cruise to a 167-133 victory over 21st-ranked North Carolina.

Fore more information on Virignia athletics, check out virginiasports.com.

Last Ball in U-Hall T-shirt Own a little piece of history by getting the official 2005-2006 UVA Basketball "Last Ball in UHall" tee. This tee will make a great souvenir to help remember all the great games played in UHall throughout the years. Price: $16.99 - $17.99

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Reynolds Day-to-Day After Fall
Virginia ripped off its third straight ACC win Tuesday by blasting Miami, 71-51. During that game, however, J.R. Reynolds took a nasty spill and did not return to action. Dave Leitao updated reporters on his condition Thursday, saying Reynolds is day to day at this point. A decision on his availability for Duke will not be made until later this week.

AP Report #12: Alvin Pearman Rookie Diary
During the course of the NFL schedule, Sabre Edge subscribers have had the opportunity to follow the rookie season of former Cavalier tailback Alvin Pearman. Alvin is working with a company to create a Web site so you will able to follow his continued progress on an ongoing basis. As soon as we find out when the Web site is available, we will pass it on to his fans here at the Sabre. Until then, the Sabre caught up with the Virginia product one last time. Check out the 12th edition of AP's rookie report.

Photo Gallery: Virginia Upsets North Carolina
Virginia has won back to back ACC games in University Hall, including an upset of then-No. 24 North Carolina last week. In that game, Sean Singletary, J.R. Reynolds, Jason Cain, T.J. Bannister, and Laurynas Mikalauskas were among those that played well. Check out the gallery in this EDGE feature.

Best Seat in the House Audio Special: Tennis coach Brian Boland
Virginia men's tennis coach Brian Boland sat down with Jed Williams for Wednesday's Best Seat in the House. Boland talked about his team's No. 1 national ranking, the 2-1 start to the season, the new Boar's Head facility, and more. Check out the audio through this EDGE feature.

Virginia Mows Down Miami
The Virginia-Miami game was billed as the battle of two of the top guard units in the ACC. In the end, it was one guard -- Virginia's Sean Singletary -- that stole the show in the Cavaliers' 71-51 ACC win against visiting Miami on Tuesday night. Singletary awed the 8,075 in attendance en route to a game-high 29 points, including 22 after halftime.

Chalktalk: Getting to the Line
When Miami rolls into University Hall tonight for an ACC showdown with Virginia, the spotlight will be shining bright on the guards from both teams. The Hurricanes feature the trio of Robert Hite, Guillermo Diaz, and Anthony Harris. The Hoos have Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. While achieving a win seems to rest on those players' shoulders, an important key to victory lies just below the surface analysis.

Ryan's Team Growing Up Quickly
The Sabre is happy to introduce this new weekly feature for our Edge subscribers where former Virginia standout Anna Prillaman breaks down the Cavalier women's basketball team. In this first edition, Anna looks back at this past week's action for Debbie Ryan's team, including the tough OT loss to Maryland, and gets us prepped for the Hoos' upcoming ACC contests.

Cain Continues to Emerge
Midway through the second half of Virginia's win over North Carolina, the University Hall crowd was teetering on the brink of pandemonium. The Cavaliers already had rallied from a 7-point deficit and were in the midst of a 13-4 run, which gave the hosts a lead they never relinquished. There in the middle of this frenzy, with the simplest of gestures, one man sent the crowd into all-out hysteria. But just who was that 'Stached man?

Best Seat in the House Audio Special: UVa coach Mike London
The chance to return to his home state and be the defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia was too much to pass up for Mike London, who rejoined the Cavaliers after a year with the NFL's Houston Texans. London is excited to be back in Charlottesville and ready to get back to work for the UVa football program. He discussed his new position with Jed Williams on The Best Seat in the House on Friday.

Best Seat in the House Audio Special: Sabre Recruiting Analyst Chris Horne
The Sabre's recruiting guru Chris Horne appeared on "The Best Seat in the House" with Jed Williams on Friday. With less than two weeks until signing day, the Cavaliers are closing in on a solid class. But who are the top remaining targets as signing day approaches? Find out by checking out this audio conversation about Virginia recruiting.

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

• Countdown to Signing Day: Final Edition
• Is Britt Still a Target?
• Shields Excited About UVa Commitment
• Carter Commits!
• 4-star Carter has Excellent UVa Visit
• Britt to Decide from Three
• Godfrey Enjoys UVa Visit
• Johnson is Solid to Virginia
• Decision Time for Cuffee
• Cavs Land Commitments #23 and #24!
• Bowens Lands UVa Offer
• Recruiting 2006: Virginia's Postseason Top 30

Every week, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your UVa Bookstores purchases during your subscription.

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