Cavaliers Face Big Week

After losing two ACC road games last week, the Virginia men's basketball team returns to Charlottesville for a pair of league contests this week. With a 1-2 conference record, it is obviously a big week for the team, which needs to hold serve on its home court if it wants to stay alive in the ACC race.

On Tuesday, the Hoos face nemesis Maryland, the team that spoiled last season's Last Ball in U-Hall finale. The Terps are also 1-2 in league play after splitting home games with Miami and Clemson last week.

After that showdown, the Cavaliers have the rest of the week to prepare for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are 1-3 in ACC games entering the week.

Kris Wright
Editor, TheSabre.com

Football recruiting .

UVa received several surprises this past weekend, with the first being the commitment of long snapper/tight end prospect Danny Aiken.

Aiken, a 6-5, 228-pound recruit who is currently at Fork Union Military Academy, was invited for an unofficial visit to the University of Virginia last month (he went the same day as offensive line recruit Anthony Castonzo), but it didn't seem like Aiken was in line for an offer . that is, until last week, when the former Cave Spring (Roanoke, VA) standout received a call from Mike London.

London asked Aiken what would happen if the staff were to extend a scholarship offer. Aiken said he would accept and, a few days later, did. UVa is recruiting Aiken as a long snapper who will have a shot at tight end as well. At Cave Spring, Aiken saw time at the quarterback, defensive end and safety positions. He played tight end and long snapper at Fork Union and impressed Coach London last month with his long-snapping ability.

A bigger surprise came Sunday when Lamar Milstead, a 6-6, 275-pound offensive tackle recruit out of Ballou High School (Washington, D.C.), pledged to the Hoos. Milstead, one of UVa's top targets for offensive line, verbally committed to UNC last summer. He re-evaluated his situation once John Bunting was dismissed as the Tar Heels head coach and made several unofficial visits to Charlottesville Still, it seemed inevitable that Milstead would remain a committed to UNC.

As recent as last Monday, Ballou head coach Moses Ware told TheSabre.com that UNC would be where Milstead would end up. But, upon returning from an official visit to Chapel Hill this past weekend, Milstead called up the UVa coaches and verbally committed, saying that he had de-committed from UNC.

This pick-up is huge for a number of reasons, none more important than UVa's need at offensive line. Milstead becomes UVa's highest rated offensive line prospect.

This upcoming weekend will be an important one for the Hoos, as the staff will host offensive line targets Anthony Castonzo and John Elliott on official visits. Castonzo, a 6-6 ½, 255-pound prospect out of Hawthorne Woods, Illinois, attended Fork Union Military Academy for the fall semester. He made an official visit to Vanderbilt this past weekend and is also considering Boston College and Illinois, neither of which have offered. UVa and Vanderbilt each have offered.

Elliott has been at the top of UVa's offensive line board for quite some time. The 6-4, 295-pound East Meadow (N.Y.) prospect, a two-time Martone Award winner for top lineman in Nassau County, is down to three schools - Rutgers, Virginia, and Boston College. He has made an official visit to Rutgers and he heads to UVa this weekend followed by BC next weekend.

The addition of Milstead certainly helps UVa's offensive line recruiting in a big way, but the staff continues to go after these two prospects as well.

It should be interesting to see how Al Groh's in-home visit goes tonight with Henrico (VA) defensive back/athlete Corey Mosley. Mosley knows UVa could run out of scholarships, and with Milstead committing things look even tighter. Stay tuned, as we plan to follow up with the 5-9, 190-pound prospect to discuss how tonight's in-home visit goes and where he stands with the Cavaliers.

Men's basketball recruiting .

A little more than a week ago, the EDGE produced an update on UVa 2007 signee Mike Scott. The 6-8, 215-pound forward has played in three games since the update, helping Hargrave Military Academy's postgraduate team to an undefeated record in 2007 (3-0).

In a win over Patrick Henry Community College, Scott scored 26 points and had three steals. In a win over Virginia Western Community College, he tallied 17 points and eight rebounds. In a win over Northfield Mount Hermon in the Hall of Fame Invitational, Scott scored 18 points and pulled down eight boards.

Chris Horne, our resident recruiting expert, provides updates throughout the week for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please check out the Sabre Edge Sign Up and Information Page. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Lamar Milstead's Road to Committing to UVa
It was late in his 10th grade year when four-star prospect Lamar Milstead says he first caught the interest of University of Virginia coaches. Throughout his junior year, the UVa staff, then led by primary recruiter Ron Prince, showed steady interest in the 6-6, 275-pound offensive tackle recruit. Yesterday, the staff, now led by primary recruiter Mike London and offensive line coach Dave Borbely, landed a commitment from the talented prospect from Washington, D.C.

Castonzo Returns from Vanderbilt
6-6, 255-pound offensive lineman recruit Anthony Castonzo made an official visit to Vanderbilt this past weekend. Vanderbilt, along with UVa, are the only two of Castonzo's four finalists that have currently offered a scholarship. He discussed this past weekend's experience as well as his upcoming official visit to Virginia.

Former Cave Spring Star Commits to UVa
Danny Aiken, a 6-5, 228-pound tight end/long snapper prospect, committed to the University of Virginia last night after receiving an offer from the 'Hoos earlier in the day. Aiken, a former star at Cave Spring High School (Roanoke, VA) who is currently at Fork Union Military Academy, becomes the 23rd player to commit to UVa for the 2007 recruiting class.

Updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Cavs Pull Out a Recruiting Surprise!
• 2008 Class: Bayside Star Holds Four Offers
• 2008 Class: UVa has Offered DT Ruff
• 2008 Class: Amherst's McCoy Close to First Offer
• 2008 Profile: LCA OL/DL Bobby Massey
• Countdown to Signing Day: One Month Left
• Lalich Discusses All-American Game Experience
• Hill Sets Official Visit to UVa
• Mosley Finalizes Plans

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Last week, Virginia lost two ACC road games at North Carolina and Boston College. The road woes of the program have been well documented, but the two defeats set off some concerns among the Wahoo faithful. On the EDGE board, this rational conversation sparked great discussion on the direction of the team. The Thread of the Week follows:

Subject: Real concerns about the basketball program...
Posted by: nyhoo on Sun Jan 14 2007 5:52:59 AM
Message: I am hoping some with better basketball knowledge than I can convincingly smack me down here, but to me red flags are popping out from everywhere. Where to start?

Dave Leitao's team fell on the road again, this time at Boston College.

X's and O's: the scouting report about DL when he arrived was that his offensive sets were uncreative and predictable, but his team played with great defensive intensity and rebounded ferociously. I think it is fair to say that he has lived up to the billing offensively: this is an atrocious team to watch in an offensive half court set. People complaining about foul differentials need to realize that refs rarely call fouls against offenses that rely on three point shots and reckless attacks on the basket, and that is all our offense can muster. I understand the limitations we have based on our personnel in the post, but I am even disappointed in the use of Singletary - it seems most of his shots are now off the dribble, which means that he is creating most of his shots by himself as opposed to off of offensive sets.

In addition, this year's team seems to have gone backwards in terms of rebounding and defense - the supposed hallmark of Leitao teams. If we had done either of these things well in the last three games, we would have won one or two of them. I am not sure what to make of this regression, as our personnel is the same as last year.

Team/Coach Demeanor: I do not like the joyless, intimidating, abusive approach Leitao employs towards his players, I admit it. I never have. Whether it is Bobby Knight or Gary Williams, it just doesn't resonate with me. But that is just my personal opinion - what matters is whether the players react to it. Do they? It is easy to just move on after the San Juan tournament, but the performance was so wretched there, that it is very easy to take away some very disturbing conclusions from that tournament. Is the team shattered in terms of confidence? Does this team have the desire to play for this coach? Take away the Gonzaga game, and the trend has continued upon our return. I think it is probably too early to draw conclusions here, but this is one area to keep an eye on, imo.

Player Development: This was one area of optimism until just recently. Leitao was getting kudos for his work with Cain and Diame, among others. Again, it is still early, but is there a single player this year who is better than last year? Maybe Diame, but that is it. More generally, as a team who returned everybody, are we better than last year? It doesn't appear so to me.

Recruiting: Personally, I have been under whelmed by the recruiting efforts of the staff so far. But maybe I have unrealistic expectations. Still, it is my opinion that in the ACC impact players reveal themselves as such by the first half of their first years. There has not been an impact player at UVa over the last 25 years that you didn't know was going to be special by January of his first year. So, using that context, I feel comfortable in saying that last year's recruiting class is not likely to produce any impact players. Harris, Tat, and Tucker will be solid, but not spectacular. We all know that next year's class is ranked in the bottom half of the ACC (barring a commitment from Patterson, which is a longshot). If we go two years without recruiting impact players, well it doesn't bode well for competing for ACC titles or tournament births.

I guess the bottom line is that we seem to have gotten worse as a team than last year. We are tournament long shots this year, thanks to this recent stretch. And, if Singletary goes pro (which, based on his body language, seems likely to me), we will be a very longshot to make the tournament again next year. Just a very disappointing year so far, with very few silver bullets at our disposal.

Subject: He's barely a year and half into a majjor reclamation project
Posted by: biscohoo on Sun Jan 14 2007 12:46:36 PM
Message: This program was the worst in the ACC - by a large margin - when Leitao took over. Many thought we wouldn't even win a single ACC game last year. He is facing a monster rebuilding project with a roster that was left devastated - particularly in the front court - by the previous regime. I think passing judgments on the guy when he is barely halfway into his second year is extraodinarily premature. If some of the issues you list are still present 24 months from now, then I think we can start examining the situation. But, until then, he should be given the time and patience to do whatever he feels is necessary to build this thing the right way.

As for recruiting, I think your assessment is way off. I could list dozens of players that evolved into all-ACC talents that didn't show much in their first 3 months of college. From our own school, Junior Burrough and Norman Nolan are 2 examples that come immediately to mind. Tim Duncan was almost non existant his first year, especially the first half of that year. Shamond Williams scored a total of 48 points his freshman year. Drew Nicholas was non existant for his first two and a half seasons. David Noel basically didn't play the first half of his frosh season and ended up averaging about 5 ppg. Al Thornton was a complete non factor his freshman year. I could go on and on.

Not to mention, Leitao did a miracle job to even get the freshman that are here this year here. When he came in, the only commit we had was that Kendall kid who wasn't even remotely ACC material. Gillen had just taken another committment from a kid that couldn't even crack the starting line up for a suburban Denver high school. Leitao worked miracles to get committments from the kids he got despite the fact that he had almost no time. Recruiting these days starts when kids are 8th and 9th graders. Yet Leitao was able to walk into living rooms of seniors for the first time and convince them to come to UVa.

Plus you're not even mentioning the fact that we're in the top 2 for a top 15 talent in this class and are universally acknowledged as the leaders for a top 10 talent in the next class.

I just think attacking Leitao this early into his tenure is exceptionally short sited. It appears everyone has either forgotten or chosen to ignore what horrendous shape we were in just 18 months ago. The fact that we just lost road games - close ones at that - to two of the top teams in the leauge is hardly cause for revolt.

Subject: Our problem is simple: no post player. None who would
Posted by: prairie-hoo on Sun Jan 14 2007 11:23:26 AM
Message: play much less start for any upper division ACC team. You can pick on DL ablity - have "concerns" all you want - but the problem for this team is in the post. He didn't get what we needed last year and not yet this year. Until we do, we will not be an NCAA team. It is not no a short- coming of DL that he hasn't turned Tunji, Lars and Cain into ACC stud posts. He expects them to play D and rebound. When they don't they sit. Then who do you bring off the bench?

Lighten up. We have improved. Last year's team would have been run our of the gyms in Chapel Hill and Boston.

Subject: Nothing wrong with concerns...
Posted by: VBHOO on Sun Jan 14 2007 9:25:19 AM
Message: If we play better D down the stretches of the Purdue (5 seconds), Stanford (10 seconds), and BC games, we have a good shot at 12-3, 2- 1. These were the games we needed to win, and we had our shots, to get into the Dance. We can still get there, but the path is now much steeper. Have to remember that in most sports there are no partial Ws or partial points, it is a zerosum game and winner-take-all.

Coach had the players ready to play at the start of both road ACC games. He's gone about as far as he can with the bench-jockeying, IMO. The key to the season so far was the aftermath of the Puerto Rico experience, and the TEAM made it back after that lacklustre series. I could understand your concern had not that tourney been put in the rearview mirror. With the early requirements to make contacts with future recruits, DL was way behind the curve, especially as he has come into a new recruiting area for him and his assistants. I hoped to see us tap into his Midwest for recruits to get us to competitiveness, and that seems to be occurring with Tucker and Farrakhan, and perhaps Pettinella.

We knew it would be uphill after Gillen, and to make matters worse, playing an ACC schedule that will be seriously disadvantageous in a lot of regards with a much less talented team than the top half of the ACC teams. The only games that I favored us to win were the Wake, Miami and NCSU contests. Based on talent, and VT's heightened performance, the rest of the games will be upsets if you look at the matchups. Even if we had won those 3, that would not have changed my perceptions. We are what we were over the full course of last year and what we are today, a team struggling toward .500, a team that will not be favored to win many ACC games, but a team that will be tough to beat on a given night.

My own personal opinion is that this team will make more than its share of TOs based on the way our guys are playing the offense and the way the games are being called by the officials. If there is a weakness in the coaching, it is the inability to get the team to adjust and deal with the opponent-called games recently. We just are not able to ratchet up our D to intensify the play and take it to the opponents when we need a stop. We also have to remember that most of our opponents have the talent to make big plays late in games, but so do we. We just have to create more pressure on the ball. That is where we are falling short, as much as inside too. Hard for a non- Carolina team to get by with a PG playing 40 minutes a game over 30 games. SS has to pace himself, and that is too bad on the defensive end.

I am looking forward to the UMd game. If you have not attended a game in person yet, you need to do it, to get a better, wider perspective of the game(s) and what goes on over the whole court and not just what the cameras show on TV or what Mac and Hobbo call.

To read the entire thread, click here.

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Fan of the Week

Every week, theSabre.com features a Fan of the Week photo on the front page of the Web site. (Archives are available in the Wahoowa! section.) So you want to be the fan of the week? It's easy - be the loudest Hoo at a live UVa event, wear some crazy Cavalier gear, or do something else to catch our attention. If Mike or Kris spot you and take your picture, you'll be in the running for Fan of the Week honors!

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Virginia Tops Boston College In Overtime: The Virginia women's basketball team took Boston College to overtime to pull out a 65-63 at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday afternoon before a boisterous crowd of 4,605 fans. The Cavaliers improved to 12-5 overall and 2-1 in the ACC, while the Eagles fell to 10-7 overall and 0-3 in the league. The overtime game, the first this season and the first at JPJ, is the 40th in UVa school history.The Cavaliers stand 23-17 in those games.
• Cavalier Newcomers Shine at UVa Men's Open: Three of the newest members of the Virginia men's tennis team had standout performances this week at the UVa men's open at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club. Ted Angelinos reached the singles final, while the team of Houston Barrick and Dominic Inglot captured the doubles title.
• Devvarman and Huey Win USTA Futures Title: Two members of the Virginia men's tennis team won the doubles title at the USTA Futures Event this week in Tampa, Fla. Juniors Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey took home the championship Saturday with a 6-0, 7-6 (6) win over James Cerretani and Antonio Ruiz.
• Grant Qualifies Provisionally for NCAAs in Shot Put: Virginia All-American Billie Jo Grant opened up the 2007 indoor season with a bang, hitting an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put with her 52' 7.5" toss. She set a school record in the process, breaking the previous record of Eliese Mitchell Zawacki from 2003.
• Three Cavaliers Pick Up Wins on Final Day of Virginia Duals: Rocco Caponi, Ross Gitomer, and Mike Grogan won their respective bouts, but Old Dominion held off Virginia, 26-12, in the consolation round of the Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum. Caponi won his third match in three days for the Cavaliers, who finished 1-2 at the tournament.
• Virginia Seventh in Fall Director's Cup Standings: The Virginia athletics program is seventh following the release of the 2007 U.S. Sports Academy Director's Cup final fall sports standings. Thanks to strong showings by five programs in NCAA Championship competition last fall, the Cavaliers compiled 303 points and are the second highest ranked ACC school in the poll.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virginia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 238 - April 21, 2006

Hot Topic

Vic Hall

Former Gretna star quarterback Vic Hall was a fan favorite as soon as he decided to come to Virginia. This spring, Hoo fans are getting a chance to see him in extended action -- at cornerback. While some will debate that he should get some snaps at quarterback, others are focusing on what he can do at DB this season. Some thoughts on the latter were on the football message board this week.

Subject: Cornerback Blitz
Posted by: Beachwahoo on Thu Apr 20 2006 10:47:58 AM
Message: Could Vic Hall become as good a blitzer as Muffin? I'd love to see his speed off the QB's blind side

Subject: It's not just about speed with Hall ...
Posted by: hoofan on Thu Apr 20 2006 1:19:37 PM
Message: ... it's aboult elusiveness. I saw him make as many big plays at Gretna going 1/2 or 3/4 speed than I did at full speed and blowing people off of the field. This kid has a LOT of Biscuit in him and he will be a true LEADER on the field no matter where he plays.

I do hope he gets some snaps now and again on offense, but I mainly want to see him on the field a LOT ...

Subject: Why do people hate defense so much?
Posted by: mwolve on Thu Apr 20 2006 3:00:15 PM
Message: Defense wins championships. Defense can both stop the other team from scoring and score. That other side of the ball can't do that. It's always more important to stack the defense with playmakers than the offense, IMO. Given all the hype, I expect Hall to get his hands on many footballs and score a few times over the next few years.

Coming Soon

January means that 2007 is officially under way and Virginia's winter sports are heating up. The Sabre will help you start the new year with plenty of content to keep you excited about the Hoos! Here's a sneak peak at some of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

• JHoo's Series Continues
  JHoo continues to look back position by position at the 2006 football season.
• Schedule Analysis Revisited
  The Sabre broke down the basketball schedule in the preseason into "earning an NCAA Tournament berth" categories. We'll take a look back to see how the Cavaliers stand around the mid-point of the season.
• Scouting Maryland and Wake Forest
  The Sabre's newest basketball feature brings you exclusive scouting reports for this week's ACC games with Maryland and Wake Forest. Former UVa and Clemson assistant Ben D'Alessandro gives you an insider's look at game preparation.
• Countdown to Signing Day
  Chris Horne provides the weekly recruiting update as Signing Day 2007 approaches.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Boston College Bounces UVa
It is probably safe to say that the Virginia men's basketball team doesn't agree with music artist Willie Nelson. After all, it would be hard to believe that any Hoo wants to get on the road again after another disappointing and disheartening loss away from Charlottesville. Boston College became the latest team to pick up a home win against the visiting Cavaliers, grabbing a 78-73 victory on Saturday in Chestnut Hill.

Best Seat in the House: Al Skinner, Matt Schaub
Virginia travels to Boston College for an ACC showdown in Chestnut Hill where BC will try to avenge last season's loss to the Hoos. BC coach Al Skinner joined Jed Williams on The Best Seat in the House on Friday to talk about the upcoming conference clash, Jared Dudley, and more. Also, former Cavalier quarterback Matt Schaub checked in on the show to talk about his NFL future with the Atlanta Falcons.

Scouting Report: Boston College
Virginia plays its second straight ACC road game on Saturday when it travels to Boston College, a team that is 3-0 in the league standings. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are 1-1 in the conference race so they would like a win to get back above .500. What are the keys against the Eagles? Former ACC assistant coach Ben D'Alessandro takes an in depth look with this scouting report.

Best Seat in the House: Chris Horne
With February's football signing day just weeks away, Sabre recruiting analyst Chris Horne is keeping close tabs on Virginia's commitments and targets. He joined Jed Williams on The Best Seat in the House this week to talk about part of UVa's class and some of the rumblings surrounding the Cavaliers' recruits. The interview is part of a weekly "Countdown To Signing Day" series with Horne and Williams on the Best Seat.

Heels Hit Glass To Hush Hoos
The Virginia men's basketball team opened each half with a strong effort against the nation's top-ranked team but unfortunately the Cavs couldn't fend off North Carolina down the stretch as the Tar Heels pulled out a 79-69 victory on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill. For the visitors, the game's outcome hinged on three key categories: free throws, turnovers, and offensive rebounds. UNC dominated in all three areas and it allowed the hosts to shake off a feisty effort from the Hoos.

Scouting Report: North Carolina
When the Virginia men's basketball teams heads into Chapel Hill tonight, it will have the tough task of facing the nation's new No. 1 ranked team in North Carolina. The Tar Heels are a deep and talented group that can get after you offensively and defensively, making it a challenging ACC road game. What do the Cavaliers need to do to make a run at the upset? Ben D'Alessandro, a former ACC assistant coach, provides the scouting report in a new Sabre series.

Things I Learned About ... Receivers & Tight Ends
The receivers - both the wide receivers and the tight ends - may have been the toughest unit of all to evaluate this past season. At first glance, there was plenty to criticize. Upon further review, things are not always as simple as they seem. With that said, there is a lot to talk about with those groups. Take the emergence of Kevin Ogletree for example. Here are Things I Learned About The Receivers and Tight Ends.

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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