Blog Post of the Week

The Good Ol' Blog continues to evolve here at TheSabre.com and thanks to the men's basketball team, there is plenty to talk about. For instance, is Virginia a lock for the NCAA Tournament? Can Hoo fans hope for a high seed? What does the RPI mean to Virginia?

Rob Mahini tackled the RPI question in the Blog Post of the Week:

Every year, there's a lot of talk about the RPI of different basketball teams. Does a team's RPI show that it deserves to be in the Big Dance? Does this one show that a team is not beating quality opponents? Does this show that a coach is using his timeouts to quickly? 12. 69. 33. Digits floating around in order to define a team's resume. Modeling agencies doesn't care about numerical measurements as much as the college basketball world.

Sure, for bubble teams, every shred of argument matters. But for a team that's not on the bubble, RPI is not so important. Maybe it matters for seeding. Maybe it helps a team get a better region. But, for our team, the discussions seem a bit silly.

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Men's basketball ...

Jeff Jones

Congratulations go out to Monsignor Bonner (Drexel Hill, PA) guard Jeff Jones, who, with a 36-point performance in a 79-64 win over West Catholic, became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Philadelphia Catholic League.

The 6-4 senior, who signed with UVa last November, was 29 points short of the record heading into the game. He now has 1,903 career points in the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Monsignor Bonner's win was a big one, as it clinched a playoff berth and fourth place in the Catholic League Southern Division.

Following UVa's big home win over Florida State on Saturday, Charlottesville area fans had a chance to see some of the top high school basketball teams in the country at John Paul Jones arena in the Charlottesville Shoot-Out.

The first game pitted Benedictine (Richmond, VA) against the local Blue Ridge School. Benedictine of course features top junior Ed Davis. Although the 6-8 Davis struggled to an 8-point performance on 2-of-10 shooting, the Cadets escaped JPJ with a 52-47 win despite a late surge by Blue Ridge.

Davis, one of UVa's top targets for the 2008 class, added 13 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in the contest.

The second game featured two of the country's top programs in Oak Hill Academy and Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD).

Led by Duke-bound senior guard Nolan Smith, Oak Hill toppled Montrose 74-65. Smith finished with 25 points (7-9 from the floor; 10-13 from the line) and five rebounds in the win.

UVa is targeting a few recruits from the second game - specifically, Oak Hill junior PF/C Howard Thompkins and Montrose Christian sophomore F Tristan Spurlock. Stay tuned for more on these players in the Sabre EDGE recap of Saturday night's games.

Football recruiting ...

UVa will host a junior day this Saturday for the men's basketball game against Georgia Tech. A number of recruits are expected to be on hand on Saturday and UVa could garner a verbal commitment from the event. A list of confirmed visitors will be posted on the Sabre EDGE later in the week.

Also stay tuned for more info on the 2008 class of recruits, including feature profile articles and more.

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 ...

London's Presence Felt in '07 Class
Mike London's return to the University of Virginia was a boost in a lot of ways, with the first and most obvious being the on-the-field results. UVa's Orange Crush defense, aggressive and stingy in 2006, yielded an average of just 17.8 points and 289 yards per game. With 9 starters returning, the group figures to be just as strong next season. London's presence in another key area - the recruiting trail - was felt as well.

Countdown to Signing Day: Class of 2008 Preview
Recruiting never stops. With that in mind, we preview the upcoming 2008 recruiting class. UVa is fresh off a successful 2007 class, one that may end up being the top class in the Al Groh era. The staff has already landed a commitment from one talented recruit for the 2008 class and is in the process of extending more scholarship offers and continuing to evaluate prospects. The staff is also looking forward to next Saturday, which will be a junior day.

Linebacker Recruits Key For UVa
The linebacker position was a key area of need for Virginia's coaching staff as it crafted this year's recruiting class. The Cavaliers were stretched a bit thin at linebacker during the 2006 season, largely due to Kai Parham's decision to leave school after his junior year for the NFL Draft as well as the whole Ahmad Brooks saga. With the influx of talented young linebacker prospects in this year's class, the position could soon be an area of great depth.

More updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Two Top Juniors Plan to Visit UVa
• Springers Boast Deep, Talented '08 Class
• UVa Offers Talented Wisconsin TE
• Reamon Jr. Working Towards Offers

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Broadcast Schedule Set For Lacrosse

• Saturday, March 10 vs. Princeton (1 p.m.)
• Saturday, March 17 vs. Towson (1 p.m.)
• Saturday, March 24 at Johns Hopkins (3 p.m.)
• Saturday, March 31 vs. Maryland (3 p.m.)
• Saturday, April 7 vs. North Carolina (7 p.m.)
• Saturday, April 14 at Duke (7 p.m.)
• Saturday, April 21 vs. Dartmouth (1 p.m.)
• Fri-Sun, April 27-29 = ACC Tournament (Durham, NC)

Fan of the Week

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Cavalier Baseball Downs George Washington: The Virginia baseball team picked up two wins against George Washington over the weekend. In the home-opening win on Saturday, Greg Miclat went 4 for 5 with three RBIs - he followed that up Sunday by going 5 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. UVa won the two games 11-0 and 11-1. The final game in the three-game series is scheduled for today at 3 p.m.
• Virginia Falls to Florida State in Home Finale, 79-77: Virginia women's basketball lost its final regular-season home game to Florida State, 79-77, on Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers fell to 15-12 overall and 4-8 in the ACC, while the Seminoles improved to 19-8 overall and 8-4 in the league.
• Drexel Men's Lacrosse Defeats Virginia 11-10:Drexel freshman Colin Ambler scored his only two goals of the game in the final 10 seconds to lift the Dragons to an 11-10 win over top-ranked Virginia in the season opener for both teams this afternoon at the UHall Turf Field. The loss snapped UVa's 19-game home winning streak and was Drexel's first victory ever against Virginia. The loss is also UVa's first in the season opener in seven years.
• No. 3 Cavaliers Fall to No. 1 Georgia, 4-2:The No. 3 Virginia men's tennis team fell to No. 1 Georgia, 4-2, this afternoon in the semifinals of the National Team Indoor Championships. The Cavaliers fell just short of advancing to their second ever NTI final, and also suffered their first loss of the season. Virginia now stands at 8-1, while Georgia improves to 7-0.

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

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Issue No. 196 - July 1, 2005

Coming Soon

Basketball season is entering the home stretch, while baseball, lacrosse, and other spring sports are just leaving the starting gates. The Sabre has 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:

• Tales of Tiki
  Former Sabre editor John Galinsky caught up with plenty of Cavaliers to look back at Tiki Barber's career at Virginia.
• Women's Lacrosse Preview
  The Sabre takes a look at the upcoming women's lacrosse season. The Hoos open against the Hokies this week.
• Scouting Miami and Georgia Tech
  One of fhe Sabre's most popular basketball features, check out the exclusive scouting reports for this week's ACC game against Miami and Georgia Tech with former UVa and Clemson assistant Ben D'Alessandro.
• My First JPJ Experience ...
  Vandy-Hoo made his first trip to the John Paul Jones Arena for the Miami game. What stood out about his experience in the JPJ?

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Drexel Shocks Virginia
Virginia came into Sunday's season opener against Drexel hoping to embark on a second consecutive championship season with the poise, precision, and perfection it so aptly employed in 2006. Instead, the top-ranked Cavaliers walked off the University Hall Turf Field with their first loss in nearly 21 months.

Cavaliers Stop Seminoles
There's an old saying that good teams find ways to win even when they don't have their best days statistically. Virginia fit that description on Saturday. After all, visiting Florida State prevailed in the shooting percentage and rebounding categories, but the Cavaliers still came out on top, winning the ACC showdown, 73-70.

Scouting Report: Florida State
After cruising to victory in its final non-conference game of the season, the Virginia men's basketball team returns to ACC action this weekend when Florida State comes to town. The Seminoles have lost three straight league games, but they are a dangerous team that defeated current No. 1 Florida earlier this season. Al Thornton is FSU's marquee player, but Leonard Hamilton's group will present a tough challenge across the board, starting from the defensive end. Former ACC assistant coach Ben D'Alessandro breaks down the Noles.

Repeat? Men's Lacrosse Set To Begin
After a historic 2006 season in which Virginia went 17-0 and won its sixth NCAA National Championship, the Cavaliers commence their quest for a repeat this Sunday afternoon when they host Drexel at 1 p.m. on the U-Hall Turf Field. In coach coach Dom Starsia's eyes, however, the notion of "repeating" is one of pure semantics.

Notes: UVa Set For Home Opener
Brandon Marsh went 2 for 3, including a two-run home run and Sean Doolittle notched his 15th career victory as the Cavaliers opened the 2007 season with a 10-3 triumph over Elon. Doolittle allowed three runs on four hits and fanned six in five innings of work in the opening game of the Springmaid Beach Resort Tournament at Coastal Carolina. Andrew Carraway worked three innings of no-hit, shutout relief, while freshman Jeff Lorick pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his first career appearance.

Best Seat in the House: Sean Singletary
The Virginia basketball cruised past Longwood on Tuesday in the Cavaliers' final non-conference match-up of the regular season. Star point guard Sean Singletary had 19 points and 7 assists in the win. Jed Williams sat down with Singletary after the victory to talk about the Hoos' win, bouncing back from Virginia Tech, leadership, upcoming ACC games, and more.

UVa Lambasts Longwood
While things in Charlottesville got progressively slicker outside of the John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday night, thanks to a winter storm, there was no chance of a slip up inside the building. The Cavaliers made sure of that in a hurry, opening up a 22-2 lead less than seven minutes into the game before sprinting to a 90-49 victory.

Photo Gallery: Virginia 81, Miami 70
Virginia returns home tonight for a non-conference game against Longwood in the John Paul Jones Arena. So far, the Cavaliers have lost just one game in the JPJ. The wins include a recent 81-70 ACC triumph over Miami as Sean Singletary, J.R. Reynolds, and Mamadi Diane all scored in double figures. Check out this 77-image photo gallery.

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