Basketball Season Nearing

When I clicked on our home page at TheSabre.com today, I noticed our basketball season countdown clock had reached the 40-day mark - the Cavaliers open the season at the John Paul Jones Arena with VMI on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. That is the first of five games on the schedule for November.

Of course, the season starts a lot sooner for the coaches and players. The NCAA set the first day of practice for 2008 as Friday, Oct. 17. That means Dave Leitao and company have just a little more than two weeks before they get to work.

The Cavaliers got a mini-introduction to the 2008 season in late August when they were allowed to practice in preparation for a three-game trip to Canada. UVa was allowed to hold 10 practices before leaving on the trip and the Cavaliers began preparations on Aug. 19. The Cavaliers' three freshman had to wait until classes began at Virginia on Aug. 26 to join practice. UVa won two of three contests in Canada.

Kris Wright
Editor
TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

We're continuing to catch up with current University of Virginia commitments, and this week we'll have the latest on Illinois offensive lineman Sean Cascarano. The 6-6, 265-pound commitment, one of three offensive line commitments for the University of Virginia in the 2009 class, has helped Glenbrook South to a 5-0 start to the 2008 season. He is enjoying his senior year, especially since he already knows his college destination.

Cascarano admitted in Sunday night's interview that other schools have inquired about the solidity of his commitment to Virginia. He remains solid, though, and is confident that the Hoos will turn the season around. For more on Cascarano, stay tuned for the EDGE report later Monday.

The offensive line continues to be a major topic of discuss when it comes to 2009 recruiting. As stated above, the Cavs boast three commits so far but are looking to add at least one and perhaps two more prospects in this class. Virginia has some offers outstanding, including New York star Oday Aboushi and Massachusetts standout Brennan Williams, but a larger focus continues to be prospects without offers.

Brookville (Lynchburg, VA) standout Devin Bolling seems pretty close to scoring an offer from head coach Al Groh, but as of last week nothing official had been given. Bolling has, however, received an offer from Boston College. Other prospects currently being evaluated by the staff include New Jersey offensive tackle Cody Bohler, Fork Union (and Canada native) lineman Brander Craighead and Kellam (Virginia Beach, VA) tackle Hunter Steward.

We'll continue to monitor the situations of these prospects and will update you with any new information.

Official visitor

UVa plans to host at least one top uncommitted target on an official visit this coming weekend. Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) wide receiver Tim Smith, teammate of current Virginia defensive back commitment Perry Jones, is scheduled to be in Charlottesville this weekend.

The 6-1, 190-pound standout, a major contributor for one of the top high school football programs in the country, planned to make an official visit to West Virginia this past weekend. We will follow up with Smith this week for more on the West Virginia visit and a look ahead to the upcoming UVa visit.

Louisville is also in the mix for Smith, who did not rule out the possibility of making a college choice after his official to UVa.

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 ...

Battle, Phantoms Dominating on Defense
In four games (and four wins), the Phoebus (Hampton, VA) defense has allowed just seven points, is giving up just over 100 yards of total offense per game and boasts three shutouts. The Phantoms look very, very tough this season, thanks to the swarming defense led by talents such as Virginia commitment LoVante Battle'.

The Latest on Javanti Sparrow
6-1, 185-pound Western Branch (Chesapeake, VA) defensive back/wide receiver Javanti Sparrow is coming off of an unofficial visit to North Carolina, a school that has been seriously recruiting the talented speedster. Sparrow, who may want to end his recruitment sooner rather than later, also has plans to visit two other ACC programs and he will do so within the next month or so.

2010 PG Spradling Visits UVa, VT
Shawnee Mission South (Overland Park, KS) point guard Will Spradling followed through with his plans to visit Virginia and Virginia Tech late last week, checking out the in-state ACC programs on Thursday and Friday. The 6-2, 150-pound junior still has not been offered by either program, but one of the two programs plans to take a much closer look in the coming weeks.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• 2010 Class: Rockbridge OL Caleb Farris
• Steward Awaits First 1A Offer
• UVA Recruiting Notes
• Class of 2010: FUMA OL Holds Seven Offers
• Class of 2010 Profile: Miller G/F Mychal Parker

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SabreMail Archives

Interested in a past SabreMail issue? Never fear - we keep 'em archived! Check out the SabreMail home on TheSabre.com where you can see the current issue, past issues, and any breaking news releases that we've emailed in the past as well.

The Best Seat in the House

TheSabre.com's ongoing relationship with "The Best Seat in the House" continues this spring with new host Jay James. The Best Seat features the best radio discussion of the Hoos and includes guests from every corner of the Wahoo athletic world. The Cavs' coaches and student-athletes are frequent guests on the show along with expert analysts from all across the sports landscape. Learn more about the show by clicking on the logo below!

The Best Seat is also teaming up with The Sabre to provide you with another new feature to the site. On the home page, you will find a new daily (weekdays) audio update on the hottest items in Virginia athletics, courtesy of The Best Seat in the House.

Please provide your feedback on this. The Sabre wants to continue to add new and exciting elements to the site, but we want your help in adding features. You can email your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback [email protected]

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Singh, Shabaz/Inglot win Ranked Plus One Invitational Titles: The Virginia men's tennis team completed play at the UVa Ranked Plus One Invitational Sunday by winning one singles flight and one doubles flight. Sanam Singh won the A-2 singles flight and the team of Michael Shabaz and Dominic Inglot won the A-3 doubles flight.
• Cavalier Women's Soccer Blanks Miami 2-0: The No. 15 Virginia women's soccer team concluded their ACC opening roundtrip with a 2-0 victory over Miami Sunday at Cobb Stadium. The Cavaliers used two first half goals and another strong defensive performance to improve to 8-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in the ACC. Meghan Lenczyk tucked a shot just under the crossbar for her team-leading eighth goal of the season and Alli Fries headed in a cornerkick by Amanda Stewart for the other score. On Thursday night, UVa opened conference play with a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Florida State on another Lenczyk goal.
• Mitchell Lifts Virginia Past Virginia Tech, 2-1: Junior midfielder Matt Mitchell scored both of Virginia's goals to lead the Cavaliers to a 2-1 victory over ACC and in-state rival Virginia Tech, 2-1, Friday night in Blacksburg. Virginia (5-3-0, 2-0-0 ACC) remained undefeated in conference play and won its third-straight game. "This was not an easy environment to play in, on the road in the ACC and at an in-state rival like Virginia Tech," coach George Gelnovatch said. "This team found a way to grind out a victory by being mentally and physically tough."
• Men's Lacrosse Names 2009 Captains: University of Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia announces that attackman Danny Glading, midfielder Max Pomper and longstick midfielder Mike Timms have been selected team captains for the 2009 season.
• Cavaliers Drop Five-Set Thriller to Clemson: The Clemson Tigers rallied from two sets down to defeat the Virginia volleyball team, 3-2, in Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday evening. The Cavaliers (8-7, 0-3 ACC) won the first two in extra points, 27-25 and 26-24, respectively, before defending ACC Champion Clemson (9-5, 1-2 ACC) responded with three consecutive victories, 25-15, 25-18 and 17-15. "Obviously we're disappointed," head coach Lee Maes said. "We had every opportunity to win the match. We fought really hard for two games and we just couldn't sustain a certain level of effort. Clemson played better in games three and four, but again we had an opportunity to win the match in game five. We're in a situation where we're trying to find someone to step up and make plays for us and be the difference maker." Kendahl Voelker and Shannon Davispaced the offense with 17 kills each, while Brittani Rendina collected a career-high 29 digs.
• BU Upsets No. 8 Virginia in Penalty Strokes: The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team (9-2) dropped a heartbreaking loss to Boston University 3-2 Sunday after the Terriers (4-6) won 7-5 in the second round of penalty strokes. It was the first time since 2001 the Cavaliers have entered penalty strokes.The Cavaliers remained winless against BU, falling to 0-4 all-time against the Terriers. The last time a Virginia game went to penalty strokes was at Maryland during the 2001 season, which ended in a 3-2 Cavalier win. UVa is 10-6 all-time in games decided by strokes. On Friday, Paige Selenski scored both goals, including the game-winner with 4:30 remaining in the second extra time session, to lift the eighth-ranked Virginia field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over No. 12 Boston College.

For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 269 - November 27, 2006

Post of the Week

Subject: Student analysis on the game
Posted by: dajoka004 on Sun Nov 26 2006 5:33:00 PM

Could Sunday's performance be the beginning of a Jason Cain surge?

Message: Great game today. Great atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of students that showed up today. The typical student doesn't get back until late Sunday night after a break. Hopefully the trend continues.

Jason Cain played remarkable today. By far the best game of his career. He was grabbing boards and being aggressive on offense. First time I've ever seen that from him. He hit two long jumpers, and even had a drive to the hoop from the top of the key. I don't think he missed a FT either.

SS seemed like he was just toying with the other team today. His shot wasn't what it normally is, but he was feeding everybody on the team.

JR had the stroke today. It felt like every time he shot the ball it was going in.

Mo played well today too. Finished with 17 points and two very nice steals. He was also driving to the hoop which is what I like to see.

Now for everybody else. RP has got to learn how to shoot FTs. He's not even close. Tucker played well at the end of the game. Hopefully he can find his stroke sooner next time. Harris will be the most built player on the court almost every game. He needs to take shorter shots though (I have confidence he can hit them, but I'd rather see a high percentage shot). JM also played well at the end of the game.

And finally, the fan favorites: Burns and the walk-ons. The students love all four of them, and it's great to see them get some time. I just wish that one kid hadn't taken that final shot. Just run the clock out next time.

So go Hoos and beat Purdue!

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site soon:

• Looking Ahead To Maryland: The Sabre brings you pregame coverage and analysis for the football team's ACC home opener with Maryland this weekend.
• The Hawk's Nest: Sabre columnist Ahmad Hawkins pens his most recent column.
• Jed Williams: Jed Williams checks in with his latest piece.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Verica Struggles In Second Half
After Saturday's loss to perennial bottom-feeder Duke, quarterback Marc Verica summed up both his performance and the team's performance this season thus far. "It can't get any worse than this. We've got nowhere to look but up," Marc Verica said Saturday on the Virginia Sports Network. You said it, Marc. Because things looked bad - very, very bad - in a 31-3 loss at Duke.

Duke Dispatches Virginia
For the Virginia faithful, it doesn't get worse then this. Duke's 31-3 win, which snapped a streak of 25 straight ACC losses, was enough to depress any Wahoo on Saturday afternoon. The offense sputtered to zero third down conversions in eight first-half tries and had five turnovers in the second half, sparking a four-touchdown runaway for the Blue Devils. Duke celebrated its first ACC win since November 13, 2004.

Verica Embraces New Role
Virginia sophomore Marc Verica's first start at quarterback hardly came under ideal circumstances. The early season starter Peter Lalich was scratched in a mid-week announcement prior to the Connecticut game, thrusting Verica into the starting role on his first regular season road trip with the program. The game didn't exactly go well for UVa either as the Cavaliers fell in a 45-10 blowout. Verica, to his credit, performed fairly well in his starting debut, though. Now, he fully takes on the role of starter as the Cavs open ACC play at Duke.

Deke Continues To Love His Time As A Hoo
There wasn't much to feel good about in Virginia's 45-10 loss to UConn last week. But, it was hard not to be excited for fifth-year senior Scott Deke, who logged his first significant minutes at quarterback (he's also the team's starting holder) in the fourth quarter. While it probably wasn't the situation he imagined for his first significant chance to run the offense - the 6'3" senior arrived on grounds in 2004 and has been waiting in the wings since - it didn't take away from his excitement when Deke finally got his chance last weekend.

Duke Scouting Report: Defense & Punting
In their first season coordinating the defense, Mike MacIntyre and Marion Hobby will employ a 4-3 scheme that will rely heavily on Duke's experienced front seven, anchored by four-year starter Michael Tauiliili and NFL prospect Vince Oghobaase. The Blue Devils returned 10 starters from last season, including the entire front seven.

The Hawk's Nest - Disguising Coverages
Defense! Defense! Defense! That's the common chant heard throughout a stadium during a football game. When the game is tight and a play needs to be made, it will most likely be the defense that is called upon to do the job. There is nothing better than being on or witnessing a dominant defense at work. There are aspects that make a defense great like having a great pass rush or having great cover corners and sound tacklers. There is one factor that will make a good defense turn into a dominant defense and that is being able to accomplish the art of deception, known in football as the ability to disguise coverages.

Duke Scouting Report: Offense & Kicking
Duke hasn't been relevant in the college football world for two decades, suffering 25 straight ACC losses and failing to secure a win over a Football Bowl Subdivision team at home since 2003. Former Ole Miss Head coach and Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe is hoping to change that. Cutcliffe brought his 44-29 record in six seasons as a head coach at Ole Miss where he coached the Rebels in five bowl games, winning four of those, along with an SEC West Division title.

Tuesday Press Conference Notes '08 - Duke
If there was a common thread running through Tuesday's press conference at Virginia, it had to be a 'we need to get better' theme. Senior linebacker Jon Copper said execution issues - things like better tackling and filling gaps correctly - had to improve in order for the Hoos to get better results. UVa coach Al Groh reminded reporters that "the No. 1 priority every year is conference play" and that the team is a work in progress over the course of a year. In other words, the Cavaliers might as well be wearing a new bumper sticker: Get better or bust.

Cavalier Call-in Highlights '08, Show 5
It seems like forever since the news broke that Peter Lalich had been dismissed from the UVa football team. In reality, however, it has only been four days and therefore Al Groh has not had an opportunity to address his Cavalier Call-in audience concerning the matter. So would the head coach take the opportunity to explain the incident to the Wahoo Nation or would he take his usual "next man up approach" and just sweep the issue under the rug?

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