Worth Discussing

Last week, I wrote a column about the current state of the Virginia's men's basketball team. Entitled What If This Were Year One?, the column set off an ongoing discussion about the Cavaliers. Saturday's miserable showing against FSU only fanned the flames.

Now approaching 200 votes (Rate all of the articles at the bottom of the text to help us guage your interest!), the article obviously touched a nerve with fans on both sides - patience vs. progress - of the fence. My general point, one that may have been lost or not articulated quite well enough, with the article is this: If you jumble the order of Dave Leitao's years (or take a big picture perspective of results), does your position change? Certainly, Virginia's passionate fans have had opinions on the topic. Here are a couple of samples ...

An excerpt from a WESTENDH00 men's basketball board post:

I have read this "calculated risk" theory a dozen times, and I still have no earthly clue what the article is suggesting. Leitao did what he had to do. The only way he had a chance to turn this team into a quick winner was to ride the coat tails of JR Reynolds and Sean Singletary, while finding a way to get all he could out of the role players. He did this masterfully and is to be commended on that. But every roster spot that needed replacing from his first year forward were replaced by HIS recruits. As time goes on, you expect a coach to grow his team as his systems and recruits get indoctrinated into the program. You certainly dont expect the new coach to have his best seasons with the last coaches players, and for the team to make a turn for the worse once the new coaches players dominate the roster. That just makes no sense.

Here's one from cavfan009 on the men's basketball board:

Great article. I completely agree with what you have to say Kris ... Before the season started, I figured that this team would finish below .500 (around 12-14). Currently, we are right on track to finish with a record similar to that. However, we start 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore and we have lost some close games. I think that we can expect those close games to go the other way next season. If anyone thought that this season was going to be a success must have been dreaming. The talent level is there to have more wins this season, but the decision making isn't. The number of turnovers has cost of, in my opinion, many of our losses. The bulk of the minutes go to underclassmen. One can expect mistakes from the young guys. However, the young guys need to learn from their mistakes. If they can do that, the team will be in much better shape next year. Thoughts?

And one from ifidahohoo on the EDGE board:

Well it isn't. No offense meant to your thoughtful article but when I went to see this team play in December, I couldn't help but wonder would they be this bad under Terry Holland or Jeff Jones? In my mind, I answered in the negative. Under Gillen? Yes. So youth or not, excuses or not I am disappointed with the results this year. As the many critics of Al Groh like to remind us, you are what you are. Right now we are a not very good BB good team while loaded with youth, height, depth and under utilized athleticism. Whether we will be a good team later this year or next only time will tell but from my perspective, we are not matching or exceeding the potential of this group. Consequently, Dave's got a long way to go to prove to me he is a good coach. I do believe he is a good recruiter.

A short thought from recruitdc on the men's basketball board:

Kris. Your 'what if this was year one' article was the best, most comprehensive read i've had on this site. all of that is right on and really can't be construed any other way ... .the part about AJ was also pretty enlightening. i didn't know the extent of his injury until reading that....great stuff and thanks.

There were many, many more responses as well as emails. Want to share your thoughts? Go for it on the message boards! Men's basketball board | EDGE board

Kris Wright
Editor, TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Following a weekend where Virginia hosted most of its 2009 class and a couple of major uncommitted targets on official visits, the Cavaliers hosted only one official visitor this past weekend. It was 6-0, 175-pound place-kicker Drew Jarrett, who is being pursued by the staff as a recruited walk-on.

Jarrett, a first-team all-state and two-time all-Tidewater selection out of Cox High School (Virginia Beach, VA), enjoyed his time in Charlottesville. Check out more on Jarrett this morning on the EDGE, as Jarrett reflects on this past weekend and discusses his decision making process.

Jarrett is also considering James Madison University, which is the only program to have offered an official scholarship at this point, as well as a recruited walk-on spot at Virginia Tech. He may take an official visit to Virginia Tech this coming weekend before making a college choice.

A report on Rivals.com surfaced last night indicating that Camden (N.J.) wide receiver Tyree Watkins had committed to Duke, thus reneging on a commitment he made to the University of Virginia. TheSabre.com was unable to reach the 6-2, 185-pound standout for comment, though we will continue to try throughout the week.

Watkins, who committed to Virginia last June, made an official visit to UVa on the weekend of Jan. 16. He had a great time according to fellow recruits, but apparently decided to make an official visit to Duke this past weekend.

If true, the de-commitment, although perhaps not a surprise, would be a blow to Virginia's wide receiver recruiting in the 2009 class. Stay tuned for more this week.

Several Virginia targets made their final official visits this past weekend. Brooke Point (Stafford, VA) defensive end Lanford Collins, a 6-4, 240-pound prospect who is being recruited by Virginia as an outside linebacker, took an official visit to Virginia Tech over the weekend and is now expected to decide from Penn State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

6-6, 285-pound Hun School (Princeton, N.J.) offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan was scheduled to make an official visit to Boston College this past weekend. He had already taken official visits to Georgia Tech, Iowa, and Virginia. A decision could come soon from MacMillan, a prospect who saw his stock rise significantly this past fall.

Stay tuned for more on these prospects and more in the coming week.

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 ...

Postseason Update: Chancellor's Dominique Wallace
One of Virginia's most highly rated commitments in the 2009 class, Dominique Wallace turned in a fantastic senior season performance for Chancellor (Fredericksburg, VA), earning Group AA, Region 1 Player of the Year honors for his play at running back. The 6-1, 225-pound prospect will officially become part of the University of Virginia football program on February 4th, when he signs a letter of intent with the program he committed to almost a year ago.

Moses Talks UVa Visit, Recruitment
Meadowbrook (Richmond, VA) star Morgan Moses has now taken three official visits, leaving two remaining official visits should he decide to use them. The 6-7, 340-pound prospect admits he is "ready to have [the recruiting process over with]," but at this point he isn't sure when a decision could come.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Jarrett Reflects on Virginia Visit
• Steward Reflects on UVa, FUMA Visits
• Ocean Lakes' Impressive 2010 Class
• Metheny Discusses Official Visit to UVa

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Blog Banter: Tell me how you really feel

By Rob Mahini, The Good Ol' Blog

My gods-must-be-angry post has elicited some interesting responses. For example, this reader unloads on Littlepage:

We true diehard Wahoo sports fans deserve much better than what our two big revenue sports are currently producing under Groh and Leitao. Sure, it's imperative that we debate their recruits, staff assistants and coaching methods, but unless we get to the core of the problem and treat it, the doldrums will persist. Heck, Al and Dave might even succeed coaching at other universities, in which case we'd be sorry we let them go. However, if we don't address the leadership of our Athletic Department, the predicament will just fester like an ingrown toenail. My humble opinion, and hopefully others, is that Craig Littlepage has got to go. His one shining moment, as I see it, was in choosing Mid-Major colleges over under performing traditional powers and seeing some of them go far in the field of 64 as his role of Committee Director a few years ago. I hope as fans we're still not swooning over that. The heart of my unenjoyment with being a Virginia fan has shifted from Groh and Leitao to AD Craig Littlepage's arrogant, dawdling performance the past few years. In the Terry Holland - George Welsh eras we've had very successful athletic directors in Gene Corrigan and Dick Schultz. Lets just look at two nearby universities who've had football and basketball success - and still do - that we can now just dream about - WVU and Georgetown. The 'Neers' Ed Pastilong and the Hoyas' Bernard Muir have done admirable jobs as Directors of Athletics at these two schools. UVA should certainly be able to mirror if not exceed these teams' court and gridiron achievements without diminishing the University's excellence. We most definitely need a change at the top. We ought to question what it would take to buyout Littlepage's contract. Until we bring in a successful athletic director, or a candidate with enormous potential, we're just asking for years of the same regardless of who coaches the football and basketball teams.

I think he's done pretty well overall given Virginia's Directors Cup standings, but the man has a point about the revenue sports. Got some thoughts on the current state of affairs? Write me at [email protected].

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Issue No. 53 - September 13, 2002

Williams Commits to the Cavs
By Chris Horne

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:

• Basketball Analysis: The basketball men's basketball team takes on Duke this week and The Sabre will have coverage of the Cavaliers.
• Q&A - Somdev Devvarman: The Sabre's Bailey Stephens caught up with Somdev Devvarman for a Q&A session.
• Jed Williams: Jed Williams is working on his latest piece for The Sabre.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Cavaliers Continue Struggles In FSU Loss
Another forgettable first-half. Another deficit too large to overcome. Another loss. The story is starting to become repetitive for the Cavaliers, who dropped their fifth game (and fourth straight ACC contest) of January, this time falling to Florida State on Saturday 73-62.

No. 5 Cavaliers Surge Past No. 15 Illinois
On the night when the Cavaliers retired two-time NCAA singles champion Somdev Devarrman's jersey, No. 5 Virginia added to the celebration, battling past No. 15 Illinois 6-1. Brian Boland's team jumped out to the early 1-0 lead, sweeping all three doubles matches (8-5, 9-8, 8-5), and then pulled out the match victory with a strong showing in singles.

What If This Was Year One?
What if this were year one? Yes, Virginia basketball fans, I'm talking to you. What if this was year one of the Dave Leitao era? It's a serious question. It's not an 'excuse the coach' justification exercise. It's merely a query. One based on perspective and perception.

Maryland Takes Down Virginia
The Virginia men's basketball team has lost 4 of 5 games and 5 of its last 8 after an 84-78 loss at Maryland on Tuesday night. The clear theme in the recent skid? Poor first half performances leading to poor final results. In each of the losses in the last month - including all three conference setbacks - UVa has looked sluggish offensively and a little slow defensively before halftime, leading to an average deficit of 12.6 points and eventually defeat.

Photo Gallery: UNC 83, Virginia 61
Sylven Landesberg and the Virginia men's basketball team play their third ACC road game of the season when the Cavaliers take on the Maryland Terrapins tonight. The Hoos are trying to bounce back from a loss to North Carolina at the John Paul Jones Arena. Check out the action against the Tar Heels as you get ready for the Terps with this 48-image photo gallery.

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