Groh Out As Football Coach

The expected end of the Al Groh era at Virginia has arrived. On Sunday, UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage made the announcement Sunday afternoon in a press release that Groh would not be retained as head football coach, effective immediately. The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Groh news:

• Virginia media relations release
• Al Groh's emailed statement
• The Sabre's recap of Al Groh's coaching tenure
• Editor Kris Wright's EDGE column
• Video Partner WCAV TV's exclusive interview with Al Groh

Of course, when a coach's tenure ends, speculation begins on who the next coach will be. The Sabre will keep you on top of that situation so make sure you have an EDGE account and to keep an eye on the EDGE message board. Click here for an EDGE post from Editor Kris Wright about the coaching search.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

The Al Groh era is over and the wait is on until a new coach is named. Certainly, recruiting is in limbo until the new coach comes aboard, but TheSabre.com will have reaction from current commitments.

Today, check out the latest with Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) offensive lineman Conner Davis and Holy Cross (Flushing, N.Y.) outside linebacker/defensive end Chris Brathwaite. Davis was the first commitment we caught up with following Groh's dismissal and the news was positive for the Virginia program. The 6-5, 270-pound senior remains firm in his commitment and showed no signs of wavering.

A surprised Brathwaite learned of Groh's dismissal Sunday evening. He returned home earlier in the day from an official visit to UVa, the school he still wants to attend. Brathwaite, a 6-1, 255-pound prospect, appears to still want to go to Virginia but, like everyone else, waits to see who will be introduced as the next Cavaliers coach.

Brathwaite has scheduled an official visit to Delaware for the weekend of Dec. 12 and will go to JMU in January. Assuming the new staff honors the scholarship, though, I still believe Brathwaite will end up in orange and blue.

Brathwaite obviously was in Charlottesville on Saturday. So was Davis. Joining them were fellow Virginia commitments Kyrrel Latimer (S, DeMatha), Morgan Moses (OL, Fork Union), Kevin Parks Jr. (RB, Mount Ulla), E.J. Scott (WR, Good Counsel) and Khalek Shepherd (RB, Gwynn Park). Besides the commits, a number of juniors were in attendance as well.

We hope to reach all of Virginia's commitments as soon as possible, so stay tuned to TheSabre.com throughout the week.

There is no question that, ideally, Virginia's program would love to hang on to all of its commits. In reality, while most of the class seems solid, don't be surprised if a few commits at least take a look at other programs. It's the nature of the beast. Morgan Moses is without question the most high profile commit likely to look around, but we'll find out which others may check out other programs as well. Moses may take an official visit to South Carolina next weekend, although FUMA coach John Shuman told TheSabre.com last week that Moses needs to continue to focus on qualifying before visiting any schools.

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 ...

Scott Goes Out a Champion
E.J. Scott and his Good Counsel (Olney, MD) teammates went out winners last Saturday, defeating powerful DeMatha Catholic to capture the WCAC Championship. Good Counsel had never won the WCAC title and had lost to DeMatha in five straight WCAC title games until last Saturday. Finally capturing the championship is pretty sweet for Scott, a 5-11, 175-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back.

Deep Run Notes: Davis Shows Versatility
University of Virginia offensive line recruit Conner Davis showed off his versatility this season, seeing action at offensive tackle and offensive guard for head coach Greg Kendall. Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) finished with a 6-4 record this season, and Davis was an important part. The 6-5, 270-pound senior will continue to work this offseason before arriving at Virginia, knowing he needs to keep improving.

Oettinger Reviews Virginia's Class
The LOIs are in and the rankings are out. The ACC did very well as a conference with seven programs making the ACC Sports Journal's National Top 25. ACCSJ Basketball Recruiting Analyst Brick Oettinger took some time to evaluate the University of Virginia's 2010 men's basketball recruiting class, report where the class stands with respect to other programs and project which ACC freshmen to keep an eye out for next season

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Latimer Talks Season, UVa
• More on Moses, Wallace

UVA Bookstores, a long-time Sabre sponsor and Cavalier gear partner, is having a holiday sale! Make sure to check out great Hoo items like hats, shirts, key chains, stocking stuffers, gift bags, and more!

Blog Banter: Teleconference Notes - Will To Win

By Paul Montana

If you're like me, then you're probably wondering: where the heck did Will Sherrill come from?

On Virginia coach Tony Bennett's teleconference today, I asked him this question. In case you missed it, Sherrill had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot in 24 minutes - all career highs. His previous highs were 3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 16 minutes. Interestingly, most of his answer had nothing to do with Sherrill's shooting, which was lights out: 7-9 shooting, including 4-5 from three.

"Certainly in the fall, he shot the ball well, and he's got a quick release and is a capable shooter. But why Will was getting time when he came into the game was, you watch him in practice or in games get his hands on a lot of offensive rebounds, he's really help-conscious defensively," Bennett said. "He makes up for his maybe lack of quickness or strength with his smarts. He moves the ball, makes the extra pass. He screens well, he stretches the defense with his shot. So he was doing a lot of the hustle things and the little things, that don't always show up in the stat sheet, to warrant that time. And then, obviously he's such a threat, he got going, and our guys did a great job of finding him."

In addition to discussing Sherrill, Bennett discussed the other highs of the trip to Cancun ...

Read the full post here and make sure to follow the updates on The Good Ol Blog!

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• No. 2 Virginia Marches On To NCAA Quarterfinals, Shuts Out Portland 1-0: The No. 2 UVa men's soccer team shut out Portland, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium in the third round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Ari Dimas scored the game-winner in the 46th minute for the Cavaliers, who advance to the quarterfinals and will face Maryland on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville.
• UVa Wrestlers Take 2 of 3 at NE Duals: The No. 19 Virginia wrestling team won two of three matches Saturday at the Northeast Duals held in Albany, N.Y. The Cavaliers defeated Hofstra 28-6, shut out Sacred Heart 48-0 and lost to No. 11 Central Michigan 25-12. The results bring UVa's record to 7-1 this season.
• Selenski Selected as a Finalist for Honda Award: Virginia sophomore Paige Selenski was recently selected as a finalist for the 2009 Honda Award for field hockey, given annually to the nation's top player. The three other nominees include Maryland's Katie O'Donnell, Princeton's Katie Reinprecht and Connecticut's Loren Sherer.
• No. 15 Virginia Tops South Dakota State, 78-66: The 15th-ranked Virginia women's basketball team won its division at the Junkanoo Jam by defeating South Dakota State, 78-66, Friday night. Paulisha Kellum led the Cavaliers with a career-high 25 points en route to tournament most valuable player honors.
• White Earns All-America Honors, Finishes Fourth at NCAAs: The Virginia men's and women's cross country teams concluded their respective seasons with matching 15th-place finishes at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The women were led by junior Catherine White who earned All-America honors with a fourth-place overall finish, completing the course in 19:59.5 to become the highest finisher for the Cavaliers since Lesley Welch's victory in 1982. White also has been named one of four nominees for the 2009-10 Honda Sports Award for cross country, as announced by the Collegiate Women Sports Award.

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

Uva Men's Soccer ACC Champions T-Shirt
Bookstore price: $18.99 - $20.99

Congratulations to the 2009 Men's Soccer team for bringing home an ACC Championship. Commemorate their stellar play with the 2009 ACC Men's Soccer Champions T-Shirt. The front has a left chest imprint and the back features the same graphic. A soccer ball is printed above a crest with 2009 ACC Men's Soccer screened in white above a large orange imprint of Champions, Virginia Cavaliers and the V-Sabre logo.

Issue No. 33 - April 18, 2002

Devin Smith transfer?

With the departure of Maurice Young last season, the men's basketball program has one open scholarship to fill for the 2002 class. Virginia coaches have their eye on Devin Smith, a 6-6 guard-forward from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Smith, a NJCAA All-American, has narrowed his choices to Kansas, Iowa and Virginia. Smith averaged over 18 points per game this past season and hit 85 of his 182 three-point attempts (46.7%). He also hit 89% of his free throws.

Smith visited Kansas last weekend. He's scheduled to visit UVa this weekend, but rumors have it that the JUCO superstar may have already committed to the Jayhawks. Sources say that Devin has not made a formal decision and is still scheduled to visit Charlottesville. For more information on Devin, with quotes from his coach, please refer to the April 2002 edition of the Sabre Newsletter.

Check Out SabreMail #33.

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:

• Postgame Coverage: The Sabre continues to break down the VT loss with postgame articles from JHoo and Greg Waters.
• Virginia Football: The Sabre takes a look at the Virginia football program and the search for a new coach.
• Men's Soccer: The Hoos continue their play in the NCAA Tournament.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Groh's Tenure At Virginia Ends
It is officially the start of a new era for both of Virginia's revenue sports. Virginia athletics issued a press release Sunday afternoon informing the media of the decision to dismiss football coach Al Groh, approximately 18 hours removed from the Cavaliers' season-ending 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Athletics Director Craig Littlepage met with Groh on Sunday morning to inform Groh that he would "not be retained as head football coach, effective immediately," according to the release. The athletics department reached an agreement to pay Groh $4.33 million to buy out the remaining two years on his contract.

A Disappointing Decade
Over the final weekend of November 2009, Al Groh's tenure as Virginia's football coach officially concluded with a poem and a press release. And with that, an era once filled with promise ended with a precipitous and tumultuous decline. This chapter of Virginia football ends as a disappointing one.

Hokies Shatter Hoos' Upset Hopes
As Al Groh left the press room of Scott Stadium on Saturday evening, a smile caressed his face, worn by his 65 years of age and doubtless from 40 years of coaching at the college and professional levels. He held one of his grandchildren in his arms, with his wife, a second grandchild, and other family members at his side. They stood by him, both physically and in spirit, on the heels of the final game of the Virginia football program's worst season in 27 years.

Worn Out And Weary
With 8:29 remaining in Virginia's 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday, streams of fans trickled to the exits. The ritualistic march of Virginia's 2009 season. Few looked distraught. Most faces, in fact, held a look of acceptance. Maybe a little fatigued, but not troubled or disturbed. Just worn out. Just plain ol' worn out.

Photo Gallery: NCAA Soccer
The Virginia men's soccer team marched to the ACC Tournament title one weekend and then followed that up with a dominant NCAA Tournament win against Bucknell, 5-0. The Hoos now have their focus set on Portland, who visits Charlottesville on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tune up for the game with this EDGE gallery of the win over Bucknell that features great shots of Will Bates, Hunter Jumper, Tony Tchani and more!

Hoos Win Against Cleveland State
For three straight halves in Cancun, the Virginia men's basketball team bogged down on offense. Few good shots, stagnant movement, and poor decisions prevented the Hoos from producing good possessions much less points. Thank goodness a forward helped spark the Cavaliers to 49 second-half points and a 76-65 win. No not Sylven Landesberg. Nope, not Mike Scott either. Will Sherrill! That's right, Will Sherrill.

Game Preview 2009 - Virginia Tech
Regardless of what happens in the matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech this Saturday, the Cavaliers will finish with their fewest wins in a season in 23 years. How ironic, then, would it be if Virginia beat its biggest in-state rival in the season finale, a feat it has accomplished just once in the last 10 years? The only Virginia win in the Al Groh era against the Hokies came in 2003: a 35-21 win in Charlottesville. No one on the current Virginia roster has beaten Virginia Tech; the fifth-year seniors have lost by an average score of 29.75 to 12.25 in their previous four meetings.

Greg's Stock Report '09: Clemson
Virginia's horses hung with the Tigers for a half but in the second frame, Clemson's stallions were way too much for the Hoos. In what has become a weekly occurrence, the offense could not match the effort of the UVa defense which was able to hold No. 23 Clemson to one of its least productive offensive outings in the last six weeks.

Photo Gallery: BC 14, Virginia 10
The Virginia football team is gearing up for the annual rivalry game with Virginia Tech this weekend. That contest will mark the end of several seniors' Cavalier careers, including Vic Hall, Jameel Sewell, Rashawn Jackson, Chris Cook, Denzel Burrell and Aaron Clark to name a few. Take a look back at the Boston College photo gallery to prepare to cheer on those Hoos in their final game against the Hokies.

Stanford Slips Past UVa
So far in the Tony Bennett era, the success doesn't travel. After losing its only game of the season at South Florida last week, the Virginia men's basketball team fell to 3-2 with a neutral site loss in Cancun on Tuesday night as Stanford prevailed 57-52 in the Cancun Challenge. UVa shot just 29% following intermission after opening the second half with a field goal drought of more than 8 minutes.

Press Conference Notes '09: VT
At 1 p.m. Monday afternoon, Virginia coach Al Groh strode into the pressroom at the John Paul Jones Arena for his weekly press conference. Other than Groh's slightly more casual attire than usual - he wore a wheat blazer with a collarless black shirt underneath - there was nothing visibly different about Monday's press conference. But, there sat the elephant in the room. In all likelihood, Al Groh had sat down for his last weekly press conference at JPJ as the coach of the Virginia football team.

10 Things I Learned From Clemson
Eleven weeks down, one to go. With the exception of the three weeks that resulted in wins, however, this week's game may have been as enjoyable to watch as any this season. There was some good and some bad, some fun and some not so fun, some basic and some creative. That makes reviewing the game just a little more fun, too.

Kris' Monday Musings - Home Games Galore!
The Virginia basketball teams are showing rapid improvement so far this season after just one full week of games. I had the pleasure of taking in most of the minutes of every game last week, including four home games in five days at the John Paul Jones Arena. As a basketball junkie, that's a good week if you ask me! Here are my weekly musings on Hoo hoops ...

Understanding UVa's Pack-Line Defense
Upon the hiring of Tony Bennett as Virginia's basketball coach, many Virginia fans raced to their computers to find information on the former Associated Press National Coach of the Year. Those searches almost certainly returned results describing Bennett as a "system" coach, and the terms "Pack-Line defense" and "Blocker/Mover offense," all of which have been making their rounds amongst UVa fans since April. With limited information on either system available online, especially to the casual basketball fan, not to mention the lack of television coverage Washington State basketball experiences on the East Coast, it's no wonder that many were left confused about just what these "systems" are and how they will be used at Virginia. I will do my best to explain the defensive concept the Cavaliers will run exclusively under Bennett, the Pack-Line.

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