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   SabreMail - December 6, 2010
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Sene Stepping Up

Assane SeneWhen Will Sherrill went down with a fractured fibula at Minnesota on Monday night, it forced fellow post Assane Sene into more minutes for the Virginia men's basketball team. So far, the junior center has responded and UVa has two big road wins to show for it. The Cavaliers knocked off the Golden Gophers 87-79 and followed that upset win with an ACC victory at Virginia Tech on Sunday night, 57-54. In both games, Sene came up with some big plays - including some key points down the stretch - to help the Hoos hang on for the victories.

In the final 10 minutes at Minnesota, the Senegal native came up with a blocked shot and four trips to the free throw line as he turned up the activity on the offensive glass. In fact, Sene grabbed three offensive rebounds that led to six free throw attempts in the final six minutes; he made 5 of 6 attempts during that key stretch. Keep in mind that Sene entered this season with just 63 offensive rebounds in 697 minutes in his career, an average of one O-Board every 11 minutes or so. His rate at the end of the Gophers' game checks in at one offensive rebound every two minutes. Sene finished the contest with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot.

After shaking off first-half foul trouble in Blacksburg on Sunday, Sene returned after intermission and immediately took a defensive charge and then made solid contributions in the final minutes again as well. Just before the 10:00 mark, he rotated in help defense and blocked Jeff Allen's shot attempt from the post. In the final four minutes, Sene came through with unexpected points again. As pointed out in TheSabre.com's game recap article, Sene scored on a pair of feeds from Mustapha Farrakhan (a dump down off a double-teamed curl screen and a baseline bounce pass when Sene sealed his defender up the lane) and both buckets gave the Hoos a two-possession lead in the waning moments as Virginia Tech tried to come back and win. Sene finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 1 steal.

"He made some big possessions," UVa coach Tony Bennett said of Sene. "I thought limiting them to one shot, a rebound, his ability with their big kid inside, if we had a mismatch he would just post us deep and he could lay it over the front of the rim. We didn't have to trap as much when Zu (Assane Sene) was on him, which wouldn't leave a three-point shooter as open. Our guys scrambled well and kind of gutted it out. They were tired, certainly Mike (Scott) was, I think I played him the whole second half. The decision was should we go four guards, but we had to adjust without Will Sherrill and I thought the guys stepped up that needed to."

Bennett alludes to another key component of Sene's effort on Sunday against the Hokies: his Pack-Line success. In Bennett's first season in Charlottesville, Sene had trouble adjusting to the post defense positioning and with executing the often important task of double-teaming on the blocks. Against Virginia Tech, Sene's doubles were well-timed as he arrived on the catch to force immediate kickouts from the Hokie posts; plus, his footwork and post denial looked as good as it ever has in the orange and blue. With Sherrill out and freshmen Akil Mitchell and Will Regan still learning the college ropes, the Hoos will need continued Pack-Line performance from Sene in addition to his recent run of crunch-time success.

Kris Wright
Editor, TheSabre.com

   Recruiting News

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Heading into the final stretch before Signing Day, Virginia has 24 total commitments in its 2011 class. This weekend could be a big one if information on Rivals.com and Scout.com is accurate. According to both sites, Gilman (Baltimore, MD) athlete Darius Jennings has scheduled an official visit to UVa this weekend. The 5-11, 175-pound senior, who is also considering Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, is one of the top athlete prospects in the country.

I'll have more on this weekend's visitors throughout the week. I also hope to have more on star cornerback target Demetrious Nicholson, whose season came to an end on Saturday when Bayside (Virginia Beach, VA) fell to Hermitage (Richmond, VA) in the Group AAA, Division 6 State Semifinals. The 5-9, 165-pound speedster wanted to make his college commitment after his senior season. How long he will wait now is the question.

Virginia fans can get a glimpse of the future on Saturday, when UVa will host the Division 5 and 6 Virginia High School League State Championships. The Division 5 contest, which starts at noon and features three UVa-bound prospects, pits Phoebus (Hampton, VA) against Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA). Phoebus features Daquan Romero (DE/LB) and Caleb Taylor (LB), while Stone Bridge features defensive end/tight end Rob Burns.

Hermitage, led by top senior linebacker target Curtis Grant and UVa commit Diamonte Bailey (DE), will meet Battlefield in the Division 6 State Championship. The Division 6 title game takes place following the Division 5 contest.

Also this week on the EDGE, H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) tight end Darius Redman updates the latest on his quest to gain early admission to UVa. The 6-4, 240-pound senior hopes to enroll at Virginia next month. Last week, reports surfaced that Hampton (VA quarterback David Watford wants to enroll early as well.


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 ...

Whitmire On Board
One of the top offensive line prospects in the state of Virginia's 2011 class has cast his lot with the University of Virginia. T.C. Williams (Alexandria, VA) offensive tackle Jay Whitmire, ranked #10 in TheSabre.com's Preseason In-State Top 40, has pledged to the Hoos over offers from Boston College, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers and West Virginia.

Win Homer Visits Two Of Three Favorites
Image: Win HomerBoston College, Virginia and Virginia Tech have offered 6-6, 240-pound junior offensive tackle Win Homer. Homer, who also has an offer from Marshall but favors the three ACC schools at this point, had the opportunity to attend games at Boston College and Virginia Tech last month. Coincidentally, UVa was the visitor in each game.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...


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   News, Notes, and Fan Discussion

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Blog Banter: Turkey Coma

This week on The Good Ol Blog, Blair Capps took a look at some of the UVa food favorites for Thanksgiving dinner. Looks like yams might be on the table for the holidays this month! Check it out and keep up with Hoo news on The Good Ol Blog:

If you’re anything like me, you’re still a little bummed about the loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Also, if you’re anything like me you gorged yourself on Thanksgiving leftovers in an attempt to fill the emptiness inside. While no amount of gravy and pie could completely fill the void left behind when Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies pulled the dagger out of my heart, I still enjoyed eating copious amounts of turkey while pretending it was Hokie Bird.

Last week, I polled a few members of the football team about their favorite Thanksgiving dishes. The team spent their Turkey Day eating a special dinner at the athletes dining hall in the John Paul Jones Arena. Nothing beats spending time with family, but according to linebacker Steve Greer, the holiday buffet at JPJ was “all you can eat”. Pretty sweet deal when you eat as much as those guys do.

Safety Dom Joseph found it hard to settle on a favorite Thanksgiving dish. “Well my mom makes these sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, but I like the ham too,” he said. “Oh, you know what? Fried turkey, go with the turkey.”

Greer himself is something of a traditionalist. “I gotta go with the turkey,” he said. ”You can’t beat turkey.”

Nick Jenkins also enjoys the Thanksgiving staple, but was a little less zealous in his declaration. “I don’t know. Hmm, turkey I guess.”

The team has a soft spot for sweet potatoes as well, but who doesn’t?

Dontrelle Inman: “Sweet potato pie.”

Kris Burd: “I gotta go with ‘Trelle. Sweet potato pie, candied yams, sweet potatoes.”

The head man himself, Coach London, enjoys another seasonal favorite. “Oh, cranberry sauce that’s lumpy.”

Hopefully the Hoos won’t be home for the holidays next season, and can enjoy another holiday team dinner in December.


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   UVa Bookstores - The Place for Wahoo Gear!

UVA Holiday Ornaments & Collectibles

Looking for holiday gifts or stocking stuffers? UVA Bookstores has great holiday ornaments and collectibles! Decorate your home for the holidays with some orange and blue and support the Hoos in the process.

   SabreMail History

Issue No. 233 - March 17, 2006

Post of the Week

Subject: Classifications of posters
Posted by: Axtun on Fri Mar 17 2006 10:34:39 AM
Message: Posters on sports boards often fit into one or more of these categories:

1-Victims - The refs hate us, the media hates us, the tournament committee hates us. They often use words like "disrespect." They wallow in their self-induced victim status. This is a core component of the Whine and Cheese set. They cling to their misery like a stained autographed photo of Jessica Simpson.

2-The Police - These are the guys who control the tone of the board. You post something they don't agree with and they'll attack you like Patton reincarnated. These guys can create more havoc than eating a moldy burrito.

3-Haters - I hate refs. I hate t.v. announcers. All other colleges suck, etc. These people can only feel good when something bad happens to a rival school. Dogs and small children avoid them when their hate is in overdrive. Co-workers shun them after a game loss and their wives often seek refuge in the nearest hair salon.

4-The Experts - These are the ones who know everything there is to know about basketball and will readily tell you so. They will accept no conjecture or theories about the game that is contrary to their thinking. They often provide an acceptable substitute for sleeping pills. A few actually played basketball once.

5-Space Cadets - These are the ones who sincerely believe that any team can win "if they just have the desire." Good vibes are everything. A lack of talent is irrelevant to them. These people watched a lot of Saturday morning cartoons when they were growing up and believe the impossible is easy. They often watch Kelly's Heros on DVD and think chemicals aren't just for farmers.

6-The Non-Experts - Often without much experience in sports, or anything else. They like the impersonal and anonymous nature of boards and will often start silly threads. The board Police feast on these guys like buzzards on road kill.

7-The Clueless - They often wonder why so much in-fighting goes on and what ever happened to civil discourse. A minor sub-group of The Clueless is known as "Really Old Farts." They remember guys like Wally Walker. They fondly remember the good old days, before high cholesterol, enlarged prostates and cell phones.

If I neglected anyone, I apologize. It's all in fun.

Check Out SabreMail #233.

   What's New on TheSabre.com?

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:

  • Season Wrap-Up: The Sabre will wrap up the 2010 football season and start to look ahead to 2011.
  • Toppling the Hokies: The men's basketball team opened ACC play with a win at Virginia Tech and The Sabre will have more on the game.


In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Hoos Handle Hokies In ACC Opener
Image: Mike ScottIn the span of a week, Virginia has won in a barn and in a castle. After winning 87-79 at Minnesota's Williams Arena, affectionately known as The Barn, on Monday, the Cavaliers grabbed a 57-54 victory at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum on Sunday night. And for now a team picked as preseason paupers in the ACC owns a 1-0 conference record after leading wire to wire in Blacksburg.

What To Watch For With VT-UVa
With the first Virginia-Virginia Tech men's basketball match-up coming early on the ACC calendar, the Cavaliers and Hokies will have to be in league battle mode the first weekend of December this time around. How will Seth Greenberg and Tony Bennett prepare their teams for the in-state showdown? Here are some things to watch for during the basketball game on Sunday.

10 Things I Learned 2010 ... VT
And just when you thought hope was lost, the Hoos stormed back, relying on their 3-point shooting to knock off No. 13 Minnesota on the road ... oh wait, you wanted to talk football? That was not quite as much fun this weekend. After all, that was a competitive quarter of football Hoo fans saw ... but the rest of the game? Not so much.

Fractured Fibula Sidelines Sherrill
Image: Will SherrillDuring Monday night's ACC-Big 10 Challenge upset by Virginia, senior captain Will Sherrill crumpled to the floor as Minnesota's Colton Iverson fell on top of him. Sherrill immediately reacted in obvious pain from the weight and force of Iverson's 6'10", 258-pound body hitting his right leg. Official word came Wednesday that Sherrill fractured his fibula on the play and there is no concrete timetable for his return this season.

Greg's Game Report: VT
Though many Virginia fans went into Saturday's game expecting a defeat, preparing for the worst still never takes the sting out of a loss to the Hokies - especially a beatdown. So first and foremost, this loss hurts. And the grades reflect another poor outing for the Hoos. So what's next?

Photo Gallery: USC Upstate
Image: Akil MitchellThe Virginia men's basketball team picked up a huge win at Minnesota on Monday in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Get a look at the team in this 47-image photo gallery from the USC Upstate win at the John Paul Jones Arena. There are great shots of seniors like Mike Scott as well freshmen like Joe Harris, Akil Mitchell, and more!

Hot-Shooting Hoos Gash Gophers
Image: Joe HarrisOne week after giving up the most points in the Tony Bennett era, Virginia flipped the script and scored the most points in the second-year coach's tenure thanks to a truly impressive sharp-shooting effort. The Cavaliers made 10 of 13 3-pointers and 25 of 30 free throws on Monday night en route to 87-79 win at No. 15 Minnesota in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. UVa handed the Gophers their first loss of the season and their first non-conference home loss (now 27-1) under Tubby Smith.


   Sabre Edge

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