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   SabreMail - May 9, 2002
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   Recruiting

Football gets two commitments

Last week, Virginia football received commitments from two players, Marvin Richardson of New Jersey and Conner Hughes of Virginia.

Richardson is the first commitment for the 2003 class and was under the radar screen for most colleges. Richardson, a 6-4, 210-pound linebacker from Bishop Francis Essex Catholic High in East Orange, N.J, was impressed with Virginia during an unofficial visit during the Spring Football Festival in April, and committed shortly after.

Richardson has good speed at 4.5 in the forty and is a versatile athlete. He's not only a standout in football; Richardson plays on the varsity basketball team and participates in track and field events, such as the high hurdles and 4x100 relay.

Richardson received his first scholarship offer from UVa but has received many others since his early decision to commit to the Cavaliers. Richardson is the first of about 20 recruits Virginia can take for the 2003 recruiting class.

Hughes is one of the state's best kicking prospects and chose Virginia over Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech apparently offered Hughes a partial scholarship for soccer, with the intent on letting him try out for football next spring. The Virginia coaching staff is taking Hughes as a walk-on with the intent on using him solely for football. Hughes will have the opportunity to receive a full scholarship at UVa if he performs well.

Hughes played for Lafayette High in Williamsburg and was named first-team Group AA as a senior. As a quarterback and kicker, Hughes helped lead Lafayette to a win in the Group AA Division IV state championship game. In that game, Hughes rushed for 169 yards, threw for one touchdown and kicked two field goals, one of which was 49 yards and tied an earlier record he set in the semifinals.

"I'm very impressed with his athletic ability. He was an All-State kicker and kicked for us for four years," Head Coach Paul Wheeler said, "He was the best kicker I've been around in 22 years. By the end of the year, he proved to be one of the best athletes in the state. He quarterbacked our football team to the state championship, and had never played quarterback before. He took on the responsibility right before the first game. He took the football team through some rocky times early and did a great job. He's a fine young man and a very good student. Conner proved he was a winner by leading a team to the state championship that was probably not expected to be there.

"The thing that makes him an excellent candidate to be a very fine college kicker is the fact that he is a very good athlete, and he hasn't even hit his ceiling yet. I think, with maturity and strength training, he's going to get better because he has athletic ability in him. He's a very fine soccer player. I think that his best kicking is ahead of him. He holds the state playoff record with 49 yards. He set it in the state semifinal game and did it again the next week in the final. His longest in practice is around 60 yards. [In terms of confidence in his ability], I felt that we had a chance at any time, and of course that made us a much better football team."

With Virginia losing both of its kickers from last season (David Greene and Mike Abrams), Hughes will team with another outstanding incoming kicker, Tom Hagans. Hagans will likely focus on punting duties, while Hughes will concentrate on filling the placekicking duties. UVa's current kickers are inexperienced and a bit inconsistent, so the opportunity is there for both kickers to contribute as early as the 2002 season if the veterans cannot improve.

Devin Smith signs LOI

Devin Smith, a 6-5 guard-forward from New Castle, Delaware, signed his official letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Virginia, according to a UVa media release on Tuesday.

Smith is transferring from Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, KS, and will have three years of eligibility remaining. Unlike most transfers, Smith will be eligible to play during the 2002-03 season, since his transfer is not from a Division 1-A school.

Smith, along with superstar Derrick Byars, will help fill in the gaps left by graduating seniors Adam Hall and Chris Williams.

During his freshman year at Coffeyville, Smith averaged 19.4 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, and shot 52 percent from the field, including a remarkable 46 percent from three-point range. Smith earned him first-team Junior College All-American honors while leading his team to an overall record of 36-2 and advancing to the championship game of the NJCAA Tournament.

While in high school, Smith was named Delaware Player of the Year in 2001.

"We are thrilled to have Devin Smith join our Virginia basketball family," UVa basketball head coach Pete Gillen said. "Devin is a very talented wing player who can score in many ways. He was very well coached at Coffeyville Community College by Jay Herkelman and helped lead the team to the national championship game. Devin is a fine student, and he will be a great credit to the University of Virginia on and off the court."

For the full report, click here.

More info on Devin to come in the May edition of the Sabre Newsletter.

Reynolds to play in SIT in Charlottesville

J.R. Reynolds, the first basketball commitment for the Cavaliers for next year's class, will be participating in this weekend's Bob Gibbons/Hoop Group Southern Invitational Tournament in Charlottesville. Reynolds is currently playing for Boo Williams' AAU squad, a team that often plays for the AAU National Title. Other recent members of Williams' AAU team were Virginia's Elton Brown and Jason Clark, Duke's J.J. Redick and Maryland's John Gilchrist.

Reynolds' team will be playing their first game Friday night at 8:45 p.m. (Court 1), their second game Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (Court 2), and their third game Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. (Court 1). All of Reynolds' games are scheduled to be played in University Hall. The playoffs will be on Sunday.

This will be the third consecutive year the Southern Invitation will be played in Charlottesville, and this year will be the largest turnout by far. 96 AAU teams will participate in the event, with 48 of the teams being part of the "17 and under" division (the focus for most recruiting analysts and college coaches).

Teams will compete at various locations, including University Hall, Slaughter Rec. (off McCormack Rd), North Grounds Rec. (off Massie Rd) and Albemarle High School (off Hydraulic Rd).

Here are just a few of the players who will participate that UVa has their eye on:

  • Marquie Cooke, 6-3 G, Boo Williams, Sophomore
  • Will Sheridan, 6-8 F, Tim Thomas Playaz, Junior
  • Darryl Watkins, 6-11 C, Tim Thomas Playaz, Junior
  • Luol Deng, 6-7 F, New Jersey Demons, Junior
  • Mustafa Shakur, 6-3 G, Huntington Park Warriors, Junior
  • Roy Hibbert, 6-11 C, DC Blue Devils, Sophomore
  • Marcus Ginyard, 6-4 G, DC Blue Devils, Sophomore
See Official Schedule for more details.

   News, Rumors and Fan Discussion

This week ...

Men's Lacrosse earns first round bye in NCAA's

The Virginia men's lacrosse team lost two of their last three contests, but that didn't stop the selection committee from rewarding them on a successful regular season, which saw the Cavaliers capture the number on spot in the polls for a couple of weeks.

The Hoos (10-3) will get a first-round bye in the tournament, and will face the winner of Cornell and Stoney Brook on May 19th at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The winner will advance to the Final Four. Virginia is seeded 3rd and is one of four teams that received a bye in the first round. Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Princeton were the recipients of the other byes.

For more info on men's lacrosse, please see the official UVa Lacrosse page.

Lewis Chitengwa honored this week

The Canadian Tour will pay tribute to a popular rising star who passed away suddenly last summer with this week's Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Championship.

Chitengwa, a UVa graduate and member of the Cavalier golf team from 1995 through 1998, won two college tournaments and was named All-American twice during his college career. Chitengwa, a four-year letter winner, beat top PGA golfer Tiger Woods in an amateur tournament as well. He finished higher than any other golfer at UVa in the U.S. Amatuer Championship in 1996, placing 7th.

Chitengwa joined the Canadian Tour in 2001, and had a pair of Top 10 showings during his rookie year before passing away in June due to illness.

A total of 150 contestants will be at the scenic 6,307-yard, par-71 Keswick Hall at Monticello in search of the $24,000 Cdn. ($16,000 US) top prize when opening round action gets underway today.

Read the full release

   What's New at TheSabre.com

2002 Pre-Season Spring Blowout Sale

Getting ready for the upcoming season? Flex your muscles and take a few laps around our new Pre-season Blowout Sale in TheSabreShop.com. No need to sprint through this sale. We have added so many items you will want to pace yourself. Many of your standard feature items, as well as leather goods, watches and kids items, will be on this Spring Sale roster. To show our appreciation, TheSabreShop will also include a free gift in each shipment.

The 2002 Spring Pre-season Blowout Sale will make room for our new store items and designs taking the field this summer. Check it out and SAVE BIG!

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For more information, check out the April 2001 Issue and see what you're missing!

 
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