Gossip, about says it. Remember that the items reported here are unconfirmed and may be nothing more than rank speculation or even creative thinking. I will make an effort not to post unreliable rumors, or those that are more salacious than probable. If an item is labeled as "personal observation" that means it is something that I have seen around Charlottesville with my own eyes, or my conclusions from the same.
(9/24/96) These reports from U Hall will stop once practice starts. The coaches do not want people writing about practice on the internet and in the interests of the Charlottesville public, I will comply with their wishes so that they do not see fit to close practice to the public. I would urge any other Internet-aware local Hoos to do the same. While I think they are unnecessarily paranoid about the issue, the fact is they do not want it done.
(10/1/96) The games started late today. Playing were Courtney, Jamal, Curtis, Norman, Martin Walton, Kris Hunter, Colin Ducharme, Willie Dersch, Craig McAndrew and J Willie. What really jumped out at me today was the passing. As I have watched the games this fall, the passing has gotten better and better. Today, it was phenomenal. Guys were making all kinds of passes, in all situations. What made it even more impressive was that everybody was looking to pass up decent shots for better ones for a teammate. It was the proverbial extra pass, and it made for entertaining basketball to watch. If this team passes this way during the season, and plays UVA defense, they will win a lot of games and surprise a lot of people. Every player made numerous great passes. They were fundamentally sound. Post players were hitting cutters or open shooters, penetrators were drawing and dishing, pick-and-rolls were turning into assists.
Ducharme continues to be the most impressive of the new big men. He plays extremely smart ball, and makes all the little plays. He makes the give-and-go and the pick-and-roll work. He can shoot, rebound, play strong defense. And Colin has excellent hands, particularly in transition. There are times you can see the benefit of his background as a tight end. He knows how to catch the ball on the move and "tuck it away." Hunter continues to improve. His passing was impressive, and for the first time I have seen he was aggressively calling for the ball. He would get into his move, then pass to an open player. I would like to see Kris be meaner on defense and stronger on his own move. But he shows all the indications of being a young player who is going to become an impact player.
Today I noticed that Nolan has really developed a soft touch on jumpers in the lane. He also passed the ball better than I've ever seen him pass before. Norm looked very good.
One thing to remember before getting too excited by all this is that the defensive intensity is not nearly what it will be during the season. However, the positive is that it shows good chemistry. Elton Brand noticed it. He commented that "they play real well together."
(9/25/96) The games started late today, and many of the leading players were not present for the game I saw, but it was fun. The players present were Curtis, Norman, Mike Curtis, Martin Walton, Craig, Willie, Colin and Kris. Anthony Oliver was the resident ex-Hoo. I sat and watched a few of them shoot around for a while before they started playing. Colin can shoot the ball. He was nailing treys and foul line jumpers. He likes the facing jumper from the end of the foul line. He's got a funny-looking shot, but a nice touch. I'm telling you guys, I like this kid's game more every time I see him. Today he showed that he has a knack for blocking shots. He made one superb block of a fast break slam attempt by Walton, although it may have been a foul. He also blocked one or two of Norman's shot attempts. And the kid is confident.
Dersch also impressed today. He has a great deal of athleticism and a variety of skills. One impressive play he made was driving into the middle of the lane, then putting the shot high off the glass into the basket. I like seeing the use of the glass on a straight shot. He made a number of open jumpers, and some nice passes. Willie makes good decisions in transition. One trait he has that I like is the knack Grant Hill had of knowing when and how to leave his man and double-team the ball. He keeps track of his man and gets back when he has to. Dersch is a player.
Hunter showed more of his transition abilities, and finally blocked a couple shots. He continued to show a desire to pass. He also showed good recognition. He sees things develop and he sees players come open -- just sometimes a split second too late to make the play. I look forward to watching Kris grow as a player. While Ducharme is the most impressive of the big men right now, Kris has the greatest upside.
Curtis looked sharp, although he still wants to dribble too much, and wouldn't pass to the post. A lot of the same symptoms as last year. But he's one hard-nosed comnpetitor and can really shoot the three in transition.
More whenever.
(9/24/96) On a fall day that was fair and foul by turns, I was fighting a sinus infection and aboutmid-afternoon I lost. I was ready to go home when I noticed that it was prime pickup pigskin ... I mean basketball ... time. So I trundled over to U Hall to do my duty and report on the State of the Hoos. I enjoyed myself more today than either of the other times I have gone. The level of play was much higher than it had been, and the teamwork was a joy to watch. The passing was excellent with everyone on the floor making at least one or two beautiful passes. Even many of the mistakes and bad plays I saw were the result of a player looking to pass. All the players are to be commended for that.
The teams were excellent and produced some interesting matchups. Courtney, Jamal, Kris Hunter and Colin Ducharme were shirts along with one walk-on type while Harold, Curtis, Willie Dersch, Norman and Craig McAndrew were skins. Matchups had Dersch on Jamal, Harold and Courtney on each other, McAndrew and Hunter and Nolan against Ducharme. The teams were relatively even.
As is my wont, I paid more attention to the new players than I did to the veterans. Consequently, the accomplishments of Courtney and Norman may be overly down-played in this report. But each of the new players demanded attention at times with what they did on the court, particularly Ducharme and to a lesser extent Hunter. As the fall progresses, it looks more and more likely to me that Ducharme will not redshirt this year because he will be able to help the team on the floor. He had another impressive all-around showing today. He worked hard against Norman on defense, stuffing one or two shot attempts (on one Norman called I foul that I don't think would have been called in a game). He set numerous SOLID screens on the perimeter, and did a very good job of rolling off the screen to the hoop. On one of those plays the guard hit him for an easy layup; on another the defensive rotation picked him up and Courtney zipped a pass to Hunter all alone under the basket. On another defensive play, Ducharme switched onto Dersch off a pick and forced Willie into the corner where the ball went out of bounds. It was off Ducharme, but he did a textbook job of cutting off the baseline. On one play he outfought Harold for a loose ball on the defensive end, brought the ball up the middle of the floor on the break, and lofted an alley oop pass over a defender to Kris Hunter, who caught it perfectly and jammed it through the hoop. Colin also rebounded well.
At this point in time Ducharme has absolutely zero touch on his post moves, which consist of a slow-moving hook and an awkward turnaround jumper, but he exhibited nice touch on every other shot. He hit a few driving layups on excellent cuts to the basket when the ball went to the baseline, and buried a facing jumper from the end of the foul line. While Colin will never be called by the talking heads "a great athlete," he certainly is not a big white stiff. He has plenty of athletic talent to be a successful ACC power forward. At times, he clearly had Nolan frustrated.
Hunter showed a similar lack of polished post play. He airballed a turnaround jumper or two and threw away a couple of bad passes from the post, but it was nice to see him attempt to pass out of the post, and he did make one beautiful pass to a cutter coming down the lane for a layup. But what Hunter gave out there was exactly what he was advertised to have and what I had most hoped to see from him. He is a tall, athletic presence in the lane who has a knack for scoring on follows, challenging shots and running the floor well. If they do get a running game going this year, Hunter will be a major factor. He has real nice control, he gets down there fast, and he knows what to do with the ball when they throw it to him. He and Ducharme both appear very comfortable in the open court. Kris looks like he has sufficient bulk and strength to be a factor in the ACC, but he definitely will benefit from the weight program. While he is slender, he is not a "stick" and he can pretty much hold his own down there. He was pushing against McAndrew all afternoon and didn't get shoved all over the place.
McAndrew was less noticeable than the other new big men, but he made his share of plays. He made one gorgeous pass to Courtney cutting down the baseline, and scored on a secondary break. He brought down a number of rebounds. Norman looks like a bear out there. He has much greater muscle definition than he had last year, and he was getting up and down the court. Norman got himself in position for a number of layups from Jamal, Courtney and Harold, and had two absolutely thunderous dunks towards the end of the time I spent there.
Each one of the perimeter players was making superb passes. The combination of Jamal and Courtney looked very smooth. Both are threats to penetrate and score and both make nice passes. Jamal was splendid in the offense, and is definitely willing to pass into the post. At times he looked like the best player on the floor, but I hesitate to get too excited about him because I've seen him each of the last two years look spectacular in September, then not make much impact during the season. He does seem comfortable running the offense, and I still expect to see him as the starting point guard when the season opens.
Courtney again looked like he was just playing for the hell of it. A couple of times he seemed ready to get into a one-on-one challenge with Harold, but he never lost himself to it and just played within the team. Courtney looks capable of either dominating games with spectacular offensive explosions, or of just scoring a quiet, steady 20 points. I can see him having games where you never seem to notice him getting the ball much or shooting it much, yet when you tally up the points at the end of the night he scored 22 on 8-for-13 shooting. Curtis showed more overall offensive ability than in the past, even making a couple gorgeous passes. Curtis shoots best on the move, particularly in transition. He still bombs away at times. Harold was less of a ballhog today, although he still seems too determined to drive into the lane when he has better options like kicking it right out to the wing once he gets by his man. He did make several excellent passes to big men open under the basket. I've always said that Harold is an outstanding passer. With his strength he can blast passes through traffic in the lane, and he is precise with them. He has a great look-away pass. But with Harold it's all in the attitude. If he wants to be a distributor, he can excel at it; if he wants to be a scorer, the teamis at his mercy. When he's on, great; when he's not...
I hope Jones lets these guys run. They have a lot of players who are comfortable in the open court. In fact, almost every player on the team is effective in a transition game. Watching them today was as entertaining as most regular college games. They went up and down the court fluidly and played in synch with each other most of the time. We have a lot of guys I would feel comfortable with on the floor. With Jamal, Harold, Curtis, Willie, Courtney, Monte, Norman, Colin, Craig and Kris, they are two-deep at every position. Let's put in a variety of full-court, three-quarter-court, and halfcourt presses and try to open up the court and speed up the game. Rumor has it that the coaches intend to do that this year. But that style of game is admittedly against the nature of this coaching staff. And we've heard it before in the preseason. We're going to press and run more this year. Two games into the season, the old halfcourt game is back. It's a shame, because if you're willing to give up a layup now and then and stick with the press, it can yield spectacular results.
(9/17/96) It was a sunny day today so work could just wait. I slid over to the Clam to watch some hoops. Caught my boss playing hooky, so we sat there and watched them play. Just about everybody was there. Colin Ducharme played, as did Kris Hunter, Willie Dersch, Monte Marcaccini, Courtney Alexander, Chase Metheney, Norman Nolan, Curtis Staples, Jamal Robinson and Harold Deane. Anthony Oliver was there. That man can play some defense. Craig McAndrew left the floor with a twisted ankle before I arrived.
Marcaccini is good around the basket and Dersch makes some very nice passes, especially in transition. Dersch has a weird-looking shot (which means he fits right in), but hits a lot of net. He is easily 6-6, or Jamal and Courtney are smaller than they are listed. Marcaccini can really get off the floor! He is going to defy stereotypes of the slow, heavy-footed WOP. (I can say that, I'm Italian, and my grandparents were bona fide WOP [without official papers]). These guys are going to help. Monte will provide a good counterpoint to Courtney. He's not the explosive scorer, but he is more of a rebounder and will help more with defense in the paint. But he can also shoot the 3 and is a good finisher on the break, so we won't completely lose offense when he is in for Courtney. Dersch will spell Curtis and there should not be much -- if any -- drop-off in play.
Jamal is so fast. And he can jump like crazy. He has so much brilliance inside him,. it's a mystery why it doesn't show up more often. He made a couple amazing plays, including a reverse one-handed jam follow. The shot bounced off the left side of the rim. Jamal came from the other side of the court, jumped under the rim, and slammed it in with the right hand. He also was far more aggressive driving than I've seen him in the past.
Speaking of Jamal, if I had to make a prediction, at this point I would pencil him in as the starting point guard. I wish he were a little better running the break, but he is far more willing to pass the ball than Mr. Deane. Speaking of Harold, he doesn't look like his attitude has been adjusted at all. He still seems intent on shooting the ball everytime he gets it, and he was running his mouth. Every so often he seemed to remember that he CAN pass the ball and made a spectacular one. My boss commented at one point "Come on, Harold, you don't have to make EVERYthing a personal challenge." At any rate, if I were his teammate I would have been quite annoyed with him today. I view it as a bad sign. I will say that I hope if he comes into practice with the same approach that Jones kicks his ass to the bench. Frankly, unless Harold comes in wanting to pass the ball and only shoot when nothing else is available, they don't need him on the team.
Well, better things to talk about... the new big men. My first impression of Ducharme is a very good one. Guys, he may not redshirt this year because he may be out there playing. He is a good athlete and seems to have good footwork and basketball instincts. His post moves are mechanical and look like something out of the 1950s, but he showed nice touch, good body control, timing, leaping ability, and all-around athleticism. He worked hard on defense and was always battling around the basket. I just have a hunch about this kid. I think he's going to be an excellent player. He definitely has athletic ability. With his work ethic, intelligence and aggressiveness, he should be a hell of a player. As far as size, he looks perhaps slightly taller than Norman.
Hunter played a bit more today, and shows potential. He definitely has good athletic ability. He handles himself very well in transition. He made several finishes on breaks where he had to react on the move. For that matter, Ducharme converted one beautiful break himself, catching a pass on the run and finger-rolling with his left hand. But back to Hunter. He has been somewhat tentative out there. He looks a bit shy and a bit awed by being out there with college players. Still, he was challenging shots, posting up, and going for rebounds. He does look to have more upside potential, but to be farther away than the other new big men.
Norman looked about the same, while Chase definitely looks more aggressive and confident this year. He still is the smallest-playing 7-4 I think I've ever seen. He brings the ball down too much. He lacks lateral quickness. Heck, Chase lacks athletic ability. But he is tall and he looks like he has been working. We'll see.
Today was the first time I've ever seen Chase look like an average human being. Ralph came to the gym. Ralph walked around to where Chase was sitting, and Chase looked like a little kid getting to meet a legend. He jumped up to shake Ralph's hand with this huge smile. Ralph sat with him for a while, then Chase went off to play. Jason Williford sat with Ralph, but didn't play any while I was there. Junior was nowhere in sight.
(9/12/96) The baskets are up, the gym is open, the players are in town, and the games have begun. This afternoon I had a chance to watch the pickup games. Yesterday, a friend watched and he relayed his impressions to me, along with what he heard from another person.
All the players were at the gym this afternoon. Monte Marcaccini and Colin Ducharme were there, but did not play. Chase Metheney and Kris Hunter showed up late, and only played one game each. Willie Dersch and Craig McAndrew played several games. Courtney Alexander, Harold Deane, Curtis Staples, Jamal Robinson, Norman Nolan, and the walk-ons McLaughlin, Curtis and Walton all played several games. Junior Burrough and Jason Williford were on hand, and they were still the two best players on the court.
The following are random impressions and comments:
* McAndrew, Hunter and Ducharme are big. McAndrew and Ducharme do not look that big by themselves because they are so well-proportioned. Hunter is thinner, which makes him look taller. If Norman Nolan is in fact 6-8, that would make McAndrew a legitimate 6-9/6-10 range, and Hunter at least 6-10. Ducharme is probably closer to 6-8. Hunter is slender, but certainly not rail-thin. McAndrew looks like he is about 25. Chase looked a little bigger and quite a bit more aggressive.
* McAndrew didn't have a very good time of it today, but apparently he looked better yesterday. The report I received was he hit consistently from 16-18 feet out when shooting around, and showed a number of things in the game. WHat I saw was a guy who missed a hell of a lot of layups, but who definitely saw things on the court. He will set other guys up, and he is tough in the paint. One particularly impressive play he made was a pass to Michael Curtis for an open jumper. McAndrew had the ball on one wing, and spotted Curtis all alone on the other wing. Craig passed the ball over the top for the wide open J.
* Hunter did not get much of a chance to show anything. He did shoot an airball on a turnaround jumper, but that was about all he got the chance to do. He looks like an athlete, however, and he was in position for a number of offensive rebounds. I hope to see more of him tomorrow or next week.
* I did not see Ducharme play, and my boss did not see him at all yesterday, but he spoke with someone else who had seen all three play. This person called Ducharme the surprise guy. This person was very impressed with Colin, calling him aggressive, tough, and very good. Colin most likely will still redshirt, but if he goes into practice and really turns some heads with solid, tough, aggressive play, he might wind up on the active roster.
* Marcaccini didn't play but Dersch did and he showed a knack for two things: getting around the ball and finding the open man. Willie is going to win games with miscellaneous plays. A steal, picking up a loose ball, making a timely outlet pass, and hitting some key shots.
* Courtney, Harold and Jamal were on the same team and they held the court for three games before being beaten in the fourth game by Williford and Burrough. They pretty much did exactly what they wanted to do. Harold was firing three-pointers that hit nothing but net (which he does far more often in pickup games and practice than in real games), and making beautiful dishes in transition. He also was all over the loose balls. Courtney made some amazing passes and hit his trademark fall-away jumper. Jamal was on the receiving end of some nice oops and made some sweet drives.
* Guess who showed up: Dawn Staley. She came in with Tora Suber. She looked thrilled to be there.
Jamal apparently became real comfortable with the point guard position in Europe. Jones remarked that he appeared more comfortable there than at the wing, because he didn't worry about scoring. I would not be surprised to see Jamal as the starting point guard even if Harold is back.
More tomorrow or early next week -- unless they ban me from the gym!
(8/25/96) It so happens that Jeff Jones might return home from Europe to find Chase Metheney on his doorstep, hat in hand and backpack over his shoulder, saying, "Coach, can I come home now?" A reader wrote in to inform me that the Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Chase has left South Carolina and is coming back to Virginia. Having been unable to confirm this report from any other source as yet, it belongs inthe category of rumor. I'm not doubting my reader, I'm sure he saw what he saw, but whether the Pilot has its story correct.
Frankly, I'd rather have the scholarship than the Stick Man. With the number of high quality big men in this year's class, I think we can get a much more talented player. On the other hand, if Stick comes back, Ducharme can redshirt.
The irony, of course, is that the European tour was intended primarily for Chase's benefit. Now that the tour is over, he might be back. Does Jones have to take him back? I assume he will as strenuously as he tried to talk Chase out of leaving, but myself I would be extremely exasperated with the boy.
(8/22/96) Mac McDonald of WINA let slip the other morning that from what Terry Holland was telling him, they are leaning towards building a new arena across the street from U Hall. The arena would seat 14-15,000. Can they fill an arena of that size? Seems to me they would have to schedule some more interesting non-conference games for one. We'll have to see what the final decision is.
(8/12/96) Several readers pointed out that it was the Raleigh News and Observer, not Charlotte. Y'all were right; my mistake. I'm sure the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER is thankful I got that right, but the Raleigh N&O is chagrined. ;)
(8/8/96) Caulton Tudor, the notorious pro-Tar Hole sports writer from the Charlotte News & Observer wrote a piece in their paper speculating that Jeff Jones might be wearing out his welcome, and that he needs a good year or Terry Holland will have to think about getting rid of him. Now, I know parts of the VSAF have never liked Jones and would like to see him out of here. I also know that much has been said about JJ's personal life. And the off-court problems of the players recently has been an embarrassment to thge program and the school. But none of that lends any credibility to Tudor's story. Why? Because the article is completely devoid of journalistic integrity. For one, there is not one hint that Tudor has actually spoken to anyone. He simply writes that Jones is losing the leeway given by Holland and Copeland, and if things don't get better Holland will have to look at canning him. Says who? Did he talk to Holland? Did he talk to Jones? Did he talk to anyone, or is he sitting in his chair deciding, "I think I'll write something about Jeff Jones up there at Virginia. In listing the problems, he talks about Presley and Johnson, then Metheney, then Whitaker, AND NOW Deane is convicted. What is Virginia going to do? Deane's incident happened four months ago. It's not news.
Finally, Tudor demonstrated his complete ignorance about the Hoos when he referred to Craig McAndrew as a 6-6 wing player. Hello! Caulton! Open up a single newspaper article about the Hoos, or trip on over to a single web page with information on the Hoos, and you'll see that McAndrew is a 6-10 POST player. Obviously Tudor feels no need to acquaint himself with the facts about Virginia because it's not UNC, so it doesn't matter.
What makes the article notable is that it means Jones has officially entered The Hot Seat. No longer is it silent speculation and VSAF whispering, but one press outlet has now dared to start public speculation.
The off-court problems have deeply disturbed most Hoos. If they do continue, then the howls likely will start. But let's not jump the gun.
Players Around
(7/28/96) The players started returning this week. Several of the returning players have been at U Hall this past week playing in pickup games. Jamal, Curtis and Norman were all in town, playing with such luminaries as Junior Burrough, Cory Alexander, Jason Williford and Yuri Barnes. One very interesting participant was HAROLD DEANE. So Harold may be on leave from the team, but he is not exiled. My "reporter" said that Harold's behavior was noticeably more subdued than it was in pickup games last year. Also, another correspondent told me that team chemistry is greatly improved, and the team may really surprise some people next year.
No sign of any of the new players yet. With practice starting Thursday, the new players are not likely to be around until school starts. They cannot practice with the team or travel to Europe. But once school starts, the entire team should be down at U Hall most afternoons, and HOOpS will have observers present!
(7/24/96) Follow the link for some good news. The latest batch of rumors is NOT TRUE. After a lot of digging around, I have come up with reliable information that each of the rumors in the story are FALSE. Also, you'll find out about some recent player sightings around Cville.
(7/15/96) Harold Deane was spotted late last week in Charlottesville. Deane and Courtney Alexander were getting out of the same car and heading to the McCue Center where the athletic department has its weight room and other facilities.
BTW: Stay posted. I will have a lot more about the situation with Harold. There have been rumors concerning the backcourt. Some of them I can confidently claim are NOT TRUE, but one is very much alive. I am still checking into everything. P.S. Don't even bother asking me in email. I'll post it here when I'm ready.
(7/8/96) Follow the headline for the text of a very interesting email I received the other day. Sorry to keep talking about last year, but...
(6/30/96) Response was swift coming on the story below. Follow the link to see what's up.
(6/29/96) One reader reports hearing that Harold was afflicted by big head syndrome after his successful sophomore year, and felt like it was up to him to do everything with Junior Burrough's graduation. Reportedly, he began to hog the ball and yell at his teammates, who became fed up with Harold's attitude. This reader said that in the part of Jones's April 16 statement not released to the public, Jones said that Harold's teammates were fed up with Harold, and that Jones was having difficulty dealing with him. Jones reportedly said that Harold would find himself off the team if he did not shape up.
Another reader stated earlier that he had heard rumors that a lot of the chemistry problems on the team were extreme friction between Harold and Courtney, who felt that he was being frozen out of the offense much of the season. Could this have had anything to do with the persistent rumors during the last half of the season that Courtney was going to transfer?
Is all of this true? Hoo knows? It certainly is plausible.
Apparently some observers close to the program expect Harold back on the team by Christmas.
I don't know if it is true, but a local Hoo said he heard Chase Metheney is thinking of transferring. I would think that looking at Kris Hunter, Craig McAndrew and Colin Ducharme coming in, plus Brian Bersticker or another big man possibly coming next year, that Chase would have to consider it highly probable that he never will see a lot of playing time.
Sources have provided more information on the story behind the earlier report that Hunter had failed to raise his GPA. Apparently the information was confirmed with people very close to Hunter and to UVA last Thursday. Is it true? Hoo knows? I certainly hope not, because I consider the odds of him raising his standardized test scores at this late date to be less than 50%. Every day that goes by without word that Hunter's grades were high enough makes it more likely that Mike Sullivan's report is correct.
If Hunter does not qualify, what does it mean? Earlier reports have said he would go to Fork Union for a year then come to UVA. That would be better than nothing, but Hunter would definitely be nice to have around next year. If the NCAA permits McAndrew to play, the team may be fine, because McAndrew is more highly-rated and considered a more polished player at this point. McAndrew alone would make a considerable improvement over last year. But I definitely would feel better if Hunter were aboard.
And what about Melvin Whitaker? Still no word from UVA on his grant-in-aid. Most people assume he will never play at UVA, but the more cynical are saying that they are waiting to see if Hunter qualifies. If Hunter does not qualify... I admit it's possible but I can't subscribe to that line of thinking. But the delay in making an official announcement about Whitaker does provide fertile ground for such thinking.
Chris Horne has reported on his recruiting web page that Kris Hunter failed to raise his GPA in the college core courses to the 2.5 he needs for eligibility given his current test scores. Chris heard it from a source who got it from Mike Sullivan's Insider Report. However, as we reported in Hoos News, The Roanoke Times Online says that information on Hunter's latest grades was unavailable as of Friday. Chris's report was posted before Friday. Hopefully the Roanoke Times is correct and Hunter may still qualify based on his grades.
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