(Or: Letters to the Editor)
This page isn't a chance for me to pat myself on the back and print all those testimonials from long-distance Hoos hoo love the site. Those won't be posted here (but that doesn't mean I don't like getting them!). This page is for discussion, opinions about the Hoos or related topics. Sort of a forum.
Yellow = letter; White = response
(10/22/96) Did you see the ESPN Scholastic Sports America special on Monday, that featured Hampton's Ronald Curry? Curry's parents moved to North Carolina when he was 12, and he decided to stay with a woman named Lillian Crawford, so that he could play for Hampton High School.
Lillian Crawford is a small, very old black woman who is very religious, and doesn't have a lot of money. I would guess that she could have a major impact as to where Curry goes to college, or what sports he plays. And one thing is for sure: she can't drive 65 MPH 300 miles round-trip to see Curry play at UVa.
I don't know if under NCAA rules, UVa could get a booster who lives in Hampton who is going to UVa's games anyway, to give her rides to the games, or not.
If not, it still wouldn't shock me one bit if Curry decided to play for Hampton University, right down the street, or, at farthest, give up football to play basketball for Old Dominion.
Although the special mentioned how serious Curry takes academics, taking courses like trigonometry and calculus, and having a 3.75 GPA, it didn't mention his SAT's. Also, Hampton High is one of the poorer academic high schools in that part of the state, according to the way the state rates schools on how the students test on literacy tests.
It's interesting that at no time during the special, did ESPN mention even once that Curry even plays basketball...
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I missed the special. Thanks for the info. I have no idea what NCAA rules permit or forbid. But I would be extremely shocked if Curry were to attend one of those schools. Talk about a waste! A talent like that belongs on the biggest stage. And with his grades, if academics are important to him, wouldn't you expect him to go for the best degree he can get?
It is a bit surprising that they didn't mention basketball. But I think he will not be the prospect for basketball that he is for football. In basketball, he is very highly-regarded, and has performed at a high level, but in football he is phenomenal. He is putting up unbelievable numbers -- and he's not at some A school. He is making those plays at the highest level of football in the state.
At the same time, if he loves both sports evenly, as he says, and is a top 5 basketball prospect, you have to expect him to choose to play basketball when forced to choose. The opportunity is so much greater in basketball than football, that it seems the obvious choice.
We'll see.
(10/22/96) That comparison to Terry Gates is from the Richmond paper, I think. I asked Terry about it at a VSAF function and he laughed. He's seen Colin play, and he says that already Colin is bigger and better than he was as a fourth year player. Terry also told me that when he entered UVA, he weighed just 180 lbs. He was about 220 when he left. As for the Castellan comparison, I hope so. Otis Fulton (remember him?) says Ducharme is a player. That's good enough for me.
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I don't remember Fulton but I recognize him. That was slightly before my time. My family moved to Virginia from Florida in 1980 when Ralph was finishing his freshman year. So Ralph's sophomore year was my first year as a college basketball fan. But yeah, Colin is already a much better player than Terry Gates ever was. I remember Gates. He was good for banging inside, but that's it. Colin has skills.
(10/22/96) Did my eyes decieve me, or did you neglect to mention Chase Metheney. Perhaps you have a better perspective because you've seen him play recently, but I think he can only help.
With solid performance out of the 1-4 spots, he doesn't have to be all that impressive to cause some major match up problems for smaller teams. For most of the ACC, he may be a non-factor, but he's experienced and can give 5 fouls. Teams like Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Ga. Tech, and NC State are going to have a lot of trouble if we use a three man rotation at center.
UNC, Wake Forest are going to be another matter. But I think old Deano will have a lot of trouble running his full court press without good guards - and lots of them. Wake is seriously depleted at the guard position, as you have noted.
If UVA gets some "good" chemistry (always an intangible), if most of the players live up to their expectations, and if we have some luck then I believe we'll be at the top of the heap. We're deep and relatively unknown at this point - which means we may be able to sneak up on people. Plus we have, talent wise, the best guards in the ACC.
By January we'll know.
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To be honest, I think the Hoos have the potential to win the ACC, but I don't want to come out and predict it. It's easy to forget the impact of Tim Duncan during the off-season. He becomes just an abstract combination of statistics, but when you play him it returns: this guy absolutely controls the paint. And Dave Odom is an outstanding coach. He has their defense set up to funnel everything to the middle where Duncan -- now joined by talented 7-1 Loren Woods -- patrols.
UNC? I could just as easily have put them fifth as second. I would not be surprised to see Virginia finish ahead of them. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Duke and Clemson finish ahead of us. I draw the line at 5th. I would be shocked if we finished any lower.
As for Chase, I didn't mention him because I don't see him being any higher than 5th in the big man rotation. Nolan is first, and all three frosh impress me a hell of a lot more than Chase. We'll see. I really don't care WHO winds up in the rotation and who on the bench as long as SOMEBODY out of that bunch makes an impact. If it's Chase great. If not Chase, then I don't care as long as Hunter or McAndrew or Ducharme steps up.
(10/21/96) My unemotional evaluation of UVa's 3 new big men: (I'm a UVa alumnus, and a season ticket-holder for 19 years):
From what I've seen of Craig McAndrew, all I can say is I hope he's better than he looked to me. He is a long ways off from even being as good as a Chris Alexander.
Collin Ducharme is a tenacious, hard-nosed player, who reminds me physically of a Terry Gates, who played for UVa during the Sampson era, or a Steve Castellan, who played before then. However, Ducharme was not recruited by many big-name schools, and I can see why: he just lacks athletic ability. That's why Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Indiana, etc. didn't have any interest in him. Ducharme plays hard, but I wonder just how much potential he actually has.
Kris Hunter is a project at this point, although a good project. He seems to have long arms, but is thin, and not particuarly aggressive. I think that by his junior year, he might be a good ACC player.
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I tend to agree with you about Hunter and to an extent about McAndrew, but I have to disagree with your assessment of Ducharme. Hunter is a project and a good one. While he is behind the others in fundamentals, I have enjoyed watching him improve. In the pickup games, his improvement from the first time I saw him to the last and at each step in between was noticeable. Jones commented on the same in the individual workouts. He also became more aggressive over that time, although he is still a "shy" player. But I think we will see srious contributions from Kris before his junior year. I expect to see him make an impact this year. He has excellent athletic tools and a knack for making some plays that will greatly help Virginia -- namely offensive putbacks and blocked shots.
McAndrew is by his own admission not a pickup type player. But to say he is far from being as good as Alexander? No. I have to disagree with that. Craig is not a good finisher, but he is a good rebounder and passer. He likes to do the little things that help a team win. I am waiting to see how he looks in a structured game.
Now, I think you are completely wrong about Ducharme's athleticism. Colin is not by any stretch of the imagination a great athlete, but he does not lack athleticism. Colin has more than enough athleticism to be a very good ACC power forward. He is far more athletic than Terry Gates. Gates was a bouncer, and that's it. He was a stiff. Colin is an athlete. He has sufficient speed and leaping ability to get up and down the court, dunk the basketball and block shots. He has decent lateral quickness. He is strong and will get stronger. And most importantly he has excellent hands. They are quick, soft, and he knows how to catch the ball. Colin's athletic abilities were the most pleasant surprise about him for me. And he uses his intelligence and instincts to maximize them by anticipating the other guy.
Colin has good upside. I compare him to Todd Fuller, a player who came in without a lot of fanfare but who through intelligence and hard work continually improved. Colin has Fuller's intelligence and work ethic. He does not have Fuller's size, but he is much more athletic than Fuller. There may be a number of reasons why he was not recruited by the top level programs, and they don't necessarily have anything to do with long-term potential. Colin did not make noise on the national scene until the summer before his senior season when he opened some eyes with his play in the national AAUs and at the Nike camp. Mnay observers at Nike called Colin one of the biggest surprises of the camp. By that time, he had all but signed with UVA. Colin's best year of basketball was his senior season, and he had already committed to UVA by then. Anybody who knew much about Colin knew he wanted to be a Cavalier and would accept if offered, and that may have depressed interest somewhat. Or, all those other schools could just have overlooked him.
Ducharme is a player.
(10/9/96) Athlon Sports College Basketball yearbook just came out, and they pick UVa 7th in the ACC, which is where UVa finished last season. They say that Deane is back on the team.
Under their Final Analysis of UVa, they say that "posting a winning season could be a reach given the Cavs' deficiencies."
They pick the 64 teams that they think will make the NCAA tournament, but UVa isn't one of them. 5 other ACC teams are in their list of 64 teams, however.
UVa's top-rated new recruit is Willie Dersch, who they rate no.42. Colin Ducharme is rated no.92. 5 other ACC teams had a recruit that the magazine rated higher than Dersch.
No other UVa recruit, including Kris Hunter, made their top 100 list.
So, hopefully, UVa will be better than this magazine predicts.
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I've never thought much of Athlon's magazines. In fact, I've never bought one. I won't buy this one either. But I'm sure most of the rags if not all of them will agree with Athlon. That's ok with me. Now, to leave Hunter off a top 100 list seems ridiculous to me. He's a talented 6-10 player who will make a lot of noise at UVA.
Most view the 'Hoos problems in the front court to be the team's shortfall. Norman Nolan does not command much respect. Even Jones is quoted as saying that Nolan's career reminds him in some ways of a young Junior Burrough. Alexander is clearly considered the "go-to" guy, with Deane, Staples, and the rest playing supporting roles. Vitale indicated Deane & Staples had their chance and produced sub-40% shooting when they were predicted to be among the nation's best.
Each book gave the 'Hoos high marks for recruiting. But didn't feel the young kids would have much of an impact. The biggest question marks centered around Jones' ability to lead, stabilizing the point guard position, as well as the front court. Preview Sports gave MacAndrew low marks and felt that Ducharme and Hunter would exceed him in effectiveness. Vitale suggested that Jones (and FSU's Kennedy) needs a big year just to keep his job.
Let's try and predict the number of times we'll hear (on every UVa telecast) how Jeff Jones is trying to restore respectability to UVa's b'ball program after so many off-season problems. That will really help recruiting.
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Do we have to predict? At least once per game, if not more. But these predictions, although reasonable, are off-base. The Cavaliers will be better than 7th. I have not done my analysis for the preview issue, but at this point I anticipate picking them fourth, and in the NCAA tournament. This team is good. It looks similar to last year's team coming into the season in that the backcourt looks strong and the inside game is questionable. Differences are that we have far more to work with in the paint than we had last year, but the guards have to be considered a question mark also, especially at the point.
From what I have seen, I would expect Ducharme and Hunter to have more of an impact than McAndrew also, but it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions before seeing them in a structured environment. McAndrew may have more of a regular season game than either of the other two.
The Cavs will surprise a lot of people.
(10/3/96) I just went to University Hall to watch the men's basketball team play pick-up games, and my opinion is that without Harold Deane, we'll finish 9th in the ACC: dead last.
So, there's no question in my mind that Jeff Jones will reinstate Deane, at least in time for the ACC portion of UVa's season.
Without Deane, UVa is loaded with talent, but they don't have a single player capable of playing the point guard position, as a starter or as a back-up.
We have shooting guards, small forwards, power fowards, and a center now, but no point guard. So, we're similar to last year's Florida State team, and the previous year's Duke team, both of which finished in last place. Jamaal Robinson isn't capable of playing point guard in the ACC: he lacks judgement with the ball, and plays out of control. Courtney Alexander is better than Robinson at the point, but he's not good enough at handling full-court pressure, either.
So, look for Deane to rejoin the team. Without Deane, we're loaded 2-deep at the other 4 positions, but 0-deep at the PG position.
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First, I think it preposterous to suggest that we would finish last in the ACC without Harold. Your point that Harold is the best point guard we have and that the others are not nearly as good as full-time point guards may or may not be valid -- I disagree -- but putting the team in 9th place is absurd. I would ask if you have been at the Hall more than just the other day? I've seen Jamal play like you suggest -- out of control and with poor decisions -- but I've also seen him have days where he made excellent decisions with the ball. Moreover, last season Jamal performed well at the point. I would suggest waiting until practice starts and we see the players in a structured set before making such judgments.
Someone somewhere, maybe it was Chris Horne, asked who Delvon Arrington was. Well, from half way around the world, I will tell you what I know:
Delvon Arrington is a 5-10 guard who was half of a small guard (5-9 and 5-10) tandum for Bob Hurley Sr.'s St. Anthonys team that finished last season rated the number 1 prep basketball team in the country. It is said that the guards on that team just smothered opposing team's guards and totally disrupted their offensive sets. So Delvon may be a defensive specialist who is said to be a better shooter than his running mate at guard. He may have been essentially the 2-guard but presumably has the skills and smarts to play the point as well. He has not yet qualified, however, according to what I read and at one point was said to be favoring the Big East. Coming from Hurley's program, I would expect the kid to be well coached and disciplined and know how to win, and apparently he is a scrapper with good quickness. He is not highly rated by the gurus, but that could be a result of his not being a big scorer or hot dog. Not sure he attended any camps or AAU tournaments this summer. Hurley has turned out a string of excellent point guards over the years, including his son. Arrington might be very useful EVEN if we get Avery, and if we don't get Avery, Arrington might be able to hold down the fort for a year until we get Ron Curry. One thing is for sure, we ought to be able to count on Jeff and Anthony Solomon to spot a good point prospect when they see one, and if Arrington is our second choice now, I hope we nail him down.
On the subject of Jeff, by the way, I'd just like to say that this constant sniping, second guessing and critizing of him only stirs up controversy and gives the program an unstable image. Lets get off Jeff's back, put the past into the history books, and focus on the present and future. Jeff is a young man with a tough, demanding and highly visible job to do, and I for one hope he wins 700 games at Virginia over a 30 year career and becomes a legend, regardless of whether he plays an entertaining style. I hate to see college coaches always under firet from alumni, student newspapers, booster/contributors or fans who think they could do better. We all want the same thing, bragging rights from a successful, respected program that gives us a sense of pride, pleasure, and satisfaction, and we are more likely to get that by letting the coaches and players do their jobs in an atmosphere of support, especially when we aren't winning. Arm chair, high school has-been, wanna be coaches may think being a critic raises their statue with their peers, and its become an American preoccupation like criticizing the President, but it really is unfair to college student-athletes and their schools as well as to the coaches and their families. Comments like "UNLVa", "The Cavs of our Lives" and constant news about the Whitaker case by Inside Stuff are just rubbing our noses in it. Lets not add to the glee of the Heels and Devils by beating ourselves with a chain just to get some use out of it. The sooner last year is put behind us and forgotten, the sooner we can move on to better times. Remember that "Saint" Dean Smith was hanged in effigy twice in his early years at Carolina. Lets be positive and constructive. If you think you know something that Jeff doesn't, write him a personal letter. Lets give the outward appearance of being solidly behind our guys who are battling on the floor for the glory of the UVA. Regards
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Thanks for the info on Arrington. I heard a rumor he may have committed to FSU, but nothing firm on that. As for supporting the team and Jones, I'm afraid I have to disagree to a large extent. I have a different definition of "support" one which does not include uncritical acceptance of everything. Support means being there for the other, and remaining loyal despite the things you are critical of. Criticism should be offered in a spirit of working for improvement. Myself, I am not in the business of uncritical cheering. HOOpS Online is for reporting the news and offering analysis, not cheerleading. And I've never been that kind of a fan. I'm a Giants fan. When we disagree with what the team is doing, we voice that, and say what we think should be done. To me, it's part of the fun of following sports.
I hope Jones has all the success in the world here. But if I think something is wrong, I'm going to voice that. Is he the right coach for UVA? I don't know. I used to think so. Now I'm not sure. If I think he is, I'll say so and defend him. If not, I'll say so. My concerns with the style of game are not about whether it's entertaining or not; they are about whether it's the best style for winning championships. I don't think it is. But in the end, whatever style the team plays, I hope they win.
I also trust and believe that Jones and his staff are truly committed to doing what they think is right for the program. And I trust that they are running a clean program. I think they really care about their players. I hope I'm right about all these things.
At any rate, go Hoos.
In my opinion, the key to success this next year is Norman Nolan. If he plays well, we will win. If he doesn't play well, we will lose.
Norman has perhaps the softest inside game in the league. I know the 'Hoos are notorious for having finesse inside players -- the type that would lay the ball back in or shoot a fade-away instead of going to the basket strong and jamming it home. Junior Burrough almost always faded away in his earlier years, but by the time he was a fourth-year, he would occasionally thunder down the lane and jam it in. Now, opposing teams are content to let Norman get the ball on the blocks, while they play all-out defense on our perimeter players.
I think Norman led the league in blocked shots last year -- not shots he blocked, but shots of his that got thrown into the fifth row. You have had the opportunity to watch him in pickup games. Does he look more aggressive this year? Is he on the court looking to actually hustle? Does he really WANT the ball? What's the word, o' great scout?
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Physically, Norman looks much better than last year. As far as his game, he looks about the same. But he looked very good in the fall last year. He is confident and aggressive with the ball. Lately, however, he has been getting extremely frustrated by Colin Ducharme. Ducharme has given him a lot of trouble with his post moves.
But I don't think any one player is the key to success. I think that's a dangerous outlook, and one that contributed to the failure of last year. The key to success is developing a team style. I don't like to lean on the term "chemistry" but it is a good shorthand. The key is finding what strengths and weaknesses each player has, and figuring out how to work them into an effective whole. A lot of parts are there. I see eleven guys who can contribute on a regular basis if they are used right. And I think that Martin Walton, Pete McLaughlin and Michael Curtis all could give a few minutes a game if they were worked into the mix correctly. So the key is for all the players to work on making each other better, rather than trying to do it themselves. If they work that way, they can have an excellent season. Because I'll tell you -- I don't think there is better talent in the ACC than at Virginia. Wake has the best player in the conference, but we have guys who can give him some problems -- and we can rotate them. I could see Metheney, McAndrew, Hunter and Ducharme taking turns on Duncan in tag-team fashion. That's a lot of muscle and a lot of fouls to throw at one player.
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