(9/28/96) I went to Hampton yesterday, to see Hampton play Woodside High School in football. Ronald Curry, the 6-3 junior basketball-football standout, is Hampton's quarterback-punt returner-defensive back............ In the first quarter alone, Curry threw two touchdown passes, ran for another touchdown, and returned TWO punts for touchdowns............. The guy is simply too good for high school football........It's a waste of time for him: he has no competition at the high school level.Hampton was ahead 40-0 at the end of the first quarter, and won 83-0, although Curry didn't even play in the second half. I couldn't evaluate him much as a passer, because he only had a chance to throw about 5 passes, and all were complete. He seems to have a strong arm, but it's hard to tell after one performance. As a punt returner, he's dazzling. I just hope he doesn't give up a sport in college: I heard a Tidewater talk-show host say that he believes Curry will give up football.
Anyway, Curry has a friend, who's last name is Mills, who attended Kecoughtan High School, then went into the military for two years. He showed up at UVa this August as an unrecruited freshman linebacker, and the UVa football staff was so impressed that they gave him a scholarship, and are redshirting him this season. He's the one who Curry is coming up to visit them Curry comes up for the UVa-Texas game. I'll have to find out more about Mills.
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I wonder if that Norfolk talk show guy based his comment on information or if it was pure speculation. Obviously, basketball is a more logical choice to play than football if the interest and ability are equal. But I wonder if Curry has that kind of phenomenal ability in basketball. Wow.
As for his friend Mills. I'm not sure it's accurate that he got a scholarship. I spoke with one long-time Hoo observer and he said it would be contrary to the way Welsh has operated for a player to receive a scholarship that fast as a walk-on. Maybe they redshirted him and talked about a scholarship in the future. It doesn't matter though. Thanks for the info.
(9/28/96) Enjoy seeing your updates about the pickup games. You haven't mentioned Chase though. Is he not playing with the guys or what? This doesn't bode well him showing much improvement over last year.
Is Junior B. going to play overseas? I heard that the Celtics did not extend his contract and he's a free agent or something. He actually played pretty well and had a great game here in DC vs. the bullets until he banged his head on the rim. I was never really a fan of his. I thought he was lazy and showed some really dumb habits on the court. Frustrated by his mental erros. However he carried the Hoos on his back during that memorable ACC run and I became a JR supporter during the latter half of his 4th year. Cory Alexander on the other hand...
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Haven't seen Chase lately. Don't know what it means. Not everybody shows up every day, though.
As for Junior, I don't know what's happening with him. Last I heard he was negotiating with the Hawks. I hope it works out for him. I, too, had a complete change of opinion about his game during his senior year. However, my opinion changed after the first three games. It was obvious from the very beginning of the season that he had made huge strides in his game. I think the approach of his last year made him much more serious about it. Junior is a super, super young man.
(9/25/96) Mike Smith at Hampton loves UVa, and he sent Donnie Green to us from last year's squad. Donnie will redshirt this year but many recruiters believe Donnie will play in the NFL some day. So I am glad that Curry is from Hampton, that increases our chances of landing him.
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Good news indeed. That's the kind of stuff I like to hear.
(9/25/96) Today at work, a guy claiming to be a UVa student came in and when the topic got around to football, he said that he's a friend of Ronald Curry, and that Curry is coming up for the UVa-Texas game.
This guy, who claims to have played for Kecoughtan High in Hampton, says that Curry took the SAT as a sophomore, and did so poorly that now he's only considering going to Hampton University or Norfolk State someday.
However, this guy says that Curry got an 800 on the SAT, which, to me, doesn't seem bad at all, considering that USA Today said he has a 3.75 GPA.
So, we'll see.
This guy says that Curry is actually about 6-1 or 6-2, and that players from Hampton High usually don't have good grades.
Anyway, I'm going to Hampton tomorrow, Sept. 26, to see Hampton play Woodside High at 5 PM. This UVa student who played for Kecoughtan told me that Woodside is a new school that used to be Ferguson High, where Aaron Brooks played.
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Thanks for the info. I hope Curry is coming up for the game, because it shows some level of interest at least. UVA has had good success recruiting for football from Hampton, so that might help with Curry. In fact, I think we have a member of the incoming freshman class from Hampton High, but it could be another high school in Hampton.
Other than that, this guy doesn't sound too reliable to me. The bit about Hampton U or NSU is particularly absurd. No. Ronald Curry is going to a big-time Division I college. If he had an 800 on the SAT as a sophomore, that's a very good sign that he will qualify easily. It would be silly to give up on the SAT after taking it one time in the 10th grade! He has two more years! In fact, he probably hasn't even had at least one vital course for doing well in the math part. When I took it in the tenth grade years ago, I had not had geometry yet and had no clue as to the answers on a large number of math questions. With a 3.75 GPA all he needs is about an 810 or 820. And it may or may not be true that players from Hampton High usually don't have good grades. That doesn't mean this one doesn't. Everything I have heard about Curry over the last two years has said he is a good student.
Let us know how the game goes.
(9/25/96) There's nothing like a little blow by blow account of an preseason pickup game at the clam to get the juices flowin'. Thanks. Problem is, they also tend to get my hopes up, which we both know is a BAD idea. The reality of the situation is that the plight of the hoos hasn't changed. In my opinion, the problem with the team last year was that the personnel available to coach Jeffy couldn't make his game plan float. Faced with this quandry, Jeff did - nothing! No fast break, no motion O, no full court or 3/4 court press, no perimeter based attack, no middle clearing, no 4 guards - nothing! Just good, old fashioned half court offense. Which works real well (notice the sarcasm here) when you don't have a big guy or 3 who can work with his back to the hoop and every single team you play knows EXACTLY what to prepare for. (Which is why Jamal at point worked for a couple games last year - took teams by surprise.) Anyway, what's changed? Same coach (saying he might run again this year, just like last season - can you say yeah, right?), same lack of a big man who can work back-to-hoop (you say they're good facing the goal, but, hell, who on the team isn't?), same incredibly gifted H. Deane (who I love, btw, but will start trying to do it all himself when his teammates start screwing up layups again - he learned it ALL at the Kansas game last year - they rode his back almost to the V - but as you know, that can't be the basis for a season), and the same chemistry (where somehow 1 + 1 + 1 = 1.5). I've heard about all our talent before, but until either we get another OUTSTANDING power forward to suit Jones' style (see Burrough, Junior) or until Jones learns from the masters and starts to base his offense around the players he has, instead of vise versa (this ain't the pros Jeff - you take what you can get and work with it) we are in for some more power ranking free falls.
I don't think I can take another year being ranked lower than Maryland. Here's hoping that, once again, I'm full of Baloney. Wahoo-wa. P.S. I think we should get an amendment passed that before every televised B'ball game Dicky V. has to come on and scream DEEEAANNNEEE!!! Whacha think?
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I'm afraid I agree with virtually everything you said. I would agree it is not a good idea to get too excited over the pickup game results. They are only good for giving a general idea of what the players are capable of doing, and to see how they work together. Craig McAndrew may turn out to have a good back-to-basket game. It's really impossible to tell from these games because the guys almost never pass it into the post. The only way for the big men to get involved in the offense is to come out and set picks for the pick and roll (which Ducharme executes exceedingly well).
But you're right, JJ does seem inflexible, and I don't like the halfcourt style. It seems like more of a "play not to lose" style than a "play to win" style. But I do think the personnel suits it better this year. McAndrew may have a good post game, he and Ducharme seem proficient at setting screens, and Hunter at least gives us a good follower. It always helps your offense if you have a guy who can tap in a few misses each game. Last year we had Chris Alexander who would get an offensive rebound then take fifteen minutes to get the shot back up, and half the time he would slam it off the bottom of the rim. So I think the personnel is better for the JJ style. However, I also think it's better for a more aggressive, attacking style. We have ten or eleven guys who should be capable of contributing, at least for a few minutes a game. And we have some nice athletes. Argh!
This is in response to the letter the naive person wrote about the honor system:
The letter the naive person wrote on the Honor Code is like living in dreamland. I am now on my third degree at UVa and have been around a long time to see the undoing of the system. The school can in fact affect the Honor System by its unwillingness to provide ample legal representation in case of a lawsuit. A student in 1994 sued the honor system and the school told the honor committee to reverse its decision or fight its own legal battle. The committee consented and reversed the charge.
And please get your facts straight. Chris Warren leaving UVa had nothing to do with the honor system. Chris was caught in a one-year NCAA rule that said that you could only have so many credit hours during the summer session. The rule was eliminated after Chris was told that he could no longer stay in school. So please do not defame Chris Warren with your inaccurate attacks. UVa did Chris Warren no favors, and in fact really treated him unfairly.
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I had said that I would print one response to the honor code thread. However, I felt the above letter was important, and will give the honor code supporters their chance to get a well-reasoned response in. If anyone cares. If not, great. Hoops are supreme! ;)
The following is a two-part letter. First I'll put the original, then the clarification, then my (brief) response:
Sorry JJ, you are wrong. You may be a Virginia fan, but you are not a Virginia man. The Honor Code is the student's most precious resource and is the one thing owned by the students that the faculty, the University President, the Alumni and even the Governor (he wouldn't want to touch it, he is a Virginia man) cannot touch. Its a single sanction offense (weakened somewhat in the last couple of years at the choice of the students) and if you violate it, you are gone. That principal of single sanction stands not matter who you are and what you mean to the athletic department. Check out Olden Polynice, Chris Warren, Jim Johnson, et al. Nearly a dozen regular students are dismissed by the student body annually as violators. Jeff Jones is a Virginia man, and he knows the Code, and he knew better than to fight it. He nearly lost his job over it, and he certainly lost the respect of the student body. If he had been a student last year and hid the truth, he too would have been gone. I'm betting he won't make that mistake again. This ain't UMaryland and we do not need Lefty Driesells around, covering up for the athletes.
Here's hoping Jeff Jones does whats right in the future and keeps on keeping on.
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JJ, I've been thinking about what I said earlier and thought a clarification was in order. You are correct in thinking that everyone should get a second chance. These two young men are not going to jail, they are going to other places to school and to play basketball. That that could not happen at UVa is just the way it is, and will remain that way until the students choose to change it. They have bent the rules a bit just lately, and I wish they hadn't, but its their Honor Code to uphold, cherish or change as they wish. And as long as they continue to address it equally to all, then it is as it should be. I'm willing to bet that the two young basketball players will never do something like this again. And if that's the case, the Honor Code will have served them well. Please excuse my haughtiness regarding "the Virginia man". As an alumnus I take a great deal of pride in The Honor Code and defend it at every opportunity.
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I do not like the Honor Code, and I have hated it since the day I arrived at UVA. I consider it one of the most striking examples of UVA self-righteousness. I have never understood Hoos' attachment to a system that seems to assume they have no honor and will only be controlled by an external code that makes them swear an explicit oath not to cheat. I also oppose the single sanction on principle. I do not believe you expel someone from your community for a single mistake unless it is one of such grave character that it cannot at all be tolerated. Shoplifting and cheating do not rise to that level. I do not want to debate the Honor Code here, and I debated the Johnson/Presley thing ad nauseum on uva.chat.sports when the story broke. I'm glad they transferred, but the lynch mob mentality that surfaced at UVA disturbed me greatly. I saw them as kids who made a mistake and JJ as an adult doing what he thought was best. I had very few facts and given that state I wanted to assume the best, not the worst. Personally, I would not have brought them up on charges, nor would I have broadcast their transgression. I would, however, have reported the incident to my boss. If I believed in the kids, I would have punished them, made them apologize to Leggett's and to their teammates, made them undergo counseling, put restrictions on them, and made them answer to me for the rest of the year. But I would not turn kids I believed in over to a system that would expel them from the community for a single mistake. If it were part of a pattern of conduct, that would be different. If my approach breaks the Honor Code of UVA, that is the way it is, because that approach is consistent with MY honor code, which I must follow no matter what. Whether I am a "Virginia man" or not makes little difference to me; I care only to be my own man, and my family's man.
I'm not going to foster a debate on the subject here. I will print one thoughtful response for the sake of fairness, but I will not respond and then the subject will be closed. It's just not a subject I want to go into.
Re: Ronald Curry, I hear that we have a helluva shot at landing him. Is he as good as everyone says? Is his best sport FB or BB?
Re: Avery, a tremendous source of mine says that Steve Smith calls Avery a fabulous player. If we could get him, he would be a helluva grab.
Re: new arena, I hear rumors that Holland already has the donation for the football expansion and is looking for the money for BB. Some say a corporation like Marriott may fork over the majority. Even if we can't fill 14,000, we could start letting the townies in who want to go to the games. And maybe we could lower our ticket prices, which are astronomical. Plus, absolutely critical for recruiting. U-Hall is a dump.
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I have not seen him play, but when I was down in VA Beach last summer (1995) I read the Virginian-Pilot, and they had reports from the Norfolk Pro-Am league. Curry was scoring 30+ points nightly, against pretty good competition. Remember, this was after his freshman year in high school. He was listed top 5 rising juniors at this summer's Nike camp. As for his best sport, I believe that's like asking which Betty Crocker does better, cake or brownies. Six slices of one, half dozen of the other. He's a great prospect in both sports. Unless he has a particular love for football, I would expect him to choose basketball. It's the logical choice. If you have the choice to be a lottery pick in the NBA, which he probably has the ability to be, it would be foolish to choose football. You make more money per year, you can play significantly longer, and you stand a much better chance of being able to walk when your career is over.
As for our chances of landing him, I have heard nothing except that he wants to stay close to home. I certainly hope you have heard right because I would love to see him as a Cavalier. For one, he's a great prospect. For another, we need to get the top prospects from in-state to stay and come to UVA.
I will be investigating the Curry story first-hand, hopefully in the near future.
Re: Avery. Interesting sources you have. ;) What I have read is that he is more of a two-guard than a point guard. If so, how will he help us? I'm just not sure he's the type of player we need at the point. And how would it affect our chances of landing Curry?
Re: the arena. Good points. I would think if Terry had the money for the football expansion it would be good to go ahead and announce it. It might create excitement and spur donations for the basketball arena. The football expansion would be nice. It would be great to get some Big Ten schools in here to play.
That reminds me: maybe Jeff Jones will take his cue from George Welsh and start scheduling national powers more consistently. We may see the football team show that to get to the next level, you have to schedule the next level. I guess a new basketball arena would make it more attractive for the Michigans and Kentuckys and UCLAs to come here and play.
I just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in on Jeff Jones. I originally thought he was wonderful. The team was successful, he recruited pretty well (at least for players 6-8 and under), and there were no real player problems. Last year was really bad. Losses are always tough, but I just thought that their style of play was not suited to the team. It was a year long 3 point shooting contest between Staples and Deane. Anyway, when I read the Washington Post article that suggested that Jones KNEW the nature of the offenses of the two players caught for shoplifting and he covered it up, I felt sick. Love it or hate it, at UVA, you are gone if you steal. End of story. If they were not basketball players, they would have been gone. Sound like an NCAA violation? It does to me, but I am not well-versed with the rules. Anyway, this past year showed me a different side of Jones. Winning with grace is easy. Losing exposes your character. And I am a bit tired of Jones' character. When he's gone, I won't be upset. By the way, I would love to have Dave Odom, but that's another story. -Mark
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Don't dream of Odom. Dreaming of Jeanie is likely to be more fruitful. I have had a similar change of attitude about JJ, but I disagree about the shoplifting incident. It does not bother me in the least that he kept it within the team. We went through this debate on the uva.chat.sports newsgroup when it happened and my view was and is that if he dealt out punishment and required them to take steps designed to see that it doesn't happen again, then I would support that move. If you have brought these kids in and you really believe in them, then you owe it to them to give them a chance to make amends. I dispute that they would necessarily have been gone if they weren't basketball players. That presumes that every student who is caught stealing has honor charges brought against him. I doubt seriously that is the case. In fact, if they were not basketball players, it would not have made the papers and the charges would not have been belatedly brought. The Cavalier Daily went out of its way to turn the event into a major scandal only because they were basketball players. It's all moot now, but I support giving kids second chances. I would do the same with one of my players.
The Inside Carolina page has a link to the Fayetteville N&O article that quotes Baron Davis on making a commitment to UCLA. Sounds like UVa's chances of landing William Avery have gone from promising to pretty slim. What info do you have on this Arrington kid? Is he talented enough to start right away? Has UVa given up on Edwin Daniels and Tony Harris? Perhaps Jones' biggest recruiting job will be to keep Courtney from coming out early. And why hasn't the staff accepted the alleged commitment from combo forward Brian Williams--he seems to have played well at the camps, is rated in the top 30 by some, and was an easy sell at a position that UVa might otherwise have trouble recruiting because they are pretty well stocked.
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Well we won't talk about Courtney, but I wouldn't write Avery off yet. There is some precedent for players changing their mind because one school kept after them consistently while another put them off. And there is precedent for players Duke thought they had deciding to go to UVA after visiting Charlottesville.
As for info on Arrington, I don't really have anything. He plays for the Whiner's father and has a reputation as a distributor. Whatever I get, I'll pass on. I'm hoping that starting next summer I can get to a camp here and there and judge for myself. Depends how many of you guys become subscribers (look for the announcement October 1) and call the HOOpS Online Virginia Recruiting Hotline when it becomes operational. OK, that's enough shameless plug for one week.
Daniels has Virginia on his list of seven schools, which includes Kansas and Georgetown among others. He has to be considered a long shot, particularly considering Georgetown's history with Louisiana players. Harris is favoring Memphis and Tennessee, and he is from Tennessee. Probably another long shot.
But how about this: why not try Courtney at the point next year. Quit recruiting all these point guards, and give it to Courtney with Dersch as backup. Then the spot will be wide open for Ronald Curry. If Court stays for his senior year, Curry can play football and back up Courtney at point, then Curry can decide on basketball his sophomore year and take over the team.
Finally, I agree whole-heartedly about Williams. Even if they tell him that they can't promise him any playing time but they'll take him, they have the extra scholarship so why not? I think when one of the top prospects in the state says he wants to come to your school, it's good policy to take him. Plus it sounds like Brian is a quality athlete who really improved his standing over the summer. We may look stocked aty WF this year, but if Courtney goes to the NBA after the season, where will we be? Monte Marcaccini would be it. Signing Williams would free Courtney up even more to play point guard.
Junior Burrough is a superb basketball player. He has great post moves, but he is NOT the player Cory Alexander is though. In terms of pure basketball talent, Cory is slightly ahead of Junior in my opinion.
Jason Williford, on the other hand, is a role player. You said in your response that Jason was "often the best or second-best player on the court for Virginia his last three years." That is utter nonsense. How can you say that Jason has an all-around game when he has limited shooting range and dribbling ability. He is a very good role-player offensively, plays solid defense, rebounds and does a bunch of other things that teams need to win, but Jason is not the player that Cory or Junior is.
In my opinion, you are allowing your judgment to be affected by your feelings about Cory. Virginia fans are upset because Cory did not want to stay at VIrginia. But you have no idea who Cory the man is, or what he went through. You have no idea of how the UVA basketball program treated him or any other player at UVA. You are yet another fan who cares about basketball players as basketball players only, and nothing else. If the basketball players do not produce, or they say something that you do not like, you immediately jump on the bandwagon with all of the other nay-sayers. Cory has a family that he wanted to take care of. To blame him for that is wrong.
You said that Williford was a "glue" player. I agree with that assessment. But that does not mean that Williford was the "best" player. Your assessment of Dersch, Marcaccini and McAndrew may or may not be accurate. We will see.
You are totally right in saying that Courtney Alexander has not showed that he can be an effective all-around player. I am not going to argue with you on that point. I do think he will show you how effective he can be though.
Again, I hope that you understand that I am not upset at you or anything you have posted. I only ask that I be allowed to respond to statements that you make that are inaccurate. I do not see why you would have a problem with that.
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I think a lot of your disagreement with what I am saying has to do with different emphasis. When I said "best player on the court" I meant playing the best game that day, not most-talented, most-skilled in general. Cory Alexander was the most-talented and most-skilled of all those players. No doubt. But that just made his play during his senior year all the more disappointing. A lot more goes into being a good basketball player than talent and skill. During their senior year, Junior was a far more effective ballplayer than Cory was. Junior was the mainstay of that team and Jason was crucial. I simply value Jason's "glue"play more than Cory's erratic play. Many games that year, Jason played better basketball than Cory did. That is NOT utter nonsense.
You are completely 100% wrong in your assumption that my judgment of Cory is colored by his leaving school with a year of eligibility left. I was not upset he left. I knew he was going to go pro after that year because there was no reason for him to stay. He was graduating; the friends he came into school with were graduating. Why stay? When he floated the possibility of coming back after he was injured I fervently hoped he would not do it. With Harold coming back and Courtney coming in, Cory's presence would only have made things worse. And to say that I have no idea who Cory the man is also is incorrect. I do not know him well, but I have some idea. Cory is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful young man. And I don't blame any young man for making a decision to go to the NBA if he is going to be a first-round pick. You cannot fault a young man for making the logical career move. I definitely wish it weren't the logical career move, and I hate to see them go, but it's the smart move most of the time.
My judgment of Cory is based completely on what I saw on the court his last year. He did not play well. Often, he did not play hard. The first Maryland game had two plays in it that epitomized Cory's play that year. In one, Cory had a breakaway from a steal (I believe), he assumed Maryland would give up on the play and casually jogged down for the assumed dunk. Well, Duane Simpkins DIDN'T give up on the play, and he either stripped the ball or blocked the shot, I forget which, but he got the ball back for Maryland. Later, with the situation reversed, Cory gave up on the play. I was furious. If I were the coach, he would have come out of the game then and not gone back in.
But I don't want to talk about Cory. He's gone. He gave us one outstanding year. For all I know, he never did quite heal from the first injury before the second. In fact, I read a few things that suggested the very thing. If so, that could explain why he seemed to lack the explosiveness and great speed he had as a sophomore. At any rate, he's gone and Courtney is here. Courtney is even more talented than Cory. I hope he does develop and show all-around ability. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the best until given reason to believe otherwise. In today's games, Courtney didn't seem to be into it. In fact, he appeared put out with Harold and with other stuff.
I originally thought that you were a decent judge of basketball talent. I now think that either (i) you are blinded by your love for UVA and only like players who exemplify the UVA attitude (that is, all defense and no offense), (ii) you like to make idiotic statements for the presumed impact you think it will have on the readers of your post, or (iii) you are an idiot.
You said in your latest post that Jason Williford and Junior Burrough "were still the best players on the court." Junior is a quality player, but Jason. Come on. My question is: When was Jason (or Junior) ever the best player on the court. It certainly was not when Cory Alexander went to UVA, and it sure as hell is not now that Courtney Alexander is there. What do you look for in a basketball player? I think it interesting that if you asked the players that you call the best who the best was, they certainly would disagree with you.
I hope that you do not get upset by what I am saying. You have gotten pretty testy when I have called you on your comments recently. Do you think that you have the right to make outlandish statements without any response?
Thank god that you are not an NBA scout, or I would be watching boring quasi-football basketball players with average athleticism, limited shooting range and negligible all around ability, and basketball games with the average score hovering around 50 points and the excitement at near depression levels.
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Junior generally was the best player on the court for Virginia during his senior year. Let me qualify my earlier remark that it was meant to be "best Virginia player on the court." Jason also often was either the best or second-best player on the court for Virginia his last three years. As for the type of player I prefer, I prefer players with all-around games who play tough defense, rebound, battle, and do the little things that may not get noticed but that help basketball teams win games -- not gunners whose only positive attribute is that they can score and who think that they ARE the whole team. Hence I detested Cory Alexander his senior year (as a palyer, not personally), and I damn near detested Harold last year.
Their last year at UVA, Junior was twice the basketball player Cory was. Junior was the mainstay of that team and far and away its most consistent player. His tournament run was outstanding. Perhaps you didn't bother to watch or you have forgotten UVA's ACC and NCAA tournament games. Junior scored 67 points in two ACC tournament games, and was Virginia's main force during the NCAA tournament run during which he outdueled Devin Davis and led Virginia to victory over Miami of Ohio when the perimeter players were not playing well, scored over 20 points against three 7-footers in the upset over Kansas, and thoroughly out-played Corliss Williamson in the loss to Arkansas. Whenever I saw Junior in pickup games prior to last season, he was the best player out there. Thursday afternoon, he continued to show physical and mental maturity and that nobody on Virginia's roster can stop him in the low post.
As for Jason, he was probably the most under-appreciated player Virginia has had during the 90s. Over the last few games of his sophomore season, the sweet 16 year, he was the most consistent player on the team. He played crucial roles in late season and tournament victories. Jason was always that all-around player who did the little things. Jason helped the big men out with tough rebounds, played physical defense, set screens for the perimeter players, got to the right place, and provided clutch emotional leadership. Williford was what I call a "glue" player. You know -- in a well-made product you don't notice the glue but without it the product falls apart. A lot of last year's failure can be traced to the loss of the "glue" without anyone stepping up to fill that role. This year's team has McAndrew, Marcaccini and Dersch as potential "glue" players. Jason was instrumental in several key victories over the course of his career, particularly the Virginia Tech game his senior year. Jason also was critical to Virginia's offense against the 2-3 zone that year with his effectiveness in the high post. Again, one reason Virginia stank against zones last year was his absence. Nobody on the team worked effectively in the high post. Thursday, Jason played vintage Williford basketball, doing all the little things and taking advantage of the youth and inexperience of his opponents.
As far as Courtney Alexander goes, he is an extraordinarily talented young basketball player with limitless potential, but to date he has not proven to be more than a scorer. Scorers are obviously important and I definitely hope to see him play three more years at UVA, but to this point he has not established himself as an all-around great player. I'm not saying that he can't or won't do that, or that there is any "fault" in him not showing it during his FRESHMAN year.
Frankly, I think you are confusing "best" with "most-talented." At this time, Courtney is the "most-talented" player on the court for Virginia -- Junior and Jason included. He is not yet -- although may eventually be -- the "best" player out there by my definition, which stresses multi-faceted skills and recognition. Cory Alexander was the most-talented player on the team during his time here. His sophomore year, he was the best player on the team as well. During his last year, he was still probably the most-talented, but definitely was NOT the best player on that team. There is a VERY good reason that team improved so much after he was injured. I know all about his statistics. Forget statistics. They sometimes are indicative of effectiveness, but often are not.
I believe this team will gel toward the middle of the year. But it's all up to JJ: 1) How he handles the Harold Deane situation -- this kid needs to be told that he is not one of the team's scoring keys to victory. Give him a goal of averaging 10 assists a game, splitting defenses/ dishing off, and being a stablizing influence on the team. 2) How effect of an inside offense JJ can construct -- Nolan needs more touches, it motivates other parts of his game; the coaches need to work on faster ball movement, especially with a number of spot-up shooters like Staples, Marcaccini, and Dersch; and attempt to develop the inside game against weaker foes early in the year and not abandon it after a few early misses.
Finally, if at all possible Durcharme should be redshirted. Although he's a talented of enough player to "get-by" in his first year, the extra year would really accelerate his development. Chase needs the build his game and the 'Hoos should try to get as much as possible out of him this year to determine how he'll fit for future years.
Concerning Melvin Whitaker, I have to disagree with you that JJ was right to offer him a scholarship. UVa is not Clemson, nor Oklahoma St. nor UNLV, and shouldn't do things to invite being taken as one of them. In terms of off court conduct, it should expect more from its scholarship athletes than they apparently do. It shouldn't lower itself to their abysmal level. This doesn't mean UVa needs to climb on its high horse to try to meet the standards of Duke or Stanford. We all know that would risk plunging the program into the dark ages from which it emerged prior to Holland and Welsh . But there's a middle ground here -- and Boston College comes to mind, in which admission standards are low enough for the program to be competitive, yet somewhat tougher than the NCAA minimum.
You may feel that UVa's standards already tougher because it doesn't admit prop 48 players. I say if a prospect is going to wear the blue and orange, its not too much to expect that he will have met NCAA qualifications coming out of high school.
UVa's run of problem athletes this year, bad as its been, could easily have been even worse. You probably remember a short while ago when a JC football recruit from Oklahoma was invited to UVa to begin classes, only to be denied admisssion a few days after coming. Subsequently, he surfaced at Clemson. He reportedly was later charged with "strong armed robbery". Except for a UVa Admissions decision that seemed to be very close, and could easily have gone the other way, he would have been admitted to UVa, perhaps further sullying its once good name and reputation.
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I have to disagree with you about Melvin, unless you can relate to me some knowledge about Melvin's background suggesting that he would engage in criminal conduct. From everything that I have read or heard, everybody who knew Melvin thought he was a good kid. Courtney Alexander and he were friends, and Courtney always talked about how good a kid Melvin was. People up here who saw and met Melvin when he was here thought the same thing. Unless there was information out there for Jones to have that suggested otherwise, you simply cannot blame Jones. If you are referring to Melvin's academic qualifications, I see no problem with taking a chance on a kid now and then. Junior Burrough damn near didn't qualify; he's getting his degree. I've seen nothing to suggest that recruiting Melvin Whitaker was a mistake.
You solicited comments on the new arena vs renovating U-Hall.
It's a tough call. UVa has problems filling 8,500 seats, so how can we reconcile a 14,500 seat arena. Why should we invest what will probably top-out at $70-$80 million (when all the extras are attached) for a new arena. I like the image a new arena brings to a program. But how will that image be impacted with 70% capacity for a regional or national cable televised game on a regular basis.
I agree the b'ball team deserves an upgrading of amenities -- new weight training room, locker rooms, offices, conference rooms, etc. However, if a small office building could be constructed for the athletic dept. to open-up space and then perform a comprehensive renovation of U-Hall (seating of 10,500 to 11,500 capacity), would more than satisfy the University's requirements for the next 20 years.
A small capacity has not affected Duke's ability to recruit. In fact, the Dookies have an environment the 21,500 seat Dean Dome will give anything to emulate. By increasing U-Hall by 3,000 to 4,000, reconfiguring the seating structure may afford the type of preferrable atmosphere, and the home court advantage many of us have sought for so many years. I believe this can be accomplished with U-Hall.
Moreover, Terry clearly stated that Scott Stadium and U-Hall or a new b'ball arena would move forward only in a concurrent fashion. Regardless of your preference of b'ball or f'ball, UVa's greatest revenue potential lies with an expansion of Scott Stadium to 55,000 to 65,000 seats. This will permit Big 12, Big 10, SEC, and PAC 10 schools to consider visiting UVa and landing the type of national telecasts that brings in the "big bucks."
As long as f'ball is the revenue driver, b'ball and U-Hall must take a more realistic approach to expansion vs new construction.
Go 'Hoos!! Mike
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I have a lot of sympathy for this viewpoint. I am skeptical of our ability to fill a 14,000 seat arena. I know Wake Forest can't do it. On the other hand, with the right seating, lighting, etc. it is easy to hide the fact that the arena is only 70% full from a TV audience. Wake uses a very loud PA system to help provide noise. If a new arena is going to be necessary in 20 years anyway, and they think they can fund a new stadium now, then they may as well go for the new arena and not spend $40 million on a stopgap measure when the new arena would create more excitement than a renovation. It's a tough call.
I didn't see that article in the Virginian-Pilot regarding Chase, but I might have just missed it. I will say one thing: the V-P is the main reason I found your page and any others on good sports I've found. The paper stinks for sports news, especially UVA. It's usually Richmond T-D hand-me-downs. My mother-in-law saves those for me and gives them to me every few weeks. And I still get the story there before the V-P.
I also heard about Brian Bersticker several places on the net in detail before the Pilot said anything about him. He's supposed to be the big local boy.
My take on the seating: In this computer age, why can't the UVA Ticket Office set up an 800 number and have the alumni call in with a special code if they are not going to use the tickets. If they don't use them, sell them to the townies, who are always great fans. It's like Wimbledon letting in the riff-raff on the middle Sunday. The players love it.
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The Virginian-Pilot prefers Virginia Tech and UNC to UVA. And the sports section is pathetic. One example. The last time I was down there, they were having a special basketball event. Allen Iverson and a bunch of other stars (including Junior Burrough) were playing a charity game. The warmup game was a high school all-star game with Ronald Curry, Jason Capel, Bersticker, and several other TOP area HS players. The Pilot printed that it was going to take place. I bought the paper the next day to read about the HS all star game and see how Bersticker did, and there was NOTHING about that game. The only story they had was a cheesy little thing on Iverson and the parade. Now, if the sports staff is not intelligent enough to know that the families and friends of those players are all in the area, and want to read about their kids in the paper, and to actually print something about it, that says a lot. Stuff like that sells papers.
As for the seating, that's a good idea. Although I have a feeling a lot of the season ticket holders wouldn't even make that effort. I would love to see more local fans get in. They do tend to make a lot more noise and to generate energy.