Part 3: Faith, Family, Football
“A father away from home”
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“A father away from home”
Rick Carlisle arrived in Charlottesville in 1981, the two constants in his life ripped away from him. His decision to transfer from the University of Maine removed him from the community he called home for the better part of two years. It also forced him to sit out the 1982 season per NCAA rules.
“Nature and Nurture”
“Are you stupid?”
Here’s a look at Virginia’s 2013 adversaries by the numbers:
Mike London’s reception at the 2013 ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C. by the assembled media could best be likened to an indignant middle school student being viciously questioned simultaneously by his teacher, principal and superintendent for a crime he could hardly comprehend.
The scene seemed to be lifted directly from the hit comedy “Dodgeball,” when Ben Stiller’s character White Goodman appears to knock out Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) to win the Las Vegas dodgeball tournament. The arena goes silent. The announcer declares, “Average Joe’s has come all this way for nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
While Michael Rocco and Phillip Sims spent much of the 2012 season competing to earn snaps under center for the Virginia football team, David Watford waited patiently in the background. He continued to get stronger, study film and refine his throwing ability, all without complaining about his lack of an opportunity.
Football associate Mike Eilbacher and Sports Editor Daniel Weltz provide blog updates from the two-day ACC Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C. Seniors offensive tackle Morgan Moses and defensive end Jake Snyder will speak to reporters Sunday evening and coach Mike London will do so Monday.
Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage announced Tuesday that Oregon assistant Blake Miller has been named the Cavaliers’ new head softball coach. Former coach Eileen Schmidt had resigned May 13 after six seasons at the University.
Phillip Sims is no longer on the Virginia football roster and will leave the University after completion of his summer school session, coach Mike London announced Friday. The Chesapeake, Va. native appeared in all 12 games at quarterback during his sophomore season after transferring from Alabama.
The Virginia men’s tennis team capped a perfect season Tuesday with a 4-3 win against UCLA to earn its first NCAA Championship in program history.
Nothing about the start of the Virginia careers for football coach Mike London or basketball coach Tony Bennett portended a breakout season entering the 2011 school year. London’s team finished just 4-8 in his first season as head coach in 2010, while Bennett’s squad had managed a combined 12-20 record in conference play since he took over in 2009. It had been 11 years since Virginia qualified for a bowl berth and NCAA Tournament appearance in the same year. The Cavalier football team had two unproven quarterbacks competing for the starting job under center, while the basketball squad was counting on a 23-year old injured forward to carry the scoring load. Both teams were picked to finish in the bottom half of the ACC standings in preseason coaches’ polls. Neither team roared out of the gate, but by the end of two whirlwind seasons, both found themselves playing on a stage that at one point seemed unattainable. London’s second season culminated in a New Year’s Eve matchup in front of 72,919 fans at the Georgia Dome in the Chick-fil-A bowl. Bennett, meanwhile, led Virginia to the Big Dance for the first time since 2007 while winning 22 games overall — the most in 29 years. Although both teams flopped in their biggest games of the season — London’s squad lost 43-24 to Auburn in their bowl game and Bennett’s team fell 71-45 against Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — the breakout seasons cemented both coaches’ position at the University and showed their ability to overcome adversity. From the transfers of then-sophomore guard K.T. Harrell and then-redshirt freshman forward James Johnson, to the injury and later suspension of then-senior center Assane Sene, Bennett was forced to piece together a shallow rotation. London kept his team together through an early-season quarterback controversy and a devastating Sept. 24 loss to Southern Mississippi to win six of seven games before a deflating 38-0 loss to rival Virginia Tech in the regular season finale. Additionally, both teams began to garner national recognition with an impressive win against a nationally ranked opponent. For the football team, that came as a 24-21 Oct. 15 victory against then-undefeated No. 12 Georgia Tech. “You win a game like this against a very good team, a nationally ranked team … it’s contagious,” London said after that game. “We hope it gets contagious enough where these guys start craving to win like some of these programs around the country.” For Bennett’s team, a Nov. 29 victory against then-No. 14 Michigan in the Big Ten-ACC challenge in front of 10,500 fans — a crowd that included former Cavalier great Ralph Sampson — ignited the team’s best stretch of the season. Sampson watched as senior forward Mike Scott, one of the most dominant Cavalier big men since his own reign from 1979 to ‘83, continued his superb play with an 18-point, 11-rebound performance. Like London, Bennett also spoke about his high expectations in his postgame remarks. “I kept telling them, our principles are humility and passion,” Bennett said. “Humility … Know your identity out there. And play your heart out — passion … I think that’s going to be the key for our team.” Although humility and passion may have been key ingredients to one of the program’s most successful seasons since Sampson’s time, Scott’s ability was the main course night after night. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds to finish second in the ACC Player of the Year vote and his play led hordes of Cavalier fans to campaign online for Scott to earn National Player of the Year consideration. Scott scored a third of his team’s season-low 45 points against the Gators in his final game as a Cavalier, the 26-point NCAA Tournament loss. “I know I have an ‘X’ on my shirt, every post player or every forward is out to shut me down, but I like that challenge and I step up to it,” Scott said after scoring 23 points in a Jan. 31 win against Clemson. While Scott became the star on the court with his flawless midrange jumper and crowd-pleasing athleticism, then-sophomore Michael Rocco quietly became a leader on the gridiron. Without an overpowering arm or game-changing speed, the sophomore passed for 2,671 yards that season, fourth most in team history. He started all 13 games, completing 60.7 percent of his passes and throwing 13 touchdown passes. “Whenever your guys see you playing the game and doing well and leading the team, it kind of is like a ripple effect,” Rocco said after a Sept. 17 loss to North Carolina. But Rocco’s breakout 2011 season did not translate into continued success in 2012. Following a 4-8 season that saw Rocco cede his starting job to sophomore transfer Phillip Sims, the team announced Dec. 2 that Rocco would transfer. His departure, along with those of offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and defensive coordinator Jim Reid, leaves the team in a state of unease entering the 2013 season. Scott graduated following the 2012 season and was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Despite low expectations for the Cavaliers in the 2012-13 season, out of Scott’s shadow stepped juniors guard Joe Harris and forward Akil Mitchell. That duo, along with a strong class of freshmen, helped the Cavaliers reach the 20-win plateau in consecutive seasons for the first time in 20 years, helping to build optimism heading into the 2013-14 season. “Those guys who were on the team last year got a taste of what it was like to get to the NCAA Tournament,” sophomore guard Paul Jesperson, who is transferring this season from the University, said before the 2012-13 season. “I think we’re all hungry to get back there. That’s a goal of ours now.”
Since Brian O’Connor became head coach at Virginia in 2003, the phrase “in-state rival” has become an oxymoron. Commonwealth foes have been fodder for the Cavaliers the past nine seasons, providing just enough competition to keep the Cavaliers fresh for more competitive weekend series. Despite an early scare against hard-hitting James Madison Wednesday, No. 5 Virginia rallied for a 16-8 win to improve to 88-13-1 against in-state foes under O’Connor.
The past eight days have been a test in perseverance for the No. 8 Virginia baseball team, and Wednesday, in the midst of the most trying stretch of the 2013 season to date, the Cavaliers passed that test with flying colors.
The No.5 Virginia baseball team has grown accustomed to pounding challengers in midweek games, showing no mercy while running up the score against overmatched opponents. Since a stunning 8-0 loss to Liberty Feb. 28, 2012, the Cavaliers had not lost a midweek game, a streak that had spanned 21 games and 407 days of dominance.
The No. 8 Virginia baseball team has built its sterling 27-3 record by finding a way to win, no matter the circumstances. Tuesday against Liberty, that meant four pitchers combining for a one-hit shutout while the team’s offense floundered. Facing another in-state foe Wednesday, the Cavaliers (27-3, 9-3 ACC), overcame an uneven outing by freshman starter Trey Oest, a rash of hard-luck double plays and a powerful showing by the Virginia Military Institute (14-18, 5-4 Big South) offense to escape with an 8-6 victory at Davenport Field.
From the moment the Virginia basketball team learned its season would culminate not in its second straight NCAA berth but rather in the NIT, the team set its sights on making the trip to historic Madison Square Garden that had eluded them earlier in the year. Wednesday’s season-ending 75-64 loss to Iowa at John Paul Jones Arena once again snuffed out those hopes, but the result was far more painful this time around.
The No. 9 Virginia women’s lacrosse team and No. 6 Duke entered Saturday afternoon’s showdown at Klöckner Stadium under similar circumstances. Virginia was in the thick of a three-game winning streak, while Duke had not lost in its past four contests. Though both squads found themselves ranked among the NCAA’s best teams, the Cavaliers owned a 1-4 record against fellow top-10 units and the Blue Devils were winless in just one try.
Largely forgotten in the roller coaster ride of emotion that accompanied the close of the Virginia basketball team’s 2012-13 season, the Cavaliers’ historic success at home never faltered. Since losing to Delaware on Nov. 13, Virginia home games have played out like a poorly scripted television show, with far too few plot twists and the ultimate outcome apparent to all of its spectators. Sunday morning, the team invigorated a sleepy home crowd with a routine, but nonetheless impressive performance.