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(11/03/08 8:14am)
It’s OK, Reverend.By Reverend, of course, I mean Cedric Peerman, tailback and ordained minister. The one who has been dubbed by some, “The Running Reverend,” and by others, “Rev. Run.” And the one whose fumble at the end of overtime spelled the end of the Cavs’ four-game winning streak in their 24-17 heartbreaking defeat to Miami Saturday.If someone was going to make a game-costing mistake, it should have been anybody else. Not Ced. Not the guy who fires up 50-some thousand people on Saturdays when he jumps around, pounds his chest and points to the sky after grinding out three tough yards. Not the classiest, humblest of athletes, whose commitment to Virginia football is only exceeded by a commitment to his religion.Not the guy, who, as Virginia coach Al Groh likes to say, carries the ball and carries the flag for the program. Not the guy who watched the last seven games from the sideline last year after receiving season-ending foot surgery as then-upstart running back Mikell Simpson got all the love. Not the guy who battled through yet another leg injury at the start of this season to resurrect this team into ACC Championship contention.“He’s won more games for us than any other player I’ve been around, with the exception of maybe Chris [Long],” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said.I did not get a chance to talk to Peerman after the game, nor did any other reporter – Groh said certain players, at the discretion of the coaches, would not speak to the media because they were “too emotional to bring them out at this particular time.”In other words, everyone was distraught, and nobody more than Peerman.“He’s going to dwell on that [fumble],” senior tight end John Phillips said. “That’s just the type of guy he is.”And the team recognized that immediately — after the fumble, a group of players went over and rallied around what was assuredly a beaten man, physically and emotionally.Of course, one of the things they likely told him — and one of the things Groh and his players said after the game — was that it’s not Cedric’s fault; Virginia lost this game as a team. And they were right. Two missed field goals and a fumble by sophomore quarterback Marc Verica at the tail-end of a run that would have put Virginia in field goal range with 30 seconds remaining are among the numerous chances the Cavs had to seal the deal in regulation.But, for anyone who has fumbled to lose a football game — or struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, or rimmed a potentially game-winning jumper at the buzzer, or launched a penalty kick over the cross bar — these words don’t help much. When you make a mistake like that, all that matters to you is what could have happened if that mistake had been erased.Not to say that Peerman’s teammates shouldn’t offer words of encouragement, because in another way, these words are valuable. They show your teammate that you care. “You’ll get ‘em next time” might not help much at that moment, but when “next time” arrives, it is certainly a lift to know that your teammates have faith in you to get the job done.And in Peerman’s case, it demonstrates the character of this team that Ced himself has instilled: Cavaliers stick together. That’s how they won so many tight games last season and that’s how they overcame the adversity of off-field issues and embarrassing losses at the beginning of this season.“We’ve been down before,” Phillips said. “You can’t get off and break up into groups and what not. You’ve got to stay united as a team.”It sounds corny. Listening to the players in the post-game interviews, I felt like I was back in Little League. Encourage your teammates; stay together; don’t let the downs get you too down.But, these are the messages that Rev. Peerman preached to his teammates as they sank to an all new low after their 31-3 loss to Duke. That is the foundation of Cedric Peerman, and Cedric Peerman was the foundation of Virginia’s four-game winning streak.Now, it is Ced who has hit rock bottom. And thanks chiefly to his influence, there will be 200 hands eagerly extended to help him up.
(10/30/08 9:28am)
It seems like this won’t change at next year’s draft. Two Virginia seniors, offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and outside linebacker Clint Sintim, are projected by many mock 2009 NFL Drafts to go in the first round; Monroe is often listed in the top five. On ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s “Big Board,” Monroe is listed as the No. 4 prospect in the country, and Sintim No. 18.Monroe said the draft hype is mostly a distraction.“It’s unavoidable to hear it each week from teammates,” Monroe said of his high draft prospects. “Or family might see it on the Internet or wherever.”This response is expected from an athlete like Monroe who is as humble as they come, and who by all accounts works as hard as anyone in his game preparation.Monroe is “a great example of a kid who, despite kudos that are passed his way by others [and the] successes that he’s had as a student and a player, has absolutely no degree of entitlement,” coach Al Groh said. “He’s got a lot of humility and understands that what he’s able to achieve is a result of his commitment and performance.”After not allowing a sack all of last season while being graded the top offensive lineman for Virginia in five games by the coaching staff, Monroe has been the top-graded lineman five times already this season. At 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, Monroe is in essence a wall that moves; he is the chief force on the offensive line that has sprung Cedric Peerman to three 100-plus yard rushing games in the last four games.“My main goal as a leader is to make my performance speak for how I demand my teammates’ performance or focus,” Monroe said. “If I’m not doing my part in that regard, then nothing I say will matter.”Sintim, meanwhile, has statistics that can be more tangibly appreciated. After tallying nine sacks last year, Sintim has already racked up 9.5 through eight games and has 25.5 on his career. He is just 1.5 sacks behind Darryl Blackstock, Virginia’s all-time leader in sacks at the linebacker position, and is on track for 15.5 on the season, which would bypass Long’s 2007 mark of 14.What’s even more remarkable about Sintim’s numbers is that he is a marked man. With standout defensive ends Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald gone and all the attention squarely on his shoulder pads, Sintim has still managed to put up the most explosive numbers of his career.“Sometimes I’d sneak in the back door and make a play or two [last year],” Sintim said. “This year you don’t necessarily have those same type of guys, and I knew that I’d have to step up and be a better pass-rusher.”Sintim noted that he watched film of Long, among others, in the off-season to improve himself as a pass-rusher.It also doesn’t hurt to go against Monroe every day in practice.“Every Wednesday we go into a one-on-one pass-rushing drill, and that’s really my day to try to work him over,” Sintim said. “It doesn’t work as often as I’d like it to.”Sintim said he had not even looked at Kiper’s Big Board; however, when told of his position on the board, he was cautious about putting too much stock in it at this point in the season.“That’s exciting, don’t get me wrong, but there are so many other factors that’ll go into that before the end of the year,” Sintim said. “All due respect to Mel Kiper, he doesn’t necessarily pick the picks.”Of the 20 former Cavaliers active in the NFL, 16 play on the offensive line or in the box.If Sintim and Monroe continue to perform as they have all season, it does not appear this trend will change.
(10/27/08 5:34am)
Virginia is now in first place in the Coastal Division.“Wow, didn’t know that,” senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim said. “Not too bad for a team that was picked to finish ... second to last [in the ACC ahead of] Duke.”No, Clint, it’s not too bad. Nobody thought Virginia would be in this position in July — and that was before Peter Lalich got thrown off the team. SportsCenter called sophomore quarterback Marc Verica Marc Ver-eec-a two weeks ago and then simply avoided using his name in the highlights of Virginia’s 24-17 win against No. 21 Georgia Tech.I hope ESPN looks up the correct pronunciation for next week, because Verica is making a name for himself and the name is not that hard to articulate. Following his picturesque two-minute drill a week ago that kept Virginia alive in the eventual overtime win against then-No. 18 North Carolina, Verica threw for a career-high 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the team’s first win on the road against the Yellow Jackets.This from a guy who was on the scout team six months ago.There are more simply dumbfounding numbers from this game that shed light on Virginia’s absurd turnaround better than anything I can say.Put it this way: if I had told you earlier that in week nine, Virginia would have one loss in the ACC to Duke by 28 points and two wins against top-25 teams, how would you have reacted?That’s not all I’ve got. Here are some more numbers that will make you, like me, feel ashamed that you ever hopped off the Cavalier bandwagon.1. Road rebirth. Starting with the obvious, the win at Georgia Tech was Virginia’s first win on the road this season; this coming after the “Cardiac” Cavs went into cardiac arrest in two previous games on the road, losing at UConn and Duke by a combined 63 points.Then the stats get even more obscene. This was Virginia’s first win against a ranked opponent on the road since Sept. 22, 2001, when it downed No. 19 Clemson. It was also the first time the Cavs won back-to-back games against ranked opponents since 2002, when they beat then-No. 22 N.C. State and then-No. 18 Maryland in back-to-back weeks.Now, onto the individual numbers.2. Can Sintim sack Long? With 1.5 sacks Saturday, Sintim now has 9.5 through eight games. Extrapolate that out to a 13-game season — Virginia needs just one more win to assure a 13th game — and he ends the year with 15.5 sacks. That’s 1.5 more than Chris somebody — you know, the one who now starts for the St. Louis Rams — had last year.Even before the start of training camp, Sintim said it would be great if he got double-digit sacks. With reaching that goal now a virtual certainty, I asked him how he feels about 14.“It’d be great to have 14,” he said.How about 15?“Fifteen would be even better, because Chris had 14 last year.”I didn’t get to asking him about 15.5, but I can imagine he wouldn’t have objected to that either.3. Peerman pounding. More of the obvious: in four games since getting healthy, senior running back Cedric Peerman has been ridiculous.“There’s nothing that I could say about Cedric that would do him justice to anybody who saw it with their own eyes,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “His play, as much as everybody that probably you’ve ever seen, just speaks for itself.”I couldn’t agree more — stats don’t give him his due. Senior offensive tackle Eugene Monroe has described Peerman’s impact with opposing defensive players as sounding like “a car crash” — the only difference is that following the collision, Peerman somehow stays on his feet and gains another 4 yards.Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning Peerman’s numbers. Since returning from injury at the start of Virginia’s winning streak against Maryland, Peerman has averaged 111.3 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry while rushing for 6 touchdowns. He has also hauled in 23 catches for 122 yards.Of course, Peerman missed much of the first four games with a leg injury, so his numbers at the end of the year won’t seem terrific to the passive fan. Let’s just pretend, though, that these were the first four games of a 13-game season. Again extrapolating, Peerman ends the year with 1446.25 rushing yards, 19.5 rushing touchdowns, and 74.75 catches.In case you didn’t know, Peerman was ordained as a minister not too long ago.Would the Almighty mind explaining this?
(10/21/08 4:57am)
It took 1:35 for sophomore quarterback Marc Verica to be a hero.For the first 57:38 Saturday against North Carolina, Verica had done very little to put his team in the scoring column. As Verica went under center at Virginia’s own 18-yard line with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, with the score reading 10-3 in the Tar Heels’ favor, he had completed 16 of 29 passes for 118 yards. It took a fingertip interception from Virginia’s 285-pound redshirt freshman nose tackle Nick Jenkins in North Carolina territory to muster the lone field goal that stood on the scoreboard.“It’s difficult to push through that,” Verica said. “It’s easy to just fold and give up.”Indeed, with the futility of the offense for the majority of the game and Verica’s inexperience in his first year not only as the starter but also as anything beyond the quarterback of the scout team, it seemed unlikely that he would orchestrate an 82-yard march into the end zone against the then-No. 18 team in the country.“Marc’s status last year on the team was such that even when we gave different quarterbacks a shot at [the two-minute drill in practice], he wasn’t necessarily one of the quarterbacks who was getting it,” coach Al Groh said. “These turns that he’s been getting in training camp and in practice, and [Saturday] in the game, this is all new stuff for him.”Virginia’s ensuing nine-play touchdown drive, which included 80 yards in the air on seven of eight passing for Verica, however, was a textbook two-minute drill, shocking the offense back to life as the Cavs did the unthinkable and snatched a 16-13 victory in overtime.So how did Verica go from futile to fiery from the first 10 drives to the 11th Saturday? The sophomore indicated that his work in practice this year was all the preparation he needed.“We practice end-of-game situations, end-of-half situations all the time,” Verica said. “So it was nothing new to us.”The two-minute drill, Groh said, is the subject of a large chunk of Virginia’s work in practice, particularly during the preseason.“In training camp, when game preparation isn’t obviously a factor in our practice week, we do it every day,” Groh said. “We put a situation up on the scoreboard; how many minutes are left — how much time exactly — how many timeouts each team has, where the ball is on the field. We do it just like in the game.”Come the start of the season, Groh said, the team’s work in this area is never finished.“During the regular season, we’ll work once a week against ourselves, just our offense against our defense,” Groh said. “We’ll also work against the opponent specifically, what we would expect from them.”In addition, though this was Verica’s first two-minute drill at the end of a game, it was not the first time this season he executed such a strategy well. A week ago against East Carolina, Verica took over with 0:53 remaining in the first half and the ball spotted at his own 41-yard line, and drove the offense to the Pirates’ 21 with a few ticks remaining. Though the team saw no results from the drive — senior kicker Yannick Reyering missed a 38-yard field goal — Verica certainly proved that he could pick apart a defense with the clock acting against him.Of course, as Groh paced the sidelines while the clock ticked away the final two minutes of regulation Saturday evening, East Carolina was the furthest thing from his mind.“To be truthful, when we were grading the tape last Sunday [the drive against East Carolina] crossed my mind, but I didn’t think about it and I didn’t hear anybody on the headset hookup mention it either [Saturday],” Groh said.In addition to his ability to execute strategies, Verica can coolly command the huddle in late-game situations. Described by his teammates as laid-back off the field, Groh has said of Verica, “he’s kind of unflappable.”“You’ve just got to trust the system and believe in your teammates and your coaches,” Verica said. “That’s all I did.”That may have been all he did, but it was not all he accomplished. With this win, the Cavaliers seemed to have made it official that, after losing three of their first four games by a combined 108 points, they have turned their season around.All thanks to 1:35.“We understand — as we talked about before — that in this conference, so many games come down to the end,” Groh said. “We understand that being able to handle those situations is one of the really significant factors.”
(10/20/08 4:02am)
As Virginia surmounted its improbable comeback and students streamed onto the field at Scott Stadium Saturday following the team’s 16-13 overtime victory against North Carolina, my foot was lodged firmly in my mouth for two reasons.One was that no one is allowed to cheer in the press box, and my shoe was the best object available to absorb my gleeful hollering. The second, though, was a horse of a different — and darker — color. In the two weeks that preceded this game, Virginia had been rolling, and I was predicting failure against UNC and beyond.So the Cavs beat up Maryland — a fluke! Then they trounce East Carolina — the Pirates are overrated anyway!I was 90-percent certain UNC would get the better of Virginia Saturday, and 50-50 that it would be by two scores or more. Early in the first quarter, after Virginia went three-and-out and North Carolina went three-and-in — as easy as 1, 2, 3, and ... they’re in the end zone — I was 100-percent on both.How did Virginia do it? How does an offense that has scored one field goal — off two UNC turnovers, mind you — for the first 57-plus minutes stampede for a shiny 82-yard touchdown drive in the next minute and a half? Since when did Marc Verica become Joe Montana?Furthermore, how does a secondary missing its best cornerback, sophomore Ras-I Dowling — who suffered a back injury in the first quarter, Virginia coach Al Groh said — contain one of the best receiving corps in the country? The last time Groh lost Dowling mid-game, Virginia gave up three touchdowns in barely more than a quarter – to Duke.The only way I can understand this win is to agree with Groh that, just like last year’s team that won five games by two points or fewer, these boys have guts. It comes in the form of inside linebacker Jon Copper telling anyone on the sideline who would listen that his team was going to win, Groh said, and backing up his words with 16 tackles. It’s running back Cedric Peerman getting hammered at the line of scrimmage but refusing to go down or jumping up and screaming with passion after grinding every inch of a 4-yard gain. It’s outside linebacker Clint Sintim racing after the quarterback like a rabid dog after a flank steak again and again.“A common theme that’s developing with this team, an identity that’s being forged in the last couple weeks, is just a tremendous amount of resolve and just toughness just to push through these adverse situations,” Verica said. “The resolve of my teammates and the coaches has just been awesome the last couple weeks.”And it’s resolve that, frankly, these guys shouldn’t have. They should be looking over their shoulders at the team that could have been with nine players out of action because of academic, legal or personal issues. They should be yearning to get to 2009, when the current youth can be rejoined by quarterback Jameel Sewell, among others on academic suspension. After they lost to Duke by 28 points, the Cavaliers should have cashed it in for 2008 as so many fans did.But Groh and co. wouldn’t let that happen. All week, the team spoke of the phrase Groh kept repeating: the one-game season. Next season, they said, was North Carolina.And looking at the actual 2008 season, each game truly has been a tale of its own. Trying to make sense of what Virginia has done in its first seven games is like trying to merge seven pages from a connect-the-dots book into one unified picture.The most beautiful part of this win, though, is that this game was make-or-break. Of Virginia’s five remaining games, three are on the road: against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. If Virginia had dropped this one to the Heels, Wahoos would have felt distraught about the team’s bowl chances.“The difference between where that number goes on the left-hand column or the right-hand column is so small,” Groh said. “We’d be saying the same thing about how so many players just fought their hearts out and made plays and played well today if we would’ve had one less point [at the end of regulation].”Because of that tiny difference, though, there are more people who can feel more comfortable in their positions. Verica is now without question a legitimate ACC quarterback. Offensive coordinator Mike Groh silenced all those critics who were wetting their whistles to again blast him on radio shows and message boards. After the debacle that was Peter Lalich and the catastrophe in Durham, if Groh’s job was in jeopardy, he might have just saved it.And, one game past the midpoint of the season, I finally feel secure in hopping on the U.Va. bandwagon. The last two weeks, I refused to acknowledge that Virginia was a legitimate team in the ACC. But no more. I’m on the bus.Of course, now that I say that, Virginia is liable to drop every game the rest of the way.But, that’s my favorite part about it: Even if the Cavs do go winless, they’ve still got four wins at season’s end. After all that transpired culminating in the 3-31 loss to Duke a little more than three weeks ago, that’s three more victories than a lot of people thought they would have.
(10/06/08 4:11am)
As Virginia senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim formed an “L” with his arms in honor of graduate Chris Long after he came up with a third-down sack late in the third quarter with Virginia leading 31-0, the crowd, Virginia coach Al Groh and the rest of the sideline echoed Sintim’s jubilation. Maryland had drawn its last breath; Virginia’s frustrations were over.“That might have been one of my all-time favorite moments,” Sintim said. “I was just able to come free and make the play and threw up the ‘L’ for my homie Chris [Long].”As 50,727 fans rocked Scott Stadium for a deafening night-game atmosphere, Virginia showed a passion unbecoming of a team distraught by blowout losses and personnel issues in its 31-0 victory. A week after one of the worst losses in the program’s history against Duke, Virginia easily toppled a Maryland squad that had already defeated two top-25 teams this season.“We knew as a team that we weren’t nearly as bad as everybody said we were,” Sintim said. “We weren’t depleted in all areas of the game. I mean, everybody made it seem like we were the worst team in America.”Statistically, Virginia was indeed the worst team in the country going into Saturday’s contest in at least one category; its 9.9 points per game was last among FBS schools. The difference in Virginia’s 31-point effort against Maryland, however, was senior running back Cedric Peerman. After struggling with a leg injury all season that put him out of the contest against Duke, Peerman rushed 17 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.“I knew I could have [played against Duke], but I knew I risked just messing myself up even more and then being out even longer,” Peerman said. “It was really hard to have to swallow my pride and everything that game and just wait. The waiting, the patience just paid off.” Groh said at his weekly Tuesday press conference Peerman would return to the starting lineup when “he’s ready to be Cedric;” Saturday, he was Cedric and then some.“He’s got a rare heart for competition, he’s got a rare heart for this team and for his teammates,” Groh said.With a sound running game for support, sophomore quarterback Marc Verica also had a breakout offensive performance. After throwing four interceptions against Duke a week ago, Verica finished with 226 passing yards with two touchdowns, including a stellar first half in which he completed 17 throws on 20 attempts. Whether it was stepping up in the pocket and throwing the deep ball, using his mobility to evade pass rushers and even rush for a touchdown of his own, or simply playing a sound game with no turnovers after throwing four interceptions a week ago, Verica looked as comfortable under center as he has been all season.“It wasn’t an easy week for [Verica],” Groh said. “What he was able to do and come out and play with that kind of confidence and energize this team — we hope is a positive sign for what might follow.”A theme for Verica all season has been knowing when to look downfield versus when to settle for the underneath pass. Against Connecticut, Verica said he was too conservative; against Duke, he said he pressed the issue.On Virginia’s first two scoring drives, however, Verica showed progress. On the Cavaliers’ third play of the first touchdown drive toward the end of the first quarter, Verica came off a play action to Peerman, stepped up in the pocket and delivered a strike to junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree beyond the secondary for a 51-yard score, Verica’s first touchdown pass of the year.“That was awesome,” Verica said. “The offensive line gave me a ton of time, so all I had to do was throw it, and Kevin made a great catch and did an even better job of fighting to get in the end zone.”On Virginia’s next drive, Verica complemented Peerman’s run attack with a series of quick hitters and screens. On a 2nd-and-7 from Virginia’s 32, Verica showed particular maturity; he rolled to his right, looked downfield and, when he saw nothing available, dumped the ball off to senior tight end John Phillips right at the first down marker.Verica had “very good poise in those circumstances,” Groh said. “We had another circumstance down there before we kicked one of those field goals that we had to remind him when the pocket breaks down, you’re better off going short and whatnot, but he certainly showed more indications of that [maturity] here.”On the Terrapins’ side, the second-half kickoff defined a night of futility for Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. With the ball advanced to the 45 yard-line after an unsportsmanlike penalty on Sintim to end the first half, the Terps, down 21-0, tried to resuscitate themselves with an onside kick. Senior kicker Obi Egekeze’s kick, however, rolled just 4 yards from the tee before Virginia fell on the ball at the 49-yard line.“I have some [golf shots] that don’t go that far,” Groh joked.Virginia’s defense also deserved credit for shutting out a potent Terrapin offense that put up 71 points in its previous two games. Vital to Virginia’s chances Saturday were keeping junior wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey and sophomore tailback Da’Rel Scott from eating up big chunks of yardage; the Cavaliers surpassed even this goal by shutting them down altogether. Heyward-Bey’s 17 total yards came on a lateral on a trick-play attempt at the end of the first half, and Scott ended with 36 yards rushing and 16 receiving.“Those were two of the players that, if allowed to produce as they had in the previous games for Maryland, were going to make it very difficult,” Groh said. “The players really focused in on what we had to do in those two phases in dealing with those two players, and really all the credit goes to those guys.”With the stark contrast between this week’s game and the embarrassment to Duke the week before, was Duke a step back and Maryland a step forward as much as the scores would indicate? At this point, Groh said, that is a fair assessment, but only time will tell.“If we start and sputter, and go back and forth, then we’ll see that’s what it is,” Groh said. “We saw this as a season that would be in progress because of the transition and the number of positions and so many players out there for the first time. Hopefully this is a sign that we’re going down that road.”
(10/06/08 4:10am)
What a difference a week makes.In Virginia’s 31-0 dismantling of Maryland Saturday, Cavalier fans cheered themselves hoarse, then scratched their heads trying to figure out what happened. Marc Verica was all of a sudden a veritable threat. The defense left Maryland defenseless. Cedric Peerman treated Scott Stadium to a running game that was fun and games. And, as for Maryland’s deep threat Darius Heyward-Bey — wayward he stayed.Oh, and Mike Groh is no longer a foe.The Cavs surely just leapfrogged out of the 119th spot of 119 Football Bowl Series schools in scoring offense. Now, Virginia fans will naturally try to answer the big question: Are Virginia’s early season troubles a hurricane or a monsoon? Did the Cavs just pass through the eye on their way to the other equally torrential side, or will the storm subside in favor of sunny skies?I am a fan, and I’d love to say the former. As I try to grasp this positive outlook, however, a quote from Groh about how his secondary managed to hold playmaker Heyward-Bey and tailback Da’Rel Scott to 69 total yards strikes a chord and puts me in my place.“Really all the credit goes to those guys [in the secondary],” he said. “They went out and made the tackles and beat the blocks.”Of course, Groh did not mean to speak of his players in the context of what this game means for the rest of the season; he simply did what all coaches would have done, which is to give credit to his group for a positive effort after they were hammered by both opponents and the media in recent weeks.And let me also add that Virginia showed a great deal of resilience Saturday. If you were like me, you came to Scott Stadium hoping the Cavs would make a game out of it against the surging Terrapins; winning by 31 points was such a fantasy it was laughable to think about.Groh’s quote, however, is a reminder of Virginia’s rather sizeable Achilles’ heel: talent. You can have all the team chemistry, determination and heart in the world; the intangibles, however, don’t win football games in and of themselves. It’s not the work Groh does pacing the sidelines that matters so much as his visits to Ma and Pa of a four-star running back; quite a bit of that work over the last few years has been unraveled by unexpected departures, and Groh knows it.“Our inventory is a little bit lower than what we expected at this time,” Groh said at his weekly press conference Sept. 16 following the team’s 45-10 loss to UConn. “If we had looked at some of these positions that were going to be stocked a year back and looked forward to this date, the inventory is not quite the same that we anticipated it was going to be, and when that happens, teams go through cycles, and we’re having to deal with those issues.”So, when I look at the depleted Virginia roster, my optimism becomes equally depleted. I tend toward thinking that this game is a blip on the radar screen.Let’s face it; as much as we would like to think Virginia deserves all the credit for raiding Ralph Friedgen’s “fridge,” it takes two to tango. Do you really think that the same Maryland team that won at Clemson a week ago and whipped California on national TV two weeks before that showed up to Scott Stadium Saturday? Don’t be blinded by your own loyalty to the Cavaliers.But, I plead inwardly, what about momentum? Can the Cavs build off a throttling like this to get on a little streak of their own?This point is even more ridiculous. If there’s anything that the last two games, and in fact the entire season, should teach us, it’s that momentum means zip. Reporters love to ask if Virginia can build confidence or momentum off a win or how the team will rebuild after a loss, and time and again, Groh responds rightly that regardless of last Saturday’s outcome, they simply move on to next Saturday with the same approach. And why? A bad loss might deflate fans, but we learned Saturday that the players get just as pumped the following week. By the same token, an explosive win one week doesn’t mean the Cavs have righted the ship. Duke was the perfect storm. Maryland is the perfect rainbow that disappears all too soon.“This is over pretty quick,” Groh said of the win. “By the time we get in our car, it’ll be time to fully commit to next week.”Last week the Cavs were 1-3; this week 2-3. There’s not much more to it than that. They’ve still got the same deficiencies, the same flaws to try to overcome. This week, they got past those obstacles, but there are just too many “what-ifs” that Virginia has to satisfy on a weekly basis to put together a season that moves beyond mediocrity.Every once in a while, Virginia will give fans a reason to cheer as the team did Saturday. But in sports, like in life, you get what you pay for; the talent that you put on the field reflects output. The performance pendulum may sway from game to game, but talent will bring this team and its fans back down to earth.
(09/30/08 4:22am)
When Virginia lost three starters to cramping in the second half of its 3-31 loss to Duke Saturday, all Virginia coach Al Groh could do was wonder if his team could handle any more blows to a roster already thinned by personnel losses relating to legal and academic issues.Against Duke, the losses of senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim and sophomore cornerback Ras-I Dowling appeared to be the backbreaking blow. After both Sintim and Dowling went down on the opening play of Duke’s first drive of the second half, the Blue Devils went on a scoring frenzy, stretching a 3-3 halftime score to a 24-3 lead by the time the two returned with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter.Both players were having exceptional performances before they were forced to the sideline; by halftime, Dowling had two interceptions while Sintim had two sacks and a tackle for a loss.“It certainly wasn’t helpful to our efforts yesterday to lose those guys,” Groh said. “Clint had three sacks and seven pressures [in the whole game]; how much more would he have had if he would have played the other 20 plays that he missed?”As Virginia moves forward, the question asked of Groh at his teleconference Sunday was: How does he prevent this from happening again? Groh said this is a situation he has considered since well before the team stepped onto the field this season.“We had a pretty lengthy discussion here during the summer with [Virginia athletics co-medical director] Dr. [John] MacKnight and Kelli Pugh, our trainer, actually regarding steps to avoid cramping,” Groh said. “Acclimating the body to those circumstances and hydration steps leading up to it — all those preliminary things.”So why did three players — all of whom did not have a history of cramping, Groh said — suffer such problems Saturday? The humid weather in Durham may have had something to do with it.“What we have not had very much of — as we talked about on other occasions, too — even throughout training camp was the type of humid weather generally associated through this region through August and September,” Groh said. “And while the temperature [in Durham Saturday] wasn’t unusually high, it was pretty thick out there, so clearly that did have an effect.”Dowling’s difficulties may have been the most understandable, as this was his first full-time action of the season after being limited in the first three games by a leg injury. Groh said he thought his young corner finally got his speed back against Connecticut, and with two weeks to rest before Duke, Dowling certainly looked back to his old self while chasing down two interceptions and holding Duke star wide receiver Eron Riley without a catch in the first half. His shift to high gear, however, may have been too much, too fast.“He did not participate in the first two games, missed the better part of training camp, played 20 plays in the third game and then played 50 plays yesterday,” Groh said. “His is more a case of catching up on some of the work that he did not get in training camp — at least, we would surmise that to be the case.”Sintim’s cramping was perhaps the most curious, as he is, as Groh put it, “one of the most finely trained players on the team.” Though Sintim and Groh both noted that he received intravenous fluids before the game, in addition to at halftime and after he went down, Sintim said the pregame IV was nothing out of the ordinary.“I always get [an IV] before the game because I know I sweat a lot, and I don’t want to get dehydrated,” Sintim said. “I really don’t know why I was cramping.”In-game cramps are just one of the Cavaliers’ worries coming off the 3-31 walloping that Virginia suffered to Duke Saturday, in the Blue Devils’ first ACC win since November 2004 — but keeping some of the team’s biggest defensive playmakers in the game is certainly a priority.“Not to say that two people make the team, because that’s definitely not the case,” Sintim said. “It was just unfortunate circumstances.”
(09/29/08 4:54am)
Somewhere, Peter Lalich is singing. 31-3 is just as bad as it sounds. Snap Duke’s streak of 25 straight ACC losses and I shiver uncontrollably. Duke wins by its largest margin of victory against an ACC team since Sept. 3, 1994 — someone get me some oxygen.So, now that we are all in agreement, let me throw you a real screwball: It wasn’t as bad as it seemed.Before you throw down the paper in disgust, first answer me: Did you really watch the game? Did you actually flip on ESPNU, or did you just put up Gametracker during the Miami-North Carolina game? If you did catch a glimpse of Durham, did you actually give the game your undivided attention, or were you more interested in your beer and wings?Yes, I know: Who cares? It’s Duke! Well, it’s not quite Duke as we once knew it. The Blue Devils are 3-1, and — get ready — they could make a bowl game. Virginia was the first team they beat in conference since Nov. 13, 2004, sure, but it won’t be the last this season.So, remembering this is not the 1-11 Duke team of a year ago, try to keep an open mind as I reveal to you why in 2008 Virginia won’t replace Duke as the 1-11 team in the ACC.First, tear your eyes away from the score for a moment to take a look at the stats. Virginia had more passing yards (194-174) and rushing yards (110-84), and even picked up one more first down (17-16). The numbers don’t read into the score until you get to turnovers. Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica threw four picks, three of them in the fourth quarter; Virginia fumbled twice and recovered neither. On back-to-back possessions to begin the fourth quarter, Verica threw an interception in the red zone and another that was returned for a touchdown.It wasn’t a listless offense that hurt Virginia; it was what amounts to Virginia’s third-string quarterback — Verica following Lalich, who followed Jameel Sewell — having growing pains. And if you’re complaining about that, then stop being a fan.What about, you say, a defense that gave up 31 points. To Duke! Unforgivable, right?Here is where I’m glad to be in print media, rather than just shouting my opinion to anyone who will listen, because now you’ll probably want to just hit me. The defense gets high marks.No, this isn’t a satire column. Consider this: The score was 3-3 until the Virginia offense started treating the ball like a foreign object in the second half, giving Duke not only one of its touchdowns on an interception return but also ridiculous field position.And that isn’t even the key piece of information. Really pay attention now, because you may have missed this little tidbit: On Duke’s first play of its first drive of the second half, not one, but two of Virginia’s studs on defense — senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim and sophomore cornerback Ras-I Dowling — went down with cramps. Both, incidentally, were having sensational games to that point; Sintim was unstoppable in the pass rush, already racking up two sacks. Dowling, meanwhile, had made two interceptions while holding Duke wideout Eron Riley, who came into the game averaging 77.3 receiving yards per game, without a catch.Remove arguably Virginia’s two biggest playmakers on defense and turn the ball over time and again — and guess what happens? The Duke offense goes nuts. Virginia’s pass rush was all of a sudden contained; a true freshman running back, Jay Hollingsworth, ran over the front seven; and Riley was found uncovered at the line on a quick snap for a 30-yard touchdown after, according to Al Groh, his defense “failed to see him.”Throw in a pick-six from Verica, and before Sintim and Dowling return, it’s 24-3.So, as you stare at the score, try to understand that this was not a total team collapse. Saturday was simply the perfect storm. The Cavs were down to their third quarterback, hampered by unexpected personnel losses both before and during the game and playing in a hostile environment against a resurrected Duke team that has a chance to be bowl-eligible. Verica will do better, and Virginia will win again before the year is out. Having said all that, let me be clear: This is as bad as it gets. It’s the grime of the grime, the bottom of the bottom-most barrel. Virginia got hammered. By Duke. 25 games. 1994.I need oxygen again. But maybe not so much this time; the air just got a little bit cleaner.
(09/24/08 5:05am)
When freshman Tony Tchani’s penalty kick in the 17th minute caught Central Connecticut State goalkeeper Paul Armstrong guessing left as it went in the lower right corner, the last thing on anyone’s mind was Virginia’s 2-0 early cushion.Only moments earlier, freshman Chris Agorsor had been carted off the field and loaded into an ambulance after he was tripped in the box by a Blue Devil defender, which led to the penalty. The Cavaliers went on to win 4-0, but the questions concerning Agorsor were equal in number to those regarding the team’s stellar performance against a legitimate Central Connecticut squad.“We don’t know yet [about Agorsor’s status],” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. “We’re going to go to the hospital and see how he’s doing.”Agorsor, who is the squad’s second-leading scorer with four goals this season, lay on the field for more than 20 minutes before he was finally loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital. Freshman Brian Ownby, who came in for Agorsor following the injury, said the team visit would likely not have occurred last night, since Agorsor was in the emergency room.That injury aside, Virginia (4-3, 1-0 ACC) rebounded off its 5-0 dismantling of N.C. State Friday with an equally dominant performance against the Blue Devils (4-2-1). After struggling to finish at the beginning of the season, the Cavaliers have scored nine goals in their last two games.“In every game we’ve created chances just like the ones we did tonight,” Gelnovatch said. “The last two games, we’ve just started getting comfortable with ourselves.”Central Connecticut State, on the other hand, was not quite as comfortable. The Blue Devils were overpowered on both ends of the field, as they were outshot 20-4. Tchani in particular found holes throughout the evening; in addition to the penalty kick, he ripped a shot from 15 yards out in front of the net in the sixth minute for Virginia’s opening goal. Then, in the 32nd minute, Tchani found junior Ross LaBauex just past midfield; LaBauex put a beautiful touch to the inside to beat the Blue Devils’ lone defender and easily beat the sliding Armstrong for goal number three.Ownby’s second goal of the year iced the Blue Devils just 17 seconds into the second half as he finished on the ground from 12 yards away after being launched on a long ball by senior Matt Poole.While Virginia often sees opponents in the middle of the week who are simply not in its league, Central Connecticut State was not necessarily one of them. The Blue Devils were ranked in the top 25 in the preseason and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007.Of course, the Northeast Conference is not the ACC.“They definitely had a lot more pace,” said Central Connecticut State sophomore Collin Nicholas, an Arlington, Va. native, “They weren’t really bigger, but definitely faster, quicker, more agility to what we’re playing up in our conference.”Of course, Nicholas said, arriving in Charlottesville at 1 a.m. after a 12-hour bus ride didn’t help his team’s cause.“It was just ridiculous — 12-hour bus ride, and it’s only supposed to be nine,” Nicholas said. “We got in, got up this morning, had a little session here at 9 or 10, then went out and got some lunch. It was rough.”Whether the Blue Devils were affected by the bus ride or simply overcome by a Virginia team that is hitting its stride, they were in for a shock come game-time.“Honestly I don’t think we were ready for what was coming at us,” Nicholas said. “I just don’t think we were prepared mentally. There were just too many breakdowns.”Throughout the game, the difference in the speed of play between the two teams was apparent, as the Blue Devils simply could not catch up with Virginia’s quick one and two-touch passing.“It was pretty quick,” Nicholas said. “From what we’ve been playing, the pace was definitely a lot faster.”With Agorsor’s status for the remainder of the season in question, however, it remains to be seen whether this pace can stay at quite the same level as Virginia hits the meat of its conference schedule.
(09/22/08 4:00am)
When sophomore John Bivens stepped up to the plate yesterday, a chorus of cheers could be detected even from the small crowd that spotted the bleachers at Davenport Field.In the Virginia baseball team’s 2008-09 debut in a 14-inning exhibition against the Ontario Blue Jays Friday, the Cavaliers rallied from a 3-2 hole to win 6-3. It is the debut of the former Virginia football player Bivens, however, that has garnered the most media attention. After battling knee problems throughout his two-plus years in the football program, Bivens decided to end his injury-plagued stint on the gridiron and turned his sights to the diamond.The outside linebacker turned left fielder had two at-bats in a designated hitter role; he went 0-1 with a walk and even managed to swipe a base on his still-recovering left knee.“It takes me a little while to get going,” Bivens said of the knee. “My second [at-bat] my knee was feeling pretty good, so I got a good read and stole the base.”Bivens’ physical talents reflect exactly what you would expect from an outside linebacker; his combination of power and speed make him a home run threat at the plate and a menace on the bases. As a senior at Prince George High School, Bivens hit .525 with 5 homers and 24 RBI; if it hadn’t been for a shoulder injury, Bivens might have been able to forego college athletics for the MLB.What happened to the shoulder?“I don’t really know,” Bivens said. “It just started hurting out of nowhere, I couldn’t really tell you.”Once he arrived to Charlottesville, it was the knee that ultimately prompted his decision to switch to baseball. Under Virginia coach Al Groh, Bivens redshirted in 2006 and appeared in seven games in 2007, primarily on special teams, before having surgery on his knee in November of that year.“There was some cartilage damage,” Bivens said. “My kneecap is kind of misaligned a little bit, so the inside part of my knee was worn down to the bone.”The knee continued to nag him into this football season before he decided that enough was enough.“I basically told [the football team], this was the best decision for me to make, and they all supported me,” Bivens said. “They’re still my family. I still think very highly of those guys and those coaches over there.”But, Bivens said, the desire to get on the diamond at Virginia was not a recent development.“I’ve been out of baseball a long time and probably didn’t go a day without thinking about it,” Bivens said. “I’ve been wanting to get out there, but at the same time I had a 100 percent commitment toward football.”As a baseball player, the obstacles continue. Bivens had to put on a few pounds when he joined the football team, which may have put additional pressure on his fragile knee. Now, Bivens said he wants to shed that weight and get down to a more manageable 215 pounds; he said he currently weighs in at about 228.“He wants to and he’ll need to [lose weight] to hopefully take some pressure off that knee,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said.That challenge comes in addition to shaking off the rust of his two years away from the game.“John’s a work in progress and he knows that,” O’Connor said. “Obviously he’s a big, strong athlete, and we’ll continue to work with him, and I know that he’s committed to it, and he’s a great kid. The guy’s been away from baseball for two years. He’ll progress as the fall moves along.”Bivens said his return to the diamond has been going better than one might expect.“It’s coming back pretty quick,” he said. “My swing is there, but I just got to work on getting in there, getting reps and work on my hand-eye coordination and just get my timing down. My reads are pretty good in the outfield, but I’m really limited because of my knee.”While Bivens may need to adjust physically to playing baseball, O’Connor said there’s a certain something football players often have that others don’t.“I love recruiting high school players on our team that were football players,” O’Connor said. “There’s a mental attitude that comes with playing football that I love. Time will tell with John.”While a football mentality might help him on the diamond, Bivens cannot exactly relive his days as an outside linebacker while basking in the sun in left field. Bivens must miss getting to hit people, right?“Yeah,” Bivens said with a laugh. “I’m going to miss football. I’m moving on to this new chapter. I’m a baseball player.”
(09/22/08 4:00am)
By now, you are probably well aware of the fact that Peter Lalich was dismissed from the football team Thursday after the sophomore quarterback had several run-ins with the law dating back to the summer. If you’re like me, phrases like “violating probation” and “underage possession,” and names like “Al Groh” and “Craig Littlepage” are zooming through your head, and you’re struggling to make sense out of how and why all of this resulted in Lalich’s removal from the team.So, for my sake as much as anyone else’s, here is a chronological history of how this all went down. And, for what it’s worth, I’ll give you my take at every stage in the process.July 13Lalich is arrested at the corner of 13th Street NW and Wertland Street for possession or purchase of alcohol while being underage. He appears in Charlottesville General District Court for a hearing July 21 and is given a supervised probationary period and a deferred judgment to July 21, 2009. Court documents also show that his driver’s license is suspended until Aug. 8, 2009.My take: Big whoop. Many people drink when they are underage. Granted, it often takes more than just having a quiet drink in your apartment to get arrested. Aug. 26In a probation interview with officials from the Office of Offender Aid and Restoration/Virginia Alcohol Safety Program, Lalich admits to using alcohol and marijuana while on probation, according to court documents. Based on the admission, a court date is set for Sept. 26 for failing to obey a court order. He is also unable to provide a urine sample for drug testing; however, he returns the following day and completes the test, which is negative for both alcohol and illegal drugs.My take: Now we’re getting fishy. Get arrested once for underage drinking, fine; now he’s drinking and smoking on probation? And then there’s the business of being unable to take the test – why? Was he physically unable because of illness or dehydration?Virginia faces its next game against Richmond Sept. 6. At this point, I am calling for Lalich to be removed from the starting lineup. From a disciplinary standpoint, Lalich needs to be punished; from an emotional standpoint, this is a troubled kid who needs to be given time to work through these issues. Of course, Groh does not agree, as Lalich starts against Richmond the following Saturday.Sept. 9In a press conference, Lalich denies having used marijuana or any other illegal drugs while on probation.My take: Now I’m just confused; first a confession, then a denial. A key point here, though, is that Lalich did not deny drinking; illegal drugs do not entail alcohol. Nevertheless, the question lingers: Did he smoke weed or not?Sept. 10In a press release, Groh states Lalich will not be traveling with the team to its next game at Connecticut. Lalich is also quoted as saying it is the best decision for him and the team, and athletics director Craig Littlepage is also quoted as supporting the decision. The press release states that sophomore Marc Verica will start in Lalich’s place.My take: The right decision overall, but it’s a week late and has horrible timing. Verica gets only two days to prepare for his debut as a starter in a road game against what we now know is a pretty darn good Huskies team.And of course, there is the question of, why now? From the week before, when it broke that Lalich had confessed to marijuana and alcohol use, to this point, what has happened to make Groh all of a sudden change his mind? And, would a football mind like Groh knowingly make this decision with such odd timing?Sept. 11The Daily Progress quotes Peter Lalich’s father Todd Lalich as saying that the decision to not allow Peter to travel with the team “came from on high.”My take: Here is the explanation I am seeking. “On high” can’t mean Groh; this must mean Littlepage, maybe even a higher University administrator.Of course, this also creates even more drama; are Littlepage and Groh on good terms? If in fact Littlepage did defy Groh in this decision, what does this mean for Groh?Sept. 18This day has two parts: first, Lalich goes to court and testifies that he drank to celebrate the last day of training camp, which he reported to his probation officer late in August, resulting in the charge of violating a court order soon thereafter. He also testifies that he did also confess to smoking marijuana while on probation, but realized later that the marijuana use had occurred before the probationary period began. The judge hearing the case tells Lalich that he will keep the case at its current status; it will continue to be deferred until July 21, 2009.Hours later, however, comes a press release from Virginia athletics, stating that Lalich has been kicked off the team. Littlepage says in a statement that the decision to remove Lalich was his, and Groh says in a statement that “we stand united with this decision.”My take: There are several aspects to this final decision that are worthy of discussion. First and foremost, this is an unexpected move. Sit him out for a while, sure, but kick him off the team?Then again, in looking at the big picture, the decision makes sense. It seems clear now that Lalich did not smoke marijuana while on probation; however, he did admit that he used marijuana a minimum of one time before that, and it was recent enough for him to confuse that time with the beginning of the probationary period. Put that together with two episodes of drinking – once in early July, and again while on probation — and it appears that Littlepage simply had enough.Another facet to this scene is, again, the Littlepage-Groh relationship. Groh’s initial reaction to the charges brought against Lalich was to continue to start him; Littlepage, ultimately, threw him off the squad. No additional charges were brought against Lalich between these two decisions. This difference in opinion, at the very least, may provide a tension between the coaching staff and the athletics department.Then, there’s the manner of Lalich. Should we stand rigid in saying that he brought this on himself and therefore deserves it, or should we perhaps show a bit of compassion for a college student who was experimenting with drugs as so many students do?I’d say it’s possible to do both. Lalich absolutely should have known better than to use illegal drugs, and he certainly should have thought twice about drinking during his probationary period. Student-athletes, in addition to making the commitment to striving for academic and athletic success, also must bear the responsibility of staying out of trouble while being in the public eye. This is a responsibility Lalich clearly did not take seriously enough, and for that, his punishment was warranted.By the same token, this is a 20 year-old kid we’re talking about. This statement may seem a little flaky coming from a 21 year-old, but perhaps being a peer lends even more credence to this point of view; I’ve made mistakes too, and I don’t have to deal with the pressure and responsibility of being a college football player. So let’s not turn our back on Peter. While I disapprove of Groh’s decision to start Lalich against Richmond, Groh was there for his quarterback in the weeks that followed. Not once did he put Lalich in a bad light; in the opening statement of his postgame conference after the 45-10 loss at Connecticut, he preempted any question about Lalich’s absence by noting that the blowout wasn’t about “anybody who wasn’t here.” We should take our lead from Groh’s compassion; Lalich is still a University student, and he deserves the support of all of his peers. He was our starting quarterback, but first and foremost he was a fellow student. Inside Scott Stadium, you may have booed and jeered when he threw a lame ball. But now, Lalich has to make perhaps the biggest completion of his life: moving on. And that’s a move we can all rally behind.
(09/15/08 7:38am)
STORRS, Conn. — It took Connecticut barely a quarter and a half to burst out to a 28-0 lead against the Virginia football team.At game’s end Saturday, the 45-10 score was not quite as lopsided numerically as the 52-7 drubbing by the Trojans, but was equally traumatic against a Husky team that the Cavaliers beat by 1 point a year ago. Connecticut scored on its first seven drives and found the end zone on its first six, and did not punt until the 6:20 mark of the third quarter with the score 28-3.UConn “did most everything right; we did little if anything right,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “It’s not about, in any way shape or form, anybody who wasn’t here. Our team is the team that we put on the field today. I’m responsible for that, I take the blame for that, and there are really no other names necessary to discuss.”The most staggering statistics were in the ground game. The Huskies rushed for a remarkable 382 yards and five touchdowns, including 206 yards and three touchdowns from starting running back Donald Brown.Brown “was what we thought he would be,” Groh said. “He was very good — fast, competitive, obviously more than what we could handle.”Virginia, meanwhile, rushed just 14 times – three of which came from quarterbacks – for a mere 31 yards. Senior tailback Cedric Peerman, who has been hampered with a leg injury for two weeks, was a non-factor, as he rushed for 4 yards on two carries.“He was doubtful to questionable throughout the week, and just didn’t quite have all his stuff here today,” Groh said. “It wasn’t fair to him to put him out there where he was going to be a target.”Connecticut also saw significant contributions from two players who had zero career carries coming into the night in true freshman tailback Jordan Todman and senior cornerback Darius Butler. The two combined for 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns; Butler’s lone rush went for the Huskies’ third touchdown on a 13-yard reverse.Both Brown and Todman broke out for huge open field runs; Brown’s longest of the day went for 63 yards, Todman’s for 48. Each of these runs featured numerous missed tackles, which was a theme for Virginia throughout the evening.“That’s just sloppy performance,” senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim said. “I know off the top of my head, I think I missed four clean tackles.” The Connecticut running backs, however, were not the main attraction until the second quarter; it was the dual-threat southpaw quarterback Tyler Lorenzen who methodically picked apart the Virginia defense in the first, passing for 53 yards and running for 42 on Connecticut’s first two drives, both of which resulted in touchdowns.Lorenzen’s “ability to get drives started early on, throw accurately, get out of the pocket, had us coming and going,” Groh said. “Through a combination of his outstanding play, Donald Brown’s outstanding play and our shortcomings in certain areas, it was coming from every direction.”Once Lorenzen opened the door, the running backs burst through in the second and third quarter.“Quite clearly, [the defense] deteriorated from that point,” Groh said.Virginia sophomore quarterback Marc Verica — who was named the starter Wednesday evening after Groh announced in a press release that sophomore Peter Lalich would not be traveling with the team — had a decent outing under the circumstances. Despite never leading Virginia to the end zone, Verica actually out-threw Lorenzen on the day, passing for 158 yards compared with Lorenzen’s 124, though he had 30 attempts compared with Lorenzen’s 15.On the first play of Verica’s last series, he gave up his sole turnover of the evening on an interception by sophomore linebacker Lawrence Wilson midway through the third quarter. Following the subsequent 14-yard touchdown run by Todman late in the quarter, Groh pulled Verica for senior Scott Deke, who sparked the Cavaliers’ lone touchdown drive.Verica “made some decent throws,” Groh said, but noted that “there were a lot of open guys out there too where the ball might have gone.”Of course, the new starting quarterback was not helped by Virginia’s woeful ground game.Establishing the ground game early would “be very helpful,” Groh said. “All those runners run the same when there’s no hole.”With a bye week ahead of them before another road matchup against Duke, Virginia may need to repair its psyche just as much as its physical fundamentals over the next two weeks.“I don’t know how much of a psychologist I am,” Groh said. “It would be my hope that everyone would take their lead off of my attitude. That’ll be my psychology.” Be sure to see the photo gallery from the game, here.
(09/15/08 7:14am)
Where to begin?For the first two weeks of the 2008 season, I engaged in plenty of Virginia football bashing. I disowned the defensive line for its lackluster performance against USC, shamelessly knocked Virginia coach Al Groh for being overeager on a fourth down against Richmond, and clamored for the removal of quarterback Peter Lalich from the lineup following allegations brought against him for violating his probation (which, incidentally I’m sure, happened Saturday). I was hoping, begging, crying for a reason to write something positive after Saturday’s game against Connecticut, even if it was a silver lining in the context of defeat.I don’t like being that snide, peewee reporter who sits in his air-conditioned press box and lays into the men who bleed, sweat and scream Orange and Blue. I was an athlete in high school, but I can hardly empathize with the regimen Virginia athletes put themselves through on a daily basis. These guys work harder than any non-Division I athlete can imagine. These are men who, if I played against them, would probably cause irreparable harm to my 5-foot-10, 150-pound frame.Then again, I am obliged to call it like I see it, and what I saw in Virginia’s 45-10 loss Saturday was a team that was hurting for talent and effort. I saw a defensive line that was completely at a loss for how to contain Huskie quarterback Tyler Lorenzen, whether it was getting to him in the pass rush or containing him in the pocket. I saw experienced running backs fail to attack the few holes granted to them by a futile offensive line.In a feeble attempt to squeeze something positive out of a clearly troubled Groh after the game, I asked him about wide receiver Kevin Ogletree’s outstanding production for the second week in a row, considering the junior’s seven receptions for 58 yards, and his 92 yards on four kick returns.“It’s nice of you to bring that up,” he replied softly.Not to be deterred, I tried again with Ogletree himself. What about the fact, I asked him, that if this kind of pounding had to be taken, at least it happened before the team’s first bye week of the year?“It’s never good timing for a loss,” he replied.In other words, you’ve got to do better than that. In other words, 382 Connecticut rushing yards against 31 Virginia yards is downright pitiful. In other words, there might have been more missed tackles than made tackles, assisted and unassisted. In other words, it’s a good thing the effort was better against USC than it was Saturday, because otherwise the Trojans might have reached triple digits.But, as unbearable as it was to watch these Cavaliers Saturday, there was one aspect of what happened that night and what happened all last week that was, clear as day, the right call: Groh had his players’ back.Say what you will about his play-calling; no coach’s schemes please everyone. Moan if you’d like about the distance he keeps with the media and the fans. Agree with me if you must that Lalich should have been sitting a week earlier when the allegations against him emerged.But imagine, for the moment, that you are Peter Lalich. You’re 20 years old, and you’ve made some mistakes that have led to these legal issues; as a result, the media scrutinizes your every move on the field and off, the University community has turned against you and a court date awaits that everyone who gets even the faintest whiff of Virginia football knows about.The first people you want in your corner? Your parents, and perhaps a spiritual being if you are so inclined; then comes your coach. All week, Groh was there for Lalich.The decision to play Lalich against Richmond in the first place is debatable; I have already voiced my own disagreement, but as I have also said, perhaps Groh knows something about Lalich that the public doesn’t know. Why, then, would he so suddenly change his mind barely 72 hours before the kickoff of Virginia’s first road game? It appears, perhaps not surprisingly, that the decision was in fact not Groh’s at all. In an article by Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress Thursday, Peter Lalich’s father Todd said he was told the decision “came from on high.” What this says to me is that Groh was planning on sticking to his guns, but was overruled by a higher authority – perhaps athletics director Craig Littlepage, perhaps even University President John T. Casteen, III.Of course, as a result of a decision that was likely not his own, Groh was inundated with questions about his young quarterback the following day, which he deflected over and over again. Saturday, he preempted any question about Lalich by saying in his opening statement at the postgame press conference that the loss had nothing to do with “anybody who wasn’t here.” Groh went on to take responsibility for the embarrassing loss as any good coach would do, saying, “I take the blame for that, and there are really no other names necessary to discuss.” Then, consider further the words of Todd Lalich in Jerry Ratcliffe’s article. Jerry is not only a great guy, but is also perhaps the most well-respected writer for Virginia football there is. So, when Ratcliffe writes that Todd Lalich is “a solid, straight shooter,” I believe him. It follows, then, that when Todd Lalich tells The Daily Progress that if parents “have a son being recruited by the University of Virginia or Al Groh ... they shouldn’t even consider looking at any other school,” I give merit to that statement as well.When the can of worms was opened on Peter Lalich in the days leading up to the Richmond game, I thought Lalich shouldn’t have started not only for the benefit of the program, but for his own benefit as he sorted through his personal issues. Todd Lalich’s words for Groh, however, indicate that Groh did appear to have Peter’s best interests at heart. Todd Lalich’s words pay the highest compliment that a college coach in any sport can receive, and it puts the humiliating defeat to Connecticut in perspective. A head coach’s first responsibility is not to the media, or the fans, or even to obtaining wins — it is to looking after his players. For a guy who is criticized for being an NFL coach in a college game, he sure seems to care about how his boys mature into men.So, I found something positive to write about. Call me a sucker for twisting a horrific game into a positive column; give me hell for not jumping on the “Fire Groh” bandwagon.But remember one of the reasons you came to this University: Around here, people care. And in that regard, Al Groh fits right in.
(09/11/08 4:45am)
Virginia football coach Al Groh announced in a press release yesterday evening that sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich will not be with the team Saturday for its game at Connecticut. Sophomore Marc Verica will start at quarterback in Lalich’s place.This decision follows charges that Lalich violated the terms of his probation for a July 13 underage drinking charge, according to Charlottesville District Court documents. Sept. 5, The Daily Progress also cited court documents showing that Lalich had confessed to underage drinking and marijuana use while on probation; Lalich first denied those charges publicly in a press conference Tuesday.“We stand by Peter and in talking with him have made a decision which is best in the short term for him, the team, and our University,” Groh stated in the release. “We have a strong set of standards and values on our team that reflect those of the University and we do not compromise those values to win football games.”Lalich, who stated in the release that he and Groh agreed on the decision, also reiterated that he has not violated his probation.“I make mistakes like everyone, but I have followed the terms of my probation and I am committed to our team and the University of Virginia,” Lalich stated in the release.Athletic Director Craig Littlepage noted in the release he supported the decision.“Over the past 24 hours I’ve had conversations with both Peter and Coach Groh,” Littlepage stated. “The focus of our discussions shifted from due process and fairness and moved toward what would be best for Peter and the team, at least until such time that matters were cleared up about his probation status.”Lalich continues to await his Sept. 26 court date, when he will have a hearing at 11 a.m.“I love my team and my teammates and the way they have let me know that they trust me and have my back,” Lalich stated in the release. “Because I care so much about our team, it is best for me to step back temporarily from my starting position so that my teammates can focus 100 percent on getting ready for the game.”
(09/11/08 4:43am)
What’s it like to be the son of an NFL Hall of Fame player?All last year, then-senior Chris Long had to deal with this question. Unbeknownst to many Virginia fans, however, Long was not the only one in that boat. Wide receiver Jared Green, son of recent Hall of Fame inductee and former Washington Redskin Darrell Green, was one of Long’s teammates as a true freshman last season. Now in his redshirt freshman season, Jared Green is fighting for playing time on the field while continuing to vie for a piece of the respect that his father commands off the field.“You take the highs, and you take the lows,” Jared Green said. “A lot of people ask you stuff, but I love it because it’s a way of paying respect to my father and it’s also an inspiration for my career.”Green was thrust into the spotlight even before he got to training camp this season. His father, generally considered one of the greatest cornerbacks in the history of football, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 2, and Jared Green was the presenter. In his speech, Jared Green called his father “a true role model” and, in closing, introduced him as, “my best friend, Darrell Green.”“Oh man, that was a dream come true,” Jared Green said. “You know it’s coming, and then the day of, you go out there looking at all those people, and you just speak from your heart. Half the stuff from my speech I didn’t write down.”Moments after Darrell Green reached the podium for his acceptance speech, he said, “You bet your life I’m going to cry. You bet your life, I will. That’s my boy. That’s my boy right there.”Now, Darrell Green’s boy is right in the thick of one of Virginia’s deepest positions on the field at wide receiver. Listed as second on the depth chart behind junior Kevin Ogletree, the Vienna, Va. native certainly made a splash in his debut, catching three balls for 40 yards in the season opener against now top-ranked USC.In a game filled with the inherent negatives of a 52-7 score, Virginia coach Al Groh cited Green’s play as a positive.“What he’s starting to do is use his speed more,” Groh said following the loss to the Trojans. “He is one of the faster players that we’ve had here, but if he doesn’t have his pedal to the floor all the time, then he doesn’t play faster than other guys did, and he’s starting to understand the value of his speed.”Of course, speed is the characteristic for which Darrell Green was so well-known — Jared Green said in his speech presenting his 48 year-old father at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony that “I’ll just say now I’m officially faster than my dad.”Speed, however, is not the only area where Jared Green hopes to eclipse his father.“We push each other, him pushing me and me pushing myself to be greater than him,” Jared Green said. “That’s what we strive for in our family, and that’s what I strive for every day.”It doesn’t hurt that Darrell Green played a position where he learned to be an expert on how to defend a wide receiver. Plus, who knows if the father-son competition would be as healthy if they both played the same position?“That helps me out a lot,” Jared Green said smiling. “If I was a corner, it would probably be rough every day.”Even with his father’s urging in the background, Green has plenty of motivation from his fellow receivers. He noted that emulating the two veteran starting wide receivers Ogletree and senior Maurice Covington is a big part of his learning curve.“Us younger guys, we look to them as fathers,” Green said laughing. “When we’re out here at school, and in different areas, they help us out a lot. I couldn’t ask for better guys ahead of me.”Green also stressed his development in his season as a redshirt.“Redshirting is I believe the best thing for a college football player,” he said. “It gets you on top of the books and it also gives you time to work out and get stronger and learn the game.”Now, with his sights set on earning more time on the field and gaining ground on his father’s legacy, is Green a bit overwhelmed?“I like a challenge,” Green said.He certainly has that.
(09/08/08 9:43am)
A week after playing one of the best teams in the country, Virginia stood toe-to-toe with a team Saturday that wasn’t even in its division. Nevertheless, Richmond coach and former Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London’s squad hung tough for three-plus quarters with the Cavaliers, before Virginia cornerback Vic Hall’s game-clinching interception return for a touchdown to a 16-0 victory.“That’s a BCS [Bowl Championship Series] school; we’re an FCS [Football Championship Subdivision] school,” London said. “Everyone thought we were going to get clobbered.”Actually, coach Al Groh noted, not everyone shared that line of thinking.“Apparently, there were quite a few people in the country who saw us as being the underdog in the game,” Groh said. “Players seemed to respond to that challenge pretty well.”Though the opportunities were numerous for both sides throughout the contest, the score stood at 3-0 in the Cavaliers’ favor until Virginia junior running back Mikell Simpson finally lowered his shoulder and punched through Richmond’s defensive line on a 3rd-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.“That was the kind of drive we needed,” sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich said. “The offensive line played great in that drive and really knocked them back.”Lalich, who started despite charges brought against him last week for violating his probation following a July 13 underage drinking arrest, had an up-and-down afternoon. He was on target for the most part in the first half, completing 16 of 27 passes for 158 yards, but was off in the second half, as he found his mark just five times in 12 tries. Lalich also threw two interceptions on the day.Groh had this to say about last week’s reports about Lalich and the decision to start him Saturday:“Why would there be any hesitation to play him?” he said. “He’s our starting quarterback. We’re here to talk about football. It’s unfortunate that some people have chosen to misrepresent the player without having all of the facts, and those people should examine themselves.”Lalich was not the only player on the field Saturday who missed the mark on several plays. Richmond found itself deep in Virginia territory on many occasions, but came up empty time and again. Junior kicker Andrew Howard had two field goal attempts, both from 29 yards, but was blocked on both occasions; the first was tipped by freshman Matt Conrath before it sailed wide right, and the second was batted to the ground by freshman Nick Jenkins.One of those blocked field goals came as the result of a failed fourth down conversion attempts by Virginia. On a fourth-and-two at the Spiders’ 15 yard-line with 49 seconds remaining in the first half, Lalich targeted senior wide receiver Cary Koch in the flat. Richmond sophomore linebacker Jordan Shoop, however, read the play and snatched an interception before the ball reached Koch. Between Shoop and the Virginia end zone there was nothing but open field, but Shoop ran out of gas and was caught by Koch after a 63-yard return. “At first, I thought I was good,” Shoop said. “I took off good, and then after about 20 yards I don’t know what happened. My legs were just – that was about it for them.”Groh also elected to keep his offense on the field for a risky 4th-and-1 from his own 29 yard-line. Though this attempt also backfired – Lalich’s quarterback sneak was snuffed for no gain — the Spiders once again couldn’t capitalize, as a 5-yard tackle for a loss and a 14-yard sack forced Richmond to punt.Richmond, however, did not entirely shut itself out; Virginia’s defense and special teams played its part in keeping the Spiders scoreless while playing in many short-field situations.“We have a saying that is vital to being a good defensive team: it’s not just stopping plays, but to win the battle for the ball,” Groh said. “We probably knocked four or five down at the line of scrimmage, had a couple interceptions and pretty good pressure on the quarterback, so that part of the game was positive for us.”The shutout was the first for Virginia since last year’s 48-0 blowout against Miami Nov. 10. Though Richmond’s FCS team is no ACC opponent, Groh said his defense was forced to make a number of in-game adjustments to battle its old defensive coordinator’s offensive scheme.“Coach London knew a lot of how we like to play on defense, so obviously that was to his advantage,” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said. “We made some different changes and adjusted a little bit as far as getting ourselves in the best position to make plays, and it showed out there on the field today.”Sintim and the rest of the linebacker corps looked particularly energized after giving up 52 points a week ago, as they accounted for 11 tackles, two sacks and two blocked passes on the day.The coaching staff “emphasized during the course of the week just get back to reading your keys and get to the right places and play run-and-hit ball, and the plays will find you,” Groh said. “I spoke to all three of them after the game and congratulated them on the fact that they looked like they were back on their game today.”
(09/08/08 9:43am)
3-0.In case you missed it, this was the score of the Virginia-Richmond game after the first three-plus quarters, before the Cavs blew it open at the end of the fourth to a 16-0 shutout. 3-0! One, two and three points!As Cavalier Daily photographer Jason O. Watson pointed out to me at halftime, the Virginia women’s soccer team led Liberty the entire game Friday, Aug. 29 and after three-quarters of that game was leading 4-0. Which is the low-scoring game again?In many games like this one, a microscopic score can be blamed on field conditions, particularly wet ones. (See the Steelers’ 3-0 victory over the Dolphins in the sludge last November). Not so in this game. The weather wasn’t perfect — a little pregame shower may have dampened the field a bit, and the wind was swirling somewhat — but it practically takes a monsoon to have that dramatic an effect. Not so Saturday. (Just imagine what the score would have been if Hurricane Hanna had hit.) Nor was this game one of those conservative, old-fashioned, good ol’ smash-mouth grinders. Balls were flying this way and that from both quarterbacks; there were turnovers, turning points and returns. The opportunities to score were endless, particularly for the team from the FCS, lest we forget. A turnover on downs deep in Virginia territory, a 63-yard interception return, two field goal attempts at less than 30 yards in length and back-to-back Virginia penalties totaling 29 yards weren’t enough for the Spiders to salvage a single point. And that’s without mentioning a wide-open receiver in the end zone who junior quarterback Eric Ward missed by a hair, and another no-one-in-shouting-distance receiver who dropped a pass inside the five.“If the spider has eight legs, I think we shot ourselves all eight times,” said Mike London, Richmond head coach and former Virginia defensive coordinator.Even more dumbfounding was how the generally conservative Virginia coach Al Groh seemed to develop a reckless streak overnight. He went for it on fourth down every time there was even a slight dilemma, including a fourth-and-one from his own 29-yard line (which Virginia didn’t make). Was I the only one who checked the sideline to make sure he wasn’t on a bathroom break for that call?Of course, by far the best call of the night was by the students who handed out blank pieces of paper to hold up in protest of the new sign policy. Well done, ladies and gents.Perhaps the worst call of the night also wasn’t on a play-call; it may have been the decision to start the now oh-so-controversial quarterback Peter Lalich, who admitted to using marijuana and underage drinking after being put on probation for underage drinking in July. As a disclaimer, let me first say that I will reserve some judgment on this decision until the full story comes out — maybe Groh knows something about Lalich that we don’t. Perhaps Lalich had a legitimate reason to not take the drug test that The Cavalier Daily reported Thursday he refused to take. But, assuming that Lalich is still using marijuana and that’s all there is to it, don’t you at some point have to send the message that you can’t smoke a joint and be a football player, particularly in light of Virginia’s recent history of off-field troubles?As for Lalich’s play, he once again showed off prodigious skill at some points and head-scratching decisions at others. I am going to resist making some joke about him figuring out that his use of the grass at Scott Stadium might take priority over his use of grass off the field, but it did appear that his head was not exactly in the game all the time. Chalk it up to inexperience. (I hope.)Of course, in the end, all that counts is results. Virginia won the game. The Cavaliers were certainly saved by some Spider mishaps but also by stellar defense in short-field situations and flawless special teams, highlighted by a blocked field goal. The linebackers looked great, the defensive line stepped up and made a few plays, and Vic Hall’s pick-six to seal the deal was absolutely huge.But the disheartening bottom line is that Virginia came out of this game looking worse than when the Cavaliers came into it. Such is the case when you play an FCS team — if you don’t blow them out of the water, then questions abound.3-0 after three quarters certainly blew the Cavaliers out of the water, but not in the way that they hoped. What I need is something to help me kick back, relax and take my mind off of these troubling times.Any ideas?
(09/03/08 7:46am)
Senior Yannick Reyering has made many big kicks in his athletic career.Saturday, however, the ball was not quite as round, and he had nearly 65,000 eyes on him.In Virginia’s football home opener against USC Saturday, Reyering, a former Cavalier men’s soccer star, made his debut for the football team as the starting placekicker. Named the starter instead of fellow kickers redshirt freshman Chris Hinkebein and true freshman walk-on Robert Randolph just a week before the opening game, Reyering appeared on the field four times against USC; twice with the kickoff team, once on a field goal opportunity, and once for a successful extra point after Virginia’s lone touchdown, the first point of his career. “Soccer final fours are a big thing, but I don’t think anything in college soccer can prepare you for what I faced [against USC],” Reyering said. “I was really excited and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone in the crowd, so that really got me pumped up.”His first kickoff after Virginia’s only score was certainly the highlight of his afternoon. Reyering sent a knuckling line drive that landed untouched inside the Trojans’ 20 yard-line, and rolled all the way down to the 6 before sophomore returner Ronald Johnson scooped it up. Johnson managed a return of only 7 yards, earning Virginia one of its few cheers from the sold-out crowd in the 52-7 rout.Was this unconventional — yet seemingly ingenious — kickoff by design?“You could say that,” Reyering said with a wry smile. “They didn’t return it so far, so I guess you could say that.”Given his history in the other kind of football, Reyering might deserve such seemingly accidental success. In his three years as a Cavalier soccer player, the 6-foot-6 German forward led Virginia in goals all three years he was with the program, accumulating 39 goals in his career. Reyering was only granted three years of eligibility in college soccer, however, as a result of his time spent on a semi-pro German team prior to enrolling at Virginia. The opportunity to play one more year of collegiate sports, perhaps combined with the setback of a torn ACL suffered at the end of last season, took him away from beginning a professional soccer career and onto the football field.Now, on a Virginia team that lost one of its biggest personalities in Chris Long, Reyering is one of the more intriguing stories of 2008.Reyering, however, did not win the starting kicker’s job by reputation. Though Groh has praised Reyering for his unsurprisingly strong leg, when asked what separated Reyering from Hinkebein and Randolph in training camp, Groh had a one-word answer: “accuracy.”“We didn’t have any expectation as to [field goals], but we were impressed with how quickly and kind of unflappable he was in making the transition,” Groh said. “He strikes the ball cleanly and very evenly and he did a real nice job in camp.”Groh also noted that Reyering uses soccer as an analogy for both kickoff and field goal situations. According to Groh, Reyering compares penalty kicks with kickoffs, and considers a kick in the run of play in a soccer game similar to a field goal.On kickoffs, “the ball is just sitting on the ground, it’s not moving, it’s in a tee,” Groh said. “There’s certainly more timing and synchronization of different guys on field goals; you’ve got to get the snapper, holder, kicker all in the same rhythm.”His first field goal try Saturday, a 46-yarder from the right hash mark with Virginia trailing 24-7 in the second quarter, tailed just to the right of the goal posts.“I knew when I hit it that it was a little too far right,” Reyering said. “I don’t know what exactly the reason was for that because usually that doesn’t happen a lot from the right hash, so I’ve got to watch tape and figure that out and then improve for the next game.”Reyering, however, will get more chances, as he continues to find his way in American football.“It has been a great transition so far,” Reyering said. “Obviously I’m a little disappointed that I missed that field goal but I’m working on it every day and just hoping to get better.”
(09/02/08 1:21am)
The lively Lithuanian is moving on.At a press conference at Blue Ridge School Thursday, former Virginia basketball player Laurynas Mikalauskas, who was kicked off the men’s basketball team last week, took full responsibility for the academic ineligibility that resulted in his dismissal and announced his intention to turn pro overseas.“I could not see myself transferring to another school or playing for another college basketball team,” Mikalauskas said. “Therefore, I have decided to forego my last year of NCAA eligibility and pursue my dream of playing basketball at the professional level.”A teary-eyed Mikalauskas was accompanied by his agent, Michael Lelchitski, and his former high school coach at Blue Ridge, Bill Ramsey, and Ramsey’s wife Margaret. The Ramseys also served as Mikalauskas’ legal guardians when he came to the United States in high school.Though Mikalauskas did not blame Leitao for his decision, he did say his removal from the team, which he said occurred Sunday, Aug. 17, was not particularly timely.“I wish had a chance to find out earlier in the summer so that I would have a chance to get more exposure overseas,” Mikalauskas said. “But it is what it is now, and I just have to deal with it.”An Aug. 18 press release announced Mikalauskas’ removal from the program. The would-be senior made an appeal to the University, but was denied.“There are standards to be a member of this basketball program, and Laurynas has not lived up to those standards,” Leitao stated in the press release. “I will have no additional comment on this situation.”The loss of Mikalauskas comes as a big blow to the Virginia basketball program, because the Lithuanian had the best shot at the starting center position in the coming season. His departure will also likely disappoint many Wahoos, as Mikalauskas was a fan favorite throughout his career. “I especially want to thank the fans — go Wahoos!” Mikalauskas said. “I really hope that they felt the emotion that I played with and saw that I gave it my all every time I stepped on the court in a Virginia jersey — number 11.”Though the press conference gave Mikalauskas the opportunity to say good-bye to students and fans, he said he is not yet through at Virginia.“I would like to come back and finish my degree,” Mikalauskas said, noting that this would probably occur over the next two summers. He also added, “I would like to come back and watch the games.”For Ramsey, the news of Mikalauskas’ departure was unsettling.“These last three years have been very special, to be going to his games and traveling to the ACC Tournament,” he said. “It was kind of a shocker, and it’s happened real fast, but I feel like he’s got some great opportunities already.”Mikalauskas now sets his sights on European basketball. Though he will not play in his native Lithuania to start, he said he has set a goal of playing for the Lithuanian national team at the 2012 Olympics in London.As for the present, Mikalauskas said he is healthy and eager to play after rehabbing his shoulder. He had surgery on the shoulder immediately following last season but said he is close to 100 percent. “I’m still working on my strength and shooting,” he said. “Like every other day, every basketball player has to work out. I can’t just sit here and hope to get professional offers. I have to work out like a pro now.”