The opportunities, experiences, friendships and challenges The Cavalier Daily provided were irreplaceable, and shape both who I am today and who I strive to be tomorrow. I have learned to be more independent and self-assured, more ambitious and optimistic and more confident in my ability to handle responsibility. I have also realized that it is more important to love what you do than to love what it takes to do it.
With under 10 minutes remaining, the top-seeded Virginia clung to a single-digit lead against ninth-seeded Florida State. The Cavaliers put the ball in the hands of their lone All-ACC first team selection.
It's bad form to think about what is missing on Valentine's Day, that special someone that is no longer there. But on Saturday, despite sharing a special moment with the basketball team I have spent four happy years with, I could not help but feel just a little bit empty inside.
As the ESPN showcase at John Paul Jones Arena became more of a defensive clinic than an evenhanded dual during the first half Saturday night, it was easy to forget that the opposition is a top-10 program.
It was Feb. 2013. Senior forward Darion Atkins was sidelined with a shin injury. Junior center Mike Tobey came down with mononucleosis. Junior guard Justin Anderson, the team's 6-foot-6 shooting guard, was forced to play power forward down the stretch in ACC play.
With fans at John Paul Jones Arena screaming for the team to step on the gas in the second half, Bennett implored his team to slow down. Virginia responded with its most impressive 20 minute stretch of the season, using a more deliberate offensive approach to outscore George Washington by 21 points in the second half of its 59-42 victory.
If you had showed up 2 hours late for the Virginia basketball game against South Carolina State on Tuesday, waked past the scoreboard without looking and went straight to the team's postgame press conference, you would have been hard pressed to figure out that the Cavaliers had won.
The last time the Virginia basketball team played in Harrisonburg, legend Ralph Sampson was in the building following a program-record 30 win season that propelled the Cavaliers to a top-10 ranking entering the season.
Coach Tony Bennett and his players touched on last season's success, discovering a new identity for 2014, injury concerns, the development of freshmen, offseason conditioning and more. Here are seven key takeaways based on what they had to say.
The East Region's top seed from a season ago, the Virginia Cavaliers, received the No. 8 national ranking in the USA Today preseason poll released last Thursday.
