New Uni Update

A better picture, from virginiasports.com. Visit that website and thesabre.com for lots and lots of new pictures, to be posted soon, I'm sure.

New Unis!

Crappy cell phone pictures, but you get the idea:






Just back from U-Hall...

I think the uniforms look great. Nothing drastic changed, except to maybe clean up the whole look and add in the orange jersey and pants for the mix & match options ala Oregon.

The so-called "goat horns" are gone and the blue on the helmet has a metallic sheen, so I think we can safely say we're back to having the best helmets in college football.

These uniforms, although very modern in technology, are clearly designed to have a simple, old school feel to them from the visual standpoint. The color combinations have both 80's and 90's looks, especially when throwing the black cleats and low white socks. The pants do have more detail with the striping on the side and back, the hip logo, and the "Wahoos," "Virginia," and/or "Hoos," on the back (depending on pant color.)

I think these unis look very sleek, but are still obviously classic UVA uniforms. Maybe a little bit like Boise State with the possibility of the blue/orange combos and like Florida with the orange/white.

I love the contrasting borders around the numbers.

Overall, I was expecting a bigger splash ("Oregon of the East," these unis are not), but I'm very happy with the results. They aren't gaudy.

Big Ten Expansion... to Include Virginia?!?

It sounds crazy, I know. But Scott Wilson from Bleacher Report makes a pretty compelling argument.

I honestly hate the idea of seeing us leave the ACC. But if Duke and Carolina bail out, I do think we should follow them. Besides, the ACC treats us like second class citizens, especially in terms of scheduling and officiating. The ACC expansion to include Miami, BC, and Virginia Tech has been an unmitigated disaster -- the football championship game has fallen flat, the creation of an unbalanced basketball schedule has tainted that once-elite product, and now the conference is struggling to find even a decent television contract. (Ready for ESPN2 Wednesday night football, ACC fans?)

The Big Ten, meanwhile, provides the holy grail of television revenue: its own dedicated network. The football is at least as strong as the ACC's (and I would argue better, once Michigan returns to its rightful level of strength as a program, and especially if Notre Dame joins the conference), and the basketball played by Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois more than replaces what we'd be leaving behind in NC State, Wake Forest, GT, BC, VT, Miami, Florida State, and Clemson.

Virginia would be hailed as one of the gems of expansion as the Big Ten becomes the Big Sixteen.

So while I hate the idea of leaving the ACC, I must admit that the lure of the Big Sixteen is pretty strong right now.

Major "seismic" conference realignments seem to be coming this decade, and I hope we end up in a position of strength once the quakes die down.


Big 16 West:
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Purdue
Wisconsin

Big 16 East:
Duke
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
North Carolina
Ohio State
Penn State
Virginia

A 96-Team Tournament? Bring It On!

It's sounding more and more like tournament expansion is about to become a reality, as soon as next year. While the talking heads are boo-hooing the expansion, I couldn't be more excited. Like I've said before, I guess I'm just not sophisticated enough to understand how more of a good thing isn't just more of a good thing.

Sure, tourney expansion is a shameless money-grab by the NCAA. But who cares? They've built the single best sporting event, so why shouldn't they cash in on it? The increased windfall trickles down to the schools that play under the NCAA banner, which includes UVA. An expanded field gives UVA a better chance to make the tournament in any given year. So even when peering through the orange and blue lens, I love the idea of a 96-team tournament!

One last point: If you thought the concept of a 16-seed beating a 1-seed was exciting, wait until a 17-seed beats a 1! Or until a 24-seed beats a 9! Et cetera. Again, how can more of a good thing not just be more of a good thing???


Here are some pieces from some of those talking heads and keyboard warriors. With this year's wacky, wild, wonderful brackets still dancing in your head, I encourage you to read while the iron is still hot. Understand their points, but dare to keep things simple for yourself and just be a fan.


CBS's Gary Parrish, Gregg Doyel, and Mike Freeman have mixed feelings on tournament expansion.

ESPN's Dana O'Neil thinks that greed-driven tournament expansion will taint the tournament experience.

ESPN's Mark Kreidler thinks the answer is not a bigger tournament, but better teams. He suggests following baseball's lead in this endeavor.

SI's George Dorman offers four solid reasons why tournament expansion would be horrible.

SI's Alexander Wolff unveils the real reason behind tournament expansion: TV money. (Ya think?)


But if you read any of these, you should read this one. The Washington Post's John Feinstein wraps up the tournament expansion topic into a neat little package.

*NEW* Football Unis to Debut Friday!

First-year Virginia football coach Mike London will debut the new Nike football uniforms the Cavaliers will wear during the 2010 season Friday, April 9 at 3:30 p.m. in front of the McCue Center. The public is welcome to attend the unveiling event that will include members of the Cavalier Marching Band and spirit squads.

Several Cavalier players will be on hand to model the new uniforms that will feature multiple possible color combinations on game day. The uniforms are part of Nike’s new Pro Combat Uniform series and will be unique to the Cavalier program. Also set to debut Friday will be a redesigned helmet the team will wear starting in 2010.

The ceremony will also feature Virginia’s new team equipment truck. Painted orange and blue, the 53-foot trailer features Virginia football signage and logos. The 18-wheeler is provided by former Cavalier Charles W. McDaniel, president of Hilldrup Moving and Storage.

Hilldrup Moving and Storage has provided transportation and moving services to the Cavalier football program since 1998 using a vehicle half the size of the new model. This truck will be in service by Hilldrup Moving and Storage during the week providing the Cavalier football program very noticeable exposure across the mid-Atlantic region.

Take a look at the Nike Pro Combat uniforms that debuted last season: BANG IT HERE.

I really like the unis Nike put together for Miami, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State, Mizzou, VT, and Florida State. The TCU and Florida unis are fairly horrendous. So by my rough math, that's about a 75% success rate.

I'm really hoping we can avoid the shoulder stitching that looks like feathers. I love the numbering on the Miami and VT uniforms, and the unconventional color scheme in the Missouri version. I'm really hoping that they integrate the sabre into our uniforms, like they integrated the feather into the FSU version.

I'm a big uniform dork... so I really can't wait 'til Friday!

If anyone wants to join me at the presser and unveiling on Friday at 3:30, let me know!

Adios, Jeff Jones.

And the basketball attrition continues...

Virginia men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett announced on Tuesday that junior guard Jeff Jones is leaving the Cavaliers’ program.

“Jeff informed me on Sunday that he would be transferring,” Bennett said. “Although I’m surprised, I’m not shocked and wish Jeff well in the future. Every player is entitled to do what he thinks is best for his future. Jeff obviously believes that is not UVa., and if a player feels that way it will not benefit him or the team.”

The 6-4 Jones played in all 31 games, starting seven, for the Cavaliers during the 2009-10 season. He averaged 7.3 points and 1.3 rebounds a game. Jones shot 42.8 percent (71-166) from the field, including 43.5 percent (40-92) from three-point range, and 78.9 percent (45-57) from the free throw line.

During his three years in the Virginia program, Jones played in 90 games, starting 41. He averaged 6.2 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

Jones will finish the semester at Virginia.

I will admit that this news is more shocking/upsetting to me than either of Landesberg or Spurlock. Perhaps that's just based on the timing? I thought JJ was a solid "buy in" to the Bennett program. Guess not.

This opens up playing time for Mustapha Farrakhan, K.T. Harrell, Billy Baron, and Joe Harris for next season. To update my "Pie Slicing" post from Sunday:

Mike Scott (27.4) -- 30 minutes per game in 2010-11
Sam Zeglinski (29.0) -- 30
Mustapha Farrakhan (21.0) -- 25
K.T. Harrell (Fr.) -- 23
Jontel Evans (16.5) -- 18
James Johnson (Fr.) -- 15
Assane Sene (12.6) -- 13
Billy Baron (Fr.) -- 13
Joe Harris (Fr.) -- 13
Will Regan (Fr.) -- 10
Will Sherrill (15.4) -- 10
Akil Mitchell (Fr.) -- redshirt

Does this open the door for a 7th recruit in the 2010 class? Stay tuned...

Slicing the 200 Minute Pie

I'm stuck on basketball.

Perhaps it's due to the most exciting NCAA Tournament in years, or the interesting post-mortems on the 2009-10 Virginia Basketball season, but whatever the reason I'm stuck on basketball.

Despite what has been a "big news" type of spring football practice period, I'm still stuck on basketball.

I think the main reasons are four:
1) The way the team played to end the year, without Landesberg. In the Maryland, BC, and Duke games I saw a tough-minded, hard-nosed team. A Tony Bennett team.
2) Butler. They are the next great model for what a smart, tough, fundamentals-based team can accomplish. I see them succeed and I see the same opportunity for Virginia to succeed under coach Bennett.
3) A 96-team NCAA Tournament. Most oppose the expansion. I do not. I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to understand how more of a good thing isn't just that -- more of a good thing. You can't tell me that this year's Ole Miss, Rhode Island, Illinois, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, and Dayton teams weren't better than some of the scrubs that made the tourney. I'm greedy, I want more basketball, and I'm happy about tournament expansion. (Pssssst... a nearly 50% increase in the tourney field increases Virginia's chances of making the tournament in any given year by 50%. Isn't that a good thing, Hoo fans?)
4) The six incoming recruits. That's a HUGE incoming class, by any standard. How will they mesh with the seven returning players to form next year's team?

On the topic of #4... Here's my guess at how the 200 minutes per game will be distributed next year. (2009-10 minutes per game average in parentheses.)

Mike Scott (27.4) -- 30 minutes per game in 2010-11
Sam Zeglinski (29.0) -- 25
Mustapha Farrakhan (21.0) -- 20
Jeff Jones (18.3) -- 20
K.T. Harrell (Fr.) -- 18
James Johnson (Fr.) -- 15
Jontel Evans (16.5) -- 15
Assane Sene (12.6) -- 13
Billy Baron (Fr.) -- 12
Joe Harris (Fr.) -- 12
Will Regan (Fr.) -- 10
Will Sherrill (15.4) -- 10
Akil Mitchell (Fr.) -- redshirt

Thoughts generated by this exercise:
-- It probably won't be this way at the beginning of the season, but the five players I expect to see starting the majority of the games are Evans / Zeglinski / Harrell / Scott / Sene.
-- I think Will Sherrill will cede minutes to Will Regan. The two are very similar players, except Regan is more athletic and has more upside.
-- James Johnson needs to be able to assert himself in the low post early and often.
-- Farrakhan and Jones coming off of the bench together could be a wonderful way to push the tempo and manufacture scoring bursts.
-- Jontel Evans vs. Billy Baron will be a very interesting battle. One of those two guys will run the point... but I fully expect to see Sammy slide into that role in crunch time until/unless Evans develops a somewhat reliable shooting stroke.
-- There will be a lot of pressure on K.T. Harrell to assume a big chunk of Sylven Landesberg's vacated scoring. It will be interesting to see how the youngster responds.
-- I think Joe Harris will play an important role on next year's team: sniper.
-- I still have high hopes for Assane Sene. He's never going to be a scoring threat, but if he can "get it" as a pack line defender, our overall team defense could be really tough. Having a shot blocker on the floor can really allow the pack line to flourish.
-- I don't actually expect to see a 12-man rotation next season. Coach Bennett will find an 8- or 9-man rotation that works, and then will stick with that. Of the 12 players I gave minutes to above, the three most likely to be excluded from the rotation are Will Regan, Will Sherrill, and Assane Sene.
-- A three-guard look is almost a certainty. But with the makeup of this roster, we could be looking at some heavy doses of a Marquette-esque four guard look. Can Mike Scott handle the pivot in such a system? I have my doubts.

No matter what, next year should be fun. I love watching freshman receive their baptism by fire in the ACC, and we'll be seeing that big time next season.