UVA Lacrosse Preview

This guest piece is brought to you by Paul Gilbert, my dear friend and fellow Wahoo... and as you can tell, a huge Virginia LAX fan. Thanks for contributing to Wahooze, Paulie!

Everyone -- ENJOY!




As Kendall is busy covering basketball, football (a year 'round endeavor), and baseball, I will contribute some brief lacrosse analysis for the 2010 season. Currently ranked #2 in the Baltimore Sun poll, the Hoos are out for blood after an ugly loss to Cornell in the NCAA semis last spring. Virginia beat Stony Brook 13-8 on Saturday, bringing their record to 3-0, after victories over 'schedule-to-win' opponents Drexel and Mount St. Mary's.


The Cavaliers lost seniors Danny Glading (attack), Garrett Billings (attack), Gavin Gill (attack), Mike Timms, (long stick middie), and Matt Kelly (defense), among others, to graduation after last season. Midfield is going to be the strength of this team, while the attack is young and unproven, with lots of upside. Expect teams to jam our middies and put the pressure on the inexperienced attack. Sophomore attackmen Steele Stanwick and Chris Broklet, as well as incoming freshmen Connor English (attack), Matt White (attack),and Chris LaPierre (midfield) will have to step up in order for us to put points on the board, while highly rated recruit Harry Prevas (D) will be needed on the defensive side of the field. Freshman Howie Long, Jr. is viewed as a project on D, with potential to become a solid starter later in his career.



UVA Lax Position by Position


Attack

As I mentioned above, this group is very young, but extremely talented. So far, they are working together very well, and it is going to be exciting to watch them grow together. If there is any position in lacrosse where talent can triumph experience, it's on attack, where freshman Connor English, a lefty, has been lighting it up on the left side against mediocre defenses so far this season. Sophomores Steele Stanwick and Chris Bocklet have also been very productive, and I'm feeling pretty good about our attack so far.


Midfield


By far our deepest position, the midfield is anchored by first line starters Shamel and Rhamel Bratton, both juniors, and senior Brian Carroll. These guys will demand a lot of attention from opposing defenders, and will be relied upon to create plays for our young attackmen.


Freshman Chris LaPierre (nicknamed "Shocker"), a talented athlete who got serious looks from D1 football programs at safety and running back, is really impressing so far. Big, fast, and tough, so far he has been great in clears and fast breaks, and should be a star for us for a long time.


Defense


I have a feeling that our success is really going to rest on the quality of our defensive play this year. Anchored by two seniors, Ken Clausen and Ryan Nizolek, if the defense can keep us in games and give goalie Adam Ghitelman a chance, then we will go deep in the playoffs. Freshman Harry Prevas has been impressive and getting a decent amount of playing time so far, which is encouraging, but I'm worried this group lacks the big, physical, "enforcer" needed to keep the talented attacks we will face this year in check.



Goalie


Junior starter Adam Ghitelman is pretty solid. Good in clears and moving outside the net, so-so at stopping shots. We'll see.



(Very) Quick Game Recaps


UVA 11, Drexel 8
Drexel actually jumped out to a 4-1 lead after dominating us on face-offs (a definite concern going into this season) in the first quarter, but UVA was too much in the 4th, and won 11-8.


UVA 15, Mount St. Mary's 7
Hoos go up 5-1 in the first and never look back. At one point, Bocklet scored 4 of 5 UVA goals. English had 3, and the Hoos rolled.


UVA 13, Stony Brook 8
Bocklet and Stanwick each go for 3, Ghitelman has his best game of the season, Hoos are 3-0.



Up next is two-time defending champ, and #1-ranked Syracuse. This game will be in Charlottesville on Saturday, March 7th, and our first true test of the season. The Hoos have won 5 straight regular season games against Syracuse (including a 14-13 overtime thriller that I witnessed at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore back in '08), but they lost their most recent playoff matchup against the Orange (later in 2008, in double OT). All of you who are local to the 'Ville should turn out to support the team. This is an intense rivalry, #1 vs. #2 (assuming 'Cuse takes care of business against Army on Sunday), and will no doubt be an exciting two hours.


I will be giving periodic updates as the season progresses, especially after games I am able to attend (@Towson and @MD, and hopefully the ACC tourney games in College Park and the NCAA semis and finals in Baltimore).


Go Hoos!

Three Reasons We'll Beat Duke

Just to be absolutely clear, I think we'll lose to Duke on Sunday, probably by 30+ points.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we beat the Blue Devils. Three reasons:

1) Duke struggles on the road.
The lost at Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Georgetown. They struggled at BC and Miami. They're scary in Cameron, less so on the road. I'm pretty sure they'll be taking us lightly, like they probably did NC State. It at least gives us a window.

2) Mike Scott has something to prove.
He played such a bad game against Miami, the message boards have been on fire with questions about his heart, his toughness, and his ability. "APB Put Out On Mike Scott" and "Worried About MS" are the titles of two such threads I've seen lately. I'm sure Mike Scott has some pride, and I'm sure he'll come out looking to make a statement against the Dookies on Sunday.

3) Our team should be desperate to win.
A six game losing streak, and a season spiraling out of control... Certainly the guys have used the balance of this week to get themselves rested and ready for battle on Sunday, right? Backs against the wall, I think Sylven Landesberg and his flawed basketball team should be ready to give it all they've got in their next good chance to end the season on somewhat of a high note. Coach Bennett should be ready to throw the kitchen sink at ferret-face Mike Kryzshevyskrewit.

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Season Defined

Well, I went out on a limb and said the Miami game was a must-win for the basketball program; that it was a game that would ultimately define the season. The Hoos hung for a while, but eventually fell 74-62. Mike Scott was held scoreless, and seemed listless all game.

Season defined.

We weren't good enough to survive an unfairly-scheduled five-game meat grinder against ACC teams headed to the NCAA Tournament (Wake, VT, Maryland, FSU, Clemson), and the losing set us on a downward spiral that led to another loss in Coral Gables. Next is a home game against Duke, and another certain loss. Next week's game at Boston College represents our last chance to rally for a .500 record this season.

I think we all knew that there would be no quick fixes for Tony Bennett with this team. However, the 5-2 start in ACC play inflated everyone's expectations... that the team failed to live up to those expectations isn't much a surprise to me. I think there are really a few things that need to happen before Virginia Basketball is an NCAA Tournament contender once again:

1) Cycling the Leitao players out of the program.
Our roster is littered with scholarship players who are poor fits for Bennett Ball. Guards who aren't sound with the ball, aren't particularly good off the bounce, aren't consistent defenders, and aren't reliable shooters/scorers -- Farrakhan, Jeff Jones, and Calvin Baker. Wings who are one-dimensional or no-dimensional -- Tristan Spurlock and Solomon Tat. A big who lacks the basketball experience/acumen to play sound low post defense -- Assane Sene. We're trying grind out a season with an extremely flawed and at times downright dysfunctional roster. To Coach Bennett's credit, sometimes it has worked. But we need to see these players listed above exiting the program, and their scholarships filled by players who are better fits in Bennett's systems... and frankly just all-around better players overall.

2) Layering talent. Specifically, layering talent that can SCORE.
Anyone who has watched UVA play this season can tell you that we have Sylven Landesberg scoring the ball, often Mike Scott scoring the ball, and on rare occasions Sam Zeglinski, Mustapha Farrakhan, or Jeff Jones scoring the ball. Jerome Meyinsse has pitched in some garbage buckets from time to time. Beyond that, we have no scoring. Sene and Jontel Evans are offensive liabilities when they're on the court, and that's putting it very gently. Virginia Basketball won't win consistently until/unless we can put three reliable scorers and five scoring threats on the court at all times, which means we need a MINIMUM of six players on the roster who can score on a dependable basis. Right now we have two such players (maybe two-and-a-half if you count Sammy.) Coach Bennett preaches defense and ball security first, but you can't ever win games if you can't outscore the other team. We need an influx of athleticism, of low post grit, of winning mentality and hustle, but especially of confident and competent scoring ability. Every single recruiting class needs to include at least one guard who can score and one big who can generate offense. More importantly, every recruiting class must include legit ACC-level talent. No more scholarship-swallowing stiffs!

3) Overcoming the losing mentality.
Face facts. It's a harsh reality, but right now the Virginia basketball team is soft. Need proof? They have generally struggled to win close games this season (think back to the Stanford, Penn State, Auburn, and both Virginia Tech games.) Other than against Cleveland State and ACC cellar-dweller NC State, they have proven themselves unable to overcome adversity. They allow poor efforts to snowball into embarrassing blowouts (think back to the USF, Maryland, Florida State, and both Wake Forest games.) But why is this happening? With an energetic new coach and a mostly excited fanbase, how has this happened? I think you need to look no further than a damning lack of on-court leadership. There may be some big personalities on this team, but none of them have stepped up as the rallying point for the team during difficult times. I think Coach Bennett can develop some leaders, but I also think overcoming three seasons worth of losing will be a difficult thing for this current group of players to accomplish. We have no players who strike me as the type of guy who just flat out refuses to lose. And that's an alarming realization. Losing has become weirdly comfortable to these guys, it seems.



So what's the answer?

At this point, all I can say is CLEAN HOUSE.

The scholarships of Calvin Baker, Jamil Tucker, Solomon Tat, and Jerome Meyinsse come off the books after this season. Baker and Tat are good stories, and Mayo plays hard, but I say good riddance to all. None of them are legit ACC-level players.

Rumors are swirling that Tristan Spurlock and/or Assane Sene might transfer after this season. If it happens, I say good riddance. Spurlock is about the worst fit any player could be with a Bennett team, and Sene hasn't improved in nearly 19 months in Charlottesville. He's not skilled enough and not disciplined enough to ever be a reliable contributor to a Bennett team.

Finally, Sylven Landesberg might still be mulling the jump to the NBA. I don't think he's ready, at all. I hope he gets that message and decides to stick around, because losing his scoring ability would absolutely cripple any chances that next year's team has to be competitive in ACC play. But if he puts on the blinders and charges ahead to the next level, I have to say good riddance. He's still a defensive liability, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. His flat unwillingness to step up as a leader has been beyond frustrating to watch.


Tony Bennett needs to be ready to build around the core of this team -- Landesberg (if he stays), Mike Scott, Sam Zeglinski, Jontel Evans, and the incoming freshmen.

The "next step" for the 2010-2011 effort will be to establish a few more reliable scorers, develop some sort of baseline toughness level for the team, and assemble another good recruiting class.

It's going to be a long, hard process, and it's only just begun. More patience is required... which really sucks. I'm tired of waiting.

Pizza Cone?!

Brace yourselves. This is not related to UVA athletics in any way, shape, or form. But it needs to be said. By me. To you. Right now.

My friend Alex is making a special trip from Charlottesville to New York City, just so he can try the culinary masterpiece (read: Frankenstein's Monster) known as the PIZZA CONE.

Learn more about the cone HERE.

And HERE.

Good luck, Alex. Good luck and godspeed.


As a treat to my loyal Wahooze readers, Alex will be preparing a blow-by-blow account of his pizza cone experience, to be featured here! So be ready and be excited for that, coming early next week!

UVA @ Miami -- a game to define the season

Yeah, I know I preached patience a couple of days ago, but after really digesting this five-game losing streak I have a new point to make: Any progress Tony Bennett has made with Virginia Basketball this season is teetering in the balance with four games to play prior to the ACC Tournament. Losing all four to finish 14-15 and on a nine game losing streak would completely demolish the faith the fans have placed in Bennett Ball, and I think it would strike a resounding blow against whatever confidence the players have built up in their coach's systems.

Make no mistake, we need to win another game or two down the stretch.

@ Miami
Duke
@ Boston College
Maryland

That's the schedule. At this point, I think we have to assume losses to Duke (a legit Elite Eight type of team this season) and Maryland (whose big guards offer a matchup nightmare for Virginia), which leaves the two away games against Miami and BC.

If we lose tomorrow night in Coral Gables, is there any chance we could pick ourselves up off the mat after the inevitable beatdown at the hands of Duke in order to rally for a victory at BC? I think no.

I also think that going from 14-6 / 5-2 ACC to 14-15 / 5-11 ACC would be an extremely tough pill to swallow for everyone following Virginia Basketball.

If we enter the ACC Tournament at 14-15, there's no chance we'd be able to win two games in a row -- including against a top-four conference team on Friday -- and thus no chance to rally to 16-16 and a chance at the postseason.

So yeah, I'll go ahead and say it. While we all need to have patience in the product Coach Bennett is building over the long haul, I think tomorrow night's game against Miami is a MUST-WIN for the Virginia Basketball program. For better or worse, it's a game that will ultimately define this season. Will we remember the baby steps we've taken forward this season, or will we remember the ten game collapse that ended it?

#1

In case you missed it, college baseball season opened this past weekend. #2-ranked Virginia traveled down to Greenville NC to take on the #11-ranked ECU Pirates. UVA won 6-2 on Friday night behind six strong innings from ace Danny Hultzen, lost 6-1 on Saturday, and then won the series with a 14-11 victory on Sunday. The 2-1 series win over a top-15 caliber squad earned Virginia a slight bump up in the latest rankings. Congratulations to Coach Brian O'Connor and the Virginia Baseball team -- now ranked #1 in the nation for the first time ever!

This team is legit, my friends. A return trip to Omaha for the College World Series is definitely in the crosshairs...

Up next for the Hoos: George Washington on Wednesday and a three-game series against Rhode Island this weekend, all at home. 2-1 today, very possibly 6-1 this time next week.

GO HOOS!