Archive for November, 2009
The Tony Bennett Era Begins
Nov 13th
The Tony Bennett era of UVa basketball begins tonight, and I think we all have high hopes that it will end better than the “New Gillenium.”
Tonight, the Hoos will open against Longwood at JPJ Arena. Gametime is 7 pm. Not surprisingly, there is no television coverage of this titanic struggle, but Dave Koehn and Cory Alexander will call the game on the Virginia Sports Network.
Virginia is more short-handed than usual tonight, though I hope it won’t come back to haunt the good guys. Calvin Baker is out after having arthroscopic knee surgery. Assane Sene has been suspended. Jamil Tucker is, well, not here.
Fortunately, Sylven Landesberg is here, and I know I’m not the only one who is anxious to see how Landesberg performs in the new system. He’s a talented guy; I’m not particularly concerned.
I’ve never been more excited for a Virginia-Longwood game. That’s kinda sad.
Great News
Nov 13th
Welcome to The University, James Johnson!
This guy is a stud prospect, and he’s a great “get” for Tony Bennett’s first recruiting class…and it’s a class that’s shaping up to be much better than some had feared. Guess Bennett can recruit in unfamiliar territory after all.
Over at The Sabre, they’re also reporting that KT Harrell is expected to fax his letter of intent very soon. Harrell is another outstanding prospect.
Makes a fella excited to be a Wahoo basketball fan.
Ryan Zimmerman wins NL Gold Glove
Nov 12th
I’m a devoted (insane?) Cincinnati Reds fan, and I have been since birth. Two of my favorite baseball players, however, play together for the Washington Nationals. One of those players is former Red, Adam Dunn.
The other, as you may have surmised, is Virginia baseball legend Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman just won his first National League Gold Glove award. Alas, no Reds were selected, although I think Dunn was nominated for the slightly less prestigious Iron Glove Award.
Anyway, always good to see Wahoos succeeding at the next level, in any sport.
Jamil Tucker takes leave of absence
Nov 12th
Ummm…this isn’t good, especially for a team already lacking in depth:
Forward Jamil Tucker is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Virginia men’s basketball team to focus on personal matters UVa head coach Tony Bennett announced on Wednesday (Nov. 11).
Tucker, a 6-9 senior from Gary, Ind., will not play in games or practice with the team during his leave of absence.
“Jamil has some things he has to deal with at this time,” Bennett said. “This leave of absence will give him time to deal with these matters.”
Tucker has a nice jump shot, but I always got the sense that Dave Leitao never quite knew how to use him. His skill set is somewhat unique for a player of his size. Of course, Tucker never wowed anyone on the defensive end, and isn’t a strong rebounder. That wouldn’t seem to make him a top priority in the Tony Bennett system, but what do I know? I haven’t been to a single practice this year.
Anyway, I don’t have any idea what the issue is, or when (whether?) Tucker will be back.
UPDATE: As noted by Ben from Dear Old UVa, in a comment below, I’m not quite correct about Tucker’s rebounding ability. He’s actually not a bad defensive rebounder at all, which I discovered after actually looking at his stats. Novel concept, huh?
That’s what I get for relying on memory/impression. I’m afraid my SABR membership card is going to be revoked.
Anyway, Ben has an excellent post on the subject here. I join him in wishing Tucker the best of luck, no matter where this leads.
On Football Expectations
Nov 12th
Boardhost has a great post over at the Good Ol Blog about tempering expectations for the next football coach. I couldn’t agree more. The program is in pretty sad shape right now, and the job is going to be tough enough for the next coach without the fan base expecting a national title contender year-in and year-out.
More Love for Tony Bennett
Nov 11th
USA Today has a very nice article about Tony Bennett and the Hoos today. The excitement for the basketball season is increasing daily, and there are two primary reasons for that. First, we have a new coach and a new start. Secondly, with the football program circling the drain, fans are ready to move on to something else.
I did have a dream last night in which Virginia beat Boston College this weekend on the football field, 40-0. I’m afraid that’s just a dream.
Anyway, while we’re (still) on the topic of hoops, some of our friends from around the Wahoo blogosphere have been doing great work previewing the season. From Old Virginia is going player by player; here is part one and here is part two. Good stuff, as usual.
Then, Brian over at Streaking the Lawn has posted parts one and two of a three-part series previewing what he’s calling “Bennett Ball.” I like it.
Sean Singletary headed to Spain
Nov 10th
It appears that the greatest point guard in UVa history is headed to Spain. Sean Singletary has signed a contract with a pro team, and will be spending the next year playing in the ACB and Euroleague leagues, according to Streaking The Lawn.
I’m a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, and I was deeply disappointed when they cut Sean loose last month. I really believe Singletary is going to find a home in the NBA, but it’s starting to look like he’s going to have to take the Roger Mason route to success (i.e., the winding road).
Singletary is my favorite Hoo since Jason Williford, so I’m definitely rooting for him to make it.
Let’s talk hoops
Nov 9th
In the interest of trying to forget about football entirely, let’s talk hoops for a minute. I have a big stack of Virginia basketball links that I’ve been meaning to post (and I want to stay positive, so no discussion of the Assane Sene suspension), but I went out of town this weekend and am just now getting around to it.
Before the link roundup, however, a note about my expectations for the 2009-2010 men’s basketball squad. The Good Ol Blog is running a poll, asking for predictions on the number of ACC wins Tony Bennett’s squad will reach this year. I voted for 7, which seems to be a popular selection.
Seven wins would be a great result in Coach Bennett’s first season. The team is predicted to finish next to last, which I think is absurdly pessimistic. We don’t have top-four talent on this roster, but there’s enough there for Bennett to fashion a competitive squad. I think the Hoos are going to finish in the bottom half of the conference, but they will have at least one big ACC upset, and they will be blown out of very few games.
More than that, I think they will be fun to watch (something we can’t say about the football team, unfortunately). They are going to scrap and claw and fight to the end of every game. It’s their coach’s disposition (ask his Washington State players), and I really believe his players are going to buy into it.
I’m very high on Tony Bennett, if you haven’t noticed. (Take that with a grain of salt, however; I was high on Pete Gillen and Al Groh, too).
Anyway, on to the links:
–The poll above was prompted by Dear Old UVa’s interview with John Gasaway, of the ever-popular Basketball Prospectus (here is part one of the interview, and here is part two). Gasaway predicts that Virginia will go 8-8 in the ACC. That, my friends, would be a spectacular success, as far as I’m concerned.
–The Daily Press had a couple of outstanding articles on Coach Bennett this weekend, and they are both worth a read. This one focuses on the fact that rebuilding is in Coach’s blood, and this one is a collection of items about Bennett that didn’t make it into the main story. There is a ton of great stuff in there for UVa hoops junkies. Like me.
–Looking back at one of our favorite Hoos ever, JR Reynolds (some great video at that link). Although it’s looking increasingly unlikely, I’m still hopeful that JR will get a shot at the NBA sometime.
–Shifting over to women’s basketball for a moment, Monica Wright’s name is on the finalists list for the Senior CLASS award. That won’t be the last time we hear “Monica Wright” and “award” in the same sentence.
–Finally, it’s behind the subscription wall, but The Sabre has this interview with Jeff Jones, the key to UVa’s season, in my opinion.
This simply isn’t fun anymore
Nov 9th
Over at The Sabre, Kris Wright has hit the nail on the head:
What do you say when there’s nothing left to say?
Unimaginative and inept offense. Check. Average at best defense that can’t stop the run, misses tackles, and looks worse as it gets worn down. You’ve heard that one. Inconsistent, can’t block, teetering on the brink of disaster special teams. Covered.
Al Groh, Beta Bridge, last straws, and all that? No need to belabor that point. It’s all over but the announcement….
I just want to watch Virginia football the next three weeks and have fun.
Indeed.
There is much, much more over there, so I encourage you to read the entire thing (It’s a Sabre Edge feature, but if you aren’t an Edge subscriber…well, why aren’t you? It’s worth every penny.)
Kris is right. UVa football used to be fun. The thrill is gone now.
Assane Sene suspended
Nov 8th
We all knew that the news out of the basketball program couldn’t remain all roses forever:
Virginia sophomore center Assane Sene has been suspended for the first three games of the 2009-10 regular season by men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett for conduct detrimental to the team. Sene will also not play in the Cavaliers’ closed scrimmage with St. John’s on Sunday, Nov. 8.
“We have expectations for the individuals in our program that Assane has not met,” Bennett said. “He will not play in our closed scrimmage with St. John’s on Sunday and in the first three games of the regular season, but will practice with the team. My hope is Assane will learn from this situation as we move forward.”
We can only speculate as to Sene’s offense. On the one hand, I’m definitely glad that Coach Bennett has high standards, and he expects his players to live up to them. On the other hand, Sene needs the game experience more than anyone not named Tristan Spurlock.
Ugh. My fingers are crossed that Sene has learned his lesson and this is the last we hear of such nonsense.
