Men's Basketball
Finally!
Dec 30th
The Hoos hit the court again tonight, finally, against UAB.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve hated December in college basketball because, after a furious start, things die down during exams/end of the semester. That was exacerbated this year by the cancellation of the UNC-Wilmington game (rescheduled for January 18, by the way).
Unfortunately, it appears that the game will not be televised.
Unexpected improvement
Dec 29th
I mentioned below that the Hoos are showing improvement on the basketball court under Coach Bennett, but Dear Old UVa has found an unexpected area of improvement.
I know some (most?) people are down on the basketball program, and maybe I’m just looking through orange and blue colored glasses, but I maintain that there are many reasons for optimism. Just be patient.
Hoos showing improvement
Dec 26th
Virginia beat up on Hampton, led by Sylven Landesberg’s first career double-double. Yeah, it was just Hampton, but I’m pretty happy that the team is improving steadily.
Check out the quotes from Coach Bennett in the article linked above. I continue to maintain there is reason for optimism, although there may be some real low points in the upcoming ACC season.
Next up: UAB on Wednesday.
I’m back…but Jamil Tucker isn’t
Dec 23rd
Today is the sixth day that I have been without electricity in the wake of the recent snowstorm that blanketed Virginia (and elsewhere). No power means no computer and no television, so I’ve been way out of the loop.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I still have the BlackBerry, and even though it’s difficult to post from this thing, I need to get back on the horse…especially since there’s some big news from the Men’s Basketball program:
Virginia men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett has dismissed Jamil Tucker from the team for academic reasons.
“We expect our student-athletes to perform to certain standards academically and Jamil has not met those standards,” Bennett said. “We wish him well and will provide assistance where we can, but he is no longer a member of our team.”
So that’s that. Tucker never seemed to be a good fit for the Bennett system, in the best of circumstances, but it appears that academics is the reason for the announcement. We also wish Jamil the best, wherever he ends up.
In the meantime, UVa hits the court again tonight to take on Hampton.
Hoos lose to Auburn
Dec 7th
Hey, Virginia men’s basketball team: you might consider playing a little defense in the last seven seconds of the game next time.
Terrible. Just a terrible way to finish the game. Doesn’t one player have the guts to step in front of a player streaking down the court to win the game for the other team?
No, evidently not.
Two words
Nov 25th
How’s this for a line in the win over Cleveland State: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, one blocked shot, and zero turnovers. Previous career highs for Sherill: 3 points, 3 rebounds.
Let us forever speak of The Legend of Will Sherrill.
Unfortunately, the rest of the team looked pretty bad for much of the game, especially on the defensive end. I’m afraid that some of these guys are just not getting it defensively. I pity poor Coach Bennett. Opponents are getting into the lane at will, and Virginia’s rotations on defense are slow/nonexistent.
But a win’s a win, I guess. And there were some other bright spots, to be honest. Sylven Landesberg had 20 points and Mike Scott had 15 points and 8 rebounds. I just wish this team could play defense.
Next up is Penn State on Monday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Hope we can fill up JPJ for that one.
Random musings on the Stanford game
Nov 24th
Disappointing loss for the men’s basketball team tonight against Stanford in the semi-finals of something called the Cancun Challenge. Some random thoughts:
–It was good to get to see the team on television again. First game I’ve watched since last week’s South Florida debacle. Despite some disappointing play, it’s clear that Virginia is a different team than we saw earlier in the season.
–Down the stretch, I saw no urgency out of the Hoos. I hoped to see Sylven Landesberg get that look in his eyes, and take the team on his back. Didn’t happen. There was just no urgency to win this game.
–Jeff Jones was great on the offensive end, scoring 17 points on 5-9 shooting. That’s the JJ I’ve been waiting to see.
–Jeff Jones was terrible on the defensive end. Also terrible: Calvin Baker and Assane Sene. Just brutal. I can’t believe Coach Bennett will tolerate that kind of effort much longer.
–Shot selection was much improved over last week. That was the single point that I was most encouraged about. Unfortunately, they just missed some open looks. Combine that with poor free throw shooting (14-24), and that was the difference in the game.
–Mu Farrakhan didn’t play in the first half. No idea why, but it was a clear benching by Bennett, because he played (though not very well) most of the second half.
–Mike Scott had 7 points and 9 boards, and would’ve had more if not for foul trouble. He’s really the only offensive option Virginia has in the low post, and he’s a talented option at that. It’s an absolute must that Scott stay out of foul trouble if Virginia hopes to be competitive.
–In the end, I’m still seeing progress out of the team. I’m very happy with where Bennett has them right now. He just doesn’t have the horses to run his system. Yet.
–A final note: the game was on CBS College Sports Network, and it was, without a doubt, the worst television basketball broadcast I’ve ever seen.
Production values were awful. They couldn’t get the score correct for the first five minutes of the game. When they showed the starting lineups, they showed pictures of five random guys instead of the Virginia starters.
Worst of all, however, the play-by-play guy (I think his name was Thad Anderson) was the single worst sports announcer I’ve ever seen. Geez, this guy was brutal. He got everything wrong, and clearly had not prepared for the game at all.
I think it was actually this guy:
Watch the Hoos tonight
Nov 24th
It appears that tonight’s game vs. Stanford in the “Cancun Challenge” (whatever that is) will actually be televised. It’s on the CBS College Sports Network, which is channel 613 on DirecTV and 152 on Dish. I’m told Comcast has the channel too, but I can’t confirm that.
Jeff White is in Cancun with the team, and he has some news and notes here. I’m looking forward to watching the new-look Cavaliers tonight. The last time I was able to watch them was the South Florida game, and that was a disaster.
Tony Bennett’s offense
Nov 23rd
I’ve mentioned here my impressions that Tony Bennett is slowly starting to implement his offensive system, and that it will take a bit longer to install than his defense. Over at The Good Ol Blog, Kris has some thoughts on the “Developing System.”
On Saturday’s Games
Nov 22nd
The differences between the football and basketball program were stark yesterday. The football team lost yet again, this time to Clemson. They did, however, give us all something to cheer about…briefly:
For one half of Virginia’s contest against Clemson, the Cavalier offense did everything that Al Groh is not necessarily known for: trick plays, unconventional formations, and overall outside-the-box thinking. Jameel Sewell, Mikell Simpson, and Vic Hall all took snaps under center. A very un-Groh-like, nothing-to-lose risk gave Virginia an improbable touchdown going into halftime and the team ranked 106th nationally in scoring offense and 118th in total offense had 21 points and 233 total yards.
Unfortunately, the defense stunk all day long. Then, after a few very interesting possessions where Virginia went away from the absurdly pathetic playcalling that has marked Al Groh’s tenure, the offense went back to the same old nonsense in the second half. As a result, it was three plays and out on almost every possession, it seemed, and Virginia meekly succumbed to their 8th loss of the season.
The basketball team, on the other hand, gave us a lot to be optimistic about yesterday in a 76-55 win over Oral Roberts. Mike Scott and Mustapha Farrakhan had good games, and Assane Sene played fairly effectively in his first game since returning from suspension.
The defense has been getting better every single game, which is refreshing (after some very poor defensive teams we’ve been forced to endure over the last decade). It’s going to take even more time for Coach Bennett to install his offense, but the Hoos are improving every game on that end of the floor as well.
Wins over Rider and Oral Roberts are not ordinarily reasons for enthusiasm. Most good programs take these wins for granted. We can’t think like that yet. How the Hoos are winning these games can’t be taken for granted, given the state of the program.
I don’t know where the program will end up, but there’s no question that Bennett has started in the right direction.
