2009.01.26
Tucker matter clarified
Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao said on his radio show Monday night that an off-court matter was the reason that Jamil Tucker did not play Saturday until UVa trailed 18-5 against Florida State. Tucker was coming off a career-high 21 point outing at Maryland.
"Me not putting him in the game was a detriment to me, a detriment to him and, more important, a detriment to the group," Leitao said. "We had a talk about it and I took action."
Good for Leitao. You notice that he rules the program with an iron lung......iron fist. No one has gotten in to trouble, except one guy, who was recruited by the previous coach. People wanted discipline after Gillen, and that's what we have. He just needs time. Groh has been here 8 years, despite lots of bad publicity.
Comment by Nelson — January 27, 2009 @ 12:08 am
Four years is more than enough time to turn around a basketball program. As we witnessed with JR and SS, it takes only two good players to carry a team and a coach to a reasonalble level of success. The program is not improving, recruits look the other way, fans have lost interest and we are headed for another year at the bottom of the standings.
I am all for discipline as long as it is accompanied by more than two fieldgoals in 15 minutes of play.
The current state of the UVA men's basketball program is nothing to be proud of. How can anyone continue to support DL?
Comment by Joe — January 27, 2009 @ 8:14 am
Leitao may not be winning the way one would expect at VT or any other inferior academic school. However, he does seem to be laying the foundation just like Duke did several years back with another "no name" coach. He is the coach, he has a contract, and I am sure he wants to win. Get behind him or get out from in front of him. Shut up and quit whining......some of you sound like the desperate fans from other nearby schools. Winning can be measured in more than a "W".
Comment by CAAVLR — January 27, 2009 @ 8:22 am
The best way to judge "inferior schools" is by judging the remarks of a school's graduates. For example, Nelson's vs CAAVLR's are a good example.
Comment by Harry Daughtry — January 27, 2009 @ 9:26 am
We are at the " Crossroads " with yet another UVA athletic program " Time for a little Eric Clapton please..
Comment by DW — January 27, 2009 @ 10:25 am
CAAVLR suggests that VT and others are inferior academic schools. Although it is a poor choice of words, there is no doubt that UVA is a great academic institution and VT, on a relative scale, is "inferior". But, what is CAVVLR's real message here? Possible choices:
1. I just want to flame VT and get some type of ignorant response so I can validate my "superior" education.
2. I really feel that "superior" academic institutions have a disadvantage in athletics and Leitao would be winning at one of those "inferior" institutions.
3. Everyone one else is whining and desperate, but I support my coach even if he doesn't deliver W's.
Sorry, but your needless flame of VT and others removes any credibility to your argument on whining and desperation. Congratulations... you are now a "superior" whiner.
Comment by JustaDumbHokie — January 27, 2009 @ 10:39 am
Yes, Harry, I noticed a smugness in CAAVLR's comment as well. Some people just weren't raised properly. I do however agree with his "Shut up and quit whining" comment.
Comment by Justafan — January 27, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
To DL supporters:
Please open your eyes. This isn't a case of young players being close to being good and with another year of seasoning will be right back in the mix and competitive. This is the worst UVa men's basketball team since I started following this team in 1984 as a 1st year student. They are not competitive. They lack skill, effort, execution. Basically everything.
The key take away is the players on the floor are DL recruits. Period. Therefore, DL cannot either a) recruit highly talented players, b) get talented players to elevate their game to the college (and ACC) level or c) both.
I'm usually that last to jump on a fire the coach bandwagon, but this time I feel like I'm the first. Losing to Liberty at JPJ is just not acceptable.
Comment by Henry — January 27, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
JustaDumbHokie said: "Although it is a poor choice of words, there is no doubt that UVA is a great academic institution and VT, on a relative scale, is "inferior""
What do you mean your "academic"? Sounds a little ridiculous to me. I guess your "academic" probably means law and business schools, English literature, or something like that. VT is basically an engineering school. The main academic target and purpose between UVA and VT are different. VT is recognized as one of the best engineering schools in the states and world. How about UVA in engineering?
Comment by Dasan — January 27, 2009 @ 5:21 pm
If we lack such talent then why is sylven landesberg most likely a canidate for freshman of the year in the acc? There is a lot of talent in the acc and he may not win it but to be up there means something. so don't say UVA does not have talent. just wondering. Oh and Joe. I don't think we are going for "another year at the bottom of the standings." remember two years ago when we went to the second round of the ncaa's and tied with UNC for the regular season title?
Comment by Rob — January 27, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
Rob I do remember that year and I enjoyed it very much. He did a decent job coaching PG's recruits, however; instead of building on that he has allowed the program to sink to new lows. I admit I am very negative with regards to DL. I have searched hard for a silver lining and I just cannot find one. With that being said, I still make the 2 hour trip to attend most home games and no one cheers any louder than I do for the team. I will never boo the team or the coach, however; I will continue to express my dissappointment, in a civilized manner, directly to the coach, the administration and other fans.
I hope time proves me wrong and my concerns unfounded, however; my gut tells me that we will have a different person coaching our basketball team within the next two years.
Comment by Joe — January 28, 2009 @ 9:10 am
Dasan - didn't mean to start a debate on the relative strengths of the two schools (I am a graduate engineer from Tech). I was trying to point out that the academic argument had nothing to do with the athletic argument and that CAAVLR was just using the "academically inferior" point to "get a rise" out of Hokie readership.
Virginia Tech is the GREATEST school on the planet, but we can't argue with the fact that the average entrance SATs at UVA are 665 math, 645 critical reading, and 650 writing and VTs are 620 math, 580 critical reading, and 580 writing. So the fact that the academic requirements at UVA are "superior" stands - DRAT! Yes, even though VT is "basically and engineering school", UVA scores higher in math - DRAT AGAIN! Oh well, I suspect if there were exit SAT scores they would be much closer (supposed to be funny, laugh!)
As far as the subject of this thread - Dave Leitao should be commended for maintaining discipline and criticized for telling everyone about it on his radio show. Since UVA has a long history of success in basketball there is every reason to apply that same standard to Leitao. Just like all coaches, he will have a job if he brings in enough W's.
Comment by JustaDumbHokie — January 28, 2009 @ 10:37 am
I don't really know much about sports so could someone more knowledgable (perhaps someone from a really good school like UVA) explain how the teams are picked for the NCAA Division I tournament? Is the overall record of the team or conference tournament champion ever taken into consideration, or is it based totally on acedemic accompllishments of the student body? How much weight are SAT scores given? Do graduation rates play a role? How much credit do you get for having a really nice arena for concerts? Does it help if the school was founded by one of our greatest Presidents? Just trying to understand how those perennial contenders (not UVA) get into the "Big Show".
Comment by JMU Grad — January 28, 2009 @ 11:10 am
I believe UVA loses quite a few ball games both football and basketball because of mental mistakes. That is really amazing by a school who feels they are mentally superior to us poor dumb hokies. I believe UVA grads carry their diplomas in the back window of their cars. Now they can qualify for handicap parking.
Comment by Jim — January 29, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
This comment is for CAAVLR.
You really show your true colors with that post. Seriously. How is "W"inning not spelled with "W"s?
You need to worry about your school and quit dogging others just because you are jealous of their success. When you look up after reading this post, you should take stock of where you are and climb out of that the sewer you are living in.
Comment by allen — January 29, 2009 @ 4:46 pm
You both suck! How about that? Both are great academic schools and I would be so lucky for my children to have the opportunity to go to either school. Athletically, however, neither school has ever won a national title in any sport and probably never will. UVA did win 4 or 5 soccer titles and maybe a lacrosse title which is a great accomplishment but those don't bring in revenue. In fact, between the two schools, outside of soccer or lacrosse, you have only played for (and lost) one title and that was Tech in football. By comparison, JMU and Richmond have both won legitimate NCAA recognized National Titles. I didn't go to any of these schools but I get tired of reading how great you all are and you have nothing to show for it. Quit fighting and whining, enjoy what limited success you have and know that if your athletes graduate they will NOT carry with them a national title but something way more important and that is a degree from your prestigious university.
Comment by Greg — January 30, 2009 @ 9:23 am