2009.01.29
UVa Insider, The Column
UVA INSIDER FOR JAN. 28
After failing to get in touch with two would-be sources for recruiting material, I’m going to start off this week’s column with a random thought.
Is it time for UVa men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao to take another look at Jeff Jones?
In case you missed it, Jones got on the floor for the final 26 seconds in the first half Jan. 20 against Maryland but did not play again in an 84-78 UVa loss.
Four days later, Jones made an earlier appearance against Florida State and scored eight points in 14 minutes. He was the only UVa player to play that many minutes and not have a turnover. He also had two of UVa’s four 3-pointers.
The media is scheduled to talk with Leitao on Friday morning and I suspect the Jones situation will come up. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones gets some playing time Sunday in UVa’s 2 p.m. visit to Duke, where a lot of players from UVa are likely to get a chance in a likely blowout situation.
I keep coming back to Sean Singletary’s comments after the final game of the 2007-2008 season:
"The future is real bright for him," said Singletary of his fellow Philadelphian. "He'll probably be the face of the program because he works his heart out and he's a real good kid."
Let’s not forget that Jones had just scored 26 points, hitting six 3-pointers in a 96-85 loss to Bradley in the third round of the College Basketball Invitational. Of course, his future looked bright that night.
Jones previously had gone 20 games without scoring in double figures and he has scored in double figures only once this year, when he scored 10 points in UVa’s 86-82 loss to Liberty on Nov. 25. Jones was 4-for-12 from the field and 2-for-8 on 3-pointers that night.
Doing the math, Jones has now scored in double figures twice in the last 34 games. That from the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Philadelphia Catholic League.
To be fair, Jones didn’t get a lot of minutes in a lot of those games. In fact, he didn’t play at all against Minnesota. He’s usually one of the first UVa players on the court for warmups – two hours before one recent game – and Singletary’s quotes would suggest that he has a good work ethic.
It’s entirely possible that Jones is a poor defender, but how many good defensive players are there on UVa’s roster?
Maybe it’s just a matter of not making shots. Virginia is last in the ACC in 3-point field-goal percentage at 29.6, with one of its top returning shooters, Mamadi Diane, having opened his season by missing his first 21 3-point shots.
Sammy Zeglinski has missed his last 10 3-point shots and Farrakhan is in an 0-for-9 drought. Jones had a similar stretch earlier this year, including an 0-for-6 night from beyond the arc against Hampton.
Farrakhan received increase playing time after he hit four 3-pointers in the last five minutes Jan. 10 against Virginia Tech, but he has gone 2-for-15 in three subsequent games.
Jones and Farrakhan are both sophomores, so, for development purposes, it doesn’t make sense playing one over the other. The problem is, three UVa players – Diane, Jones and Farrakhan – are basically the same player. Farrakhan and Jones may handle the ball better, while Diane is a little bigger and can rebound better, but the Cavaliers aren’t getting much production from any of them.
Why not play Jones? I can’t imagine him hanging around if he doesn’t play. Will Harris professed great admiration for Leitao and the UVa program but he didn’t think he would play this year so he transferred to Albany.
It’s probably worth taking one more long look at Jones before giving him a reason to make the same decision.
I think it's time to let Sylvan Landesberg play point guard for UVa.
Isn't that what people who saw him in high school were saying when he was recruited? That he could also play point guard? What has UVa got to lose? Zeglinski doesn't appear to be the answer in the ACC at this point at least, and Baker isn't a true point guard.
Good point about Jeff Jones. Might as well give him a long look. The other players that UVa is playing at Jones' position have been very inconsistent.
Comment by Nelson — January 29, 2009 @ 7:06 pm
Actually, rival coaches mocked Virginia for saying Landesberg was a point guard, reasoning that UVa was just telling him what he wanted to hear.
Even if Landesberg plays point, somebody is going to have to play the 2- and 3-spots. You're still going to have to use two players from a group that includes Zeglinski, Diane, Farrakhan and Jones.
Comment by Doug Doughty — January 29, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
I agree about letting Landesberg play some point. UVA's offense seems to be predicated on setting a screen for the point guard, and allowing him to either drive or find an open guy on the perimeter. Landesberg is UVA's best player driving to the basket, and demands a lot of attention when he gets into the lane. Additionally, putting Landesberg at the 2 or 3 means that he becomes one of the people looking to receive the ball on the perimeter when point guard uses the screen. Since he is not an outside shooting threat, it derails the offensive flow to have him receiving the ball in that situation. Allowing him to play point would seem to play to his strengths in both respects.
Comment by Philip — January 30, 2009 @ 12:44 am
Lets face it, Al Groh and Dave Laito both have some sort dog house they put players in and I can't figure out why. Jones was a four star recruit coming out of high school and should be on the court for this team. Hey the last time I check the team that scores the most points wins the game.
I recently moved from Cav country to Georiga and I can tell you that down here both of these coaches would be gone and they can take Littlepage with them ...amen
Comment by Ben Watts — January 30, 2009 @ 6:56 am
You know what's funny about this whole thing. Everybody keeps saying Zeglinski, Diane, Farrakhan, Jones, and Baker are the guards on this team. I keep wondering about Solomon Tat. There was this article I read about him and it got me to thinking, which is always a dangerous thing :).
If DL is such a defensive minded coach why isn't Tat starting at the 2? I mean all the offensive players are wildly inconsistent and have shown signs of both progress and regression during this season. Why not play the defensive guy who is said to have a decent shot?
Comment by Donald W. — January 30, 2009 @ 10:37 am