2009.02.28
Virginia loses third straight
Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao is in a quandary.
He has one point guard who can defend but isn't really a playmaker. He has another point guard who can run an offense but has trouble defending.
"I know exactly what you're saying," Leitao said Saturday after a 70-60 home loss to Wake Forest.
UVa (9-15 overall, 3-10 ACC) has now lost three games in a row and 11 of its last 13.
Junior Calvin Baker scored a team-high 13 points and did a respectable job of defending Jeff Teague, but Baker had one assist and five turnovers.
It was Baker's third five-turnover game in the past five. He has 63 assists and 62 turnovers for the season.
Redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski has a better assist-turnover ration (83-67) but he's a liability at the defensive end, he's gone 4-for-20 from the field during the three-game losing streak and he's shaky at the free-throw line.
For a time, the Cavaliers were playing Zeglinski at point guard, Baker at shooting guard and freshman Sylven Landesberg at small forward. But, that meant they couldn't play sophomore Jeff Jones, averaging 11.3 points over the last eight games.
It's interesting how Jones had to come out for seven minutes in the second half Thursday against Miami, with Mustapha Farrakhan taking his place, but then Farrakhan didn't play at all Saturday.
The only constant is that Solomon Tat will start both halves but play no more than 4-5 minutes.
If Virginia doesn't win another game, nine victories would be its low since Bill Gibson's 1968 team went 9-16.
-- DOUG DOUGHTY
Dave Leitao is doing exactly the coaching job that he could have been expected to be doing when he was hired here! His performance as a coach before coming here was mediocre at best! So why are fans surprised at his lack of success here?
Look at UVa's coaching hires and their performances since Terry Holland has retired. Jim Copeland got none of the coaches he really wanted, so he hired Jeff Jones, who had no head coaching experience. Jeff Jones did the caliber of head coaching job that could have been expected, given his lack of experience. Pete Gillen's teams at Providence were going downhill. If Leitao retires, who's going to hire his replacement? The same guy who didn't contact Tubby Smith, and chose Dave Leitao.
More of the same.
Comment by Nelson — February 28, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
Nelson,
I believe that there was dialogue with Tubby Smith. The prevailing theory is that Tubby would have come for $3 million and that UVa president John Casteen vetoed that kind of salary.
I don't think anybody was particularly critical of the choice of Leitao at the time, but it's clearly not working out well at this point.
DD
Comment by Doug Doughty — February 28, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
Jeff JOens did a very good coaching job until he had player problems which led to his dismissal. the irony is, with two more football arrest this week, al groh's "faces in the fan" have far exceeded the transgressions of jones's players.
but the real demise of virginia baskebtall can be laid at the feet of jim copeland, who ran off holland, didnlt give odom a shot, and took a year to settle on jeff jones while grant hill decided not to wait and went to duke.
copeland built a $10 million FOOTBALL buidling outside Holland's window, which led to his "retirement" to Davidson. Thec Copleand failed to accept to offer of the McCue Center committee to build a new arena.
Thanks, Jim, for running the wheels of the bus. we may never recover.
Comment by Old U — March 1, 2009 @ 11:43 am
I have to defend the Jeff Jones hire. He won 20 games in four of his first five seasons, including a 25-9 mark, before the program unraveled because of the off-the-court behavior of several highly regarded recruits (if I remember correctly) - the same kind of "blue-chippers" we're made we don't have now.
Yes, Jones is of course responsible for that, but I remember reading a quote from another ACC coach basically saying that there wasn't a school in the conference who would have turned those guys down. They just ended up being idiots. Unfortunately, the program has never really recovered. I don't blame the Jones hire, though.
Comment by Ron — March 1, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
Doug,
I can live with the argument that "you get what you pay for" in the case of Leitao (meaning we didn'y pay for Tubby, so we didn't get Tubby's results).
I wonder why Casteen stuck us with the HUGE Groh pricetag (without the corresponding results in the W-L column)? Seems like he can't make up his mind what philosophy he wants to follow based on this double-standard (or Groh has an ace up his sleeve that Casteen knows about)...
If we pay less to receive next-to-last place performance in Bball - why do we not apply the same logic to FBall too?
Chester
10-4
Comment by Chester — March 1, 2009 @ 12:49 pm
DL's salary would hardly meet the definition of bottom fishing. UVA had high expectations and his starting pay reflected that. If UVA was just looking for a coach at a rock bottom salary that could have hired Cory Alexander. We would most likely be better off.
I do agree with Doug's comment that the Tubby Smith decision was made by Casteen. The UVA supporters would have easily put forth the money if Casteen would have allowed them to go after the best coach available. Obviously CL could not sell the idea to Casteen.
Casteen has been able to maintain UVA's strong academic reputation, even with shrinking support from the state. He has been an excellent fund raiser and has been able to significantly improve the University's facilities. I just wish he would devote some effort to improving our leadership in the athletic department. We succeed in the nonrevenue sports because we are able to raise the money necessary to give us a coaching, facility and recruiting advantage. In the revenue sports it actually takes quite a bit more than money to succeed. It takes a strong AD that can recognize, recruit, develop and motivate head coaching talent. UVA just does not have one and that blame rests with Casteen.
Groh has a high salary because he is aggressive and goes after what he feels he deserves. To be honest, who would want a football coach that does not do just that. Groh's salary is not a poor reflection on him, it is a poor reflection on the leadership of the athletic department.
Changing coaches will not result in a long term fix for either football or basketball. They need an AD.
Comment by Joe — March 2, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
Who exactly runs the athletic department at UVa? It seems to me that the answer is: no one. I feel that the Board Of Visitors has legal reasons that prevent them having a say in the hiring or firing of coaches. John Casteen has made the job of every UVa coach twice as hard by letting Virginia Tech in, but he's not officially the "athletic director." Craig Littlepage has his hands tied, because it seems Casteen gets to reject any coaching hire that Littlepage wants to do.
Ha!
On the other hand, I will say this. Craig Littlepage has more integrity than anyone I've ever come across in college athletics!
Comment by Nelson — March 3, 2009 @ 1:06 am
I think CL learned of integrity in part from Terry Holland. People may have disagreed on Terry'scoaching abilities/philosophies, but I've never heard anyone disparage his integrity. Not even Tom Smith... :>)
10-4
Chester
Comment by Chester — March 3, 2009 @ 12:12 pm