Virginia football hauls in top 25 recruiting class, Hoos hoops hang on for win over Clemson, Billy Baron transferring
UVA FOOTBALL
I was quite impressed with Virginia coach Mike London's first recruiting class. To be coming off a 4-8 year and recruit what most services are deeming a top 25 class nationally--and 4th in the ACC behind FSU, Clemson and North Carolina--is quite remarkable. The fact that fans were disappointed we didn't get five-star linebacker Curtis Grant out of Richmond is telling. Since when have been in the running that late for a five-star player anyway? I am very excited currently for the future of Virginia football. If Mike London can get this kind've class after a poor season, I can only imagine what he can do if we can just get to 6-6 next year and win a bowl game. We can really have momentum going in our favor then. It's one thing to have a good recruiting class. They need to be coached up now and we need to get results on the field.
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UVA HOOPS
Virginia held on Wednesday for a nail-biting 49-47 win over Clemson at JPJ. An ugly win is better than an ugly loss and it should surely be a confidence booster for the guys to hang on to a lead and finally finish a game. Mustapha Farrakhan had a great game with 21 points and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch, in addition to a tie-breaking shot with under one minute remaining. I wouldn't have expected for the Hoos to win any game when they didn't score 50 points, but I can now say I've seen it happen. Earlier in the year, Virginia won 50-49 over Norfolk State but I definitely didn't think any ACC team could be held to under 50 points, especially with the Cavs' defense struggling as it had been. A good, solid game for the defense overall, though. I'm sure it was helped by Clemson shooting poorly, but those things go hand in hand, I'd say.
I hope Akil Mitchell starts seeing some more playing time. We are limited as it is down low without Mike Scott and he seems like a freshman eager to show what he can do. I've seen flashes of his athleticism and skill throughout the year. I think he has the ability to throw down some thunderous dunks. Every time he's on the floor, it seems like he's bursting with energy. His offensive game doesn't look any worse really than Assane Sene (who has greatly improved) so I think we can give him a shot at some more PT.
Thursday night, the women's team beat Wake Forest 73-46, which got me thinking, when was the last time, in back-to-back games, has the men's and women's teams held their opponents to under 50 points? Has it ever happened?
BILL BARON LEAVING VIRGINIA
Billy Baron is heading home. Landing Baron as a commitment from Rhode Island was a surprise to begin with, as it was believed he would play for the Univ. of Rhode Island and his dad, coach Jim Baron. Now, that's where he's headed. I was questioning earlier why he would transfer now, in the middle of the season. It made me think there maybe had been some falling out with Baron and coach Tony Bennett, or Baron and the players. Or maybe Baron had gotten into some sort of trouble. That doesn't seem to be the case, however. If he had waited til the end of the year to transfer, he would have to sit out one year before playing. Leaving now, it sounds like he will be able to play during the second semester of next season. His dad has said it had nothing to do with playing time--Baron played often in the first few games of the season but hardly at all during ACC play--and that Bennett is a class act.
Things looked promising in the first game of the year, when Baron scored 19 points in a win over William & Mary. He hasn't contributed much since, however, so I don't think this will be a huge loss for the Cavs. This means we can look into filling that spot on the roster, now that we will have an extra scholarship. Another point guard would be nice--Baron was a point guard himself--and we are already thin on playmaking point guards. Jontel Evans' offense is certainly improving and he's a bulldog on defense, but he struggles to make shots. And Sammy Zeglinski can make lots of shots from time to time, but also can turn the ball over. He's also had several injuries and will be a fifth-year senior next season anyway.
Coming tomorrow or Saturday: Super Bowl pick
I was quite impressed with Virginia coach Mike London's first recruiting class. To be coming off a 4-8 year and recruit what most services are deeming a top 25 class nationally--and 4th in the ACC behind FSU, Clemson and North Carolina--is quite remarkable. The fact that fans were disappointed we didn't get five-star linebacker Curtis Grant out of Richmond is telling. Since when have been in the running that late for a five-star player anyway? I am very excited currently for the future of Virginia football. If Mike London can get this kind've class after a poor season, I can only imagine what he can do if we can just get to 6-6 next year and win a bowl game. We can really have momentum going in our favor then. It's one thing to have a good recruiting class. They need to be coached up now and we need to get results on the field.
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UVA HOOPS
Virginia held on Wednesday for a nail-biting 49-47 win over Clemson at JPJ. An ugly win is better than an ugly loss and it should surely be a confidence booster for the guys to hang on to a lead and finally finish a game. Mustapha Farrakhan had a great game with 21 points and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch, in addition to a tie-breaking shot with under one minute remaining. I wouldn't have expected for the Hoos to win any game when they didn't score 50 points, but I can now say I've seen it happen. Earlier in the year, Virginia won 50-49 over Norfolk State but I definitely didn't think any ACC team could be held to under 50 points, especially with the Cavs' defense struggling as it had been. A good, solid game for the defense overall, though. I'm sure it was helped by Clemson shooting poorly, but those things go hand in hand, I'd say.
I hope Akil Mitchell starts seeing some more playing time. We are limited as it is down low without Mike Scott and he seems like a freshman eager to show what he can do. I've seen flashes of his athleticism and skill throughout the year. I think he has the ability to throw down some thunderous dunks. Every time he's on the floor, it seems like he's bursting with energy. His offensive game doesn't look any worse really than Assane Sene (who has greatly improved) so I think we can give him a shot at some more PT.
Thursday night, the women's team beat Wake Forest 73-46, which got me thinking, when was the last time, in back-to-back games, has the men's and women's teams held their opponents to under 50 points? Has it ever happened?
BILL BARON LEAVING VIRGINIA
Billy Baron is heading home. Landing Baron as a commitment from Rhode Island was a surprise to begin with, as it was believed he would play for the Univ. of Rhode Island and his dad, coach Jim Baron. Now, that's where he's headed. I was questioning earlier why he would transfer now, in the middle of the season. It made me think there maybe had been some falling out with Baron and coach Tony Bennett, or Baron and the players. Or maybe Baron had gotten into some sort of trouble. That doesn't seem to be the case, however. If he had waited til the end of the year to transfer, he would have to sit out one year before playing. Leaving now, it sounds like he will be able to play during the second semester of next season. His dad has said it had nothing to do with playing time--Baron played often in the first few games of the season but hardly at all during ACC play--and that Bennett is a class act.
Things looked promising in the first game of the year, when Baron scored 19 points in a win over William & Mary. He hasn't contributed much since, however, so I don't think this will be a huge loss for the Cavs. This means we can look into filling that spot on the roster, now that we will have an extra scholarship. Another point guard would be nice--Baron was a point guard himself--and we are already thin on playmaking point guards. Jontel Evans' offense is certainly improving and he's a bulldog on defense, but he struggles to make shots. And Sammy Zeglinski can make lots of shots from time to time, but also can turn the ball over. He's also had several injuries and will be a fifth-year senior next season anyway.
Coming tomorrow or Saturday: Super Bowl pick
I'm excited about the recruiting as well. I was also disappointed in not getting Curtis Grant but I agree about how dumb some fans are for being upset. Alumni are usually stupider than their education suggests.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to keep our expectations realistic about the football team. Great article in the Times-Dispatch on Signing Day, meaning it was written before anything was official. It will probably be another season and maybe 2 before we can really see this manifested on the field. A lot of these guys will be redshirted. As the article said, the "new era" of Virginia football as it's called will not be realized just yet.
I wonder if David Watford can enter the 2 or 3-deep this season or if he'll be waiting a year or 2.
billy baron transferred b/c he saw the writing on the wall. with jontel stepping into the role of starting pg, and sammy getting healthy quicker than expected (and having one more year of eligibility), baron realistically wouldn't see much playing time until after next season. the only reason he played so much at the beginning of the season was b/c bennett needed guys to fill his guard heavy scheme.
ReplyDeleteif we fill another roster spot, we need to focus on an inside threat. both scott and sene will be gone after next year. if we had a jordan williams type player come in, we could really diversify our offense and help free up some of our outside shooters. our team's problem right now is that we're too one dimensional.
just my two cents.
jeremy, watford could make the 3-deep, but i think they would redshirt him unless he blows every one away over the summer. we dont have a lot of experience at QB, but the other QBs do have some, while Watford has none. Metheny and Rocco both had playing time last year and Strauss was redshirted. i think all three, maybe just two, but at least two are 3-star prospects, like Watford. If Watford was 4 or 5 stars, he'd have a better chance to start presumably but I think he'll redshirt to give a year of separation between him and the others. if he gets redshirted, in 2012 he would be a redshirt frosh while strauss would be a redshirt sophomore and the other two would be true juniors, i think.
ReplyDeletedaniel, i think with a highly regarded recruit coming in, brogdon, he could take time from baron as well. it was just looking like baron wasn't going to see the floor much, maybe not until his 3rd or 4th yr. i dont think he was too highly regarded and he was a late get on the recruiting trail. he'll have a better chance to play in the A10 and he'll be with his dad. i think itdidn't totally have to do with PT, but i would guess if he were averaging 15min or something per game and a scoring a little he wouldve been more likely to stay.
and i think we should go after a PG with that spot because Sammy is beat up with one year left and Jontel has his skills, but cant create his own shot (though he has been getting better). right now, we need a PG that can score, like Sean could, because we dont have enough offensive firepower to have a PG who is just good for defense and assists. as far as the post situation goes, we would have Assane, Mike, Akil and, dont forget, JJ next year, who redshirted (and even Will Regan, who hopefully could play more). So that would be Assane's and Mike's last years but we would still have Akil and JJ. And I think we are getting another 6-foot-8 guy in this upcoming recruiting class (the only type of post player we seem to be able to get that his highly regarded). so i think we have some time with the post, i think PG is a more pressing need.
and i should clarify that brogdon would take baron's minutes as a guard in general, but i dont think brogdon's a true PG. he'd play out of position. but he would still be a guard who would prolly be ahead of baron on the depth chart. i actually think brogdon is like 6'6'' or 6'7'' so that makes me excited. i think hes more of the sylven type and less of the shooting type like KT (could be wrong).
ReplyDelete