First off I’d like to own up to my predictions. I went an astonishing 0 for 4 yesterday including being incredibly wrong about Georgia Tech. Clemson should be thoroughly embarrassed and should not get higher than a 6 seed following that performance, which has been a theme down the stretch this season. Maryland played much better than I expected, especially Eric Hayes, let’s see how long they can keep it going. Miami continues to disappoint me greatly. Jack McClinton only took 11 shots yesterday and they had absolutely no chance with that happening.
That brings me to the topic of today’s article which is the end of UVA’s season. I think it’s appropriate that the season ended on a game that was full of boneheaded coaching decision and an inconsistent lineup. Mamadi Diane ended his career at UVA with a career-high 24 points. The game was lost however in the first half when the Hoos had one of their signature 5 minute scoreless streaks when Coach Leitao inexplicably had Diane, his leading scorer at that point, sitting on the bench. The Hoos fell behind by 10 during this span and could never recover, despite the efforts of Diane and Jamil Tucker, who finished with 13. Other highlights from the game included Mike Scott’s 12 hard fought rebounds. He and Sylven Landesberg unfortunately struggled to score only mustering 14 points between them.
No one expected UVA to win this game that didn’t have a substantial rooting interest towards them, so no one should really be upset with the outcome. However there is one glaring thing that I’ve noticed that should raise a few eyebrows, and that was the play of Mamadi Diane. Diane had 20+ points for his second straight game last night but could also be seen offering words of encouragement to Landesberg and Scott who were both struggling to score. This is the role that Diane should have been in all season. Whether it was a crisis of confidence due to Coach Leitao’s constant yelling or lingering effects of off season ankle surgery Diane could never quite seem to ascend to the level of play that we’ve seen out of him the last few games. I personally believe that Coach Leitao made a mistake in burying Diane on the bench, despite what previous articles have been perceived as. When I wrote after the NC State loss that Diane should not have been playing it was not because I think Diane is a bad player, but that it seemed to me that Coach Leitao was moving more towards the youth of the team and that if that was the case then Diane should not have gotten those minutes. I think the recent reinsertion of Diane into the lineup further shows the Coach Leitao still didn’t know what he wanted the team’s identity to be even to the bitter end. If he wanted to go with the youth movement Diane should never have played. But if he wanted to have Diane on the floor to help develop younger players like Sylven Landesberg then he should have been doing that all season long. Last night to me demonstrated the importance of having a player like Mamadi on a young team can be. I think the only reason Virginia even kept it within 13 points is because of the leadership and maturity that Diane showed. Without that leadership I don’t think this young team would have been able to keep it close for as long as they did and that 5 minute scoreless streak would have been the end of the road. Last night’s performance showed that Mamadi should have had a much larger role on this year’s team and his recent playing time shows that the coaching staff was still undecided on the identity of the team, which I think is the theme of the year.
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