Virginia Basketball 2009- ULS: Unidentified Losing Season

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.

Regular Season in Review

                The Virginia Men ended their 2008-2009 regular season with a 68-63 victory on Saturday over the University of Maryland at the John Paul Jones Arena. On senior day Mamadi Diane lead all scorers with 23 points in 34 minutes. It was an appropriate ending and perfectly demonstrated the confusion that has surrounded the entire season. Other bright spots from the game included Mike Scott’s 11 rebounds and 11 points in his 37 minutes, his first extended playing time in quite a while.

                The Cavaliers season has been one of confusion and disappointment. This Sunday was in all likelihood the final game of the season for the Hoos and most questions from the beginning of the year still linger. However amidst all the confusion and lineup changes there is hope for the future. This team has many talented and young players and talent was by no means the reason that the Hoos finished 10-17 this year. In my opinion the reason this team underachieved this season was the coaching. The high school offense, profane bench tirades, and nonsensical substitution patterns were the obvious downfall of the team this season, which is a shame.

                In watching the Cavaliers offensively I genuinely attempted to learn the offense and what the basic strategy and concepts were, and I think I discovered the plan, there was no plan. After about the 3^rd game this season it was apparent that the offense was give Sylven Landesberg the ball and let him use his ball skills to create a play for himself and have the rest of the team clean up after him. I hate to break it to everyone but that stopped working after everyone caught up to the freak 6 foot 5^th grader in rec league and is by no means even close to an effective offensive strategy  for an ACC team. When Virginia went on its season killing 8 game losing streak after the New Year it was because every single team that walked into the gym knew that if they could pack the lane so Sylven could not drive there was no other way Virginia could score.

                 The success at the end of the season was directly correlated to the consistency of the lineup. Coach Leitao finally settled on 7 players that he would give the majority of the minutes. Those seven players developed a repertoire with one another that allowed the offense to have added dimension as the players learned each other’s tendencies. Looking at this team at the beginning of the season I don’t think any of us expected an ACC championship caliber team but I think we all would have been fine seeing the team grow together as they did at the end of the season. I can remember at least 15 different starting lineups this season alone. What the Coach did not seem to grasp was that he needed to pick one and stick with it. You can’t have your starters in for 4 minutes and make a determination on whether or not that lineup will be effective for you for the entire season. Basketball is not a science it’s an art. You can’t just find 5 players that will work every time, but what you can find is 5 players that know when one is having an off night or who has the hot hand and can change their style it account for them. The constant frantic lineup changes that Coach Leitao had this season robbed UVA of any chance of developing that kind of team and having any sort of success this year. We all saw what happened when a lineup was finally settled upon, it’s a shame we could not see it sooner.

                The biggest problem I have with this season is Coach Leitao’s behavior on the sideline. As someone who curses quite frequently I have no grounds to speak on this matter but I have never heard so many profanities thrown in an attack of someone who you are supposed to be mentoring. This is another thing the Coach doesn’t get. He isn’t just the basketball coach. Being the coach of the basketball team makes you not only the face of the team but the face of the entire university. How many of my 4 readers know the name of UVA’s president? I’d be willing to bet the majority of people can’t name our president, but quite a few would recognize our basketball coach. To see a representative of your university drop the f-bomb on Jamil Tucker 9 times in a rant that questions his desire and overall manhood while 5 feet away from fans that bring their 5 year old daughters in their UVA cheerleading outfits is completely out of line and not something that should be allowed to represent this school. The other issue I have is that parent have entrusted their sons to you, and I don’t think they would appreciate seeing their children verbally abused. These guys are not at home, the coach is their authority figure and he should not be allowed to act in such a way that shows that he has no concern for the maturity and development of his players as men, not just as basketball players.  This negative attitude and constant pressure of removal can be plainly seen in the play of Mamadi Diane who exploded for 23 points on Saturday when alleviated of all pressures. Who knows what could have been had he been free his whole career. Diane is a prime example of the detriment of Coach Leitao’s coaching style on his players.

                However after all that negativity the team has a bright future ahead of it. The talent is here and Tristan Spurlock is an excellent swing man coming in from Springfield, VA. I feel that this team can be great in the coming years but a coaching change has to be made. It has to be for no other reason than Coach Leitao is not a good representative of this university, but also because coaching seems to be the main problem with this team. The team has the talent, the fanbase, and the facilities to be great; the only thing missing is a great coach.

 

                I’ll be profiling a few guys a think would be a good fit for coaches if Coach Leitao is indeed fired but it would be in poor taste to speak of replacements before a decision is reached. For the rest of the week you can look forward to more profiles of the future of the basketball team and maybe some football by the end of the week. I will address the controversial Washington Post Article in tomorrow’s entry.

 

Wahoowa