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

Player Profile: Mike Scott

Mike Scott      6’8” 233lbs

Power Forward

Chesapeake, Virginia

Strengths:  Determination, Rebounding, Intensity, Leadership

Needs to Improve: Post Moves

                Mike Scott is an extremely athletic strong young player that is beginning to play with the maturity of an emerging team leader. The sophomore from Chesapeake, Virginia is averaging 10.6 points and 7.3 boards per game even in a new 6^th man role that he has been given of late. Scott has shown great maturity in accepting his new role on the team and has begun to excel in it. Scott plays with a fire inside him that is impressive to witness. When he wants a rebound there are few in the league that are strong enough to take it away from him. That intensity extends itself to the defensive end of the floor as well. Scott is 4^th on the team in both blocks and steals and his hustle on defense is undeniable. When paired with either Jamil Tucker of Assane Sene the Cavaliers have one of the youngest and most talented defensive frontcourts in the ACC.

                While Scott excels on the offensive end of the court his post skills have room to grow. At this point in his career Scott relies heavily on his athletic abilities to score. The majority of Scott’s points come from put backs of missed shots by other Cavaliers which Scott has the ability to out hustle other players for. This may be a byproduct of Scott not getting looks in the post because opposing defenses are packed in in order to stop the slashing attack of the UVA guards. As those players develop a more consistent outside game the defense will be forced to loosen up allowing Scott to excel. Scott has all the tools to become a good ACC post player, but the current offensive make up is not conducive to his success in becoming one, which makes the majority of his points “hustle points.” Meaning he out worked the other players to get them, which is extremely impressive to me.  My favorite part of watching Scott play is seeing him run the floor. Scott’s athletic abilities allow him to get out on the fast break quickly and run with the other players which will allow the Hoos to become a more up-tempo and exciting team in the future.

                Scott has also emerged as a real leader of this team. Over the last few games you can see that his intensity has increased and he’s even dunking on people and glaring at the camera. This mentality has extended to the entire team in the Hoos last 4 games in which they won their only 2 ACC games this calendar season. If Scott continues to inspire and lead this team to become an aggressive, fast paced team that will put it all on the line every night I think there are great days to come at JPJ.

Wahoos Roll at JPJ

Virginia 75    Virginia Tech 61

                 The UVA men’s basketball team had an extremely impressive performance against the hokies last night at the John Paul Jones arena. Led by Sylven Landesberg’s 19 points and 9 rebounds the Cavaliers showed that last Sunday’s win over Clemson was no fluke and hinted that good things may be to come. In addition to Landesberg, Jamil Tucker added 13 points off the bench and Calvin Baker had 10.

What was the most impressive thing however was Coach Leitao’s willingness to stick with the lineup on the floor that he has exhibited over the last 3 games. I don’t know where the man who would yank Solomon Tat after 45 seconds for dribbling the ball off of his foot but I like this new coach. Without the pressure of being taken out players like Jeff Jones have really started to blossom and thrive in the offense and the team is playing better as a whole. At one point Jones, who scored 8 points in 26 minutes and was 40% from 3-point range, made an incredible reverse lay-up. This was the kind of play and aggressiveness that was just not there earlier in the season. The team is now more relaxed when they play and is more willing to take risks and allow plays like that to happen because they no longer fear getting the hook if they screw up.

This mentality also extends to the defensive end of the court. You can say all you want about Jeff Allen being suspended but Assane Sene was a beast in the paint last night. The stat line doesn’t show anything too impressive, 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks, but Sene’s mere presence helped stifle the attack of Virginia Tech. Sene’s presence in the lane as a shot blocker allows the cavalier’s perimeter defenders to be more aggressive in attacking the ball because there are no easy shots with the 7 foot shot blocker in the middle of the lane. This more aggressive defense allowed the Cavaliers to push the tempo of the game all night long to the point where the less athletic Hokies just could not keep up anymore.

I thought the Hoos looked best with Zeglinski at point, Jones at the 2, Landesberg at the 3, Scott at the 4, and Sene in the middle. This lineup is extremely talented but more importantly, extremely young. Seeing this team excel to the level it did last night gives me incredible optimism for the future of UVA basketball. This has been driving me nuts all year but Leitao seems to have finally settled, or resigned to, this younger developing lineup. This collection of 2 freshman and 3 sophmores could easilybe the starting 5 for the next 2 seasons and probably should have been all of this season. This group plays fast, exciting, and aggressive basketball lead by the dynamic scoring ability of Sylven Landesberg, who has emerged as the teams go to player even as a freshman. With big bodies like Scott and Sene to clean up the boards, Zeglinski to distribute and Jones to alleviate some of the defensive pressure on the inside with his ability to hit the three this team has all the pieces in place to be not just a good, but I believe a great ACC team in the future. Even their bench is strong. Jamil Tucker consistently provides a spark off the bench and Mustapha Farrakahn has shown flashes of brilliance. The core players of the UVA basketball team are young and talented and last night’s game showed that and also made me extremely excited for the future, and I hope everyone else is too.