Coaching Rumors: The Ideal Candidate

Later this week, we will be running a series on the potential coaching candidates to replace Al Groh, who was fired on Sunday.  I thought about doing an Al Groh post-mortem, but quite frankly, with the writing on the wall since September, I think that's been done.  We'd rather look ahead, to what Craig Littlepage (and Jon Oliver, who clearly had a big say in the hiring of Tony Bennett) should be looking for.

1. He'd Better Recruit: As Coach Groh preached as he came in the door, and all too frequently fell back on as his team struggled this year, you don't win without players.  The lack of players, more than anything else, led to Groh's downfall.  It was galling to watch, in succession, a program like William & Mary appear to be on par physically with their in-state big brother, and then watch as non-major conference schools like TCU and S. Miss ran up and down the field on the Hoos.  Alas, that was only a precursor to getting steamrolled by Georgia and Virginia Tech, and being circled by Clemson and Miami.

Groh was unquestionably a good coach (his game management skills notwithstanding).  But after a few successful classes to start his tenure, Groh has allowed UVA to fall behind its ACC brethren in the annual recruiting wars, which is almost always more important to winning on Saturdays than Xs and Os.  If Groh's successor isn't any better at recruiting than Groh was (especially after his principal recruiting assistants left), he could be the second coming of Bill Walsh and its not going to matter much.  (Advantage: Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong, Temple Head coach Al Golden).

2. He'd Better Be Able to Do It In-State: The state of Virginia is not Florida or Texas, but its a state upon whose talent you can build a national program.  Just ask Frank Beamer.  And only Frank Beamer.  For the last two decades, and in particular the last few seasons, Beamer's Hokies have absolutely dominated in-state recruiting.  Its a wonder when any of the state's top recruits pick the Cavs anymore.

So yeah, its great that UVA has made inroads into places like Pennsylvania and New Jersey for elite talent, but Groh's successor is going to have to do better in talent-rich Hampton Roads, and is going to need to compete for the best from SW Virginia and Northern Virginia.  It won't be easy to wrestle control of the state away from Beamer, but we'll take something closer to competing, as opposed to the bloodbath that in-state recruiting has been recently.  There's enough talent in-state to go around.  (Advantage: Richmond Head Coach Mike London, Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster).    

3. He Needs to Be Prepared to Deal With Academic Restrictions At Virginia: As the University made clear with the hiring of Tony Bennett, who was recently quoted as saying Virginia should aspire to be Stanford-East, UVa is not going to lower their academic standards to compete for recruits (although it wouldn't kill them to make a few more exceptions). Virginia has nicked more than a few of Groh's recruits, most prominently the lost class of 2006, when 8 of Cavs' 24 recruits didn't qualify academically.  The Hoos also lose players after they walk through the doors of the University.  Most recently, starting QB Jameel Sewell and starting CB Chris Cook were declared academically ineligible for the 2008 season.  And DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald finished his college career playing for Kansas State, not Virignia, in part because of academic issues.       

We can debate whether the football and basketball program should be held to the same academic standards as the rest of the University (although if you think more than 5% of either program would have been admitted without their athletic credentials, you're fooling yourself).  But its largely been made clear that those academic standards aren't going anywhere.  (Advantage: Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy).   

4. He Needs to Be the Face of the Program: Besides not winning enough games, Groh's biggest failure was in not endearing himself in any way to the University community.  Whether it was his gruff demeanor, or his aloofness in dealing with issues such as ties v. t-shirts (I happen to agree with him, but he could have handled it better), Groh was always more concerned with Xs and Os than leading the program.  So when the records started going south, it was hard to find too many people willing to defend Groh.

Virginia served notice with Bennett's hiring that it was looking for someone to be the face of the program.  Expect them to pick someone that the University community will be able to embrace, something was wasn't often true with Groh.  (Advantage: Boise State Head Coach Chris Peterson).   

We'll be tackling some of the individual names starting tomorrow, but since the hiring of Tony Bennett came out of left field, its just as likely this one will too.  We're not sure the ideal candidate - i.e. the one that checks all these boxes - is out there, but you can be sure the AD's office will be taking these requirements into consideration when they pick their man. Continue reading this post...

NEXT!

You won't have to see this anymore.  AP Story here.  UVA statement here.   

The next Virginia Coach?

We'll have more on each of these and other candidates as the week (and the search) progresses. 

Continue reading this post...

A typical day at the beach

Well, that was disappointing. Such is life as a UVa hoops fan, though hopefully things won't stay this way forever. Virginia looked atrocious on offense for the second time this season, and the Hoos proved just bad enough to let an unimpressive Stanford squad eek out a 57-52 victory. So the frustration continues for Virginia fans. In a society where just about everything is instant, the hopes and dreams of Hoonation were that Bennett's arrival would immediately usher in sweeping change. Wisely he warned that change takes time and things weren't going to be fixed overnight. Yet, with the program's revived attitude and Bennett's new defensive scheme, optimists (members of 7even Win Society included) figured one of the first signs of improvement could come in the form of eradicating Virginia's tendency to fall completely flat in games such as tonight's Stanford debacle. So far, no new developments in this department as these head-scratching and often painfully ugly loses continue to plague the program while frustrating fans beyond no end.

In Virginia's two setbacks, the Hoos have averaged just under 50 points, and no matter how you slice it, you cannot expect to beat very many, if any, teams when you score so few points. Anyone worried that the Stanford game was a prime example of the boring, grind-it-out brand of play known as "Bennett-Ball," fear not for that was just plain ugly. No coach in the country implements a system that strives for under 38% shooting from the floor with a severely unbalanced offensive attack. The wildly inconsistent play from Zeglinski, Farrakhan, Scott, and Jones proves both befuddling and frustrating. Speaking of Bennett's defense, Stanford managed only 57 points and shot under 39% for the game, and in most cases, that is generally good enough to get the win. In Virginia's loss to USF, the Cavaliers played poorly on both sides of the ball. While the defense looked much better against Stanford, it is a little scary to think the Hoos can still find a way to lose even when executing Bennett's defensive schemes effectively. Then again, scoring only 52 points will do that.

It would have been fun to see what Virginia could have done against Kentucky...well, ok, it could have very well turned out to be an ugly affair, but it would have at least been fun spending Wednesday anticipating the big match-up while dreaming and hoping for a big upset. Even a respectable outing would have sufficed, but Virginia first needed to take care of undermanned Standford team in order to get the opportunity. In failing to do so, Virginia fans are left to search for a moral victory of sorts against Cleveland State. It will be interesting to see if the Hoos can show the strength, composure, and mental fortitude necessary to bounce back and gut out a win in a game that is lackluster and completely uninspiring. It looks like that's what we can realistically hope for...at least for now.
Continue reading this post...

Kickin' it in Cancun

Tonight Virginia takes on Stanford in the third round of the Cancun Challenge, and on paper the Hoos match up well against the Cardinal (the nickname refers to one of their school colors and not the bird, but regardless, the singular is really annoying) . The two teams only share one common opponent, Oral Roberts, and Stanford dropped a heart breaker to the Golden Eagles last Wednesday night when Roderick Peterson hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer . UVa beat Oral Roberts by 21 this past Saturday. Both Virginia and Stanford hosted Oral Roberts on their home floors. In addition, Oral Roberts' head coach Scott Sutton (yes, son of famed basketball coach Eddie Sutton) left Charlottesville Saturday evening thinking the Hoos featured a stronger offense with more inside presence than Stanford. It's not everyday you hear someone suggest Virginia has an advantage inside. Lastly, Coach Bennett spent the previous six seasons coaching in the Pac-10 (three as a head coach), so he is pretty familiar with the Cardinal.

Despite the apparent advantage, all that goes out the window when it comes to games like these. Cavalier fans are well aware of Virginia's recent struggles in warm, sunny settings that often feature a beachfront nearby - most notably the entire state of Florida and Puerto Rico. Maybe the fact the contest is being played at the Moon Palace Resort might help the Hoos forget they are in the tropical paradise of Cancun. The gym will likely be near empty and the atmosphere will almost certainly be devoid of any energy. While either of these factors sets the stage for the Hoos to come out flat and listless, the prevailing thought is tonight's contest is as good a chance as any for UVa to kick the recent trend.

In addition to the loss against Oral Roberts, Stanford also fell to San Diego in their season opener. Head coach Johnny Dawkins (the former Duke player and long-time Duke assistant coach) boasts a relatively young squad, though senior guard/forward Landry Fields is the player to watch for the Cardinal. Fields nearly averages a double-double with 22.5 points and over 8 rebounds a game. Sophomore guard Jeremy Green also knows how to put the ball in the basket averaging 14.5 points per contest.

Stanford player statistics aside, tonight's affair is really about Virginia and whether or not the Hoos can get off the snide when it comes to games like these - playing down south against a statistically inferior team in front of a sparse crowd in a stadium with little to no energy. Assane Sene scored a career high in his season debut against Oral Roberts, and Mike Scott has looked solid as of late, so the Hoos should be able to out man Stanford in the post. Virginia's guard play has been nicely balanced as of late, and with so many threats, UVa's front court should overpower the Cardinal. Again, the stats favor the Cavaliers, but the setting lends itself to a flat, uninspiring performance against a lesser opponent - one that is far too familiar for Hoo fans. If looking to get the monkey off their backs isn't enough motivation, a win gives the Cavaliers an opportunity to go against a Kentucky squad that ranks among the nation's elite. This game serves as an early chance for Bennett and his squad to show things might just be changing in C'ville. It's a game UVa should win, but recently, contests like these have been no day at the beach. Continue reading this post...

Outmanned Again (This is Getting Old)

For the second time in three weeks, Virginia fought gamely for a half against a superiorly talented foe.  The Hoos pulled out all the stops -- a little Wildcat, a QB throwback, and even a gutsy and exhilarating go on the last play of the first half.  Unfortunately, Virginia didn't seem to have any tricks left for the second half, when things returned to form for Atlantic Division champ Clemson in a 34-21 result.

Some thoughts on the Cavs' eighth loss of the season, their most since 1986:

• The offense to open the game looked like it probably should have all season.  All thirteen of the Hoos' offensive plays in the first quarter were on the ground.  It didn't matter that the first drive ended in a fumble, or that the second ended in a punt.  The score after the first quarter was 7-7, and just as important the time of possession was 8-7 Virginia. 
• Like the Virginia Tech game last season when Vic Hall got the surprise start at QB, Virginia broke out a new toy with Mikell Simpson in the wildcat formation.  Groh was quoted as saying that they didn't just put that in this week; they just hadn't used it in a game.  Um, as many of us were thinking last season when they finally took the wraps off Hall, what took so long?
• The end of the half go for it was one of those no-no-no-yes! moments.  You have a chance to cut it to one score with a FG, and you're facing the ACC's best pass rush with 8 seconds left from the 23-yard line.  A short pass, which is all they had time for if they still wanted to preserve time for a FG, doesn't get you in the end zone, so why risk it?  Instead, Virginia calls a wheel route to Simpson, which if incomplete leaves the Cavs with no time for a FG.  But the play worked.  24-21 into halftime.  Gutsy, even if foolhardy, call.
• Unfortunately, that was the last play of Simpson's afternoon.  Without their star runner in the second half, Virginia gained only 40 more yards, and didn't score again.
• On the other side of the ball, there was only so much Virginia could do to slow down a clicking Clemson offense.  But UVA still held the Tigers under 400 yards for the first time in five games.  The Hoos actually kept star C.J. Spiller (19 carries, 60 yards) in relative check.  They had a little more trouble with speedy wideout Jacoby Ford, who had 6 catches for 106 yards and a TD.  
• The last time the Cavs lost eight games was 1986.  It will have to beat Tech to avoid its worst season since 1982.  Ouch.

Continue reading this post...

Countdown to November 30

As ACC COY noted earlier this season, 2009 has been a long and inevitable march towards Al Groh's firing.  This is as much AD Craig Littlepage's fault as it is Groh's.  But with the end of the football season mercilessly close, you should know that the death blow will likely come quickly, and soon. 

As ACC Sports Journal notes, November 30 is the annual date to exercise the rollover clause in Coach Groh's contract.  If the University isn't going to pick that up - and there's no one out there that thinks it will be picked up - conventional wisdom says that there's no reason to let an alum and, whatever you think of his coaching ability, a good man twist in the wind.  Jerry Radcliffe had a interesting piece about what went wrong for Al Groh.  Don't know that I agree with all of what Jerry writes, but he raises some interesting issues that any coaching candidate will have to consider.

Everyone's already starting with candidate lists - here and here for example.  Its a bit early for that, but with November 30 just ten days away, not that early.  Better than talking about the Clemson game, though, and Virginia's likely foray into the land of 3-8, something even the most pessimistic among us did not think possible when the season began. Continue reading this post...

Welcome to the ACC, Coach Bennett

After watching the Hoos get outmanned by the likes of South Florida on Monday, its hard not to think about the reinforcements coming for 2010.  As we've written in this space before, Coach Tony Bennett's first class is good, not great as some have proclaimed.  Still, its hard not to get excited about the five new recruits Bennett is bringing to the 'ville, two of whom are consensus top-100 players. 

Nor should it be surprising.  At Washington State, its hard to imagine how Coach Bennett got anyone to come to Pullman (if you've ever been to or even seen pictures of it, or that "cage you call a gym," you know what I mean). Here at UVA, Bennett's got a state-of-the-art facility, is a couple hours drive from more than a few recruiting hotbeds, and has the draw of playing in what is considered by most to be the nation's premier college hoops conference.  Its kind of like swimming every morning at the local Y, and then having the chance to instead swim every day at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.  It's gotta feel pretty nice, and certainly a whole lot better than where you were. 

But reviewing the various recruiting rankings has to bring things into perspective for UVA's new head man. Case in point, ESPN just released its rankings for college basketball's top 25 recruiting classes for 2010 (insider access required).  Virginia is ranked a respectable 21st.  Its what's ahead of Coach Bennett's class in those rankings that will soon enough be keeping him up at night.  Despite the strength of Virginia's class, no less than FIVE ACC schools' classes rank ahead of Bennett's.  UNC, with three top-20 players, is No. 3.  Wake is adding four top 100 players and is ranked No. 6.  Duke is right behind them, with two elite recruits, at No. 7. NC State (how Sidney Lowe keeps doing this yet his team stinks every year I'll never know) is No. 12, and Maryland is just ahead of Virginia in ESPN's rankings at No. 18.  Florida State is right behind the Hoos at No. 24. 

Meanwhile, only two of Bennett's former rivals from the Pac-10 have classes that rank ahead of Bennett's.  Always strong UCLA is at No. 10 and new Stanford head man Johnny Dawkins checks in at No. 15.  That's it. 

The story's the same over at scout.com, where Virginia's ranked 14th, but still trumped by UNC, Duke, Wake, and NC State, and at rivals.com, where Virginia's all the way up to 12th, but still behind that foursome.  Coach Bennett is certainly doing well, but he has to be learning that he's engaged in an arms race here on the east coast he's not winning, and probably can't.

So yeah, the pool's nicer over here.  Its not that shallow 25-meter thing at the Y where you don't quite trust the water.  Here on the east coast, the pool's heated, its got olympic-sized lanes, and is plenty deep enough for diving.  But just so you know, Coach, there are sharks swimming around in it.  Keep swimming fast.  You're going to have to. Continue reading this post...