Name: Matt Bailey
Position: S/LB
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
School: Edna Karr
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190
Rivals: 5.5, three stars, #40 in LA
ESPN: 74, two stars, #82 safety
Scout: two stars
UVA hasn't gone to Louisiana for a prospect since Lord knows when. The Groh regime gave it a shot last year, aiming in the process for a couple of Matt Bailey's teammates; it didn't pan out, but Bailey did, earning the distinction of being Groh's final recruit.
Bailey plays linebacker for Edna Karr, but scouts figure him for a safety at the next level. You've got a lot of scouting reports that highlight his attributes for the position: good at diagnosing plays and in pass coverage, etc. It's more or less a given .... but I'm not so sure. London turned a lot of our safeties into linebackers. Bailey is listed at under 200, but others have him at 205 or even 215. At the very least there's absolutely no way he's 175 like Scout says. I think Bailey stays at linebacker when he gets to Charlottesville; he's just the same size as DB-turned-LB Lo'Vante Battle, and Battle was a high school linebacker too.
If Bailey gets to Charlottesville, anyway. At least as of April, he hadn't really shut off his recruitment. Not too surprising for a guy who jumped at his first offer, which came from coaches that aren't around any more. I'd still be surprised if he decommitted, but no predictions from me along those lines.
Predictions along career lines, though: both linebacker and safety are tough places to break into as a freshman. Bailey's medium-low ratings are pretty consistent, and he comes from a school with plenty of visibility. Somewhere in the mid-30s to 40th best player in Louisiana, a high two-star or low-three star type. Bailey's not going to crash the lineup right off the bat; a redshirt season is a lock and a half. One of Bailey's strengths is his smarts, which actually kind of plays against him in the London regime: a 4.2 student like Bailey is would have had a leg up on the competition learning Groh's intricate NFL-style defensive schemes. Jim Reid's are simpler, which might nullify his advantage somewhat. He'll be in a big mix for playing time, so if he starts - whether as a safety or a linebacker - it'll probably be as a junior at the earliest.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
pick your Cavalier of the Year
A tad cheesy but unavoidably true, the comment left on one of the nomination posts:
Brittany Kalkstein and Paige Selenski
Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz and Chris Henrich
Diego Restrepo and Scot Robison
Danny Hultzen and Monica Wright
Robby Andrews and Sarah Tacke
Ken Clausen and Lauren Perdue
There are national champions, record-breakers, all-Everythings, and a hell of a lot of ACC Somethings Of The Year. Some athletes are standing out in a long and proud tradition, others are carrying their teams to unexplored heights. Nearly every time I wrote one of these, I'd convinced myself that's who should get the nod; still, as always, I make no endorsement.
The poll is on the right. You have til the end of the July 4th weekend - specifically, Monday the 5th. Go.
These are and will be ALL WINNERS! Can you imagine trying to pick a single winner? Just an honor to be named among this group!And yet a winner must be chosen. Time to hand out the trophy. Choosing from twelve extremely deserving nominees, that's the hard work. Which I leave to you, cause I'm lazy like that. As a refresher, here are your choices, should you need to read about them again:
Brittany Kalkstein and Paige Selenski
Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz and Chris Henrich
Diego Restrepo and Scot Robison
Danny Hultzen and Monica Wright
Robby Andrews and Sarah Tacke
Ken Clausen and Lauren Perdue
There are national champions, record-breakers, all-Everythings, and a hell of a lot of ACC Somethings Of The Year. Some athletes are standing out in a long and proud tradition, others are carrying their teams to unexplored heights. Nearly every time I wrote one of these, I'd convinced myself that's who should get the nod; still, as always, I make no endorsement.
The poll is on the right. You have til the end of the July 4th weekend - specifically, Monday the 5th. Go.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
FOV Cavalier of the Year, #11/#12
From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide: that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Ken Clausen and Lauren Perdue.
Ken Clausen - Men's lacrosse - Defense
Team accomplishments:
- #1 seed in NCAA tournament
- NCAA Final Four
- ACC champions
Personal accomplishments:
- Tewaaraton Trophy finalist
- USILA first-team all-American
- Schmeisser Award recipient as nation's outstanding defensive player
- USILA Scholar All-American
- All-ACC selection
- Lowe's Senior Class Award finalist
There was no doubt about this one: Clausen was the country's top defenseman, period. There was a little question before the season about how UVA might replace a few key departures on the defensive side of things, but Clausen put those questions to rest, quickly. He led the ACC in turnovers caused and was always assigned to the opposition's best player, which he usually shut right down. It's not often a defenseman is selected as a Tewaaraton finalist; in fact, Clausen is only the second long-stick player ever selected for invitation to the awards banquet, and first since 2005.
UVA is known for churning out top-notch goal scorers: over the years, players like Matt Ward and Ben Rubeor and Danny Glading pass through, and you chalk them up for 30 goals and maybe a Tewaaraton finalist nomination. But none of them have been three-year all-Americans: Ken Clausen is the first Cavalier to claim that honor. And by starting every game in his career, he shares with Brian Carroll the UVA record for games played with 70. Chances are it'll be years, if ever, until we see another UVA defenseman of Clausen's caliber.
Lauren Perdue - Women's swimming & diving - Freestyle
Team accomplishments:
- ACC champions
- 9th place at NCAA championships
Personal accomplishments:
- ACC Freshman of the Year
- ACC Championships Most Valuable Swimmer
- Two-time ACC Performer of the Week
- 5 All-American events and 1 honorable mention
- 3 individual and 4 relay ACC championships
- 3 UVA records and 1 ACC record
A champion swim team needs a champion freestyler - a point I made when it was Scot Robison's turn in the spotlight. Lauren Perdue is a champion freestyler as well as an ACC record holder (200 yard freestyle.) Those are the kind of accolades you expect for a veteran swimmer; Lauren Perdue is a freshman. She stepped right in and anchored our relays, won multiple events at the conference meet, and finished fifth in the nation in the 50 free and 8th in the 200.
The UVA Invitational was a perfect microcosm of the way Perdue's career might be expected to go. She led off the 400 free relay with a 100-yard swim of 49.06, which set a new pool record. The old record was set by....uh, Lauren Perdue, about an hour prior in the individual 100 yard swim. That record broke the old record held by.....yes, Lauren Perdue, which she'd set the day before. Breaking her own records - I think there's a lot of that in her future.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Ken Clausen and Lauren Perdue.
Ken Clausen - Men's lacrosse - Defense
Team accomplishments:- #1 seed in NCAA tournament
- NCAA Final Four
- ACC champions
Personal accomplishments:
- Tewaaraton Trophy finalist
- USILA first-team all-American
- Schmeisser Award recipient as nation's outstanding defensive player
- USILA Scholar All-American
- All-ACC selection
- Lowe's Senior Class Award finalist
There was no doubt about this one: Clausen was the country's top defenseman, period. There was a little question before the season about how UVA might replace a few key departures on the defensive side of things, but Clausen put those questions to rest, quickly. He led the ACC in turnovers caused and was always assigned to the opposition's best player, which he usually shut right down. It's not often a defenseman is selected as a Tewaaraton finalist; in fact, Clausen is only the second long-stick player ever selected for invitation to the awards banquet, and first since 2005.
UVA is known for churning out top-notch goal scorers: over the years, players like Matt Ward and Ben Rubeor and Danny Glading pass through, and you chalk them up for 30 goals and maybe a Tewaaraton finalist nomination. But none of them have been three-year all-Americans: Ken Clausen is the first Cavalier to claim that honor. And by starting every game in his career, he shares with Brian Carroll the UVA record for games played with 70. Chances are it'll be years, if ever, until we see another UVA defenseman of Clausen's caliber.
Lauren Perdue - Women's swimming & diving - Freestyle
Team accomplishments:
- ACC champions
- 9th place at NCAA championships
Personal accomplishments:
- ACC Freshman of the Year
- ACC Championships Most Valuable Swimmer
- Two-time ACC Performer of the Week
- 5 All-American events and 1 honorable mention
- 3 individual and 4 relay ACC championships
- 3 UVA records and 1 ACC record
A champion swim team needs a champion freestyler - a point I made when it was Scot Robison's turn in the spotlight. Lauren Perdue is a champion freestyler as well as an ACC record holder (200 yard freestyle.) Those are the kind of accolades you expect for a veteran swimmer; Lauren Perdue is a freshman. She stepped right in and anchored our relays, won multiple events at the conference meet, and finished fifth in the nation in the 50 free and 8th in the 200.
The UVA Invitational was a perfect microcosm of the way Perdue's career might be expected to go. She led off the 400 free relay with a 100-yard swim of 49.06, which set a new pool record. The old record was set by....uh, Lauren Perdue, about an hour prior in the individual 100 yard swim. That record broke the old record held by.....yes, Lauren Perdue, which she'd set the day before. Breaking her own records - I think there's a lot of that in her future.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
the recruit: Adrian Gamble
Time for another regularish offseason feature, and by regularish I mean sooner or later I'm getting through every one of these, but on no set schedule. We need to get up to speed on the 2011 commitments and find out what these guys are all about. Why not sooner? It helps to be able to compare the services' rankings on these guys and see who's full of crap and who isn't. Usually it's all of them at one point or another. Anyway, we go in order of commitment and that means starting with someone whose association with UVA is now almost a year old.
Name: Adrian Gamble
Position: WR
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
School: Independence
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
ESPN: 77, three stars, #66 WR
Rivals: NR
Scout: two stars
This wasn't even a recruitment; at least, not a public one. Gamble came to camp in Charlottesville last year and was offered a scholarship on the spot by the Groh regime when they saw his speed and jumping ability. Figure out the wide receiver stuff later, I guess. He committed before you're even able to get your offer in written form. Gamble plays for basically the top high school football program in the state of North Carolina, which makes it difficult to crack the roster; by the time of his commitment, he'd still actually never started a game for his varsity squad.
Independence is a really high-profile school; therein lies some of the silliness. Rivals has handed out their stars by now, but Gamble remains unrated because somehow (I'm guessing this is why) they have no film of one of the starting receivers on the top program in an important southern football state. ESPN has a pretty full evaluation, but a really bogus 40 time for the guy: 4.76. That's like, linebacker territory. Al Groh didn't offer a wide receiver who'd never played varsity football because of his 4.76 40 time.
Still, I think ESPN's is the fairest evaluation. Read the report and it's easy to see that the ratings they give him are based on a future projection. Of all the players already committed to UVA for 2011, Gamble is the one most worth watching during his senior season; he'll be a feature guy surrounded by talent, so it'll be important to see some major production.
Gamble is the only wide receiver in the class so far, but it's a near-certainty that won't be the case on Signing Day. When he arrives for fall practice, there'll be three scholarship senior WRs and three more scattered around the other classes - a really thin group, barring some position switches. A big senior season could see him arrive with similar credentials and expectations as Tim Smith, who stepped right into the lineup as a freshman, and likewise there'll probably be open playing time for a 2011 freshman as well. Whether Gamble is ready for it will depend a lot on how 2010 goes.
Name: Adrian Gamble
Position: WR
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
School: Independence
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
ESPN: 77, three stars, #66 WR
Rivals: NR
Scout: two stars
This wasn't even a recruitment; at least, not a public one. Gamble came to camp in Charlottesville last year and was offered a scholarship on the spot by the Groh regime when they saw his speed and jumping ability. Figure out the wide receiver stuff later, I guess. He committed before you're even able to get your offer in written form. Gamble plays for basically the top high school football program in the state of North Carolina, which makes it difficult to crack the roster; by the time of his commitment, he'd still actually never started a game for his varsity squad.
Independence is a really high-profile school; therein lies some of the silliness. Rivals has handed out their stars by now, but Gamble remains unrated because somehow (I'm guessing this is why) they have no film of one of the starting receivers on the top program in an important southern football state. ESPN has a pretty full evaluation, but a really bogus 40 time for the guy: 4.76. That's like, linebacker territory. Al Groh didn't offer a wide receiver who'd never played varsity football because of his 4.76 40 time.
Still, I think ESPN's is the fairest evaluation. Read the report and it's easy to see that the ratings they give him are based on a future projection. Of all the players already committed to UVA for 2011, Gamble is the one most worth watching during his senior season; he'll be a feature guy surrounded by talent, so it'll be important to see some major production.
Gamble is the only wide receiver in the class so far, but it's a near-certainty that won't be the case on Signing Day. When he arrives for fall practice, there'll be three scholarship senior WRs and three more scattered around the other classes - a really thin group, barring some position switches. A big senior season could see him arrive with similar credentials and expectations as Tim Smith, who stepped right into the lineup as a freshman, and likewise there'll probably be open playing time for a 2011 freshman as well. Whether Gamble is ready for it will depend a lot on how 2010 goes.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
FOV Cavalier of the Year, #9/#10
From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide: that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Sarah Tacke and Robby Andrews.
Sarah Tacke - Softball - Right field
Team accomplishments:
- First-ever selection to NCAA Tournament
- School-record 13 victories
Personal accomplishments:
- NFCA first-team All-Region
- Team BA and RBI leader
- ACC Player of the Week for 9-15 March
- Second-team all-ACC
Of the tremendous team accomplishments - conference and national championships, #1 rankings, Final Fours, and the like - achieved by UVA athletic squads this year, being a lowly regional third seed seems small in comparison. But by making the tournament for the first time ever, the softball team gave UVA a distinction: All 25 sports currently sponsored by UVA have now received bids to their respective NCAA national championships at some point in their history.
Helping to captain the team to their highest point of achievement ever is Sarah Tacke, the best hitter on the team by a long margin. Top fielder, too: Tacke had more assists and putouts with no errors than any ACC outfielder. Her batting and slugging averages were good enough for 4th and 3rd in the ACC, respectively. Tacke has been the team's leading batter for two years running and leading slugger for three; captaining the team to its first-ever NCAA tournament is a terrific cap to a terrific career and well worth a COTY nomination.
Robby Andrews - Men's track and field - Middle distance
Team accomplishments:
- 9th-place finish in Program of the Year Award
Personal accomplishments:
- Indoor 800 meter national champion
- Outdoor 800 meter runner-up
- Anchored UVA's first Penn Relays championship relay (4x800m) since 1943
- ACC's Indoor and Outdoor Performer and Freshman of the Year
- NCAA Outdoor All-American (800m)
It's impressive enough to be the ACC's undisputed top track athlete and sweep the ACC's indoor and outdoor awards for Performer and Freshman of the Year. So would a national championship be sufficient icing on the cake? The man he beat - by one-hundredth of a second - is no slowpoke: Oregon's Andrew Wheating, the second-place finisher, spent his summer of 2008 in Beijing, running in a little competition they hold every so often called the Olympics.
Andrews surprised the field there; after again topping Wheating to bring home UVA's Penn Relays (about as prestigious a track event as you'll ever see) 4x800 title, he won't be a surprise any more. Track & field coach Jason Vigilante is one of UVA's bright young coaches, and like swim coach Mark Bernardino, he's elevated UVA's track program to top-ten status in the country. Andrews is perhaps his brightest star and has UVA on (forgive plz) the right track.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Sarah Tacke and Robby Andrews.
Sarah Tacke - Softball - Right field
Team accomplishments:
- First-ever selection to NCAA Tournament
- School-record 13 victories
Personal accomplishments:
- NFCA first-team All-Region
- Team BA and RBI leader
- ACC Player of the Week for 9-15 March
- Second-team all-ACC
Of the tremendous team accomplishments - conference and national championships, #1 rankings, Final Fours, and the like - achieved by UVA athletic squads this year, being a lowly regional third seed seems small in comparison. But by making the tournament for the first time ever, the softball team gave UVA a distinction: All 25 sports currently sponsored by UVA have now received bids to their respective NCAA national championships at some point in their history.
Helping to captain the team to their highest point of achievement ever is Sarah Tacke, the best hitter on the team by a long margin. Top fielder, too: Tacke had more assists and putouts with no errors than any ACC outfielder. Her batting and slugging averages were good enough for 4th and 3rd in the ACC, respectively. Tacke has been the team's leading batter for two years running and leading slugger for three; captaining the team to its first-ever NCAA tournament is a terrific cap to a terrific career and well worth a COTY nomination.
Robby Andrews - Men's track and field - Middle distance
Team accomplishments:
- 9th-place finish in Program of the Year Award
Personal accomplishments:
- Indoor 800 meter national champion
- Outdoor 800 meter runner-up
- Anchored UVA's first Penn Relays championship relay (4x800m) since 1943
- ACC's Indoor and Outdoor Performer and Freshman of the Year
- NCAA Outdoor All-American (800m)
It's impressive enough to be the ACC's undisputed top track athlete and sweep the ACC's indoor and outdoor awards for Performer and Freshman of the Year. So would a national championship be sufficient icing on the cake? The man he beat - by one-hundredth of a second - is no slowpoke: Oregon's Andrew Wheating, the second-place finisher, spent his summer of 2008 in Beijing, running in a little competition they hold every so often called the Olympics.
Andrews surprised the field there; after again topping Wheating to bring home UVA's Penn Relays (about as prestigious a track event as you'll ever see) 4x800 title, he won't be a surprise any more. Track & field coach Jason Vigilante is one of UVA's bright young coaches, and like swim coach Mark Bernardino, he's elevated UVA's track program to top-ten status in the country. Andrews is perhaps his brightest star and has UVA on (forgive plz) the right track.
Monday, June 21, 2010
useful stuff update: getting thin edition
Another big wave of commitments means it's time to fix what needs fixing. And what goes up must come down: Jeff White also breaks the news of a number of departures for the year - some permanent, others not - that also necessitates an update to the depth chart as well as the recruiting board. Let's have at it:
- Surprising amount of attrition sees five players leave the team: WR Quintin Hunter, WR Javaris Brown, OT Lamar Milstead, DE Tory Allen-Ford, and CB Javanti Sparrow. The explanation for Sparrow involves privacy laws and the possibility of return for 2011, which decrypts as "academic issues." So Sparrow may end up returning as did, for example, Chris Cook and Jameel Sewell. And he has a redshirt year to use, courtesy of Al Groh's "slashing and burning of our future," as some like to call it. The rest are out.
- On the flip side, scholarships are given to WR Matt Snyder and K Robert Randolph.
- I've also updated, by the way, the spaces for the '11 commits. The latest, Kevin Green, probably isn't going to a quarterback at all, but what the hell, he goes there for now. I don't think he's on board for his quarterbacking so much as for his overall athleticism.
Impact? First, by my count, 82 scholarships spoken for; we'll be a few shy this year. Second, a little extra space, but not a lot, opens up in the recruiting class of 2011. Sparrow's scholarship hopefully won't be open, but the shuffling basically adds two free spaces. There's a bare, absolute minimum now of 16 members of the class; 14 are spoken for, 15 if you count Clifton Richardson as a commit, which I don't, yet. 20 was the old target; I'm thinking 22 now. This is the silver lining, and it's a big one, because spaces are quickly coming off the board and there are some primo targets left.
Second, depth at cornerback just went from a big issue to a big big issue. I know Mike London wants speed at linebacker but can we really be carrying 11 linebackers and five cornerbacks? Five scholarship players is not a cornerback depth chart, it's a cornerback kiddie pool. Depth is suddenly a problem at receiver too, with just seven scholarship players there. Wide receiver just became a priority for this class.
Speaking of this class, let's have a look at the new, updated recruiting board:
- Moved TE Darius Redman, LB Caleb Taylor, and S Kameron Mack to orange, and added ATH Kevin Green there too.
- Removed a few players with whom our chances have fallen from near zero to actually zero: ATH Lafonte Thourogood, WR Quinta Funderburk, and OT Cyrus Kouandjio.
- Removed a couple more players who it doesn't look like we'll get involved with: LB Myles Jackson and WR Melvin Robinson.
- Removed ATH Chris Hall, who's now a Hokie.
- Moved DE Norkeithus Otis from yellow to red.
- Moved QB Kevin Hogan and OT Jay Whitmire from yellow to blue.
- Also, notably, moved LB Curtis Grant from yellow to blue. This isn't because Grant has narrowed down his list or anything. D-I schools can still be divided into two groups: those who've offered Grant, and those who figure they wouldn't have a chance. But the fact is, Grant has been to UVA a lot this spring. Charlottesville is something of a weekend hangout. This is a recruitment UVA fans will be glued to the same way we were for Morgan Moses. Might as well act like it.
- Surprising amount of attrition sees five players leave the team: WR Quintin Hunter, WR Javaris Brown, OT Lamar Milstead, DE Tory Allen-Ford, and CB Javanti Sparrow. The explanation for Sparrow involves privacy laws and the possibility of return for 2011, which decrypts as "academic issues." So Sparrow may end up returning as did, for example, Chris Cook and Jameel Sewell. And he has a redshirt year to use, courtesy of Al Groh's "slashing and burning of our future," as some like to call it. The rest are out.
- On the flip side, scholarships are given to WR Matt Snyder and K Robert Randolph.
- I've also updated, by the way, the spaces for the '11 commits. The latest, Kevin Green, probably isn't going to a quarterback at all, but what the hell, he goes there for now. I don't think he's on board for his quarterbacking so much as for his overall athleticism.
Impact? First, by my count, 82 scholarships spoken for; we'll be a few shy this year. Second, a little extra space, but not a lot, opens up in the recruiting class of 2011. Sparrow's scholarship hopefully won't be open, but the shuffling basically adds two free spaces. There's a bare, absolute minimum now of 16 members of the class; 14 are spoken for, 15 if you count Clifton Richardson as a commit, which I don't, yet. 20 was the old target; I'm thinking 22 now. This is the silver lining, and it's a big one, because spaces are quickly coming off the board and there are some primo targets left.
Second, depth at cornerback just went from a big issue to a big big issue. I know Mike London wants speed at linebacker but can we really be carrying 11 linebackers and five cornerbacks? Five scholarship players is not a cornerback depth chart, it's a cornerback kiddie pool. Depth is suddenly a problem at receiver too, with just seven scholarship players there. Wide receiver just became a priority for this class.
Speaking of this class, let's have a look at the new, updated recruiting board:
- Moved TE Darius Redman, LB Caleb Taylor, and S Kameron Mack to orange, and added ATH Kevin Green there too.
- Removed a few players with whom our chances have fallen from near zero to actually zero: ATH Lafonte Thourogood, WR Quinta Funderburk, and OT Cyrus Kouandjio.
- Removed a couple more players who it doesn't look like we'll get involved with: LB Myles Jackson and WR Melvin Robinson.
- Removed ATH Chris Hall, who's now a Hokie.
- Moved DE Norkeithus Otis from yellow to red.
- Moved QB Kevin Hogan and OT Jay Whitmire from yellow to blue.
- Also, notably, moved LB Curtis Grant from yellow to blue. This isn't because Grant has narrowed down his list or anything. D-I schools can still be divided into two groups: those who've offered Grant, and those who figure they wouldn't have a chance. But the fact is, Grant has been to UVA a lot this spring. Charlottesville is something of a weekend hangout. This is a recruitment UVA fans will be glued to the same way we were for Morgan Moses. Might as well act like it.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
FOV Cavalier of the Year #7/#8
From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide: that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Hultzen and Monica Wright.
Monica Wright - Women's basketball - Guard
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Hultzen and Monica Wright.
Monica Wright - Women's basketball - Guard
Team accomplishments:
- #5 seed in NCAA tournament
Personal accomplishments:
- Set UVA women's all-time scoring record
- ACC Player of the Year
- ACC Defensive Player of the Year
- 4-time ACC Player of the Week
- WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year
- AP first-team All-American
- #2 overall selection in WNBA draft
Last year, Wright shared this nomination with teammate Lyndra Littles, because it seemed way unfair to pick one and not the other, so similar were their accomplishments. This year, and no insult meant to the rest of the lady hoopsters, but it'd be an insult to Wright to put anyone on her level. An absolute no-brainer choice for ACC POTY, Wright averaged 23.7 points a game, which was over four more than second place. She actually averaged more points (25.7) in ACC competition - almost seven points higher than the next gal. And her record-breaking 2,136th career point came just past halfway through the season. She finished with 2,540 points, third on the ACC's list.
Scoring is one thing; earning accolades on both ends of the court as the conference and national defensive POTY really rounds out the resume. 2nd in the nation in steals per game goes nicely with her 7th-place ranking in nationwide scoring. Monica Wright finishes up her career at UVA as far and away the best and most-accomplished women's basketball player the school has ever had.
Danny Hultzen - Baseball - Pitcher
Team accomplishments:
- First 50-win season in school history
- #1 seed in ACC tournament
- #5 seed nationally
- NCAA regional and super-regional host
Personal accomplishments:
- ACC Pitcher of the Year
- First-team all-ACC
- Baseball America 2nd-team All-American
- Howser Trophy semifinalist
- CoSIDA 2nd-team Academic All-American
Back for more. Last year's winner only improved with age, as Hultzen avoided the sophomore slump and locked down Friday nights for Hoo baseball. Finishing with an 11-1 record and a 2.78 ERA - outstanding in the bigs, and extraordinary in a metal-bat league - Hultzen held opposing hitters to a paltry .193 batting average. Hultzen's record would have been spotless but for a 1-run output by the offense against Wright State. Following another early hiccup in which UVA faltered late against NC State after Hultzen had departed the game (thereby not earning the loss), the team would not lose another Hultzen start the rest of the season - a two-month stretch.
For his efforts, the ACC declared him Pitcher of the Year, ahead of two MLB 1st-round picks in UNC's Matt Harvey and GT's Deck McGuire. Only fair, as Hultzen outdueled them both in UVA wins and earned the win himself against McGuire. Whether Hultzen earns a second COTY win in a row is up to you, but there's no chance he'll ever be our first four-time nominee; another season like this one will get him a top-five draft selection of his own.
Friday, June 18, 2010
wait til next year
I'm no Chicago Cubs fan, but I kinda like 'em anyway. So in the spirit of that team whose favorite year is always next year, let's mark the conclusion of the 2010 baseball season with a look forward instead of backwards.
First, for reference, your nominal 2010 lineup:
1B John Hicks
2B Keith Werman
3B Steven Proscia
SS Tyler Cannon
LF Phil Gosselin
CF Jarrett Parker
RF Dan Grovatt
C Franco Valdes
DH John Barr
SP Danny Hultzen
SP Robert Morey
SP Cody Winiarski
SP Branden Kline
This year the Hoos were (in the spirit of the World Cup here) highly fancied as a contender since basically the entire lineup returned. Not so this year. Valdes and Cannon are seniors (and Cannon has already signed with Cleveland) and the Hoos also lose Neal Davis out of the bullpen. Worse, the MLB draft pretty much cratered most of the rest of the starting lineup. The list of draftees:
Jarrett Parker, 2nd round (74th overall) to the Giants
Phil Gosselin, 5th round (164th overall) to the Braves
Robert Morey, 5th round (167th overall) to the Marlins
Kevin Arico, 10th round (307th overall) to the Reds
Dan Grovatt, 11th round (327th overall) to the Pirates
Tyler Cannon, 12th round (360th overall) to the Indians
-------
Tyler Wilson, 35th round (1057th overall) to the Reds
Kenny Swab, 35th round (1064th overall) to the Braves
Neal Davis, 36th round (1101st overall) to the Phillies
Big gap there. And above that line are three big bats and our Saturday starter. That's leave-early territory, especially Parker, Gosselin, and Morey. It might not be a total shock if Arico or Grovatt stuck around hoping for a big season; Arico, however, is currently the nation's saves leader (and will stay that way unless Arizona State and their 14-save closer wins the CWS in a fashion that causes all their fans to die of heart attack). Another season will not improve his stock - he's gone. Grovatt had a better season in 2009; it's possible he stays and tries to repeat his '09 numbers for a higher slot, but probably not.
The other players with decisions to make are Wilson and Swab. Wilson didn't get picked high because he's a reliever. College starters become relievers in the bigs, but it doesn't go the other way round. He probably won't get picked much higher than that if he sticks around, so don't be too shocked to see him take his chances while he's got an ounce of leverage.
Swab, on the other hand, looks like a lock to stay. Cannon was drafted in the 41st round last year, didn't go, and parlayed his senior season into a 12th round pick. Swab can go the same route; with Valdes graduating, a starting job awaits, be it 1B or catcher. (My money's on 1B with Hicks catching.)
The draft was relatively kind to our incoming freshman class. Justin Nicolino went in the 2nd round by the Blue Jays, may the salt of a thousand oceans cover their fields. Nicolino now plans to go pro. Tyler Skulina was taken in the 1300-somethingth slot, which is not going to cause him to skip college.
So that leaves this:
1B Kenny Swab?
2B Keith Werman
3B Steven Proscia
SS ??
LF ??
CF ??
RF Dan Grovatt
C John Hicks?
DH John Barr
SP Danny Hultzen
SP Branden Kline
SP Cody Winiarski
The weekend rotation should settle out nicely; likewise, the weekday starters shouldn't be hard to find. Will Roberts will probably be the top candidate for that job. Tyler Skulina could get some innings that way as well, as he tries to do as Kline did this year and pitch his way into the rotation. More of a mystery will be that outfield, and shortstop. Brian O'Connor will be looking for ways to get the bats of Reed Gragnani and Stephen Bruno in the lineup, and Bruno's played a little shortstop this year. He could slot there - all 5'9" of him - and give us the shortest middle infield in history. Gragnani did more DHing than anything this year and could be tougher to find a slot for, but expect him to be in the weekend starting lineup regardless.
Defensive considerations will come into play as well. Gosselin and Parker played error-free ball all year - that's indispensible, especially in center. Whatever happens to those two positions next year, it probably won't be an improvement over that.
The bullpen will be really interesting to watch. The closer is probably gone and Tyler Wilson might be too, but there are a ton of candidates that folks were eager to see and didn't get their fill of. Chad O'Connor, Scott Silverstein, Justin Thompson....it's a longish list of promising and mostly unproven arms. We'll see them get their shakes next season.
The players themselves aren't done playing baseball. You can't figure out next year's contributions without seeing how they'll do in their summer leagues. Here's the list, as comprehensive as I can figure:
Cape Cod:
Will Roberts - Bourne Braves
John Hicks - Harwich Mariners
Steven Proscia - Harwich Mariners
Tyler Wilson - Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Danny Hultzen - Hyannis Harbor Hawks
New England:
Chris Taylor - Newport Gulls
Branden Kline - Newport Gulls
Valley:
Jared King - Waynesboro Generals
Colin Harrington - Waynesboro Generals
Coastal Plain:
David Coleman - Peninsula Pilots
Shane Halley - Peninsula Pilots
Chad O'Connor - Peninsula Pilots
Cal Ripken:
Rob Amaro - Youse's Orioles (get off me - the apostrophe is supposed to be there)
New York:
Aaron Stull - Oneonta Outlaws
Whit Mayberry - Oneonta Outlaws
That Tyler Wilson is signed up to play summer league ball isn't necessarily indicative of his plans as far as the minors go, but one can hope. Anyway, there you have it. Next year's early outlook probably doesn't involve 50 wins or 1 seed in the ACC tournament, but there's no reason this team shouldn't be in contention anyway. The achievable goal is to host another regional.
First, for reference, your nominal 2010 lineup:
1B John Hicks
2B Keith Werman
3B Steven Proscia
SS Tyler Cannon
LF Phil Gosselin
CF Jarrett Parker
RF Dan Grovatt
C Franco Valdes
DH John Barr
SP Danny Hultzen
SP Robert Morey
SP Cody Winiarski
SP Branden Kline
This year the Hoos were (in the spirit of the World Cup here) highly fancied as a contender since basically the entire lineup returned. Not so this year. Valdes and Cannon are seniors (and Cannon has already signed with Cleveland) and the Hoos also lose Neal Davis out of the bullpen. Worse, the MLB draft pretty much cratered most of the rest of the starting lineup. The list of draftees:
Jarrett Parker, 2nd round (74th overall) to the Giants
Phil Gosselin, 5th round (164th overall) to the Braves
Robert Morey, 5th round (167th overall) to the Marlins
Kevin Arico, 10th round (307th overall) to the Reds
Dan Grovatt, 11th round (327th overall) to the Pirates
Tyler Cannon, 12th round (360th overall) to the Indians
-------
Tyler Wilson, 35th round (1057th overall) to the Reds
Kenny Swab, 35th round (1064th overall) to the Braves
Neal Davis, 36th round (1101st overall) to the Phillies
Big gap there. And above that line are three big bats and our Saturday starter. That's leave-early territory, especially Parker, Gosselin, and Morey. It might not be a total shock if Arico or Grovatt stuck around hoping for a big season; Arico, however, is currently the nation's saves leader (and will stay that way unless Arizona State and their 14-save closer wins the CWS in a fashion that causes all their fans to die of heart attack). Another season will not improve his stock - he's gone. Grovatt had a better season in 2009; it's possible he stays and tries to repeat his '09 numbers for a higher slot, but probably not.
The other players with decisions to make are Wilson and Swab. Wilson didn't get picked high because he's a reliever. College starters become relievers in the bigs, but it doesn't go the other way round. He probably won't get picked much higher than that if he sticks around, so don't be too shocked to see him take his chances while he's got an ounce of leverage.
Swab, on the other hand, looks like a lock to stay. Cannon was drafted in the 41st round last year, didn't go, and parlayed his senior season into a 12th round pick. Swab can go the same route; with Valdes graduating, a starting job awaits, be it 1B or catcher. (My money's on 1B with Hicks catching.)
The draft was relatively kind to our incoming freshman class. Justin Nicolino went in the 2nd round by the Blue Jays, may the salt of a thousand oceans cover their fields. Nicolino now plans to go pro. Tyler Skulina was taken in the 1300-somethingth slot, which is not going to cause him to skip college.
So that leaves this:
1B Kenny Swab?
2B Keith Werman
3B Steven Proscia
SS ??
LF ??
CF ??
RF Dan Grovatt
C John Hicks?
DH John Barr
SP Danny Hultzen
SP Branden Kline
SP Cody Winiarski
The weekend rotation should settle out nicely; likewise, the weekday starters shouldn't be hard to find. Will Roberts will probably be the top candidate for that job. Tyler Skulina could get some innings that way as well, as he tries to do as Kline did this year and pitch his way into the rotation. More of a mystery will be that outfield, and shortstop. Brian O'Connor will be looking for ways to get the bats of Reed Gragnani and Stephen Bruno in the lineup, and Bruno's played a little shortstop this year. He could slot there - all 5'9" of him - and give us the shortest middle infield in history. Gragnani did more DHing than anything this year and could be tougher to find a slot for, but expect him to be in the weekend starting lineup regardless.
Defensive considerations will come into play as well. Gosselin and Parker played error-free ball all year - that's indispensible, especially in center. Whatever happens to those two positions next year, it probably won't be an improvement over that.
The bullpen will be really interesting to watch. The closer is probably gone and Tyler Wilson might be too, but there are a ton of candidates that folks were eager to see and didn't get their fill of. Chad O'Connor, Scott Silverstein, Justin Thompson....it's a longish list of promising and mostly unproven arms. We'll see them get their shakes next season.
The players themselves aren't done playing baseball. You can't figure out next year's contributions without seeing how they'll do in their summer leagues. Here's the list, as comprehensive as I can figure:
Cape Cod:
Will Roberts - Bourne Braves
John Hicks - Harwich Mariners
Steven Proscia - Harwich Mariners
Tyler Wilson - Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Danny Hultzen - Hyannis Harbor Hawks
New England:
Chris Taylor - Newport Gulls
Branden Kline - Newport Gulls
Valley:
Jared King - Waynesboro Generals
Colin Harrington - Waynesboro Generals
Coastal Plain:
David Coleman - Peninsula Pilots
Shane Halley - Peninsula Pilots
Chad O'Connor - Peninsula Pilots
Cal Ripken:
Rob Amaro - Youse's Orioles (get off me - the apostrophe is supposed to be there)
New York:
Aaron Stull - Oneonta Outlaws
Whit Mayberry - Oneonta Outlaws
That Tyler Wilson is signed up to play summer league ball isn't necessarily indicative of his plans as far as the minors go, but one can hope. Anyway, there you have it. Next year's early outlook probably doesn't involve 50 wins or 1 seed in the ACC tournament, but there's no reason this team shouldn't be in contention anyway. The achievable goal is to host another regional.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
short hiatus
Very short. I'd've said something earlier, but yesterday there were people in my house putting my stuff into boxes and the boxes onto a truck, so I was busy. I'm in the middle of moving, so a hold of two or three days is on while I get myself resettled. And besides, at this minute I'm overlooking Niagara Falls from the 19th floor and about to go play a little blackjack, which is the sort of fun I really should have more often.
Be back soon - Thursday or Friday - and will jump into the remainder of the COTY series, as well as a baseball postmortem. Well, not really about the baseball, because there aren't many different ways to say the pitching left the park before the season was over. But there'll be a primer on the MLB draft and how that'll affect next year's look, as well as what to look for in the summer leagues. Plus, I still need to reupdate the recruiting board, and any minute now I'll start profiling the 2011 recruits. There's no such thing as the offseason.
Be back soon - Thursday or Friday - and will jump into the remainder of the COTY series, as well as a baseball postmortem. Well, not really about the baseball, because there aren't many different ways to say the pitching left the park before the season was over. But there'll be a primer on the MLB draft and how that'll affect next year's look, as well as what to look for in the summer leagues. Plus, I still need to reupdate the recruiting board, and any minute now I'll start profiling the 2011 recruits. There's no such thing as the offseason.
Monday, June 14, 2010
FOV Cavalier of the Year, #5/#6
From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as the Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide; that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been the most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University this year. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is to emphasize that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Diego Restrepo and Scot Robison.
Diego Restrepo - Men's soccer - Goalkeeper
Team accomplishments:
- ACC champions
- 10th at NCAA national meet
Personal accomplishments:
- ACC champion in 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle
- Member of all four ACC-champion relays
- ACC meet Most Valuable Swimmer
- ACC records set in 100 and 200 yard freestyle
- 1 individual, 4 relay, and 1 individual honorable mention All-America honors
- 4th-place finish at NCAAs in 200-yard freestyle
Every successful swim team has top-notch freestylers. At a college swim meet, there are just about as many freestyle events as all other events combined. Sprinters are especially important - every event up through 200 yards is considered a sprint. So a guy like Scot Robison - the fastest swimmer in the ACC - is irreplaceable. He wins lots of events.
Robison was a key member of the team last year as well, but this year really cemented his status. He swam no fewer than seven events - the max - in the ACCs, and his wins weren't touch-outs. 26 hundredths of a second seems like nothing at all; it's all that separated him from second place in the 50 freestyle, and it's also what separated second place from seventh in the same race. The 50 free is tight; the 200 free, not so much, as Robison won it by more than two body lengths. You'd have to look pretty hard to find someone who does as much for their team as Robison does for his.
Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University this year. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is to emphasize that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Diego Restrepo and Scot Robison.
Diego Restrepo - Men's soccer - Goalkeeper
Team accomplishments:
- NATIONAL. CHAMPIONS.
- ACC champions
Personal accomplishments:
- School-record 1176:51 shutout streak, including 11 straight shutouts
- School-record 15 shutouts
- Nationwide leader in save percentage at .890
- ACC Tournament MVP
- NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP
- College Soccer News 1st-team All-America
- NSCAA All-Region third team
Eight. The men's soccer team played 25 games this season, and in those 25 games - over 2300 minutes of soccer - just eight times did a ball find its way into the UVA net. Diego Restrepo's shutout streak that spanned 11 games plus most of two others on either end (VT scored in the 13th minute of our game, and not until the 70th minute of a game almost two months later did the streak come to an end) is astounding in and of itself, but what lifted UVA to the championship of everything is when it happened. And who it happened against. Wake Forest - the #3 team in the country and a College Cup final four participant - had three cracks at Restrepo and couldn't score until it was just about too late. The shutout streak spanned the final half of the ACC season, the entire ACC tournament, and three-plus games in the NCAAs.
The streak ended against Wake Forest in the semifinals of the College Cup, but an overtime golden goal sent UVA onward, and Restrepo got right to work on a second streak. The victim this time: unbeaten, untied, top-ranked Akron. Not until the penalty kicks could Akron get a ball past Restrepo, and even then it took some time: the first attempt would be saved as Diego decided, on a hunch, that the shooter would go the opposite way that he'd gone in Akron's previous shootout against UNC. It wasn't the first time Restrepo had made the right call on a penalty kick: a PK save against Maryland in the quarterfinals preserved the streak, though it wasn't necessary to win the game. The Akron save did prove to be a game-winner. Check that: it would prove to be a national-championship winner. It might even be a Cavalier-of-the-Year winner.
Scot Robison - Men's swimming & diving - Freestyle
Team accomplishments:
- ACC champions
- 10th at NCAA national meet
Personal accomplishments:
- ACC champion in 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle
- Member of all four ACC-champion relays
- ACC meet Most Valuable Swimmer
- ACC records set in 100 and 200 yard freestyle
- 1 individual, 4 relay, and 1 individual honorable mention All-America honors
- 4th-place finish at NCAAs in 200-yard freestyle
Every successful swim team has top-notch freestylers. At a college swim meet, there are just about as many freestyle events as all other events combined. Sprinters are especially important - every event up through 200 yards is considered a sprint. So a guy like Scot Robison - the fastest swimmer in the ACC - is irreplaceable. He wins lots of events.
Robison was a key member of the team last year as well, but this year really cemented his status. He swam no fewer than seven events - the max - in the ACCs, and his wins weren't touch-outs. 26 hundredths of a second seems like nothing at all; it's all that separated him from second place in the 50 freestyle, and it's also what separated second place from seventh in the same race. The 50 free is tight; the 200 free, not so much, as Robison won it by more than two body lengths. You'd have to look pretty hard to find someone who does as much for their team as Robison does for his.
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