Friday, March 14, 2008
Defense is still missing for UVa
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dave Leitao had talked and talked and talked Wednesday, talked about individuals, talked about the team, talked about the upcoming matchup with Georgia Tech the next day in the ACC Tournament.
Then somebody asked him what Virginia's one biggest goal was against the Yellow Jackets. How about it, Coach? What was the one thing the Cavaliers absolutely had to bring?
"Defense," the UVa coach said without hesitation. "That's probably my biggest concern: Transition defense and then overall defense."
The chasm between what Leitao wants and what he's been getting has been enormous all year. But on Thursday, it widened even further. Georgia Tech shot almost 58 percent from the field, scored 30 points off the fast break and won 94-76, eliminating they Cavaliers from the ACC Tournament in the exact manner Leitao dreaded most.
Maybe they'll play again this year in some second- or third-rate tournament. Maybe they won't. Nobody really seemed to care after this one. Something's broken in Charlottesville when the man in charge believes so strongly in one element of the game but the team does not display it. Something's missing when Leitao repeats it -- defense, defense, defense -- and the team falls farther and farther down in the defensive rankings. Even before this one, the Cavaliers were 11th in the ACC in scoring defense, 11th in field-goal percentage defense.
In other words, they haven't played much defense.
"It's happened a number of times this year, for a number of reasons," Leitao said. "It's upsetting and disappointing at the same time. I think you have to look at every phase of why and try to begin the process to make sure that you correct all those things."
That includes looking in the mirror. Whatever he's saying isn't working.
Whatever carrots his dangling need some ranch dressing. Whatever personalities he's bringing into the program aren't jibing enough with his own.
Maybe he needs to change his motivational tactics. Maybe, with this particular group, he needs less critiquing and more encouraging. Maybe he needs to create his own system of tangible rewards for defensive prowess he spots on film.
Maybe he's already trying some of this. If that's the case, maybe he needs to do the opposite.
"Defense, for 100 years of basketball, is three-quarters mentality and the other portion execution and knowledge and know-how," Leitao said. "Most players this age, especially if they reach a certain level, judge themselves ... on offense. If there's a game, they usually run to the box score to see how many points they scored. Most if not all defensive-minded people or teams somehow turn that mentality into 'how did we do today defensively? How did I do? Did I stop my man? Did we stop [the other] team?'
"That has been a process that we have not grabbed hold of for most of the year. When we have, it hasn't stayed with us for long enough stretches. It's something that you have to continue to figure out, work on and ultimately get better at."
The one thing Leitao's not doing is living in denial. He recognizes the problem. And he's proven in the past that he can get players to think like he does.
When Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage hired Leitao in 2005, the one thing he kept mentioning was how well Leitao's teams at DePaul played defense. Littlepage, a former basketball coach himself, watched film of stretches where Leitao's teams held conference opponents to six or seven minutes without a field goal. More than any interview or line on a resume, the film sold Littlepage. The film spoke of discipline, of intensity, of winning.
Two years into his UVa career, Leitao validated Littlepage's hire by being named ACC coach of the year.
But how far we are from there at this moment. If this was indeed the last game of the season, then the record will show that seven of UVa's final 13 opponents shot better than 50 percent of the field. The lasting memory will be Georgia Tech's Anthony Morrow hitting another 3-pointer from the corner, or Alade Aminu scoring on a fast-break slam. It'll be Leitao shaking his head and calling another time out to talk it over.
The good news? There's time now. Leitao can talk and talk and talk all off-season. Maybe he'll hit on the right words by next fall.
