Friday, April 10, 2009
UVa staff still in transition
Interest heating up for Rockbridge County OL
Doug Doughty
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“I can’t really say what colors I’m wearing right now,” said Jason Williford, caught on his way into Washington’s Gonzaga High School on Friday morning.
“All I know is that I’m recruiting.”
Technically, Williford was recruiting on behalf of American University, although he would not be talking to any of the underclassmen he would be watching at an “open gym.”
Williford, who played at Virginia from 1991-1995, was interviewed Wednesday by new UVa head coach Tony Bennett and associate head coach Ritchie McKay for a position on Bennett’s first staff.
As a candidate, Williford said he hopes to hear something from Virginia by Saturday. “I feel like I’m in decent shape,” he said.
As an alumnus, he had one word for UVa’s choice of Bennett: “Great.”
Then, he went on.
“I thought it was awesome,” Williford said. “In basketball circles, we all know how respected he is, but I just found him really genuine.”
But, then, what’s he going to say?
It was the third time Williford has been interviewed for openings at Virginia but who knows if the third time will be the charm? Bennett probably has heard that he would be well-served in recruiting to hire an assistant with in-state ties, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he should hire a former Virginia player.
That said, Williford’s most recent coaching stop has put him just across the Potomac River from Virginia, so he’s been recruiting in the state. He won’t have to ask anybody how to get to Richmond.
I spoke to McKay on Friday and asked about the process of selecting Virginia’s new staff. He said he would defer to Bennett on that issue but confirmed that Ron Sanchez will be following Bennett from Washington State.
Sanchez was at Washington State for six seasons, the first three as director of basketball operations under Dick Bennett, Tony’s dad. He has been an assistant coach for the past three seasons, with duties that consisted “primarily [of] recruiting and scheduling games,” according to the Cougars’ media guide.
Nobody has said whether Sanchez will be an assistant at Virginia or go back to the “director of basketball operations” role, but his hometown is listed as the Bronx, N.Y., which gives him more of an East Coast background than Washington State’s other coaches.
THE ACC SPORTS JOURNAL, in this week’s online edition, has picked Virginia Tech for fourth place in the ACC next year behind Duke, Clemson and North Carolina.
“Obviously, they don’t know much about basketball,” said Hokies’ coach Seth Greenberg, located on his way out the door at the Portsmouth Invitational. “How could they pick us ahead of Florida State?”
Hey, Florida State was picked seventh. Georgia Tech, this year’s cellar-dweller, was picked fifth. Maryland also was picked ahead of the ‘Noles.
Several weeks ago, Notebook Plus was devoted to the ACC underclassmen who might make themselves available for the NBA draft, specifically the Wake Forest threesome of James Johnson, Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu.
However, as I was contemplating what I had written on the drive north from Atlanta, it occurred to me that Florida State 7-footer Solomon Alabi, a redshirt freshman, might go higher than almost any other ACC underclassmen if he decided to come out.
Media gadfly Jeff White is questioning the selection of Virginia as a preseason choice for 12th place. While I don’t think that Tony Bennett’s first Cavalier team will be NCAA Tournament material, let’s not forget that a crummy, 10-19 UVa team did not finish this past season.
Georgia Tech was behind the Cavaliers.
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY offensive lineman Caleb Farris has been offered a scholarship by Virginia Tech, according to HokieHaven.com, the rivals.com site devoted to the Hokies.
Farris, a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder, was rated 23rd among the state’s top prospects for 2010 by The Roanoke Times. Another rivals.com site, CavsCorner.com, said that Farris will be in Charlottesville for a Virginia practice Saturday and that it probably would take a Cavaliers’ offer to keep UVa in the picture.
According to the rivals.com sites, Farris has grown up as a Hokies’ fan. He reportedly is a good student who will take a look at Harvard while on a trip to Boston College later in the spring or early summer.
In my last conversation with Dr. John Ballein of the Tech football operation, the Hokies are looking at signing between 17 and 22 player for the entering class of 2010. Jamie Oakes of CavsCorner.com is projecting Virginia’s class at between 14 and 20.
My bet is that Virginia and Virginia Tech will be closer to the upper limits than the lower limits and one or both may go over the first projections. In looking at the state in general, it looks as if there will be more than 50 Division I-A signees from Virginia for the second year in a row.
