Friday, July 23, 2010
Pizza parlor hits spot for UVa
Name a former UVa player from Wisconsin
Doug Doughty
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I only wish I could have been there.
While I’ve covered a few basketball announcements over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever attended one at a pizzeria.
Did they have pizza for the media? Could you have more than one slice? Inquiring minds want to know.
I seem to remember Dell Curry announcing his choice of Virginia Tech at a restaurant in the Augusta County hamlet of Verona, but damned if I could recognize the name on a list of restaurants in Verona that I Googled today.
Think that restaurant could have changed names or ownership in the 25 years since Curry made his announcement?
I’m trusting that one of the readers can refresh my memory.
But, back to Jesperson’s announcement. I didn’t realize until I read Mitchell Skurzewski’s account in the Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald that Salvo’s Pizzeria is owned by Jesperson’s family.
An Internet search reveals that Flori Jesperson is the owner.
A picture in the Daily Herald showed Jesperson wearing a Virginia shirt while standing behind a table with two other shirts on it, one green (for Notre Dame perhaps) and the other red (Minnesota).
There was no pizza in sight but you could see a parmesan cheese dispenser in the background.
THERE’S A CHARM to Wisconsin basketball that becomes apparent every time I cover the Division III final four in Salem.
For one thing, everybody seems to be connected.
After I covered Wisconsin-Stevens Point in its semifinal victory over Randolph-Macon, I spoke to Pointers’ coach Brad Semling about Virginia coach Tony Bennett.
It turned out that Semling earlier had been an assistant to Bennett’s uncle, Jack. Jack Bennett’s predecessor as Stevens-Point coach was none other than Dick Bennett, Tony’s dad.
But, wait, it becomes more twisted. The coach at Merrill High School is Kurt Sodeberg, who played at Stevens-Point, as did his brother, Brad Soderberg.
Brad Soderberg coached under Dick Bennett at Wisconsin and was named interim head coach when Bennett announced his retirement early in the 2000-2001 season. Soderberg later served as head coach at Saint Louis University.
I HAD ALREADY completed most of this column when I received a call from Jay Jesperson, Paul’s brother, who informed me that Merrill is a 40-minute drive from Stevens Point.
“I think the Wisconsin connection definitely helped Virginia,” Jay Jesperson said, “but Tony Bennett would be Tony Bennett whether he was from Stevens Point or not.”
Jay Jesperson was 17 when his brother was born and, at 35, has taken on something of a father-brother-mentor role. He also serves as coach of his brother’s AAU program, the Wisconsin Playmakers.
Just watching the Division III tournament and the Wisconsin teams made up of predominantly Wisconsin kids, I’ve been struck by the quality of player produced by that state.
“I’ve heard that probably 20 times in the last three months,” Jay Jesperson said. “Schools are really starting to focus on Wisconsin because it’s such an uncharted area that people [traditionally] have underrated.
“The reason we started the Wisconsin Playmakers has a lot to do with how underappreciated kids outside the metro area are. There were hardly any AAU teams. We’ve still got a long ways to go, but we’re starting to make our mark.”
MERRILL HIGH FINISHED 20-6 last year but was 4-4 at one point. Paul Jesperson, at 6 foot 7 and 185 pounds, played a lot of point guard but also lined up at center.
“He didn’t shoot a ton,” brother Jay said. “One game, he scored 22 points and 19 came at the free-throw line. When he had really high-scoring games, he usually had the 3-ball going.
”I think he's going to do a little more of the same in college. He probably won't play the '5' spot like he sometimes does for his high school team. I think he can play all three [perimeter] positions. He's not a true point but he can play some point forward, where he can get a rebound and push it."
Jay Jesperson said Wisconsin recruited his brother "but they only saw him one time in a 12-month period," he said. "I don't know if they didn't think he was good enough or they didn't need somebody at that position."
As to whether the decision might haunt the Badgers, Jay Jesperson said, "That's what we're hoping."
The Cavaliers are hoping that Paul Jesperson turns out better than the last UVa player I can remember from Wisconsin, 6-4 Rob Metcalf from Port Edwards, Wis., who lettered as a freshman in 1986-87 and then transferred to Minnesota.
BUT, ENOUGH OF THE ANALYSIS. What about the pizza connection?
Jay Jesperson said the Salvo's franchise has been in the family since before Paul was born and, yes, there was pizza available for the media at Wednesday night's announcement.
The specialty of the house is pizza fries, fries baked in pizza sauce and sprinkled with garlic.
I wouldn't have been able to write.
ODDS 'N' ENDS: Melvin Robinson, named first-team All-Group AAA in Virginia last year as a junior at Annandale High School, has transferred to Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, Md. Robinson, who had 44 receptions for 1,130 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, says his only scholarship offer is from West Virginia but that he has a list of finalists that includes Virginia Tech, Maryland, Miami and Hawaii. ... Virginia finished second to Duke on Sam Marshall, a 6-9, 246-pound lineman from Chancellor High School in Fredericksburg. The Blue Devils like Marshall as a defensive lineman; the Cavaliers wanted him for the O-line, which may have had something to do with the offer they made to Tim Cwalina, a 6-7, 280-pounder from Mt. Lebanon, Pa., who committed Thursday. ... An in-state lineman who had attracted some I-A attention, Grant Jones from Liberty Christian in Lynchburg, has committed to I-AA Liberty.
