Thursday, November 22, 2007
Leitao advises against premature judgments
Rotations could vary on game-by-game basis
Doug Doughty
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It’s getting to be a regular occurrence. Virginia plays a men’s basketball game and somebody of note doesn’t get on the floor.
At Arizona, it was freshman Mike Scott, who was coming off a seven-point, six-rebound performance against Howard.
Against Drexel, it was sophomore Will Harris, who entered the season as the No. 4 scorers among Virginia’s returning players.
What’s going to happen when Tunji Soroye and Solomon Tat return from preseason operations?
Harris had back and ankle injuries that limited his participation in preseason workouts, “but, you know what?” Dave Leitao, the Cavaliers’ third-year head coach, said after the Drexel game. “We could talk about one or two or three guys every game.”
“[With] Will, yeah, he’s still a little banged up. He’s recovering. He probably could have played tonight. I like to think that Jamil’s time on the court and Adrian’s time was good and so it didn’t make any difference.
“I told the team after the game: Next game could be Will’s turn. Who knew it was going to be Mike’s turn today? Having depth doesn’t mean you’re going to play 12 guys [or] 14 guys every game.
“It may mean that it will be somebody else’s turn game by game.”
At 6-6 and 245 pounds, Harris is a little short for a power forward but that’s probably his natural position. Senior Adrian Joseph (6 foot 7, 201 pounds) has been starting at power forward, with sophomore Jamil Tucker (6-8, 241) coming off the bench.
Although Joseph and junior Mamadi Diane are UVa’s two most experienced players next to senior point guard Sean Singletary, Leitao wasn’t sure if he could start them because they basically had played the same position – small forward – until this point. Joseph never rebounded well enough to play power forward and Diane didn’t handle the ball well enough to play big guard.
Diane still struggles with his ball-handling at times, but Joseph has been a pleasant surprise with his rebounding during UVa’s 4-0 start. He had his first career double-double – 11 points and 11 rebounds – in the Cavaliers’ 72-58 victory over Drexel and is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds for the season.
Tucker had seven points and four rebounds in 19 minutes Tuesday night and gives the Cavaliers a bigger body when he comes in for Joseph. When he came off the bench in the first half, he gave Virginia some much needed scoring when hardly anybody else was contributing at the offensive end.
Scott had five points and five rebounds against Drexel after not playing at all Arizona, and Scott did not embarrass himself defensively against the Dragons’ Frank Elegar, who was too quick for Ryan Pettinella and Lauris Mikalaukas.
Another freshman, Sammy Zeglinski, also did not play at Arizona, where he may have had an ankle injury. I was told he was in a boot in Tucson, Ariz., but he looked plenty quick in a nine-minute stint against Drexel.
That was the same amount of playing time that another freshman, Jeff Jones, received. Jones was coming off a 15-point game at Arizona, where his five 3-point field goals were critical in a 75-72 UVa win. Jones had two points against Drexel.
“It was a combination,” Leitao said. “I didn’t think he had great rhythm today, but then Calvin [Baker] came in and had a heck of a game. Mike Scott took some minutes away from some guys in the post today, just like Calvin took some minutes away from Jeff. That may be simply what happens during points in time.”
Baker, a transfer from William and Mary, played 26 minutes and scored in double figures (11 points) for the third time in four games. He is fourth on the team in minutes played (19.3 per game) and fourth in scoring (9.5).
Zeglinski had three assists, without a turnover, and media gadfly Jeff White was furious that he wasn’t credited with 1-2 steals.
“He has quick hands and it’s showed in a couple of the games,” Leitao said. “He forced a turnover on the sideline and plucked the ball loose a couple of times out of the post.
“Like any young guy, he’s got to get better defensively and keep the ball ahead of him. On the ball or just attacking the ball, he’s been pretty good so far."
