as we did tonight. JA was the emotional heart of this team for 3 years. We have lost that spark that Justin would bring to the game. Brogdon is a great player but he is not a "spark".

So where do we get the spark??? Have to look to the kids- Thompson could be that spark, but don't see that special kid yet who can lift this team emotionally.

Greetings from Foggy Bottom, where No. 6 UVa faces George Washington here at the Charles E. Smith Center in about two and a half hours. This place is pretty tiny, so I expect it to be an interesting challenge for the Cavaliers since it appears GW is going all out for the environment tonight.

I'll be back with notes once the guys take the floor in a little bit.

As always, have at it folks...

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I've brought this up before and I'm sure I'll get accused of blasphemy, but LP needs to step up his game big time if we are going to make a deep run in the NCAAs. He's a good guard and we wouldn't have won back to back ACC regular seasons without him. But not sure his game has really improved since the end of his first year. He needs to be able to step up the pace when needed, knock down a three when needed, drive it to the hole when needed... We need a take-over PG to win it all, it's no coincidence that Shabazz Napier and Tyus Jones won it all.

Anyways, this loss isn't just on him. Malcolm stepped up when needed, Tobey played good in the first half then disappeared, and Gill had his moments--everyone else was MIA. Also wish Reuter had gotten some burn, no one else was doing much.

Really feel for these kids. JUst piss poor coaching- no discipline in execution of assignments. Offensive play calling that is pathetically predictable. A defense that is all or nothing, and secondary / cornerback coaching technique that is worse than middle school


But better times will come with the next coach. Much needs to change and EVERYONE from Oliver down needs to go.

this was a fitting way for the Mike London era to end. We should have won but poor coaching and 2 bonehead plays on special teams and we lose. I appreciate how hard the kids fight and they deserve better.

1 bowl in 6 seasons is completely unacceptable!

IMO thought Morgan Moses except for the first play had a really good game today. Really starting to play right tackle well.

Getting ready to go with UVa's game week presser here in about five minutes with Mike London. Check this thread for notes soon.

that this board is going to go into a suicidal nose dive if ML is retained. I understand and agree with all the reasons why we will have a new coach next season. But the exact same argument was true last year. And yet by some convoluted logic he was retained. I think there is a valid concern that the UVA donor base is so incredibly cheap that we'll let London play out his contract. I really hope everyone can concentrate on bball season.

and no Gameday for Frank. Lots of Butt Hurt in Blacksburg

Except for 6'4 guard or two, which is still large, team is a bit more physical than last, and deeper, more athletic now at guards positions. Just hope we can shoot 3 consistently!?!? A top 2 or 3 finish in league enough for me, as I want to finish with a final 4, playing our best in the end this year! Stargarr

In UVa's season-opening rout of Morgan State, redshirt sophomore guard Devon Hall had his best game as a Wahoo, helping the No. 6-ranked Cavaliers demolish the Bears 86-48 behind a career-high 13 points in addition to four assists.

In this video interview, he talks about getting back to having fun playing the game rather than obsessing over things, about how much fun he and his teammates are having pushing tempo a bit this year, about the team's depth and the influence of some new guys like Darius Thompson, and his mindset as the team heads to George Washington on Monday night for an early season road test.

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UVA is now 4-2 and have competed against four nationally ranked teams.

We put a safety over the top on the last play vs. ND, knowing the only guy that could beat us was #7 - we win that one. We should have and could have beaten Pitt, UNC, Miami, & Louisville - then we'd be fighting for the Coastal title and in the lead. I maintain we had the kids to do it, just not the head leader and coaches. And that with a mediocre QB.

I know I'm dating myself, but didn't that used to be a column in SI? Think it was during the NFL season.

Anyway...had no intention of fighting Friday afternoon traffic and going to the Morgan State game, but my 11 year old talked me into driving down from NOVA and checking things out at JPJ. We picked up 3 seats in section 305 for under $30, so definitely the "cheap seats". Here's my breakdown of the 2015-16 Hoos after round one...

1. Malcolm - Definitely not his best night, but he's Malcolm. He tends to play best when it counts most, and we probably could have squeaked out a win with Evan and the walk-ons playing the majority of the minutes. If we're still seeing comparable performances in late December, I'll be concerned...but 3 years of history proves we won't.

2. AG & Mike - Both could have scored every trip down. AG missed some bunnies early on, but was just shaking off some rust...he'll be All ACC this year. Mike was pretty much unstoppable, as would be expected against such an overmanned opponent. FWIW I've been Mike's biggest fan and biggest critic (sometimes in the same week), but I wouldn't trade our interior guys for anyone in the conference. I still want to see Mike put it together for 4-5 games in a row though.

3. LP - I'm a little conflicted on LP's role. Like him playing off the ball, and he shot well from deep...he seemed to have a little trouble getting into the flow when not the primary ball handler though. I'm on board with the 3 ball handlers on the floor strategy, but hope LP doesn't get lost in that shuffle. Have a strong suspicion this will all work out, but just a little weird not seeing the offense always run through him.

4. Shayok - Going into the game with MSU, I thought he'd be the leading scorer. He ended up with donut. His looks from 3 were good looks, and didn't think he was forcing things...like Malcolm, just not his best night.

5. DT - Umm...wow. I try not to get too excited about practice reports, but this kid lived up to the hype and then some. Do we really have him for 3 seasons? Filled the stat sheet in every way imaginable and had a 0 in the one area of the stat sheet you want a 0...TO's. He's going to be a handful for teams to gameplan against...thought 36 hours ago that Shayok would be the 5th starter, but how do you keep this kid off the floor?

6. Hall - I've said more than once here that I pull for him as much (maybe more) than anyone on the team. He reclassified, then took the RS, then didn't transfer after last season. I love his game so much, and was so happy to see him perform at the level he did in the opener. With DT & Shayok in the fold, he probably doesn't get that 5th starter spot, but IMO he's a strong candidate for 6th man of the year in the ACC if he plays anywhere close to how he did against MSU.

7. Wilkins - Easy to get lost in the shuffle with how DT & Hall performed, but a very solid performance. He'll play plenty this year and him versus Diakite will be a very interesting battle for the starting PF slot in 2016-17. If he makes the jump Akil did between SO and JR season, look out.

8. Nolte - Always want to see a SR go out on a high note, and he's waited his turn, but I just see too much talent in front of EN for him to have a legitimate chance to start and play major minutes this year. Still see him as a regular rotation player, and I'd be willing to bet we win at least one or two games because he has a lights out performance, but he struggled. Hope I'm wrong, but he looks like #9 in a 9 man rotation.

9. Reuter - Um, another wow. I know he played against better competition in his HS practices at Brewster than he played last night, but this kid has "it". I've followed UVa hoops for a "few" decades, and frankly there have only been a handful of opening night performances that I thought were significantly better, despite only 10 minutes. As I mentioned in another thread, I'm not sure exactly where his minutes will come from this year, but he could be special down the road. Great anticipation, soft touch around the basket and passes like a Guard...just seems to know where to be a half second before he needs to be there. I wasn't expecting much, but came away very impressed.

10. Salt - Love his energy, and he may have gotten the best individual crowd reaction of the entire night. He's not better than Reuter though, so not sure he breaks the regular rotation. That said, I wouldn't cringe if he came in the game against a formidable opponent, and if Jack Salt is your 11th man...you're in pretty good shape.

On the floor at the same time. They provided the spark we needed last night. Both are smooth and athletic who can finish. I thought the team ran better with DT at point. LP is still the man but his lack of aggression I think hurts our team on offense.

I'm getting really excited about what's coming in the next two weeks and beyond.

Love CML as a person, and I hope his detractors won't be sadistic and nasty when he goes, but he never could get it together and produce a winning program.

I do hope Oliver is fired, too. He needs to be held accountable and needs to be extracted from any influence on the program.

As I put the London era behind, I'm struck with what a great opportunity we have for our future. We've got good talent on the team who are solid on UVA and have refused to roll over and die like many of the fans expected and even accused them of doing. We've got a forward looking facility upgrade in the works. We've got a great university in a fantastic area. We've got tons of money and donors invested in making the program successful. And despite its recent failure in the football program, we've got an athletic department that has shown it can go out and bring in a quality coach like Brian O'Connor and Tony Bennett. We also have numerous solid coaches out there that would be a good fit at UVA.

I'm getting giddy at the prospects of this off-season. What happens in the next two to six weeks could be the making of a successful football program for decades to come. We're entering a new era of UVA football.

Amazing times are ahead.

Calling it now, we *will* go bowling next year.

Go Hoos!!!

Call me a glutton for punishment but looking for 3 tix to the game Saturday

Bama State over VT of course..
But how about my alma mater Radford Univ Highlianders over G-town!!!!!!!!!!

Not too much longer before things get going out in Louisville. We'll have updates for you in this thread shortly.

As always, have at it folks.

Is it unfair to him to suggest that by his sr. or even his jr. year that we can see a Travis Watson type game or production from him? Just something I've been thinking about in regards to him and his variety of skills he possesses. Thanks in advance.

Curt:
GO HOOS!!!

Does anyone have 2 tickets that they want to sell?

My goodness, you don't see these kids for some months and then Perrantes, Gill, Wilkins and Thompson all are a foot taller because of their doos! Step aside Gonzage, we are Hair Town Hoops! There, I said it!!!