Cavaliers Set To Host VMI

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Nov. 20, 1999

Virginia vs. VMI
November 21, 1999 * 7:00 p.m.
University Hall
Charlottesville, Va.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (1998-99 record: 14-16/4-12 ACC) opened the 1999-2000 season witha 97-66 win over Elon Friday evening. VMI (1998-99 record: 12-15/9-7Southern Conference) is 1-0 this year after beating Southern Virginia 99-73in a game that tipped off at midnight Thursday. Last year, VMI lost a pairof one-point games to Elon (85-84 at home on 11/14 and 70-69 away on 12/2).

Television: Tonight’s game will not be televised.

Radio: All UVa games are heard on the Virginia Sports Network originatingat WINA/WQMZ in Charlottesville. Mac McDonald calls the play by play. JimHobgood provides the analysis.

Cavaliers Successfully Open Season for 75th Time
Virginia began its 1999-2000 season with a 97-66 win over Elon onFriday evening, marking the 75th season-opening victory for the Cavaliersin 95 opportunities. That is a .789 winning percentage. The Cavaliershave now won 11 of their last 13 season openers dating back to 1987-88.Virginia’s last loss in a season opener was in 1997-98 when it dropped an83-79 double overtime decision at Richmond.

Head coach Pete Gillen improved to 13-2 in season openers as acollegiate head coach and has now won 10 straight, including the last twoat Virginia. He was 7-2 at Xavier (1986-94) and 4-0 at Providence(1995-98) in season openers.

The Series vs. VMI
The Cavaliers own a 96-15 advantage in the all-time series againstVMI that dates back to the 1908-09 season.Virginia has won the last 19 meetings between the two schools, theCavaliers’ second-longest winning streak of the series. After droppingconsecutive meetings in 1942 and 1943, Virginia reeled off 32 wins in a rowover the Keydets from 1943-1960. That is a school record for mostconsecutive wins over an opponent.

Virginia’s 96 wins against VMI are by far its most over any opponent. Nextis Virginia Tech, who Virginia has beaten 69 times.VMI has not beaten Virginia since gaining a 95-75 win in Lexington, Va., onDecember 9, 1964. Cavalier head coach Pete Gillen was a 17-year oldfreshman at Fairfield University at the time. Willie Dersch, the oldestplayer on this year’s UVa team, wasn’t born until almost 13 years later.In the most recent contest between the two schools, Virginia defeated theKeydets 82-64 at University Hall on 12/22/98.

The Cavaliers are 12-0 against the Keydets at University Hall.

Virginia vs. the Southern Conference
This is Virginia’s lone game of the season against a school from theSouthern Conference.

Virginia was one of the 13 original members of the “old” SouthernConference from 1922-37 and has a long and rich history of competitionagainst the Southern Conference.

Almost an original member of the conference, VMI joined the league in 1926and is its oldest current member.

Against the 12 current members of the Southern Conference, the Cavaliersare 111-19 all-time. Most of the games were against VMI-a series Virginialeads 96-15. The Cavaliers are 2-0 vs. The Citadel, 1-0 vs. AppalachianState, College of Charleston and East Tennessee State, and 10-4 againstDavidson.

Of the Southern Conference’s current membership, Virginia has never facedChattanooga, Furman, Georgia Southern, North Carolina-Greensboro, WesternCarolina or Wofford.

There have been 40 other schools besides UVa that have been members of theSouthern Conference at one time or another since 1922. These schoolsinclude many current members of the Southeastern Conference and the ACC.Virginia is 270-244 (.525) against these schools at the time they were inthe Southern Conference.

Head Coach Pete Gillen
Pete Gillen is in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach andsports a 289-144 record. He has led his teams to postseason play 11 timesin 14 seasons (eight NCAA, three NIT). Gillen has been selected as theconference Coach of the Year five times – all while coaching Xavier(Midwestern Collegiate Conference).

He successfully began his coaching career at Virginia with an 86-70win over Virginia Commonwealth on November 13, 1998.

Shooting Well vs. Keydets
The Cavaliers have won their last 19 games against VMI, due in part totheir outstanding shooting. During this streak, stretching back more than31 years, Virginia is shooting 51.6 percent from the field, while theKeydets shoot 37.6 percent.

During their 19-game winning streak against the Keydets, the Cavaliers havenot shot less than 44.2 percent from the field (1972-73). Their highestmark is 65.9 percent in the 1975-76 contest. That shooting performance isthe eighth-best mark in school history.

In the 13 games since 1972-73, Virginia has topped 47 percent in everygame, including shooting 50 percent or better nine times. The Cavaliers hadtheir streak of making at least half of their shots in eight-straightmeetings vs. VMI stopped last season. Virginia shot 47.1 percent (24-51)against the Keydets last season. Prior to last year, a game during the1982-83 season was the last time UVa failed to make 50 percent of its shotsagainst VMI.

In-State Teams at University Hall
University Hall has gained a well-deserved reputation as a tough place toplay, particularly for in-state schools. Old Dominion and Richmond (twowins each) are the only state schools with more than one win at UniversityHall.

Since University Hall opened on November 25, 1965, the Cavaliers havecompiled a 68-7 (.907) record against state schools on the hardwood atU-Hall.

Virginia had won 42 consecutive home games against in-state teams beforefalling to Liberty 69-64 in the 1997-98 season.The Cavaliers won three games against state teams (Hampton, Liberty andVMI) last season to forge a three-game winning streak vs. in-stateopponents.

In all games against in-state opponents over the last 21 seasons theCavaliers are 88-14 (.863).

Opponents Shoot Blanks at University Hall
Virginia is 34-7 against non-conference opponents at University Hall overthe last seven seasons. Among the reasons the Cavaliers have been sosuccessful in non-conference games is their ability to out-shoot andout-rebound the other team.

In their wins, the Cavaliers have shot 46.5 percent from the field comparedto 36.7 percent for the opposition. Virginia also out-rebounds the otherteam by more than 10 rebounds per game (44.5/g to 34.3/g).

In contrast, the tables are turned in Virginia’s home losses. The opponentsshoot much better than Virginia (43.2 percent vs. 37.2 percent) andout-rebound the Cavaliers by a wide margin (44.7/g to 32.4/g).

Three of the five-highest shooting percentages by non-conference opponentson Virginia’s home floor the last seven seasons have come in Virginialosses. Liberty shot 50.0 percent in the 1997-98 season and stunned UVa69-64. Ohio shot 47.4 percent in a 94-83 win during the 1994-95 season,while Connecticut shot 46.3 percent in winning the 1993-94 season opener.Only 14 of the last 41 non-conference opponents to come to University Hallhave managed to make more than 40 percent of their field goal attempts.VMI has failed to reach 40 percent field goal shooting in the past threegames (1994-95 – 34.8 percent, 1997-98 – 30.0 percent, and 1998-99 – 36.6percent).

Non-Conference Teams at University Hall
Virginia is 175-27 (.866) all-time in U-Hall against non-conferenceopponents since the building opened for the 1965-66 season.The Cavaliers have won 57 of their last 65 home games againstnon-conference opponents dating back to the 1989-90 season (basically thisdecade).

Dersch and Hand Elected Captains
Senior forward/guard Willie Dersch and junior guard Donald Handhave been elected captains of the 1999-2000 Virginia basketball team bytheir teammates. Both players served as captains of the basketball teamlast season.

In 1998-99, Dersch started 26 of the 30 games in which he playedand received the team’s Michael McCann Leadership Award. He averaged 10.2points and 2.8 rebounds a game last season. The three-year letterwinner isthe only senior on the 1999-2000 UVa team.

Hand started all 30 games last season and was the co-recipient ofthe Bill Gibson Cavalier of the Year Award as the team’s most valuableplayer. Hand led the Cavaliers in scoring (17.1 ppg), assists (123, 4.1ppg.), steals (57) free throw shooting (86.2 percent, 162-188) andthree-point field goals (50). He was the top free throw shooter in theAtlantic Coast Conference last season. His 41 points in Virginia’s 82-79overtime victory over North Carolina State last February are a UVasophomore record and the most points scored by a Virginia player sinceBarry Parkhill established a school record with 51 points againstBaldwin-Wallace during the 1971-72 season.

Double Double in Debut
Freshman forward Travis Watson became only the third freshman in Virginiahistory since the restoration of freshman eligibility in 1972-73 to recorda “double double” in the first game of his career. Oddly enough, it isalso the second straight year that it has happened.

Watson totaled 15 points and 14 rebounds in only 19 minutes in the seasonopener against Elon on Friday night.

Current sophomore Chris Williams opened his UVa career with 20 points and10 rebounds against Virginia Commonwealth last season.

The first player to record a double double in his first game was ScottJohnson, who scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes in the1995-96 season opener against Tennessee-Martin.

The performances of several notable Cavaliers in their college debuts arelisted below.

Ducharme Eighth on Blocked Shot List
Junior center Colin Ducharme is currently eighth on Virginia’sall-time blocked shot list with 77. He needs six more blocks to move pastTed Jefferies (1990-93) into seventh place.

Ducharme is tied with current teammate Chris Williams for theninth-best single season block total with 41. Ducharme notched his 41blocks while leading the team in that category in 1996-97. Williams’ 41blocks came last year. In addition to leading the team in blocks in1996-97, Ducharme also held that honor in 1997-98 with 34.

Two Exhibition Wins
Virginia won both of its 1999-2000 exhibition games. The Cavaliersdefeated the Down Under Bandits 97-67 on November 4 at University Hall.UVa closed the exhibition season with a 94-70 victory over the NantucketNectars Naturals on November 10, also at University Hall.

Leaders in Exhibition Games
Sophomore guard Adam Hall led the Cavaliers in scoring in the twoexhibition games by averaging 15 points. Junior guard Donald Hand averaged11 points, including a team-high 16 points against the Down Under Bandits.Junior center Colin Ducharme averaged 13 rebounds per game and added sixblocked shots. His return after missing most of the 1998-99 season with abroken ankle gives the Cavaliers a much needed boost in the reboundingdepartment. Freshman forward Travis Watson added 17 points and 13 reboundsin the two wins.

Same Starting Lineup Times Three
The Cavaliers started the same five players in both of theirexhibition games and the season opener. Junior transfer Stephane Dondonand sophomore Chris Williams started at forward, while junior ColinDucharme started at center. Junior Donald Hand and sophomore Adam Hallearned the starting berths in the backcourt for Virginia.

Spreading the Minutes Around
In the two exhibition games, UVa had 10 players average doublefigures in minutes and an 11th player averaged 9.5 minutes a game. Againstthe Down Under Bandits, 11 players logged 10 minutes or more, while nineplayers saw double-digit action against the Nantucket Nectars Naturals.Sophomore forward Chris Williams’ 25 minutes against the Bandits were themost played by any UVa team member in the preseason.

In the season opener against Elon, the Cavaliers had 10 players seeat least 12 minutes of playing time. Williams (28), junior guard DonaldHand (26) and sophomore guard Adam Hall (25) were the only players to play20 or more minutes.

Cavaliers Shake off Slow Start to Defeat Nantucket
Junior center Colin Ducharme recorded a double-double with 10points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia to a 94-70 exhibition win over theNantucket Nectars Naturals before a crowd of 2,313 on November 10 atUniversity Hall.

In 22 minutes of action, Ducharme connected on three of five fieldgoal attempts and converted four of five free throws en route to his 10points. Sophomore guard Adam Hall led the Cavaliers in scoring with 15points on six of nine shooting from the field. A pair of freshmen, forwardTravis Watson and point guard Majestic Mapp, contributed 12 points each offthe bench for UVa. Watson made five of six attempts from the floor and alsopulled down nine rebounds. Mapp scored his 12 points on four of sevenshooting from the field and made three of five free throws as well. As ateam, Virginia shot a respectable 48.6 percent from the field as itconnected on 36 of 74 shots. The Cavaliers also held a 51-38 reboundingadvantage.

Guard Brian Gilgeous led the Nantucket Nectars Naturals with agame-high 17 points, while forward Kenny Wood contributed 16 points andeight rebounds.

The Nantucket Nectars Naturals held a five-point lead, 15-10, with12:02 to play in the first half. Virginia overcame the early deficit byclosing out the first half on a 32-16 run to take a 42-31 lead intointermission. The Cavaliers took control of the game during a four-minutestretch of the first half in which they outscored the Naturals 14-2. SixUVa players scored during the spurt that started at the 6:37 mark withVirginia holding a 26-24 lead.

UVa Opens Exhibition Season with Impressive Win
Virginia won its 1999-2000 exhibition opener 97-67 over the DownUnder Bandits on November 4 at University Hall.

Junior guard Donald Hand and sophomore guard Adam Hall combined for31 points on 11 of 17 shooting from the field to lead the Cavaliers to thevictory. Hand led the Cavaliers with 16 points on six of 11 shooting fromthe field, while Hall scored 12 of his 15 points in the decisive firsthalf. On the night, Hall made five of six attempts from the floor andgrabbed eight rebounds, including five offensive boards. Sophomore forwardChris Williams and junior guard Keith Friel both added 11 points to roundout the Cavaliers’ double figure scorers. Junior center Colin Ducharme ledall players with 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Forward Ryan Stolberg scored 22 points to lead the Down UnderBandits. Forward Scott Mitchell added 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Down Under Bandits took an early 8-3 lead on a Stolberg jumperwith 16:18 left in the first half. With the Bandits leading 20-15 on aMitchell jumper with 9:38 to go, the Cavaliers went on a 34-6 run to endthe first half and take the lead for good. Hand ignited the run with athree-pointer with 9:25 left to bring UVa within 20-18. A Williams stealled to a Willie Dersch layup that tied the game at 20-20 with 9:03remaining in the opening half. A Hand layup off another Williams stealgave Virginia the lead for good, 22-20, at the 8:50 mark. UVa went on totake a 49-26 advantage at halftime.

Virginia shot 47.9 percent from the floor in the contest,connecting on 35 of 73 attempts. The Cavaliers forced 23 turnovers,including 17 in the first half, and held the Down Under Bandits to 33.3percent shooting in the game (21-63).

1999-2000 ACC Pre-Season Media Prediction
(Indicates first place votes)

Cavaliers to Play in Puerto Rico
Virginia will travel to Puerto Rico to play in the Puerto RicoShootout during the Thanksgiving Holiday. UVa will play South Carolina onNovember 25, with its opponents on November 26 and 27 to be determined.

The trip to Puerto Rico marks the second time that Virginia willtravel outside the United States to play. The first time was in the1982-83 season when the Terry Holland-coached Cavaliers travelled to Tokyo,Japan, to play Houston (a 72-63 win) and Utah (an 80-57 win) in the SuntoryBall Classic. With the two wins Virginia won the Suntory Ball Classictitle.

Five Players Mentioned for ACC Pre-Season Honors
Virginia had five players receive votes for various 1999-2000Pre-Season Atlantic Coast Conference teams as selected by the mediaattending the conference’s 38th annual Operation Basketball held on October24 in Greensboro.

Headlining the UVa list is sophomore forward Chris Williams who wasselected to the pre-season All-ACC second team. Williams also receivedconsideration as the pre-season ACC Player of the Year. Last season,Williams was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and also garnered third teamaccolades. He was Virginia’s second leading scorer at 16.8 points per gameand also led the squad with 7.5 rebounds per outing.

Junior guard Donald Hand was a 1999-2000 honorable mentionpre-season All-ACC selection, having received the 13th-most votes. Handled the Cavaliers in scoring in 1998-99 with 17.1 points per game and wasan honorable mention All-ACC pick at the conclusion of the season.

Three members of Virginia’s heralded freshman class receivedconsideration as the 1999-2000 pre-season ACC Rookie of the Year. Pointguard Majestic Mapp, guard Roger Mason and forward Travis Watson were amongseven league players to receive votes for Rookie of the Year.

Two New Staff Members
Head Coach Pete Gillen welcomes two new members to his staff, ScottShepherd and Alexis Sherard.

Shepherd and Sherard replace Bobby Gonzalez, who became the headcoach at Manhattan College, and Michael Malone, who is now an assistantcoach at Manhattan.

Shepherd joins the Virginia coaching staff after spending the lastfive years as the head post-graduate basketball coach at Hargrave MilitaryAcademy.

Sherard is the director of men’s basketball administration. Hecomes to Virginia after spending last year as an assistant coach atBinghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. No stranger to head coach PeteGillen, Sherard worked for Gillen for two years (1996-98) as theadministrative assistant in the men’s basketball office at ProvidenceCollege.

Friel Ready to Play
After sitting out the 1998-99 season due to NCAA transfer rules,junior guard Keith Friel is expected to be a major contributor in the1999-2000 campaign. The 6-4 shooting guard averaged 8.9 points and 2.0rebounds as a sophomore at Notre Dame during the 1997-98 season. He ledthe Irish in three-point field goals (45) and three-point field goalpercentage (46.4 percent – 45 of 97) that season and provides the Cavalierswith a long range shooting threat. Friel has two years of eligibility atVirginia.

Cavaliers Welcome Five Newcomers
The 1999-2000 Virginia men’s basketball team features five newfaces, not including junior Keith Friel. Joining nine returning lettermen,including four returning starters, are Stephane Dondon, Majestic Mapp,Roger Mason, Jason Rogers and Travis Watson.

Dondon, a 6-8 forward from Toulouse, France, is a junior transferfrom Collin County Community College. He earned All-North Texas JuniorCollege Athletic Conference honors both seasons at Collin County CommunityCollege. He is the school’s all-time leading rebounder (550) and ranksfifth in scoring (859 points). He averaged 14.2 points and 8.5 reboundsper game in 1998-99 and led the team to a 22-12 record. In 1997-98, Dondonaveraged 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds as the team finished the year with a20-11 record. Dondon was Collin County Community College’s Two-YearStudent-Athlete of the Year Award recipient.

Mapp is a 6-2 point guard from St. Raymond’s High School in NewYork City. A highly-rated prospect, Mapp was a four-year starter and twiceearned All-New York City and All-State accolades. He was a McDonald’sAll-America selection and also earned third-team Parade All-America honors.

Mason, a 6-5 guard from Silver Spring, Md., is another freshmanguard who is expected to make an impact in 1999-2000. A three-year starterat Good Counsel High School (he started at Sidwell Friends High School as afreshman before transferring to Good Counsel), Mason averaged 18.7 points,5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a senior. He was Powerade “Mr.Basketball,” as the best player in the Washington, D.C. area, as a senior.

Rogers is a 6-10 center/forward from Staunton, Va. He averaged18.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.9 blocked shots per game as a senior atRobert E. Lee High School. Rogers was a unanimous first-team All-Stateselection by The Associated Press and was also named the Gatorade Player ofthe Year in Virginia.

Watson, a 6-7 forward from Brookneal, Va., was one of 16 finalistsfor the USA Basketball Men’s Junior World Championship Team. He withdrewfor personal reasons before the final 12-man roster was selected. He willcontend for a starting spot on the front line. Watson helped lead Oak HillAcademy to a perfect 31-0 record and a number one ranking in the nation onthe USA Today Super 25 list last season. As a senior, he averaged 16points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots agame.

Williams and Hall Win Silver
Sophomores Chris Williams and Adam Hall played on the USABasketball Men’s Junior World Championship Team that earned a silver medalat the 16-team 1999 FIBA Men’s Junior World Championships in Portugal inJuly. Williams, the 1998-99 ACC Rookie of the Year and All-ACC third-teampick, set a tournament record for the USA with 12 blocked shots during thecompetition. He averaged 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Ducharme Living on The Lawn
Redshirt junior Colin Ducharme was selected to live in one ofVirginia’s prestigious Lawn rooms during the 1999-2000 academic year. Heis the 15th men’s basketball player to be chosen to live on The Lawn andthe first since Matt Blundin, who played both basketball and football atVirginia, lived on The Lawn in 1992.

Ricky Stokes (1984), Ralph Sampson (1983) and Terry Gates (1980)are the other most recent basketball players to live on The Lawn.

Four Starters Return for 1999-2000
The Cavaliers return four starters from last season-Donald Hand,Chris Williams, Willie Dersch and Chezley Watson. In addition, UVa alsoreturns Adam Hall, who started 17 games, and Colin Ducharme, a two-yearstarter, who was injured after last year’s season-opener. A total of ninelettermen are back to take the hardwood in 1999-2000.

With the return of the nine letterwinners, it’s not surprising thatVirginia returns from last season:

95.3 percent (245 of 257) of the steals
92.9 percent (382 of 411) of the assists
91.0 percent (1986 of 2183) of the points
85.6 percent (5,176 of 6,050) of the minutes
82.1 percent (814 of 992) of the rebounds

Blocked shots is the only category where the Cavaliers lost ahigher percentage than they return. Virginia returns players thataccounted for 41 percent (64 of 156 blocks) of its blocked shots. The goodnews on the blocked shot front is Colin Ducharme, who swatted 75 shots inhis first two seasons, returns.