Questions surround Cav’s Groh

Questions surround Cavs' coaching situation

Athletic Director Craig Littlepage was unequivocal Nov. 9 in an e-mail when asked about the 2009 football season.

"Al Groh will be our head coach," Littlepage told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Littlepage said Groh would be back even if U.Va. lost its final two regular-season games to finish with a losing record, which is what happened.

About a month later, however, the situation is unsettled, and many close to the program are not convinced Groh will be back for a ninth season as coach at his alma mater.

The Cavaliers lost Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech to finish 5-7 for the second time in three years. Littlepage announced Sunday night that Groh's contract would not be extended through Dec. 31, 2012. Littlepage also said he would be meeting with Groh "in the next 48 hours to conduct a year-review of the football program."

One of the issues to be discussed was offensive coordinator Mike Groh's future on his father's staff, but how those meetings have gone is unclear. Littlepage declined comment last night in an e-mail to The T-D, and Al Groh did not respond to a request for comment.

In three years under Mike Groh, U.Va.'s offense has consistently ranked among the nation's worst.

After loss to Minnesota, Leitao hits the trail

Coach Dave Leitao didn't fly back to Charlottesville with his basketball team early yesterday. The Cavaliers don't play again until Dec. 17, when Longwood visits John Paul Jones Arena, and Leitao headed out on a recruiting trip.

That U.Va. is running low on talent was apparent Wednesday night in Minneapolis. In an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game, Virginia lost 66-56 to Minnesota to fall to 3-3 overall.

The Cavaliers shot only 31.5 percent from the floor. U.Va.'s defense wasn't awful -- Minnesota shot 41.5 percent -- but Leitao said his team "still had far too many defensive lapses where [the Golden Gophers] got easy baskets or fouls or went to the line."

Especially damaging to Virginia were its 19 turnovers. Sammy Zeglinski had five, and Calvin Baker and Mike Scott had three apiece.

In addition to the turnovers, there were "probably another dozen times where we were took bad shots or untimely shots," Leitao said in his postgame comments.

Coach: Jeff Jones sat because of matchups

Conspicuous by his absence Wednesday night was sophomore shooting guard Jeff Jones, who never left the bench.

Jones had averaged 19.4 minutes in U.Va.'s first five games, but Leitao thought another sophomore, the more athletic Mustapha Farrakhan, matched up better against Minnesota's guards.

"I don't think it was anything negative toward Jeff or anything that he's done," said assistant coach Bill Courtney, who filled in for Leitao last night on the Cavalier Call-In radio show.

Farrakhan had four points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one turnover in 12 minutes. Another Cavalier who didn't play, senior center Tunji Soroye, has been dealing with a back injury.

Virginia started three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior against the unbeaten Gophers.

Lacrosse players go to N.Y. to honor teammate

Many current and former members of the U.Va. men's lacrosse team traveled to Long Island, N.Y., last weekend to remember Will Barrow.

Barrow, a former U.Va. standout, was found dead in his Charlottesville apartment Nov. 22; police have said they do not suspect foul play. Barrow was from Long Island, and a wake was held there Friday and the funeral service the next day.

"Really sad," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said yesterday. "The Barrow family held up as well as they could."

Among those at the wake was former U.Va. football star D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who now plays for the New York Jets. Ferguson grew up on Long Island, too, and Barrow had been a football star at Baldwin High.

Starsia said his team has been meeting regularly to try to work through its grief.

"There's no road map here for me," he said. "But I know generally these things go better if you stick together."

-- Jeff White