University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

Basketball
Anyone?

By Davis Marshall

BASKETBALL ANYONE? NOW THAT BLACKIE'S
WAHOOS are firmly ensconced in last place in the ACC standings
it is time to pay some attention to Bill Gibson's basketball team.
This team may well be the finest Virginia Cage squad ever
assembled. We like to think so anyway.

FINISHING WITH A FLOURISH last year, the cagers upset
NIT participant North Carolina and Charlie Scott in the first
round of the ACC Tournament (95-93) and almost bumped off
eventual winner N.C. State in the semis before suffering a
controversial one point loss, 67-66. Some observers think Virginia
will carry its higher echelon finish over to this winter, and
nowhere is this enthusiasm more evident than on the team.

"THERE'S AN AIR OF CONFIDENCE," says captain Bill
Gerry. "We will fear no one. Like Coach Gibson says, you don't
fear 'em, you respect 'em." But this is the ACC, the toughest
basketball conference outside of the pros. South Carolina will
probably be pre-ranked second in the nation with Duke
somewhere else in the top ten, but as many as five other ACC
teams could reach the top forty. So the battle for third place
could be the most interesting: "...After Duke and South Carolina
all the other teams could wind up third," commented Gerry.

VIRGINIA THIRD PLACE IN THE ACC? The Cavaliers have
never even finished in the first division, let alone third place. In
16 ACC seasons Virginia has finished fifth thrice, sixth twice,
seventh five times and last six times. And what's more. Virginia's
last winning season was back in 1954 when All-American Buzzy
Wilkinson led the team to a 16-11 ledger (1-4 in the ACC). But
last season's late win surge has apparently boosted the confidence
of enough rooters to forget the team of two years ago.

TWO YEARS AGO VIRGINIA WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN 15
GAMES. But a series of mishaps involving injuries, players who
quit and scandalous rumors succeeded in ruining a fine season as
the Cavaliers struggled to a 10-15 record. Bill Gerry was on that
team, and according to him, the '70-'71 Virginia basketball
edition is "unlike any other team" he has played on at Virginia,
completely lacking the team dissension which wrecked the team
of two years ago. This new unity, the "best team spirit I've seen
since I've been here," is manifesting itself as a winning attitude.

"I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO START PLAYING," said Barry
Parkhill, and this is typical of the ACC fever which is running
through the team. "We'll win at least 15 games," said Tim Rash.
And this is a slightly conservative estimate according to most of
the team members who think 17-18 victories are not out of the
realm of possibility, "easily NIT material," admitted Bill Gerry.

VIRGINIA COULD WIN EVERY GAME IN DECEMBER,
according to Coach Gibson, but that would be very difficult. The
Big Five Tournament in Hampton on December 1-3 initiates the
season but, with the exception of Virginia Tech, the state teams
should provide sub-par competition. Duke on the fifth provides
the first quality test. With a screaming, near-capacity crowd the
Cavaliers could possibly upset the Blue Devils, who feature a
6-10, 6-8, 6-10 front line. After a statistic buffing encounter with
Navy the Cavs take on Bob Cousy-less Boston College in the first
round of the Mountaineer Classic in Morgantown. Apparently
the Tournaments directors have set up a Virginia - West Virginia
showdown in the final because the Mountaineers play Army in
the first round. If the Cavaliers win all kinds of national renown
would come their way. South Carolina, beaten only by Virginia,
used the same path to fame two years ago when they won ECAC
Tournament in the Palestra by handing LaSalle its only defeat in
a 23-1 season. After the tourney Virginia travels to Chapel Hill to
play North Carolina, an intangible question mark (as are Wake
Forest, State, and Virginia). From then on the Cavaliers, a young
team, "should improve as the season goes along," as Jim Hobgood
put it.

VIRGINIA'S VARSITY HAS BEEN SCRIMMAGING the
first-year team every Friday afternoon for the last month. This
Friday is no exception, as an article on this page explains. Come
watch the scrimmage, see why the projected sale of season tickets
is 400 percent of what it was last year, then try to drown your
football sorrows in a winning basketball team this December.