University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

From
Mediocrity
To
Success

With Tom Bell

WHILE BROWSING THROUGH THE DUSTY ROOMS
where yellowing past issues of the Cavalier Daily are stored, a
few weeks ago we came across some papers from December
1969 with stories about the Cavalier basketball team. In those
days, national rankings and ACC Atmosphere were unheard
of, and the Cavaliers were struggling through another tough
season of mediocrity. Scott McCandlish, Tim Rash Frank
DeWitt, and Chip Miller were all inexperienced
second-yearmen. Barry Parkhill and Jim Hobgood were
first-yearmen and the hottest prospects from what was
considered a dismal recruiting year. Anyone who had said at
that time that the Cavaliers would be undefeated and in the
nation's top ten in just two short years would certainly have
been laughed out of town.

"There is no question that Virginia will be outclassed by
everyone in the ACC except maybe Clemson," wrote Sports
Editor Steve Giannini early in the season. The team had been
hurt by a player revolt at the ACC Tournament the year
before, and five top players had been dismissed or had quit.
Only one experienced player, Chip Case, was left, and he had
bad knees. Coach Bill Gibson was without a doubt the most
unpopular man in town. "Two groups of students opened up
their 'Boot the Hoot' campaigns before the season began,"
wrote Giannini, and every time Mr. Gibson walked onto the
University Hall floor he was greeted by a chorus of fans
screaming the slogan. Instead of the Amazin' Cavaliers, the
team was known as the "hapless hoopsters."

"THERE IS HARDLY ANY ENTHUSIASM," continued
the article. Only 2,200 turned out for the first win of the year
over VMI. The crowd of 5,200 for the North Carolina game
was called "fairly good" in another article which continued to
say "it would have been hard to give tickets away to the
public." We can remember going to the Duke game that year
at the half, and having our pick of seats. When the Cavaliers
did well in the North Carolina game, losing 80-76, it was
"much to the disbelief of everyone in University Hall."

The rest of the story is familiar. The young Cavaliers came
along to surprise many people that year, especially when they
topped the Tar Heels in the opening round of the ACC
Tournament and almost whipped eventual champion N.C.
State in the semi-finals. Then Parkhill came along to lead them
to the best season in memory last year, as they entered the top
twenty before running into trouble on the road. This season,
they have been unstoppable so far. In addition, the
once-deserted University Hall is now packed with screaming
fans for every home game.

MUCH CREDIT IS DUE TO MR. GIBSON and his players
for the job they have done in the last two years. They have
taken a mediocre program and turned it into a top-notch
operation which should continue to be successful for a number
of years to come. In addition they have given Cavalier fans
something to cheer about after years of losing. Basketball is
the one thing at the University which everyone is happy about
and about which everyone in the University community can
agree. This in itself is quite an accomplishment.

The trouble of two years ago was probably a blessing in
disguise for the Cavaliers, for it gave the group of young
players that the controversy left behind a chance to play and
gain the experience that has paid off so well in the last two
seasons. With a group of older players around, the members of
this year's squad would probably be less experienced and not
as good a basketball team. This experience, plus a strong desire
to succeed, has given the University its most exciting and
successful major-sport team in some time.

THE EXAMPLE THAT THE BASKETBALL TEAM has set
in its rise from the depths gives hope that other teams,
especially the football squad, can rise from their present
positions. That the basketball Cavaliers broke away from a
long tradition of mediocrity to reach a position of national
prominence in just two years, shows that it can be done, even
at a school like the University. Those who praise the basketball
squad and berate the football team should remember that two
years ago things were just as bad on the basketball court.
Despite tradition, athletic teams can and do change rapidly. A
mediocre team this year does not have to be that way next
season.

Mr. Gibson and his team have accomplished much in the
two short years since the "Boot the Hoot" movement
flourished. Mr. Gibson is now cheered in the place where he
was once booed. His team now wins games against teams it
could never have stayed on the floor with in the past. In the
process of accomplishing success the Amazin' Cavaliers have
shown something else-that a Cavalier team can win and receive
national recognition, even in a major sport. After the years of
failure, many thought that athletic success was impossible
here, but that has now been disproved.