Kris Wright, TheSabre.com’s Editor, and I had a discussion the other day about my 30-year high school reunion coming up and how I was in the 11th grade the last time the Virginia men’s basketball program went 6-1 to start conference play. Actually, that season was 31 years ago.
UVa was the consensus No. 1 program nationally and featured the best player in the country. That team started ACC play 9-1, with its only conference loss to North Carolina. It was a home loss, 101-95, to a team that featured seven McDonald’s All-Americans including three first round NBA Draft picks in Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and Brad Daugherty. Anyway, 9-1 wasn’t a bad start to the conference slate considering the competition, but certainly it was expected considering that Virginia had 3-time Naismith Award winner Ralph Sampson anchoring that team.
Those were the good ol’ days of Virginia basketball. The Hoos were everybody’s favorite to win it all. Charlottesville was abuzz with Ralph Sampson and his dominance of the college game. He could do everything: pass, shoot, block shots, dribble up the court … at 7’4″! While this wasn’t my first exposure to UVa hoops (my father took me to games when I was younger), it was the time when I became a true, orange and blue, Wahoo fan.
My favorite player was Ralph, and I had one entire wall of my bedroom plastered with press clippings and photos from Daily Progress stories. He was a legend while he was still playing, and it was one of the most enjoyable times to watch the Cavaliers. Between now and then there have been small pockets of excitement with students camping out to watch some of Pete Gillen’s teams for example, but the buzz about Virginia basketball right now is only rivaled by the early 80’s teams.
But the comparisons of the ’82-’83 team with this season’s edition don’t go much farther than the conference record. No one predicted Virginia to win the National Championship this year and the Cavaliers haven’t sniffed the Top 25 since their early season loss to VCU at home (they remain in the others receiving votes realm again this week). The 2013-14 squad doesn’t have a potential Naismith Award winner. And even with all of the preseason hype by media, I don’t think many predicted a 6-1 start – certainly not after the 35-point loss at Tennessee.
So the teams themselves are very much different, as are the expectations.
Still, what Virginia has now that it did not have during the Ralph years is perhaps the most talented team from top to bottom in the history of the program – it certainly would be a fun message board debate either way – and one of the deepest benches in the country. Virginia’s starting five of Joe Harris, Akil Mitchell, Mike Tobey, London Perrantes and Malcolm Brogdon are formidable and could stack up well against most teams nationally. But cast aside Virginia’s five current starters and you’re left with Justin Anderson, Anthony Gill, Darion Atkins, Evan Nolte and Teven Jones, which is a pretty good team in its own right. Start those five and the Cavaliers still may have a chance to win many of their conference games – perhaps even make the NCAA Tournament. Of course, the next great test for this team and its potential comes when it travels to Notre Dame and Pittsburgh this week. If the Hoos can take care of business and continue to play at a high level, the game at the John Paul Jones Arena against No. 2 Syracuse on March 1 could very well be for the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
When making these observations, it’s hard to believe that this is the same Virginia team that lost to Tennessee by 35, scored just 38 points against Wisconsin, and failed to defeat VCU and Green Bay earlier in the year. But here we are, witnessing a 6-1 Virginia team solidly beat down its ACC opponents by double digits in every conference win. What’s most remarkable about the ACC victories is that UVa was never in jeopardy of losing any of them. The Cavaliers led every one of those games by halftime and in the second half they held commanding leads of 22 to 32 points before clearing the bench with its walk-ons. Sure, the competition hasn’t been outstanding. But what separates a great team from a good team is how they win those games. Complete dominance of conference opponents, particularly on the road, isn’t something Virginia fans are accustomed to.
Even in a loss to the Blue Devils, the Cavaliers were able to show their mental toughness and talents. Not many of Duke’s opponents have ever come back from an 11-point deficit at Cameron Indoor Stadium to take the lead late. That’s typically when Duke is the strongest, often extending leads rather than relinquishing them. It’s why the Devils currently hold a 28-game win streak on their home floor. And yet UVa was able to go on an 11-0 run late and nearly pull off the ‘upset.’
What’s most remarkable about the ‘Hoos in conference play is that, aside from a lucky bounce on a 3-point shot after a poor defensive rebounding effort against Duke in the final seconds, Virginia would be sitting at 7-0. That’s quite remarkable considering the Cavaliers haven’t started conference play at 7-0 since the ’80-’81 team that reached the Final Four. It’s hard to believe we’re making comparisons to two of the greatest UVa basketball teams in the history of the program, but it’s where we are at this point in this year. No team since has done what the 2013-14 squad has done.
So, where were you 31 years ago when the Cavaliers were as strong as this year’s team? Were you about to graduate from high school, like I was? Were you listening to Every Breath You Take by The Police, or maybe you were jamming out to Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean? Did you catch Scarface or Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in the theaters? Were you an avid follower of Dallas or Dynasty on television? Regardless of where you were or what you were doing, if you were a Wahoo fan like I was, you were certainly excited about Virginia basketball.
Just as you are right now.
I was two years old at the time but know my history…now I have a two year old and I am confident he won’t have to wait until his 30s to witness many more great hoos teams to come
though I should add we had plenty of “good teams” in the 30 year stretch, and the 1996 team is the most memorable for me since I was in high school by then…To my last point, we should see more good teams in the next 30 years than we did in the last 30 (especially last 15). GO HOOS!
Now co-chair of our 40th Reunions Weekend event and a JPJ season ticketholder living in southeast Michigan, I was at U Hall to watch “Hooter’s Heroes” and the birth of Cavalier basketball. From Mr. BP’s baseline jumper to beat South Carolina 50-49 … to the Cardiac Cavs’ run through the ACC Tournament in ’76 … through the Ralph Sampson years and the legions of performers to follow. This year’s squad is perhaps the best-coached and most personable and unselfish team I’ve seen. Coach Bennett is a treasure for preparing our student-athletes to play the right way, and for helping to lay the foundation for each young man’s future success – whether that be on the court or away from it. Wahoowa!!!
…1994-1995 team rather…
I was in my latter 30’s working @ a hospital in South Carolina/Spartanburg, and my wife and I were raising two teenage daughters as Cavalier fans. We all went to a double or triple OVT game @ Clemson that Virginia won- despite some cursing and finger waving from some Clemson fans. I also shared many phone calls with my Dad to talk Cav’s basketball. I sure miss those days but love the future for Coach Bennett and this team. Go ‘Hoos and beat the Irish.
I was playing baseball at good old UVA during the 1982-83 season, with our locker room adjacent to the basketball team’s in U Hall. We saw those guys every day and let me tell you, if you have never been in Ralph’s presence, you just can’t believe how tall 7’4″ is, even to a 6’4″ guy like me. This was so long ago that Ralph wore Ponys. When was the last time you heard about the Pony brand of athletic shoes? Those were indeed great times for the basketball team. Great players, superb coach in Terry Holland, a rabid fan base, rock-solid student support, every game at U Hall a sellout. Ralph elevated the program, but his supporting cast wasn’t quite good enough to get us over the top. Just as Larry Bird was a singular talent on his Indiana State team, so was Ralph for us. Ralph was surrounded by good but not great players. The team with Othell Wilson running the point was probably our best chance to win it all, but he suffered a thigh injury late in the season and we just weren’t the same team without him. Of course, the 84 team made the Final Four the year after Ralph graduated, thanks to a very timely steal and basket by former walk-on Kenton Edelin in the Elite Eight game against Indiana. I think UVA recorded a 50-2 record in U Hall during Ralph’s years. It sure feels good to be relevant again.
A first year at UVA! What a great season of basketball. Recently watched the 30 for 30 spot on ESPN that covereed Valvano and the Wolfpack’s run to the championship. It brought back so many (bad) memories. Amazing how vivid the memories were watching the footage – took me back 31 years in an instant. Ralph’s schooling of Ewing in the “blizzard game”, I was at Sampson’s last home game when his parents were recognized and the fans broke into a chant of “make more babies, make more babies…”
I was a recent graduate working in NYC. My friend got tickets to the home UNC game the only loss) and we flew to Dulles on a 7 am flight for an amazing $19 on Peoples Express. We rented a car and got to U-hall easily for what I believe was a 1 PM tip.
What I will never forget about that game is the 3 pt. line was in its infancy and it was a joke, inside the top of the key. I think it was 19’9″ out.
UNC scorched us from 3, I kinda remember one of their 7 burger boys named Jimmy Braddock and a guy from NOVA names Mike Pepper hurting us . We were down big and mounted a furious rally to get within a bucket in the last minute. I recall getting the ball to Ralph on the blocks, he spun for a short bank shot and Jordan came from the other side and clearly goaltended, pinning it against the glass. There is no way anybody , even Michael Jordan, could pin Ralph without goaltending.
It was not called that way and that was our last breath of life in that game. It sucked but was not the worst call of that year. Sending us to Birmingham as a #1 seed to play UAB in the NCAA tourney was the ultimate outrage!
Upon further review, I think the Birmingham outrage was the previous year ’81-’82, my bad
Had graduated 18 months earlier, living in NOVA, diving down for games every now and again, and still hating the Heels. By March was on the West Coast rooting from afar. In Carolina now……still hate the Herls.
I was 12. That was a long time ago. Great to be 7-1 in the ACC, though.
I was living and working in Southern California back then and wanted to see Ralph play in person so I called my old government teacher in high school who was Ralph`s guidance counselor at Harrisonburg then and he got me tickets thru Roger Bergey Ralph`s HS coach for the UVA-JMU game in Harrisonburg…a tough ticket in that small gym…must have been 1981 if I recall anyway I flew in to Dulles…rented a car and drove straight to the game I brought my new RCA video camera and equipment to record the game it was large and bulky back then but looked very professional and as it turned out I pulled up to the gym and the guys parking must have thought I was from some TV stationed as they parked me right up by the gym..lol…when I got inside there was no place to set my equipment up so I just went to my seat as the game was about to start…knowing someone must have paid off…as the guy sitting in front of me and not much taller than I looked a lot like Ralph…I was sitting right behind his parents…;-)…I didn`t bother them but you could see the pride on their faces…it was a good game and I`ll never forget that trip…years later I ran into Ralph and gave him a 1988 Starting Lineup figure of himself…we were at a show in Richmond and we talked quite a bit about our former teacher…he had the same love and respect for him that I did and every time since when I`ve run into him I mention our teachers name and Ralph always smiles a big smile and shakes my hand which seems to extend 6′ past my wrist…People just don`t realize even today what a great person Ralph is…always humble and a truly nice human being…his parents raised him the right way…My favorite Cavalier of All Time!