From Buffalo Wild Wings in Charlottesville, Mac welcomed the live audience and the radio listeners and saluted the
guys in the kitchen; Mike, Mike & Mike. Mac pointed out that following a home loss to NC State, Maryland brings a
2-5 ACC mark into Wed. night’s game at University Hall. Pete commented that Maryland has a very talented team and
earlier in the season they beat the number 1 Florida team on the road and a very good Wisconsin team. He added that Nik
Caner-Medley, Jamar Smith and John Gilchrist are having terrific seasons for the Terps.
Mac added that all 9 ACC teams are ranked in the top 60 of the RPI and the ACC has an 87-16 record against non-league
foes. Pete said they need to try to get going in the ACC and improve on their 12-6 record.
Before taking any calls Pete took a moment to address an incident from last weeks show. A caller insinuated that Pete
was not standing up for his players and Pete said he "snapped back" when he told the caller to "go root
for the Hokies." Pete said that it was a sarcastic remark that he made in trying to add some humor to the show, but
admitted that it was wrong on his part. "We have great fans and we appreciate their support", he said. Pete
apologized for the remark and said that everyone is a little frustrated that the team is not winning more. "When
you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and I was wrong and I apologize".
Chuck in Fluvanna questioned whether Elton Brown should use his size to take the ball to the basket more. Pete
said that Elton is having a really good season and is currently the team leader in scoring and ranked 7th in
the ACC in his first full year as a starter. He added that Elton sees a lot of double teams and sometimes get frustrated
when teams bang on him.
Mac asked about the addition of Vince Redd and whether Pete gets involved in football recruiting at all. Pete said
that when Coach Groh called him about Vince, he placed a call to Vince’s high school coach and one of the assistants
made a call to Vince. They agreed to let him try playing both football and basketball, as long as he took care of his
academic and football responsibilities first. He said that Vince is a terrific young man and very athletic. "Vince
loves basketball. He’s doing a good job. He’s pounding guys. He knocked Gary Forbes into the bleachers. "
Mac and Pete discussed Saturday’s game against Wake Forest and Mac pointed out that the Deacs hit 6 consecutive 3
pointers in building a 29-6 lead. Pete said that they were on fire to start the game and that was the best any team had
started against them all year. He added that they didn’t do a good job of defending the three on the break and Wake
hit a lot of open jumpers. "We kept swinging but we couldn’t turn the page," he said.
Allen in Kinston called in with a question about recruiting philosophy. He wanted to know if Pete’s philosophy
is to recruit athletic 6-7 or 6-8 players or if he tries to bring in a true center. Pete said that they want to bring in
big guys, but that there simply aren’t many out there. He did point out that they have a 6-10 player signed in next
year’s class, but said he would prefer a mobile 6-8 player to a slow footed 6-10 player.
Pete went on to add that they have been successful in getting visits from some very high profile recruits like last
year’s #2 player Luol Deng, but have unfortunately come out on the short end for these players. "We go for the
best," he said and added that the new arena should be a big help in recruiting.
Allen also asked about the fact that this team doesn’t seem to have a true leader, and Mac asked Pete if he picks
players to be leaders or if he lets the players decide. Pete said it is a combination of both. He said that he talks to
some individuals about leadership but lets the leaders step up themselves. He added that Devin Smith is a good leader
but his injuries have kept him out of a lot of action, mainly practices.
The BB&T Student Athlete of the Week segment was next, and Pete honored Elton Brown for his play against Wake
Forest. Elton had 24 points and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
Mac took time to announce that Wed. night’s game against Maryland will tipoff at 9 pm and that the basketball
program will have a breakfast at the Boar’s Head on Wed. Morning. The breakfast will begin at 7:30 and if anyone is
interested in attending they should call Kelly at 982-5565. Pete noted that hopefully Terry Holland will be there and
they will have a couple players and a scouting report on the Terps.
Liz in the audience wanted to know if there was anything special that Derrick Byars did to get out of his slump.
Pete said that it was mainly hard work and confidence and that the extra time he has been putting in paid off. He noted
that Derrick is a very talented player and that they rely on him and need him to perform well.
Roberto in Fluvanna called in and asked about the team’s chemistry and the possibility of the team being sent
out west if they make the NCAA Tournament. Pete said that he feels like this team has tremendous chemistry and again
noted that Devin Smith is a real good leader.
Pete said that they are shooting for the NCAA Tournament, and he feels they will need to get to 18 wins to have a
good shot. He said as good as the ACC is this year that there could be 6 or 7 teams from the conference make the NCAA
field.
Gerald in Richmond called in and wanted to hear Pete’s feeling about how the first year players are progressing
and how he thinks Nick Vanderlaan would be doing if he had not left the program. Pete said he feels the first years are
doing a good job but are still learning how to play in the ACC. He noted that both Gary Forbes and JR Reynolds have been
selected as ACC Rookie of the Week at one point during the year. He added that the incoming recruiting class could be
even more special, and that the future is very bright.
Pete said that Vanderlaan is a great kid but also noted that Donte Minter is a special player and a real good fit for
the program.
For the In The Zone call of the week they highlighted a play in which Jason Clark blocked a shot on the defensive end
and ran the floor to get a basket off of an offensive rebound. "Jason does the dirty work for us," Pete said.
He said that Jason does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score like defense, blocked shots, and rebounds.
Mac pointed out that there have only been 9 wins by the visiting team in the ACC this year and 4 teams have yet to
win a road game.
Mac thanked everyone for their participation and urged the fans to get out for the breakfast and game on Wed.
— Joel Barfield
Cavalier Call-In can be heard on the Virginia Sports Network every Monday at 7:06PM EST throughout the season. Please turn to www.virginiasports.com for affiliate stations or listen via their live online broadcast. Click here to listen to their archived broadcasts or view the schedule for future shows.
