Chances are if you’re looking for Jake Hensley, BEASTHOO on TheSabre.com message boards, you can find him near a basketball game or his favorite fishing holes. Those are his favorite past times when he gets a chance to get away after all.
Living in Chapel Hill, it’s easy to cruise out to the coast and drop a line somewhere in the Intracoastal Waterway. Red drum, flounder, and trout are all possibilities around Bald Head Island and Southport according to Hensley. But BEASTHOO enjoys chasing crappie in North Carolina ponds or trout in Virginia streams too. He just loves being on the water.
Hensley has fished so much, in fact, it’s even hard to pinpoint his favorite tale.
“My best catch ever is tough to call. … But I think my best catch was out of a farm pond in Hillsborough, North Carolina, when I was 18 – 10.5 pound largemouth [bass] on a Texas rigged plastic worm. My brother and I got pretty excited about that one, and it’s currently on the wall in my garage!” Hensley said. “My favorite technique has always been Texas rigged soft plastics in ponds. I’ve not had a time of year where I haven’t had decent success with soft plastics in a farm pond. I switch it up with lizards, jigs, worms, and whatever’s new.”
As far as basketball goes, anywhere and anyway he can watch his Hoos will suit just fine. No matter where he has been or where he is going, after all, he’s always found a way to tune in to Virginia basketball.
The love affair started at an early age as Hensley watched the Wahoos with his father and brother, two more diehard fans and Sabre.com posters. It’s continued through solo bar trips in New York all the way to dreaded Tar Heel country where he lives now. “Living in Chapel Hill has been nice, particularly since I’ve been able to get to a lot of Hoo road games,” Hensley said by email.
Naturally, Hensley is loving this season’s team as UVa has battled near the top of the conference standings and put together one of the school’s best ever ACC seasons. The team matched the 1980-81 squad with a 13-1 record at the start of league play (the 1980-81 team finished the campaign at 13-1). The success this season has started to turn some heads in Carolina.
“I wear my UVa gear as much as possible, and it normally gets a comment or two. Very positive this year. A lot of them add the caveat that ‘it’s just so boring to watch’ but I’ve pretty much stopped trying to defend our style, and just point to the scoreboard,” Hensley said by email. “The few well informed guys that I talk to in the area are VERY impressed with this year’s team and are quite interested to see what Bennett can do when he starts to pull some top level recruits.”
And if you’re headed to the ACC Tournament – and hopefully the NCAA Tournament – games in Raleigh, you’ll be cheering on the Cavaliers alongside BEASTHOO.
“I’ll definitely be in Greensboro this year! Though the last time I went with my dad and brother, the Miami debacle happened, so I’m looking for a little different result!” he said by email. “Also, if by chance we end up in the Raleigh pod in the NCAAs I will be there too.”
- Name: Jake Hensley
- Sabre Username: BEASTHOO
- Age: 29
- Residence: Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation: Self Employed (Automotive Industry)
- UVa Ties: Lifelong fan and hopeful future Charlottesville resident
- Distinctions: Glenn Elementary School Spelling Bee Champion
The FanWatch Fifteen
1. Why did you choose your user name?
Honestly I’m not sure why I chose this username. My dad said I should check out this site “The Sabre” and I didn’t for a while, but he said it was fun and there was good information on the Hoos there. So when I was making the user name to register I think I may have looked at a Nike Football hooded sweatshirt that I work out in that says “BEAST” on it and just typed that in while adding “Hoo” to the end of it. I’ve thought about changing it a few times but I’ve never gotten around to it.
2. What is your best Sabre memory or what is your favorite thing about TheSabre.com?
I don’t really have a specific favorite memory I guess, but I do kind of enjoy the In-Game Chat board during the games. It adds an element to watching the Hoos because it’s funny to see people say the exact same thing that I’ve been thinking watching UVa for years. My favorite things about the site are the basketball articles, particularly the “Double Bonus” features. You can tell that Kris knows his stuff and he’s not as big a homer as other writers on other sites. Very insightful and I’ve learned a lot from them. My EDGE subscription has run out and I keep forgetting to renew it, so I have missed the last couple, but they are well worth the price. I like the recruiting “debates” that often ensue as well on both the football and basketball boards.
3. What is your favorite Cavalier sport and why?
Definitely UVa men’s basketball. I like football a lot as well, but basketball has always been my favorite sport to play and watch. I think part of the reason I don’t get as emotionally involved with football is that I haven’t really enjoyed any real success that I can remember. I would LOVE to pull for a successful UVa football program and really hope Mike London is successful here.
I barely even remember the Shawn Moore-led team that made it to No. 1 in the Country, so I don’t have a whole lot to look back on fondly as I drag myself to the TV to watch UVa football.
UVa basketball though is where it’s at for me. Some of my earliest memories are watching UVa basketball with my dad and younger brother. When we played out in the back yard I was Junior Burrough and my brother was Cory Alexander. Even as a little kid I was a black hole on offense just like Junior, much to my brother’s chagrin. I was pretty excited when we hired Pete Gillen and started getting the recruits we got under him initially, but I eventually knew like most that it was time to go. Frankly, I think he caught some bad breaks, with injuries etc., but that’s the business and he had to go. I never liked the Dave Leitao hire. Didn’t get a good vibe from him for some reason, though I think he did a good job leaning on the guards he had in Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds during the 2007 season.
I (like many here) didn’t know much about Tony Bennett when he was hired, but after a quick Google search I was sold from the get go. When I saw that he was a defensive coach, I was equally pleased because it was so different from the previous two and I was ready for a change. I don’t think basketball is hamstrung as much (either legitimately or in a perceived way) by academics as the football program is, so I really think this program can have some serious success on a national level. The opportunity is definitely there. I’m really enjoying this year and only see it getting better as the years go on. Tony is doing it right, and he’s got an awesome future here!
4. Who is your favorite Cavalier athlete (past and/or present) and why?
Favorite athlete from the past is Sean Singletary. That guy epitomized heart. He was in a less than desirable situation when his coach was fired, but man did he WORK. I was working in New York and didn’t have access to ESPN at the time, so I had written on post it notes on my fridge all the games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU etc. and watched whenever I could at whatever bar would have it on. I remember fondly sitting alone up there watching my UVa games and seeing Sean weave through those defenses with ease. He was truly an awesome player. I was watching the Duke game where he hit “The Shot” alone in a TGI Fridays bar (gross I know) in Middletown, NY. Bar was basically empty, but whoever was there was certainly looking at me sideways when I hollered like a lunatic in the closing seconds. My favorite current player is Joe Harris for obvious reasons, but Justin Anderson is rapidly gaining ground on him!
5. Who is your favorite Cavalier coach (past and/or present) and why?
Tony Bennett. He just seems like a genuinely good guy, and he sounds as smart as any coach I’ve listened to. I will fall into a deep depression if he moves on to another job.
6. If you could trade places for a day with any current Cavalier pro athlete, who would it be and why?
Probably Matt Schaub. He’s made a ton of money already playing football, and now he has the opportunity to likely have his choice of a few different cities to play in. I think that would be exciting. It would probably be a little stressful I’m sure as well, but I’m confident he’s not hurting for money so I think the opportunity to pick your city to an extent would be pretty cool.
7. You’re the coach in this scenario: the Hoos just scored a touchdown to cut the lead to one (say 28-27) in the ACC Championship Game with less than one minute remaining in the game. Do you kick the extra point for overtime or do you go for two? Now, depending on your answer, picking from any Hoo in program history, who is your kicker or whose number are you calling to try to score the two points? Why?
I’m going for two because we are Virginia and they WILL drive the length of the field in that minute to kick the game-winning field goal. I’m rolling Shawn Moore out on an option play with Thomas Jones to the sideline. I always hate when coaches run right up the middle when you’re on the goal line like that. Never understood it. Get those athletes out in space and hit the hole hard.
8. You’re the coach Part 2: the Hoos are in a tie game in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament with less than 10 seconds to go and you have the ball coming out of a timeout. Who, again picking from any Hoo in program history, are you going to for the last shot? Why?
No question it’s Sean Singletary. He can get in the lane if it’s there, and if he gets fouled, he’s money from the line. He also finishes through contact.
9. You’ve been named the committee chair person for UVa Basketball and you are told to form a “Dream Team” from the program’s history to compete in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Who are your starting five? The sixth man?
Ralph Sampson, Junior Burrough, Bryant Stith, Joe Harris, Sean Singletary. 6th man Curtis Staples.
10. If you were running the Scott Stadium sound system and HooVision, what music would you choose as the team entrance or as pump up the crowd music? Stumped for an answer, what are the most played songs on your iPod/phone right now?
VICTORY – Notorious B.I.G.
11. What was the first concert you attended or what has been your favorite concert experience?
Ha ha! Third Eye Blind. With my mom. Felt like a loser. Not a big concertgoer but I saw Jason Aldean recently and he was pretty good.
12. What’s a tailgating or Super Bowl party food that you love?
Hot wings and Ribs.
13. One older (not on now) and one new (still airing now) – what are your favorite shows to watch on television?
Seinfeld I always thought was funny but then I lived in New York for a while and I developed a new appreciation for it. I watch Seinfeld reruns all the time now. As far as new shows, I watch Family Guy a lot, but it’s getting kind of old now. Saw True Detective the other night and that might be my new show.
14. What was your first car and what do you remember about it?
Oh god a 1981 Cutlass. I remember it was a piece of crap but I thought I was tight rollin’ around in that thing. 2-door. Root beer metallic brown and it had some serious oxidation on the hood. Tried to brighten it up but to no avail. That engine locked up when I was trying to do something I shouldn’t and I got a truck not long after that.
15. Since we’re stuck in winter and this might cheer someone up, where’s your favorite summer vacation spot?
I normally spend a lot of time at the Outer Banks in NC, but lately I’ve been going to the Oak Island/Southport area and have found some really productive and beautiful places to fish, which is one of my favorite pastimes. Southport is also a really low-key and cool town. Not a ton to do there, but I’m too busy fishing to notice.
