Cavalier Roundball Roundup: Time to break out the fife and drum

Assane Sene photographed by Jack Looney.

One of the first things that strikes you about Tony Bennett’s sideline coaching style is his always outwardly calm demeanor.

Regardless of the time or situation, an isolated view of just him would leave an observer thinking he was watching Tony watch his dog run in the park. 

He occasionally smiles.  Once in awhile he laughs.  He crouches a lot.  He also whistles, that two or four fingers-in-the-mouth shrill kind of whistle.

But, if you see him looking out of sorts on the street these days, glancing skyward apprehensively for falling space debris, cut him a little slack.

Just before the holidays, UVA basketball was off to a promising start and people paying attention were getting excited about this team’s prospects.

Then, two of the previous year’s heralded recruiting class, labeled Bennett’s "Six Shooters" in an award-winning series in the DAILY PROGRESS, decided to transfer. 

It wasn’t a terrible loss to this year’s team.  The two would have likely had very minor roles and seen limited playing time (a conclusion they also obviously arrived at, prompting their defections).   

Days after the announcements, the Cavaliers creeped into the Associated Press Poll, showing up at No. 24.  (Forgive this aside, it is a blog after all, but I just looked back at the last sentence and found myself thinking of Casey Kasem!  Read it again, imagining him saying it.)

And the ‘Hoos marched on, not missing a beat.  The following week they also appeared in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (and have remained in both since then). 

Their one-loss start was their best since the days when a skinny kid named "Ralph" roamed the Grounds (and for those of you roaming the Grounds these days that are reading this……that was before you were born!)

Real trouble befell this squad when, in only the third game of the ACC season, starting center Assane Sene (the subject of a C-VILLE cover story) went down in the first half of a game at Georgia Tech with what at the time seemed a minor ankle injury.

Sene himself said after the game he expected to play in three days against Virginia Tech. 

But x-rays the next morning showed a fracture that has Sene sitting out until at least the final week of the regular season, and maybe longer.

His absence was painfully apparent as the ‘Hoos dropped a 47-45 decision to their most hated rival in their first game without him.

That Tech loss is of the type a team like Virginia can ill afford.  It’s what’s known as a "bad loss", the kind where you lose to a team you surely should have beaten.

Conference seasons are a long, often grueling test of a team’s stamina and resolve.  Almost everyone suffers a loss of this type along the way.

But for the Cavs, a team with a very small margin for error, the Tech loss was especially costly as it has kept them just off the front runners ever since.

Still, on the Cavs went, winning three in a row, including what may turn out to be a very important victory at NC State.

Which brings us to this past Saturday.

Our intrepid heroes marched into Chapel Hill to face (then) fifth-ranked North Carolina.

Virginia’s four losses had come by a total of just 10 points.

Saturday, North Carolina whipped UVA by 18. 

The Tar Heels bludgeoned Virginia on the backboards, outrebounding them 52-32.

I recapped the game on another website I report for, and a UNC fan added this comment:  "(We) beat a smallish team with their best big player Scott….in foul trouble…..A team with 6 dressed Mickey D’s….beat up on an average talent (well coached) team with NONE." 

Succinct and pretty accurate.   ("Mickey D’s", in case you don’t know, are McDonald’s High School All-Americans.  The North Carolinas and Dukes of the world stockpile them all the way down the bench to the student manager.  It’s BIG news when a UVA lands one.)

After the game, Joe Harris revealed he had injured his left, non-shooting hand early in the first half when someone stepped on it.  Harris’ play was clearly affected by the injury as he made only two of nine shots in the game.

Much like the situation with Sene at Georgia Tech, the full extent of the injury wouldn’t be known until the next day.  Again, x-rays revealed a fracture.

In an announcement made by the university, Harris was cleared to continue playing for now.  He will wear a thermal plaster pad with a hard outer shell that will allow him to move his fingers and flex his wrist.

As of this writing, Harris had not yet practiced with the protective covering.  That was set to happen in a Monday night practice at Clemson.  Coach Tony Bennett deemed whether Harris would play a "game-time decision".

Joe Harris is Virginia’s second-leading scorer and rebounder.

Tuesday night’s game at Clemson is a crucial one for a number of reasons.

Although it won’t ultimately determine the Cavs’ fate as regards post-season play, it will go a long way in determining whether UVA could grab a first-round bye in the ACC tourney, or have to go that demanding four-games-in-four days route.  I don’t need to tell you that as thin as this team has gotten, they’d be running on fumes by Sunday.  Especially if Sene can’t return.  

As important as the result will be in the ACC standings, it may have even a bigger effect on this team’s psyche. 

This is a team that has overcome, some would say "overachieved", a lot.  If they were afflicted with a "what next?" attitude right now you could hardly blame them.  At times like this confidence, in oneself and one’s teammates, is extremely important.  A win at Clemson would do wonders for that confidence.  A loss might shatter it. 

If Harris can’t play Tuesday at Clemson, Malcolm Brogdon will start.  The freshman has been averaging more than 23 minutes a game in ACC play and many observers, this guy included, think he should be seeing even more court time anyway.

The biggest effect on playing time of Harris’ absence would likely be in increased playing time for Paul Jesperson.   The freshman, who elected to burn his redshirt after the two December defections, has looked nervous while on the floor thus far.

But, he was the AP and Gatorade Wisconsin High School Player of the Year last year and can reportedly "shoot it down".

So, "Bennettball" marches on.  If I were staging a team picture these days I’d probably have them dressed in the ragged remnants of Revolutionary War uniforms, with bandaged heads (and hands and ankles!), playing the fife and drum.  You know the painting(s).

And, as I recall, those guys won!