UVA clinches ACC championship, heads to NCAA tourney
Capping a glorious season that saw the UVA men’s basketball team capture the ACC regular season title and the ACC tournament championship for the first time in 38 years, the Cavaliers head into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed for the East Region.
Following a 13-game winning streak culminating with the March 1 trouncing of Syracuse at John Paul Jones Arena, the squad lost to Maryland in the final game of the regular season. But that didn’t seem to be on the minds of players including senior Joe Harris, sophomore Malcolm Brogdon, or freshman London Perrantes as they fought through tight games during the ACC tournament in Greensboro.
UVA fans have gone crazy over the depth of the “starless” squad, where any player has had a chance to shine in any given game—and in particular, over head coach Tony Bennett, the 44-year-old widely seen as the program’s savior.
According to The Daily Progress, Bennett’s success has already triggered a cascade of bounty. In addition to his $1.7 million annual salary, his contract calls for plenty more financial reward, including a $100,000 bonus for the ACC victory. That’s a fraction of his NCAA tournament bonus potential: another $100,000 for the Sweet 16, and a quarter million for both the Elite Eight and the Final Four. Taking the top spot would bring him another $400,000 for a tournament total of $1 million.
But for fans whose hopes perhaps have never been higher, the value of such triumph would more likely echo the famous Master Card campaign: “priceless.”
Affidavit details Schock allegations
A month after his February 10 arrest on child pornography charges, the case against former Venable Elementary School teacher Corey Schock has been transferred from state to federal court, where an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 7 revealed more of the evidence against him.
The affidavit alleges that Schock used a messaging app to send and receive pornographic images from a 15-year-old Woodbridge girl, and that other evidence collected suggests he had corresponded with other teens as well. According to the affidavit, some of the photos Schock sent appear to have been taken while he was at school. While the exchanges allegedly referred to the teen’s age and her attendance at school, Schock reportedly told investigators he “didn’t know it was real.”
Schock, now charged with one count of online coercion and solicitation of a minor, faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
Restaurant Week raises funds
for more than 65,000 food
bank meals
Good food means good news for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB), the charity recipient of Charlottesville’s January 2014 Restaurant Week. The semiannual event, organized by C-VILLE Weekly, brought in a record $16,405, enough to cover 65,620 meals for needy families in the area. More than 30 restaurants are already signed up for this summer’s Restaurant Week, including event newcomer Shadwells, the Pantops steak and seafood restaurant, which rung up the most dinner tickets during the January event.
At a ceremony last week, BRAFB noted that donations drop off during the spring and summer, but hunger doesn’t. Families lose access to free and reduced school lunches during the warmer months, said BRAFB CEO Michael McKee, and nearly 40 percent of the people served by the food bank are children.—C-VILLE writers