Good grades hard to come by for Cavs

If Virginia’s lone ACC victory at Georgia Tech seemed like a long time ago, well, it was.
The season-opening win over the Yellow Jackets came in 2008 — just a few days before the New Year.
Since then, Virginia has lost seven straight league games. With the exception of the Virginia Tech game on Jan. 10, none of the games have been remotely close. UVa has been so non-competitive that a Raleigh columnist recently referred to the program as “pitiful.”
Sure, nobody expected Virginia to whoop up on the ACC this season after losing its best player (Sean Singletary) to the NBA, but nobody thought UVa would lie down and play dead, either.
If Wahoo fans have to hear about their team not “coming out with energy” or not “playing with passion” one more time, they’re liable to shoot themselves.
For such a “young” team, how is this possible? Virginia players are in one of the best college basketball conferences in the country and are playing in some of the most famed venues in the sport.
If anything, UVa coach Dave Leitao should have to be ratcheting them down a notch, not begging them to flip the ignition switch.
Clearly, there is a major disconnect somewhere.
Following a 76-61 loss to North Carolina on Saturday, Virginia is halfway through its ACC schedule. With the last-place Cavaliers (7-12, 1-7) set to play at Florida State on Tuesday night, here is the team’s mid-season report card.

The Players
Junior guard Calvin Baker
Analysis: Fans can moan all they want to about Baker. Yes, his shot selection is often poor and he’s not a good passer. But the reality is that Baker is one of the few players on this team who doesn’t play scared. If the former walk-on doesn’t hit the game-winning 3-pointer at Georgia Tech last season, Virginia likely finishes in the ACC basement. If Baker doesn’t drill the big shot against the Yellow Jackets this season, UVa is winless in the league.
Grade: C+
Freshman center John Brandenburg
Analysis: The 6-foot-11 St. Louis native hasn’t played as much as most people expected him to. In his brief time on the court, Brandenburg has shown a nice hook shot. He’s certainly a lot further along at this stage than previous Virginia big men. Expect Brandenburg to get more minutes in the second half of the season since the team doesn’t really have anything to lose.
Grade: Incomplete
Senior guard/forward Mamadi Diane
Analysis: One of the biggest enigmas of the entire college basketball season. Can you think of another player in the country who is on the cover of his school’s media guide but no longer plays? Diane, a DNP vs. North Carolina, has gone from a double-digit scorer to a benchwarmer over night. Off-season foot surgery, the new 3-point line and no Sean Singletary have been factors, but it seems that Diane, mainly, has just gotten worn out emotionally.
Grade: D
Sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan
Analysis: Farrakhan, like so many of his teammates, has shown nice flashes. His 17-point outburst at Virginia Tech was impressive. However, since then, Farrakhan hasn’t been hitting very much. Of course, yo-yoing in and out of the lineup with Jeff Jones hasn’t helped. On the plus side, he’s drilled all 18 of his free-throw attempts this season.
Grade: C-
Sophomore guard Jeff Jones
Analysis: Coming out of high school, Jones was the all-time leading scorer in the famed Philadelphia Catholic League. Since arriving at UVa, Jones hasn’t given any indication that he can replicate that kind of success. However, he is clearly one of the hardest-working players, especially on the defensive end. If his jumper can ever become more consistent, Virginia might have itself a serviceable ACC player.
Grade: C
Freshman guard Sylven Landesberg
Analysis: Can you imagine what Virginia would be like without its star freshman? Unwatchable. Leitao clearly hit a homerun when he beat out Georgia Tech and St. John’s for Landesberg’s services. The New Yorker, who is averaging a team-leading 18.9 points, has had one of the best freshmen seasons in school history. He’s already been named ACC Rookie of the Week five times.
Grade: A
Junior center Jerome Meyinsse
Analysis: With the departure of Lars Mikalauskas in the offseason, this was supposed to be the year that Meyinsse really stepped up. It hasn’t happened. The weird thing is that Meyinsse never really seems to play poorly when given a chance. His 10-point, eight-rebound effort at Syracuse showed promise, but he hasn’t received consistent minutes since.
Grade: D+
Sophomore center/forward Mike Scott
Analysis: With Virginia’s dearth of big men, Scott should be posting double-doubles regularly, but he has just six. Clearly an ACC-caliber player, Scott has all of the offensive tools to be successful. Leitao’s motion offense and herky-jerky substitution patterns just don’t seem to be a good fit for him. Plus, getting the ball inside to Scott almost never seems to be a priority.
Grade: C
Freshman center Assane Sene
Analysis: After Landesberg, the second most pleasant surprise. Sene hasn’t been nearly as raw as advertised. Already, the 7-footer is a major factor on the defensive end (1.9 blocks per game), and he has more offensive skills than a lot of people expected. An injured thumb has affected his shooting of late, but Sene clearly has the most upside of any Virginia player.
Grade: B
Senior center Tunji Soroye
Analysis: Soroye, after being granted a medical redshirt, returned for a fifth year with the hopes of erasing an injury-plagued 2007-08 season. Unfortunately, this season has been just as disappointing. “Tunji Time” has been nearly non-existent. Soroye has appeared in just nine games.
Grade: D
Junior guard/forward Solomon Tat
Analysis: Well, he tries really hard and is a great kid. Those are the best things you can say about Tat. Clearly, Tat hasn’t been what Leitao and staff thought he would be when they recruited him. The 6-foot-5 Nigerian is one of the team’s better defensive players, but has no real offensive skills, which makes him a liability when he is in the game.
Grade: C
Junior forward Jamil Tucker
Analysis: One of the team’s best outside shooters, but doesn’t really do much else. Tucker’s game hasn’t developed the way Leitao hoped that it would. Tucker, part of Leitao’s first recruiting class, came in as gunner. That’s still really all he is. At least, he does that fairly well, connecting at a 41-percent clip from downtown.
Grade: C
Redshirt freshman guard Sammy Zeglinski
Analysis: Zeglinski, replacing Virginia icon Sean Singletary, has had huge shoes to fill. When you consider that Singletary averaged 10.5 points and 3.9 assists as a freshman, Zeglinski’s numbers (9.5 points and 3.4 assists) certainly stack up. His play has been erratic of late, but that’s to be expected from a first-year point guard in the ACC.
Grade: B-
The Coach
Dave Leitao, fourth year
Analysis: If Virginia loses its eighth straight game to Florida State on Tuesday, it will be 1-8 in ACC play and on pace to match last year’s 1-9 start. As bad as this season has gone, people tend to forget that the 2007-08 campaign — even with Singletary — wasn’t that much better. Virginia was only able to finish 5-11 after winning four of its last six games. The CBI farce saved UVa from its first losing record of the Leitao era. This season, barring a remarkable turn-around, there won’t be any postseason festivities, and Leitao — whose first couple of recruiting classes were not up to ACC snuff — should take most of the heat for that. The reaction from out-of-town sportswriters is that Virginia just seems poorly coached. When you see UVa lose repeatedly in almost identical fashion, game after game, it’s hard to argue. Leitao’s squad is young, but so are a lot of other teams in the league. Leitao’s coaching style doesn’t seem to inspire his players or give them any kind of confidence. The team has no discernible identity on offense or defense. And, with apologies to the late Jerry Falwell, no Virginia team should ever lose at home to Liberty.
Grade: F.