UVa rolls in exhibition opener over Shepherd

Heading into this season, it was widely assumed that Virginia would start Jeff Jones, Sammy Zeglinski or Sylven Landesberg in the backcourt alongside Calvin Baker.
So, on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, it was something of a surprise when sophomore Mustapha Farrakhan started in UVa’s exhibition against Shepherd, a Division II college located in West Virginia.
“He’s been very consistent — not just making shots or plays, but in his effort and his attentiveness, especially on the defensive end,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, when asked about the decision to start Farrakhan. “He’s done a real good job of bringing some energy and know-how. I began to see that he has a pretty good basketball IQ.
“I thought this was an opportunity to give him the first look and see how he would react to it, and I thought he did pretty well.”
Farrakhan, who barely got off the bench last season, finished with nine points and five assists in 18 minutes of action as Virginia cruised to an 87-52 victory in front of a crowd of 2,019.
The grandson of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, was 2 of 3 from 3-point range and looked quite comfortable as a starter.
“When I heard the news, I just said to myself, ‘Well, OK, just keep the same mindset that I’ve been having,’” Farrakhan said. “Just keep an even keel and play my game.”
Just as encouraging as Farrakhan’s performance was the play of Jones, the sophomore who started most of last season. The Philadelphia product finished with a game-high 18 points off the bench.
“I have a lot more confidence,” said Jones, who switched his uniform number this year from 1 to 23. “The second year is a new me. I’m glad I went out there and showed people what I’m made of — the new me.”
Jones said he will have the same mindset whether he starts or comes off the bench.
“I’m just going with the flow right now,” he said. “Every team has to make sacrifices. It’s something you need to do to win championships.”
Virginia, which opens its season on Sunday at JPJ against VMI, was in control against Shepherd from wire to wire.
The highlights of the first half were back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Mamadi Diane (14 points) and Mike Scott (10 points, 14 rebounds) that put UVa up 23-14.
All game long, Shepherd struggled on offense. The Rams shot just 27 percent — something that pleased Leitao.
“I thought by in large there are some things to work on, but we did a better job than I thought we would at this stage,” he said. “We have a long way to go and have to figure out things with people and lineups and things, but we’ll take it as a step forward and learn and grow from it.”
The game marked the JPJ debut of Virginia freshmen Sylven Landesberg, Assane Sene and John Brandenburg. The most impressive, as expected, was Landesberg. The McDonald’s All-America from New York City finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.
“The first half I was a little scared and a little jittery,” Landesberg said, “but in the second half I got adjusted.”
With just over a minute to play in the game, Landesberg, to the delight of the Virginia bench, threw down a vicious dunk on Shepherd guard Derek Gallagher.
However, he was called for a travel on the play.
“I just looked straight to the bench after the dunk to see my teammates,” said Landesberg, laughing. “They were all making faces. They’re clowns.”
Dunks
Calvin Baker, who started at point guard and finished with four points and two assists, expounded on the stress fracture in his foot that has kept him from practicing on a consistent basis. “[Doctors] said if I play on it, I run the risk of it fracturing all the way and that could be worse, but that [I] can take the chance,” said Baker, who is wearing a special insole in his sneaker. “I sat down with Coach and my family and they left the decision in my hands, and of course I made the decision to play.” …Jamil Tucker, who has battled a shoulder injury in the preseason, looked pretty good, scoring seven points. …The fan who has sat behind the Virginia bench for the last three years with the sign that reads, “Put Lars in” was back with his same sign, despite the fact Lars Mikalauskas is no longer on the team.