Revelations Chapter 6 discusses four horsemen who usher in the Apocalypse leaving death and destruction in their wake. Virginia's four sophomores or "The Four Horsemen" as they call themselves, hope to leave opposing teams devastated.
"Yeah, that nickname came out last year," Sophomore Jason Clark said of being called "The Four Horsemen." "We're all close and it shows on and off the court."
Elton Brown, Jason Clark, Jermaine Harper and Keith Jennifer each saw significant playing time last year as freshmen and will need to step up their play if Virginia is going to live up to the preseason hype.
These four sophomores will need to be significant contributors and will provide much of the depth for the Cavaliers this season. Although they possess the athletic tools needed to strike fear into their opponents, this year's sophomores' story has been about both physical and mental growth.
"We four sophomores, we all grew up mentally, physically, and basketball-wise," Brown said.
The youngsters were known as much for their attitude last year as they were for their potential and talent.
"Mentally I have changed," Brown said. "I used to get caught up in the hype, getting pulled out of games, I had an attitude, and my attitude affected my teammates."
Brown, who averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and even hit three three-point shots against Florida State last year will have to provide much of the strength and depth inside the paint this year. During the off-season Brown has bulked up by adding another 15 pounds from working in the weight room all summer. His hard work has certainly impressed his coach.
"Elton Brown has worked hard on his body," coach Pete Gillen said. "I think he's matured a lot in one year, he's gotten stronger and firmed up."
Brown also shot 100 shots twice a day over the summer to improve his skills. But to get into better shape, Brown needed motivation.
"A lot of it was self-motivation," Brown said. "But some of it came from the coaching staff, they said 'Elton you have talent, we saw sparks of it last year, Imagine if you get in shape and you get stronger, you'll be unstoppable.'"
While Brown has worked hard on getting into better shape, Jennifer has worked to improve some holes in his game. Jennifer, who is one of the quickest players in the country, according to some of his teammates, lacked a consistent outside jumpshot last year, which hurt his play-making ability.
"Keith Jennifer is hands down a better player than he was last year," Brown said. "His jumpshot is wonderful. Last year, guys would back off of him, if you leave him open this year, it's a three on the board."
Jennifer, who received criticism for talking trash to Duke's Jason Williams last year, now has found his role on the team.
"My role is going to be playing defense, shoot the open shot and get assists when I can," the 6-foot-3 161-pound Jennifer said. "I watched some tapes over the summer, I tried to get stronger, I know I got stronger but I can't seem to gain any weight.I shot a lot. This year, If I'm open I'm going to take the shot."
A consistent three point shot will force defenders to cover Jennifer, who can then use his quickness to penetrate and dish.
"We can't play with the point guard not being a threat offensively," Gillen said. "I think Keith Jennifer is lightning in a bottle, I think he's the quickest point guard in the ACC. His role will be to penetrate and deliver the ball to guys that are open."
While Jennifer tries to settle into his well-defined role on the team, Clark brings versatility and a willingness to help the team in a multitude of different ways.
Clark led the team in blocked shots last year with 39, and uses his 6-foot-8 234-pound frame to help his team defensively, on the boards, and on offense.
"Last year he would look at me as the most athletic player on the team," Clark said. "That's really an honor from him, especially with the type of athletes we had on this team."
Along with such respect and expectation comes responsibility, and Clark is more than willing to take on the added responsibility.
"I bring to the team desire and hard work and [willingness to] do whatever it takes for this team to win," Clark said. "If I see that my team is lacking in scoring, then I'm going to try to do my part to help pick up the slack. That's how it is. It doesn't matter if it's scoring, rebounding, blocking shots or just being out there. I'm going to do whatever it takes. If my team needs me to score or sit on the bench and cheer, I'm going to do whatever it takes to win games."
As Clark was leading the team in blocks and minutes as a freshman last year, Harper made a more silent, though still potent contribution.
"He's a very good player," Gillen said of Harper. "He's very quick with great explosiveness. He helped us win some games last year on the road at Clemson and at Georgia Tech."
Harper will have some large shoes to fill as he takes over at shooting guard for Roger Mason Jr. who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls after foregoing his last year of college eligibility to enter the NBA.
"Those are some big shoes to fill," Harper said of taking over Mason's old position. "But I think I can do the same things he did last year. He had a similar freshman year that I had, but his second year he really stepped it up. He took more shots and he was more aggressive, so I'm going to take more shots and be more aggressive this year."
Not only will Harper and the other sophomores need to be more aggressive, but they also need to assume a new mantle of leadership. They are a group that has become close, and whose shared experience last year helped not only bring them together as teammates, but also as friends.
"We have been real close ever since we were freshman and we continue to be real close this year," Harper said. "We learned a lot as freshman and this year we have to bring a lot of leadership. We may not be captains, but we have to bring leadership to the team and play hard every day."
Last year Virginia ranked in the top five nationally at one point, only to drop out of the top 25 and miss the NCAA tournament. Brown, Clark, Jennifer and Harper were keys to the success of the Cavaliers last year, and will be again this year. Now, however, they know what to expect.
"We didn't know what to expect last season going into Conference play," Clark said. "Coach Gillen told us it was a whole different type of play and we took that for granted. This year we're more experienced and we know what to expect."
The sophomores are ready to forget the woes of last season's fall and focus on carrying their team through a new season of Virginia basketball, with a new NCAA tournament to be won.
"You can't dwell," Brown said. "You work hard and make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm looking forward to this year. Last year a lot of people looked at us as being a big factor for the success of the team.Look for the same thing this year, for the team to succeed we're going to be a big part of it."
With one year of experience under their belts, the four horsemen carry the hopes of the Cavaliers this season squarely on their backs.
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