Up seven points with only 13 seconds left in overtime, Virginia coach Pete Gillen did his best to dissuade junior forward Devin Smith from driving to the hoop. All the Cavaliers had to do was maintain possession of the ball for the remaining few seconds to ensure their first ACC victory of the season.
"Hold it! Hold it!" he screamed at the 6'5", 235-pound forward. Smith either didn't hear Gillen or chose to ignore his coach and made his way toward the basket where he threw down a monstrous dunk.
Judging by his reaction, Gillen didn't seem to mind his player's decision to go for the points. As Smith let out a tremendous scream after his earth-shattering slam, Gillen one-upped his forward by throwing his fist up into the air, jumping up and twirling around and letting a triumphant yell of his own. He then proceeded to motion to the crowd to get out of their seats and cheer while the clock wound down to 0:00.
It was a big moment for the beleaguered Virginia coach. As his Cavaliers dominated the overtime session against Florida State yesterday afternoon, Smith's dunk was the perfect exclamation point. A message was sent to Gillen's critics. As the ball flew through the hoop and U-Hall roared, you could almost hear his distinct New York accent echoing through the stadium: "Don't write me off quite yet."
The common wisdom among Virginia diehards is that the coach wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for the hefty nine million dollar, 10-year contract he signed in October 2001. Much of the anti-Gillen contingent is writing off this season as a lost cause. They consider our chances of winning more than three or four games in the ACC this season slim to none. They believe the program will be better off the sooner Gillen packs his bags and leaves town.
With yesterday's narrow victory over the less-than-dominant Seminoles, some may argue that Virginia's performance doesn't do much to help Gillen's cause. While it would be a misrepresentation to call the Cavaliers' performance impressive, they did hit several key shots down the stretch and dominated the overtime session. Most importantly, they took care of the bottom line by having more points on the board than their opponent when time expired.
And that's exactly what this season will ultimately be judged by: The number of ACC wins Virginia can pull off. With each successive victory, Gillen exponentially increases his chance of keeping his job for another season. Last year's squad managed six (out of 16 games). Most agree the season will be a failure if Virginia doesn't at least repeat that performance. With this year's ACC stronger than it has been in years, victories will be especially hard to come by this season.
Is this team capable of winning six, seven or even (gasp) eight games this season? It's hard to say, but certainly too early to deem impossible.
The Cavaliers started the season with a trio of losses, but the results are understandable considering whom and where the Cavaliers played. A pair of road games against quality N.C. State and Georgia Tech squads, along with a home loss to the nation's top team, seems like results that, however disappointing they may be, are acceptable.
Yesterday marked the first game that on paper Virginia should, for all intents and purposes, win. Virginia's fans were kept on the edge of their seats throughout, but in the end Gillen's group delivered the victory.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think we should be throwing any parades for our basketball coach after a home victory over Florida State, but critics should not rush to judgment. This team is a better squad than last year and, while far from the college basketball elite, has the potential to silence the naysayers.With Todd Billet returning to his top form, Devin Smith rising to a new level and freshmen like Donte Minter and J.R Reynolds contributing significantly, this team could make some noise in the ACC this year.
With perennial conference cellar dweller Clemson coming into town tomorrow night, Sunday's victory quickly will be forgotten if the Cavaliers stumble against the Tigers. But for Gillen, with his fist raised high and his 56-year-old legs lifting him up higher than seemed possible, yesterday's win was more than just an in-conference victory against a mid-level ACC team. It was a statement that he may, after all, be able to lead this squad to a successful season.
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