Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage entered the room. Littlepage never enters the room. Indeed this was a peculiar moment at the post-game press conference following Virginia's loss to N.C. State last Saturday.
For the Cavaliers, the loss marked their fourth in a row and a fall to the bottom of the ACC standings. For Virginia coach Pete Gillen, the loss was another cloud in the gathering storm that is brewing over his head. After the press conference, Littlepage offered a few words of encouragement and a pat on the back for the Gillen who coaches every game as if it were his last because it may actually be his last.
From Internet message boards to the seats at University Hall, there is seemingly only one topic of discussion when it comes to Virginia men's basketball -- the job security of Virginia's embattled head coach.
"All we can do is just go day by day," Gillen said after the N.C. State game. "We're frustrated we didn't play better. We're 12-8 overall. We have some good wins, only 2-7 in the league. Other teams before today were only one game ahead of us. Maryland had three wins. Carolina had three wins. There is always going to be heat. Hopefully we'll be here a while. We've got seven years left on the contract."
If anyone knows the road that Pete Gillen is traveling it is N.C. State coach Herb Sendek. Once vilified by Wolfpack fans, Sendek has weathered the storm and has his team firmly in second place in the conference. Indeed his team's fortune is so good that Sendek antagonists have taken down a Web site, that called for his firing.
"I don't know what [taking down the Web site] indicates," Sendek said. "It could be back up tonight. That is the nature of our sport."
As the coaching controversy that once surrounded Sendek and currently surrounds Gillen demonstrates, in the world of college basketball, the bottom line doesn't look so good if the storm of resentment starts brewing.
"I don't think that when you're in the coaching profession, and that word is an important word, that you can allow those things to influence how you go about doing your job everyday," Sendek said. "We're teachers, we're coaches and we're leaders. Unfortunately, our sports culture today is a little bit off-center."
While the coaches are the ones in the crosshairs, the players are not blind to the demands of the modern day sports landscape.
"We lost two at home, and when you lose, you're going to hear it," senior guard Todd Billet said. "That's what basketball is in this day and age. As players, we have to just keep working and focus."
In addition to Blue Devils, Terrapins and Yellow Jackets, the Cavalier players have another challenge facing them, a challenge that goes far beyond holding a prolific scorer in check or crashing the boards. The players must find a way to see through the storm and focus on the game.
"We play for ourselves," junior forward Devin Smith said. "We really don't listen to what everybody else says. We just have to do it for ourselves and for everyone in our basketball family."
At 2-7, the Cavaliers have their work cut out for them if they want to climb out of the cellar in the ACC and avoid the humiliation of participating in the ACC tournament play-in game.
"We're not giving up, we're not quitting," Gillen said. "We're in the toughest league in the country right now, and we're playing a lot of young guys."
It's easy to see that Gillen's a little sweatier than usual as he patrols the sidelines. The red-headed Brooklynite coaches his heart out, knowing the storm remains directly over his head. With four of Virginia's remaining seven games against ranked opponents, it's easy to forecast gloomier days on the horizon for Gillen. With the demands of our sports culture, many wonder if Littlepage will enter a press conference in the near future and proceed to the podium to announce a coaching change rather than to take a seat in the back row.
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