Four years ago four horsemen set out on a mission. Four freshmen galloped onto the court with the aplomb of seasoned veterans. Their chief ambition was defined from the start: get Virginia men's basketball back on the ACC radar -- get back to the top.
Virginia fans knew the road would be long and bumpy -- such a young team is bound to hit a few rough spots along the way. But no one ever though things would be this hard or that the four horsemen would make a mad dash into a brick wall. No one could have expected that the assembled foursome would be represented by a lone rider come senior night.
Elton Brown, Jason Clark, Jermaine Harper and Keith Jenifer never reigned together at Virginia. An assault charge and a DUI in their sophomore season left two of the Cavaliers' clip-clopping quartet in limbo: Jenifer faced indefinite suspension, and Harper was looking at a not-so-comfy seat on the bench. Neither was happy with his situation at Virginia -- after the season, both were released from the team and opted to transfer to other programs.
And then there were two.
In 2003, Clark and Brown looked to guide the Cavaliers as upperclassmen, but academic mishaps held Clark out of action for the fall semester. Devin Smith, who joined the team as a transfer a year earlier, assumed Clark's leadership role, but Virginia only managed an NIT berth.
The story was the same again this year. Brown and Clark mounted their stallions in November, prepared to find a way to go out on top. But no, it just wasn't meant to be. Academics tackled Clark again, this time for the spring semester and the duration of his career.
And then there was one -- one lone rider left to limp into the sunset alone on his crippled horse.
Elton Brown made it. It hasn't been an easy four years, and it surely hasn't been pretty for anyone who's been watching, but he's still here and he's going to graduate. He can leave with dignity, if not for his career accomplishments than for the fact that he at least stuck it out for four years.
Now Brown is clutching onto sparse strands of hope, looking for a miracle, looking to find a way -- any way -- to grab just one more game, 40 more minutes of playing time.
Brown avoided the sink hole that the other three horsemen were sucked into. He somehow avoided off-court skirmishes and survived classroom woes. Last night he was honored with a replica No. 43 jersey as one of two seniors on the team.
As Brown walked to center court with his mother and grandmother, I couldn't help but think of the first time I saw him trot onto the University Hall hardwood with his comrades.
On Jan. 5, 2002, the four horsemen played their first home ACC game. They lost 81-74 to N.C. State. Last night, the lone rider played his final ACC home game. The Cavaliers lost to the Wolfpack, 82-72. Fitting, don't you think?
Read More
West Coast woes strike again as men’s basketball gets hammered by Stanford
By Emory Huffman | 9 hours agoVirginia, once again in a lost season, looked aimless on the floor.
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | 17 hours agoHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
