At least we have basketball.
Those were the words running through my head as I left Scott Stadium, along with the dozen or so other people who stayed on the hill until the end of the game Saturday.
Honestly, when you tell someone your school's team lost to Duke in a sporting event, you hardly expect them to believe it was football. I've already written that I believe Al Groh needs to be fired at the end of the season, so I won't go into another discussion of that matter just yet. I simply need to point out that losing to Duke for the second season in a row adds fuel to the fire. To those who've said, "Groh must go," for the past year or more, you are 100 percent right and you should be rewarded - no, vindicated - this offseason.
Thankfully, my frustration regarding football is calmed by the fact that, at the very least, we still have basketball. Maybe it's because nothing could be worse than football, or because we have a new head coach who is priming the men's team for success, or because our Hall of Fame women's coach is one win away from her 700th career win. Or maybe it's because I'm a fourth-year student who refuses to believe that experiencing three losing football seasons will define my college career. Whatever the reason, I actually believe this basketball season will be a lot of fun.
The biggest news of the ACC offseason was Virginia's addition of coach Tony Bennett, who was the National Coach of the Year in 2007 and comes cross-country from Washington State. The new coach will welcome two talented freshmen in guard Jontel Evans and small forward Tristan Spurlock, both of whom have the talent to contribute immediately. Bennett will also rely on last year's ACC Rookie of the Year, guard Sylven Landesberg, who finished sixth in the voting for the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Sure, the men might have been picked to finish 11th in the 12-team ACC, but I don't buy that. Even though Bennett is not exactly known for running high-powered offenses - last year, his Cougars scored 59.2 points per game, good for 314th among 330 Division I teams - all three of his Washington State teams posted winning records, and two went to the NCAA Tournament. I might not expect Virginia to light up the scoreboard or go dancing this year, but there's surely a better chance of those things happening than the football team going to a bowl game.
It also doesn't hurt that the women's team is ranked No. 14 in the AP Preseason Poll. Coach Debbie Ryan's go-to player will be senior guard Monica Wright, who was named the Preseason ACC Player of the Year and a first-team All American by The Sporting News, and is on a host of awards' watch lists.
Last year, the women's team went 24-10, including a win at the NCAA Tournament. This year, in addition to the return of redshirt junior guard Paulisha Kellum, Virginia welcomes the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, according to rivals.com. Four of the five new Cavaliers were ranked among the top 100 recruits in the nation, including two in the top 25: point guard China Crosby and forward/center Erinn Thompson.
To recap, Virginia has the best player in the ACC, arguably the best recruiting class in the conference, and one of the most accomplished coaches of all time. So, yes, this is shaping up to be a very good season.
Like I said, there are a variety of reasons why I am already looking ahead to basketball season. But one of them is that both the men's and women's teams will likely have better winning percentages than the football team. So, if you are like me and you need a diversion from less-than-mediocre college football, go to JPJ and have some fun. You'll regret it less than the time you admitted to being a Virginia football fan, that's for sure.
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