Got a good friend’s San Fran wedding this weekend, and Mrs. Vandy-Hoo and I are extending it into a mini-vacation. So, your Good Ol’ Bloghost will be off the computer till Wednesday night. I’ll try to do some posts here and there from my I-wish-it-was-an-iPhone (i.e., Treo), but I ain’t promising nothing. The rest of TheSabre.com crew will be keeping the blog fires burning until I return.

It should be a long, quiet July 4th weekend. But knowing my luck, Ed Davis will commit to the Heels tomorrow, Jameel Sewell will transfer to Notre Dame on Sunday, and Al Groh’s will make a let-me-know-in-24-hours coaching offer on Monday. Damn hippie town better be worth it.

“Guys, seriously, don’t bother tipping me; I slit both of my wrists 10 minutes ago and I’m bleeding to death as we speak. Thanks, though.” – what SportsGuy envisions a waiter working the Stephen A. Smith/Dickie V dinner date would say.

… for next year (hat-tip sym2k*), including the new guys. That’s a deep slate. As this poster explains …

Finally, no more need to hold tryouts for … walk-ons just to have more bodies for practise fodder. With the full 13 scholarship guys and 3 recruited walk-ons, getting playing time will be tough even in practise.

On top of the boost in practice, Leitao is going to have so many options next year for line-ups and both offensive and defensive strategies. Going big, going small, zone, man-on, press — he’s got the bodies to do almost anything. Assuming, of course, that the second-years step up.

*message board links that will expire

He wasn’t drafted last night. No matter — I have a feeling he’ll be in the NBA someday. DeCourcy agrees:

DeCourcy was equally sold on Reynolds, who averaged 18.4 points, 4 rebounds and 3.7 assists as the Cavaliers (21-11) earned their first NCAA trip since 2001.

Reynolds averaged 27 points in U.Va.’s two tournament games, dropping 22 on Tennessee in the first half in the Cavs’ eventual 77-74 loss. “I would take him,” DeCourcy said. “After what I saw in the first half of that Tennessee game, he’s a pro.”

DeCourcy said Reynolds, 23, will have to learn to play better defense on the ball, but he doesn’t think the 6-3, 188-pounder will have to shoehorn himself into a point guard role that scouts worry won’t fit him. DeCourcy points to Ben Gordon, taken with the third overall pick in the 2004 draft by Chicago, as an example of a undersized two guard who has excelled at the next level. Gordon, 6-3 and 200 pounds, has averaged nearly 18 points and almost 30 minutes a game in his pro career.

“Can you tell me there’s 57 spots (between the third pick and not being drafted) difference between Ben Gordon and J.R. Reynolds? I don’t think that’s true,” DeCourcy said. ” … Reynolds is a small shooting guard. He has to find a team that wants to use him in that particular role.”

And the man’s got heart. He’s going to catch on somewhere in the NBA, or I’ll be a Milovan Rakovic’s uncle.

Mr. Noah … the gift that keeps one giving:

Looks like they weren’t following Frank Beamer’s Guide to Scheduling to the Title Game. Dumping Pitt has turned into a schedule upgrade — they just one-and-oned with Auburn.

Here’s the first installment, the Do Your Damn Homework edition:

• Mr. Surf tells us all to relax w/r/t Mr. Payne. Same message not meant for Keith.
• Wondering if BC is happy with the ACC.
• A discussion on the “theme” behind our football recruits’ specs.
• Some analysis of Dex’s mystery super stud tennis recruit and other deep thoughts on next year’s team.
• A new commit for O’Connor!

(All of these message board links will expire).

Disney World cracks down on dangerous gang members. And by that, I mean Florida State football recruits.

WESTENDHOO has an impressive breakdown on the board of our fearless leader*:

It is impossible to put into words what having this young man back for his senior season means to this team, this fan base, and this program as a whole. For a moment, lets put aside the playmaking, the clutch shots, the leadership, and the emphasis that other teams have to put on him. Let’s just look at the numbers. We all know how heavily our offense relied on the duo of Sean Singletary and JR Reynolds to provide scoring. They more or less accounted for 40 points a game. We lost one half to graduation. If we had lost them both, making up that significant chunk of scoring would have been a VERY tall task. Making up only half of that, is a lot more feasible. You only need a handful of guys to step up their scoring a couple of points per game and you make up the gap, because we know Sean will score. It doesn’t hurt that those handful of other guys will be on the receiving end of dimes from an All-America candidate.

That leads us right back into what we were putting aside. Sean Singletary provides so many things other than numbers that point this team toward winning. He is the undeniable leader of this team who plays with a contagious energy that shows his unbridled will to win. His presence in my opinion, is the difference between 8 to 10 wins. Not an exaggeration.

(more…)

The more I think about this (and some people on the board seem to agree*), it looks like Keith Payne’s suspension is a team-based situation. In other words, I think Groh has suspended him from the team, rather than some sort of mandated University or NCAA suspension. I won’t speculate about his actual academic situation, but I can say that Groh is clearly challenging him to buck up before things get worse and a mandated suspension does come along:

“Keith is not holding up his end of the deal despite significant direction and effort from many people around the University,” coach Al Groh said in a statement Wednesday. “We hope he will respond positively to this challenge, do what is expected of him and return to positive status.”

And the Progress seems to agree:

This suspension was not mandated by the NCAA and Payne is still expected to play this fall if he improves his academic standing.

Well, there you go. The news wasn’t as bad as previously thought. I’m not sure exactly what he’s suspended from right now (maybe summer conditioning programs?) But I can think of someone who hopefully skipped (or is skipping) the Midsummers parties in favor of some heavy reading.

*message board link that will expire