With Elliot “E-mail” Williams about to announce his college decision this week, Chris Horne drops a few thoughts on UVa’s college basketball recruiting on the blog.

1. As we wait on the last recruit’s decision, how do you think Virginia’s recruiting has turned out so far this year?

Dave Leitao has done a great job, rebounding nicely after missing out on Ed Davis. The three commitments have, I think, made quite a few fans forget about the loss of Davis. Landesberg gives Virginia a smooth, big bodied combo guard who could man the point position. He is not a true point, but he is a good ballhandler and, with his height, can see the floor nicely. He is also a good shooter. The 6-11, 235-pound Brandenburg is a good rebounder, a good defender and a hard worker who is improving his offensive game. Sene, while raw, has loads of potential and an excellent 7-0, 230-pound frame. Virginia getting him over Connecticut and Syracuse is huge.

2. C’mon — you know where Williams is going, don’t you?

Honestly, I have no idea where E-Mail may end up. There are certainly rumors floating out there, but we’ll find out for sure with just a few days until he announces. I wouldn’t be surprised if he chose Virginia because of his relationship with Dave Leitao, but then again I wouldn’t be surprised with any of his choices.

3. There’s been some concern on the message boards about scholarship numbers not working out if Williams chooses the Hoos. Any reason for such worries?

Virginia will sign four if Williams wants to come aboard. Dave Leitao has addressed situations like this before, so the only answer I can give is that I’m sure the staff has a plan in place if Williams comes aboard.

Wake week wake week wake week. Hard isn’t it?

Well, as hard as it is to quickly say “Wake week,” it may be tougher for the team to actually go through Wake week. The Hoos are banged up, coming off their first ACC loss, and facing perhaps the best team they’ve played so far. You know, the reigning conference champs? Led by the unanimously chosen ACC Coach of the Year? Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Wake week wake week wake week.

Anyway, let’s lick our wounds and kick things off. Former Wahoo linebacker Jim Grobe is coming to town, so let’s hope for a homecoming that he’ll recognize from his playing days. A loss for his team in Scott Stadium. No, not the Hoos, his team. Wake Forest. Oh, nevermind — I knew this week was going to be a mouthful.

… they’ve been here for years. Fanatic on the latest we-shoulda-but-we-didn’t.

Will Ojanen of ACCNation thinks so. And here’s his two cents on the Hoos:

Virginia just won seven in a row. I don’t care what conference you play in, but winning seven in a row in football is tough. And it’s more of a miracle when you consider that Virginia isn’t exactly a high-powered offense. They run the ball pretty well, but the passing game isn’t great. And if you’ve watched Virginia at all, you know the strength of this team is the defense, led by Chris Long, the best defensive player in the nation. And here’s yet another case of a great player not getting great recognition because he plays in a conference that the national media really doesn’t care about. He’s in double digits in sacks, and is constantly harassing the quarterback. But he doesn’t play in the SEC or the Pac 10, so it doesn’t matter.

Heck, I think that Chris should be in the Heisman race, but that’s just me.

Chris G has the fallout both in B-burg and C’ville. And he also thinks the hot seat is warming up again under Groh. No way — personally, I think that hot seat barely existed, and certainly isn’t anywhere near the Hook right now regardless of the remaining games. I’ve always said that 7-5 and a bowl bid would be more than enough. And that win against Maryland locked in “more than enough.”

“The ACC should be ashamed by not giving UVA a bye week till the last week of the season. That’s simply absurd.” — DCHoo*, on one of the under reported aspects of UVa’s often reported easy schedule.

*Edge message board link that will expire

It’s hard getting back in the swing of things after even a short trip (especially when the last game was half-watched), so I’m leaning heavily on the message boards right now — especially Mikeysurf — as I get my bearings. And, of course, what the Surf has to say often deserves to be captured here.

Another post from him* on the Edge, this time arguing why we need show a little patience going forward with the Ol’ Sweatshirted One…

I’ve had my issues with some of the things Al has done over his tenure. But I try to look at this from the perspective of what is in the best interest of UVa football and athletics. Without any hesitation, it is for Al Groh to succeed…period!

I feel we’re recruiting prospects now that fit the UVa model more effectively. We’ve seen academic attrition drop over the past two years. The staff is doing a better job redshirting players to build quality depth. Which is one of the reason we have been able to overcome some of the injuries this season more successfully than before. We’re doing a number of very “smart” things in our recruiting approach to counter the difficulty of not being able to recruit as successfully against VT in-state. We have a very nice blend of coaches with on-field experience, along with young, energetic coaches to complement one another. The incoming ’08 class have a next mixture of potential impact players, along with prospects who will address specific needs in time.

There are many nitpik things I could bring out on how the staff approaches certain on the field situations, some of the interpersonal issues I have with a few staff members in how they approach things, but such an exercise could be done with any coaching staff. I just feel it is imperative for Al and the team to finish this year out strong, and hopefully at the very least, go to a quality bowl game (Peach, Gator, or Champs). The ACC doesn’t look so daunting at the moment. If we can maintain continuity in our coaching staff while achieving solid results, we should be in the mix for the foreseeable future.

As long as Al presents himself properly, upholds the standards of the university, facilitates the graduation of our players, and wins his share of football games, with an occasional strong year, I have no interest in seeing him replaced. Frankly, it would send a very strong message to the coaching ranks if we were able to ride things out with Al after some difficult years and have him come back to succeed. A lot of coaches will take note the next time the UVa job rolls around.

*message board link that will expire

… at the end of the State game.

Some Mikey wisdom from the Edge board:

Show me another team in the nation that has faced an opponent coming off of a bye week for THREE consecutive weeks (back-to-back on the road)? I’ve been looking and can’t find a single school. While we have played every week of the season. Folks, it takes a toll on the players.

I’m disappointed about the loss, UVA was no more a 15th ranked team prior to going into Carter-Finley yesterday than Brittany Spear is the role model for responsible behavior in the country. That’s why I can’t figure out out all of the angst with this loss. They’ve been winning on guts and guile all year. The strength of this team is the defensive front and they ran out of gas after playing too many tough games for nine straight weeks. The lack of high-end effectiveness by the defensive front (and a good game plan of quick short passes by Obie/staff to neutralize them) [I guess he read my Q&A at Section Six] allowed State to penetrate one of the team’s weaknesses, our secondary. While the offense has just seen too much attrition with the loss of Peerman, Santi, Jackson, and then, losing Monroe, again, during the game, along with the Sewell injury late, not to mention a number of players who are slowed by wear ‘n tear, to do what was necessary. Even with this level of attrition, the offense had its best scoring output on the road this season and the most we’ve scored away from home, other than in generous Durham, since early ’05.

It is easy to nitpik what the staff could have done differently. But it was a struggle for a number of players to practice this week after a tough game against UMD. The key for the coaching staff and the players is to not permit this loss to become bigger than just being a single loss for one week!

Well put.

*message board link that will expire

Okay, I forgot to set the damn DVR. So, I actually got to catch most of the last half – it’s tough to comment on a game where you missed half of the give and take, what worked and what didn’t, so I’ll wait until I do more recon after I’m back home.

Regardless, it looked like a game to forget from my vantage point. Chance to take command in the Coastal wasted, and our starting quarterback got hurt on top of that. A game to forget, but if Jameel is injured for a while (I haven’t checked on the news on that front yet), or if the Hoos lose the division and a trip to the ACCCG by a game, then it’s a loss we’ll unfortunately remember for too long.

[UPDATE: Sounds like Sewell was just suffering from massive leg cramps (which is what it looked like during the game). Thanks goodness.]