UVA Basketball: ‘Hoos Manning the Middle

Mike Scott: not a natural center. Mike Scott's facial hair: all natural. (picture by virginiasports.com)

There’s guards, there’s forwards, then there’s centers. 

For whatever reason, it just seems like the center position ought to be more important than the others. 

For the Virginia Cavaliers, the pivot has been a revolving door all season. 

In fact, of the triumvirate of players staffing the center position for the ‘Hoos—Mike Scott, Ryan Petinella, and Lars Mikalauskas—none play more than half of game, and none are taller than 6-9.  Each of these gentlemen occupies the center in their own inimitable way.

At 6-8, Mike Scott is not, I repeat not, a natural center.  He started a number of games for the Wahoos at “center”, but always seems out of place.  On defense, he only blocks 0.3 shots per game and on 1.7 percent of the defensive possessions, worse than Mamadi Diane, a shooting guard.  Blocking shots, without getting in foul trouble, is a skill that takes time to master and Scott has three more years to learn.

Scott makes up for his defensive deficiencies by clearing the glass at a prodigious rate.  This guys eats missed shots for breakfast.  He currently ranks second in the ACC in defensive rebounding percentage and first in offensive rebounding percentage.  Somebody, anybody, explain to me how he only manages 40% of UVa’s minutes.  Hopefully, pulling down a solid double-double against Boston College will convince Dave Leitao that he deserves more minutes.

Senior Ryan Pettinella must sleep in the weight room.  The guy has more beef than a Gusburger.  Pettinella always manages to surprise me with his nimbleness around the basket.  Whether it’s a scoop here or a goofy looking rebound there, he does a serviceable job in the middle.  I was impressed with his defense on Tyler Hansbrough. Even though Psycho T torched the Cavs, Petinella forced him into taking a myriad of difficult shots, which Hansbrough made, the jerk.

Then, of course, teh Cavs hold the pride of Lithuania, Mikalauskas.  When Lars isn’t “livin’ large” (livin' Lars?), he moonlights in the middle for the Wahoos.  Mikalauskas has sidelined with a shoulder injury for a pretty significant stretch of the season and not surprisingly Virginia’s season has seen a resurgence with his return. Lars owns a host of nifty post up moves that make him a solid low post threat. 

The pride's ride. (photo by Barney Breen-Portnoy).

He brings an enthusiasm to the court that the ‘Hoos have been sorely missing.  If I could write that North Carolina State $1 bet column again, I would mention his return as one of the reasons why I picked Virginia would win more games than State.

One name not mentioned here is Tunji Soroye.  The senior has been injured all season.  Virginia has sorely missed Soroye – try saying that 10 times fast – especially on defense.  There has been rumors of a possible medical redshirt for him, creating a possible logjam at the position next year when two bigs come in. 7-footer Assane Sene and 6-11 John Brandenburg are two highly regarded recruits that will create more balance for the UVa offense.  Presumably, then Mike Scott will then switch to his natural position and blossom even further.

This year, though, I’m hoping that the “big three” can take care of business and let UVa make a run in the ACC tournament.

(All stats courtesy of kenpom.com and virginiasports.com)