Scattershooting: Lazor not heading to Buccaneers

Scattershooting around the ACC, while starting this week’s notebook with some Wahoo trivia and thinking that large collective sigh you heard last night was from Virginia fans learning that Bill Lazor is not leaving for the Tampa Bay Bucs …

Rumors had been flying all day about a report from FoxSports that the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator was one of two candidates for the same job on the new Greg Schiano coaching staff with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Bucs.

A source close to the situation told this columnist Tuesday evening that Lazor was no longer a candidate. Lazor was not available for comment as he was returning to Charlottesville from a trip.

Our spies had confirmed to us earlier in the day that Lazor was considered a “candidate of interest,” by the Bucs.

OK, and now about that Wahoo basketball trivia question.

What ACC teams presently owns a six-game winning streak against Virginia (answer at the bottom of “Free Throws.”)

The New ACC

We’re all still trying to figure out whether or not we like the ACC’s new plan for football and basketball scheduling when Syracuse and Pittsburgh eventually begin playing in the conference.

In case you missed it, Pittsburgh will be in the Coastal Division with Virginia and Virginia Tech. Syracuse will be in the Atlantic. That’s for football, of course. There are no divisions for basketball.

Instead of teams having two permanent partners (Virginia’s has been Maryland and Virginia Tech), teams will only have one permanent partner. UVa and Tech will be each other’s permanent partner and will play twice a year, every year in basketball.

Of course, the new juggling of partners means some longstanding rivals will not play every year.

For instance, Duke and Maryland will not face each other twice every year as in the past, but only once every three years. Maryland fans are not happy about it.

Mike Krzyzewski is and explained why during Monday’s ACC coaches teleconference.

The Duke coach said he felt like the ACC made a mistake during its last expansion with Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech, in that the league failed to “brand the whole conference.”

“It’s not just the traditional rivalries,” Coach K said. “We made up rivalries at that time by having two permanent partners. I think it showed that two teams were more important than the rest of the conference. I think that hurt us.

“In this way, we keep one traditional rivalry. But we have to establish rivalries,” Krzyzewski continued. “There has to be a rivalry established with Syracuse and Pitt. I think the way they’re doing it [this time] is better for the entire conference.”

The Duke coach said he didn’t think the ACC did it this way for financial reasons, but certainly that had to be a part of the thinking.

More teams will get a chance to play both Duke and Carolina at least once each season, which almost always sells out an arena. Look at Boston College and Miami for goodness sakes. The only time those arenas are sold out is when the Devils and Heels come to town.

What would Bzdelik do?

Just what does Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik plan to emphasize in tonight’s game at JPJ against 19th-ranked Virginia?

He talked at length about how great Virginia is defensively at getting into gaps off the ball, so the Deacs coach has a plan.

“When you get into gaps, you have to play off two feet and kick it, and get that ball moving from one side of the court to the other side and make their defense move. Good defensive teams have all five guys moving on ever pass.

“Well, sound offense would be to get that ball from one side of the court to the other with great spacing and player involved movements to keep [UVa’s defenders] moving, so that they’re not quite set into the gaps where they want to protect the rim. That’s really important,” Bzdelik explained.

“Of course, getting stops and getting defensive rebounds and getting the ball down in transition and swinging that ball quickly before the defense can get set and organized is sound offense as well.”

Easier said than done and that’s why Virginia remains No. 2 nationally in scoring defense at 51.4 ppg, just a shade behind Wisconsin at 49.8.

The Cavaliers are also No. 8 in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 27.5. By the way, there are 338 teams ranked in Division I hoops.

Quote of the Week

We wondered when Virginia Tech’s quotable Seth Greenberg would break out with a good one this season and this one’s about Miami’s hulkish Reggie Johnson, who won ACC Player of the Week honors for his work in leading last Sunday’s upset win at Duke.

Asked if he had seen a guy as big as Reggie do as much under the rim, Greenberg had the whole ACC Coaches teleconference chuckling:

“Well, he’s a mountain masquerading as a man,” Greenberg said. “He’s a massive mass of humanity. He’s got terrific hands. Again, it’s like a different time zone when you get from one side to the other side, so he has the ability to create an angle and finish around the basket, not by getting up, but my creating angles because of the size of his body.

“A lot of times there is a direct correlation between the size of someone’s rear end and their ability to score. But he’s like Sponge Bob Square Pants. The guy is square. It is impossible to get around the guy. You’ve got to give the guy credit. He’s really doing some special things.”

Tweet of the Week

From @MScott4Wooden: “Mike Scott once won a NASCAR race … without turning left.”

Classic.

And, yes, I am now tweeting (Whitey Reid and Doug Doughty twisted my arm). My Twitter handle is: @HootieBooty. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound professional, so I will likely change it as soon as I get time. It was like by 20th choice. Everything else had already been taken.

Stat of the Week

In the last 75 meetings between Duke and North Carolina, the Blue Devils have scored 5,858 points to the Tar Heels 5,857. Need we say more?

Dow Jonesers, Baby!

Who’s Hot: Maryland 7-footer Alex Len, who leads the Terps in field goal percentage (.623), is averaging 7.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, runs the floor like a forward, finishes strong and blocks shots.

Who’s Not: Sadly for Wahoo fans it’s Sammy Zeglinski who has struggled mightily of late. Sammy Z shot 43.6 percent on 3’s last season (34-78) and those numbers are drastically down this time around: 26.7 (12-45). That’s in ACC play only. Confident he’ll break out of it soon. You had to feel bad for Z down in Tallahassee where the crowd chanted: “Thank you, Air Ball,” after a few of his 3’s attempts failed to draw iron.

Jimmy whips the flu

We always knew Jim Larranaga was tough. Hadn’t missed a game as coach in more than 30 years.

So, when he was flattened by the flu bug last week before the Maryland game and it was announced he would miss the game, everyone was shocked. Larranaga showed up anyway, coached the game and directed the Hurricanes to a double-OT win over the Terps.

That game was on Wednesday, but Larranaga’s condition worsened and he was actually in a hospital on Saturday, the day before Miami played at Duke.

“I’m feeling much better,” the former UVa assistant coach said during Monday’s ACC Coaches teleconference. “I was bad. I was in the emergency room Saturday morning. I was feeling so bad, but I was able to recover enough to get on the plane and go with the team. I was really happy I did.”

No kidding. Miami won for the first time at Duke on Sunday, 78-74.

Free throws …

So, if and/or when Jim Boeheim arrives in the ACC, how much longer will he coach? Boeheim is 67. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will be 65 on Monday. North Carolina’s Roy Williams will be 62 in August. …What happens when those three guys hang up their whistles? Who will be the ACC’s bell cows? …Are we watching the new, younger guys who have flooded the league the past two years, mature into the next group of great coaches? …(TRIVIA ANSWER: Wake Forest has beaten Virginia in the last six meetings. Go figure.).