Miracle worker
Jim Hobgood has seen a lot of Virginia basketball over the years - so you would think that nothing that would happen involving the guys in orange and blue would surprise him.
But the UVa. hoops radio color commentator was surprised that the 2005-2006 Cavaliers season turned out the way that it did.
"I think Coach Leitao just did a miraculous job this year," said Hobgood, who played at Virginia in the early 1970s.
The Cavs - who finished 15-15 and qualified for the 2006 Postseason NIT - were picked by sportswriters who cover the Atlantic Coast Conference to finish 12th in the 12-team league in the preseason.
"I told people that if you gave any objective person the choice of the 12 rosters in the ACC, either at the beginning or at the end of the season, I think most people would have taken Virginia 12 out of 12. I think everybody else in the league, from top to bottom, had rosters with more talent than the University of Virginia," Hobgood told "ACC Nation" last week.
"So I think the fact that Coach Leitao was able to squeeze out 15 wins - and more particularly, seven wins in the ACC - is nothing short of miraculous. And I'm not ashamed to admit that having watched them all year, I was one of those who voted for Coach Leitao as coach of the year - and quite frankly I was surprised he didn't get more votes than he did," Hobgood said.
- Chris Graham