Farrakhan explodes for Cavs late against Hokies

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: January 11, 2009

BLACKSBURG — All during his freshman season, Mustapha Farrakhan struggled to fight his way through the shortcomings and found it difficult to get off Virginia’s bench.
Virginia coach Dave Leitao labeled the young guard a perfectionist, too easily distracted by anything less than the best.
Lesson learned
A year later Leitao’s message has seemingly kicked in, as evidenced by Farrakhan’s near perfect performance in UVa’s 78-75 loss to rival Virginia Tech.
Had Farrakhan not rode to the Cavaliers’ rescue, the trip to Cassell Coliseum, where Virginia hasn’t won since Jan. 15, 2006, could have turned into a lopsided loss. The host Hokies had put together a 15-4 run to lead 66-51 with just under five minutes to play.
Blood in the water
It was about to be Blowout City and the few fans in the crowd that festooned themselves in orange and blue had to wonder if their Cavs would respond or wave the white flag.
All Farrakhan waved was his right hand as he initiated a near one-man comeback. The sophomore who grew up in Chicago’s burbs lit up the Hokies in a memorable four-minute stretch that saw him score 15 of UVa’s 19 points with flawless shooting from Bonusphere.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard hit three straight
3-pointers before teammate Sylven Landesberg contributed two free throws. Farrakhan was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the next possession and made all three free throws before Landesberg hit a short jumper.
Farrakhan ended his shooting exhibition with yet another trey with 49 seconds to go, cutting Tech’s lead to 72-70.
While the Hokies managed to fight off Virginia’s desperate comeback attempt over the final minute, Farrakhan’s performance was significant.
Tech coach Seth Greenberg was impressed.
“When you’re down 15, what do you have to lose?” Greenberg said. “They did a good job of freeing him. But you’ve got to give [Farrakhan] credit. The guy made tough shots. Two of ‘em we didn’t play good defense. Two of ‘em the guy made killer shots.”
In any form, the 3-point barrage was welcomed by Leitao who would like to see more in the future.
“We desperately need more help on both ends, defensively and offensively,” Leitao said after watching his team fall to 7-6 overall, 1-1 in the ACC. “We’ve got to find it somewhere.”
Perhaps that somewhere, or rather someone is Farrakhan, who up until Saturday had been known more for his family name than his deeds on the basketball court. He is the grandson of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Leitao has been searching for someone other than Landesberg that can deliver night in and night out. Jeff Jones hasn’t answered the bell. Jamil Tucker has been too inconsistent much like some other players.
If Farrakhan isn’t a one-game wonder, then he could make a significant impact on this young Cavalier squad.
“I don’t think any of us were surprised,” said freshman Landesberg, who finished with 20 points, the eighth time in 13 games that he’s led the team in scoring. “When Mu gets hot, he just keeps going and it’s hard for him to turn off.”
Leitao has mentioned Farrakhan’s shooting prowess in practice several times over the past year, but practice hasn’t translated into game performance.
“I’ve seen it before from [Farrakhan] and others,” Leitao said about practice shooting. “But getting that from where I’ve seen it to in games and consistency is where all the guys have to do a better job.”
According to the coach, the sophomore is practicing better, which has built confidence. Always a positive-thinking kid, Farrakhan isn’t allowing things to bother him as much as a year ago.
Farrakhan wouldn’t disagree with that notion.
“Last year if something wasn’t going right I would think about it a little bit and Coach Leitao would say, ‘Let it roll off,’ don’t let it snowball,” Farrakhan said. “That’s very difficult to do but I know that to be a good player you’ve got to have a short memory.”
It was evident that his confidence was soaring late in Saturday’s state showdown. For the record, he finished with 17 points even though he had only two points heading into the final five minutes. He connected on 5 of 7 field goal attempts, 4 of 5 from behind the arc. Both his point totals and 3-point baskets were career highs in spite of the fact he played but 12 minutes.
“What’s ailed him before is he had not been able to play through some errors and now, mentally he’s playing through those things a little better,” Leitao said of the sharpshooter.
He appears to be making the most of opportunities heading into his second ACC season, something that could not be said a year ago when he played in 19 games but didn’t start and averaged only 6.1 minutes of playing time, but 7.2 minutes in conference games.
His numbers spoke volumes: 36.4 percent shooting from the field, 31.4 percent from 3-point range.
Heading into Blacksburg, those figures had jumped dramatically, even though he hasn’t started a game, with a 41.5 field goal accuracy and even higher 43.8 from Bonusphere, both averages that will climb due to his deadeye aim against the Hokies.
Yesterday’s game felt more like old times for Farrakhan, who would often scored 20 points or more in the first half at Thornton Township High back in Harvey, Ill., where he was an all-state player and Chicago Sun-Times All-Area performer.
“Last year was a mental rollercoaster, but I tried to stay positive through it all and just work hard every day,” Farrakhan said.
He admitted his freshman campaign was a tough year. It was a new experience going from high school star to a face in the college crowd in a new setting. When he started UVa’s first exhibition game this year but then found minutes hard to come by he got down on himself.
He just couldn’t get comfortable last season. His playing time would come in spurts and when he couldn’t find a rhythm immediately, he’d get jerked out of the game. Maybe it’s just me, but how could anyone find a rhythm under those circumstances?
“It was a learning experience that a lot of freshmen have to go through,” Farrakhan admitted. “This year I’m adjusting better and it’s working for me.”
The thought of transferring to another school popped into his mind a few times as it does to most kids struggling through a first season. But he decided to hang in, fight the negative thoughts and sought solace through his father, Mustapha, who attends as many of Virginia’s games as he can, including Saturday’s contest at Tech.
“I talk to my dad probably seven times a day,” the Cavalier said. “He’s my best friend and he’s really been a big help in my success. My dad has always stayed positive and tells me to say my prayers every night and work hard in practice every day.”
Sounds like a pretty good formula.
His work ethic isn’t just talk. He works hard every day on his jump shot, staying after practice in search of perfection.
“Everybody knows on the team that I have a good jump shot and if you’re hitting, they’re going to keep coming back to you,” Farrakhan said.
Memo to the rest of the team: maybe next time get a feel for that in the first five minutes instead of waiting until the last five.
“I’m confident when I shoot,” he said. “God blessed me today to have a good shooting night. When I’m open and it’s a good shot, I’m going to take it. It’s the same routine as in practice.”
While Leitao had to be pleased with Farrakhan’s shooting antics, he wasn’t ready to declare the sophomore as the guy who could help lift Virginia to the upper echelons of the league. Farrakhan wasn’t about to do that either.
“I honestly don’t know [if he turned the corner Saturday],” the youngster said. “All I can say is that whenever my name is called, I will try to be aggressive.”
That’s all Leitao can ask for.