Without Singletary, Cavs face rebuilding

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 28, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — When Sean Singletary decided last June to return to Virginia for his senior season, Cavaliers fans exhaled in unison, thankful that the program didn’t have to plunge into what would surely have been a rebuilding phase.
Seventeen wins and a disappointing 16 losses later, that time has come.
The Cavaliers’ loss to Bradley in the College Basketball Invitational semifinals on Wednesday not only wrapped up a disappointing season that began with NCAA Tournament aspirations but marked the end of Singletary’s magnificent career.
That begs the question: if Virginia finished 10th in the ACC and was relegated to a third-tier postseason tournament with one of the school’s all-time greats on its roster, what is it going to do without him?
It’s the biggest offseason question facing Dave Leitao, who didn’t go through the typical coaching transition in his first three years at UVa thanks to a pair of Pete Gillen recruits, Singletary and J.R. Reynolds.
“What I decided to do was ride that as far and as long as I could,” Leitao said. “And somewhere in the early stages of the season, you realize this is the part in which you take over a program that you have to start building it.
“You couldn’t call it a rebuilding project with Sean Singletary or J.R. Reynolds or guys like that around.”
There is no other way to label the 2008-09 team.
In addition to Singletary’s departure, Virginia loses forward Adrian Joseph, a streaky shooter, and forward Ryan Pettinella, an energy player in the post. Center Tunji Soroye, who missed all but two games because of injury, might seek a medical redshirt.
In their wake are a host of question marks. Guard/forward Mamadi Diane (11.8 ppg) and forward Lars Mikalauskas (7.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg) are the only holdovers from the Gillen era.
Diane lost his starting job halfway through the season with his inconsistent play but re-emerged in the final weeks, with double-digit scoring efforts in the final seven games. Mikalauskas missed 13 games in the middle of the season with a shoulder injury but gave UVa a jolt of energy upon his return, averaging almost 10 points a game in the final 11 contests.
Beyond that, the onus of rebuilding will be on Leitao’s recruiting classes, which have produced very little to date.
Three underclassmen who got significant playing time this season — guard Jeff Jones and forwards Jamil Tucker and Mike Scott — will be asked to play much larger roles.
Jones (4.2 ppg) finished the season strong, scoring a career-best 26 points against Bradley. Tucker (5.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Scott (5.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) both showed promising signs but had their growing pains, particularly on defense, a Leitao trademark that was severely lacking this season and will be priority No. 1 in the offseason.
“Those were Coach Leitao’s last words out of the locker room: ‘We’re going to play defense,’” Jones said.
William & Mary transfer Calvin Baker (8.8 ppg) returns in the backcourt, as does Sammy Zeglinski, who missed almost all of his freshman season with an ankle injury. UVa also hopes to get more out of rising junior swingman Will Harris, who played in just four games after the new year because of nagging injuries.
Help is on the way, with three signees in the fold — 6-foot-6 McDonald’s All-American guard Sylven Landesberg and a pair of post players, 6-foot-10 John Brandenburg and 6-foot-11 Assane Sene.
Noticeably absent in next season’s outlook is any kind of star power. It reminded Singletary of his sophomore year, when the Cavaliers overachieved in Leitao’s first season, winning 15 games and making it to the NIT.
“We didn’t have any go-to players,” Singletary said. “We were just seven guys out there just working hard and fighting for everything we got.
“I’m sure they’re going to be successful (next season). It might not be pretty every night, but they’ll get the job done.”