RICHMOND, Va. -- You could see it in his eyes. Sean Singletary was ready to make something happen.
The Cavaliers were struggling against Auburn Friday night, falling behind by six points at the break and trailing for the early part of the second half. With less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock, the score was tied at 64. Enter Singletary.
"I felt as though we needed an answer somewhere," Singletary said of Virginia's situation midway through the second half.
The freshman point guard provided the Cavaliers with that answer. He scored eight of the team's next 10 points, including a pull-up jumper, a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from the corner to give Virginia a four-point lead it would never relinquish.
To have such an inexperienced player almost single-handedly lift Virginia may seem like a surprise. But you wouldn't have been surprised if you had seen what I saw. You wouldn't have been surprised if you had seen the fire in his eyes.
Barely 19 years old and generously listed at 6 feet tall, Singletary looked like a child among men on the court. But the kind of passion, intensity and focus I saw in his eyes suggested that Singletary is ready to play with the big boys. His play confirmed it.
Against the Tigers Friday, Singletary dropped a career-high 25 points. But that wasn't all. The diminutive guard led the team with two blocks and pulled down more rebounds than senior big men Elton Brown and Jason Clark, combined. More importantly, he led the Cavaliers to their sixth straight victory, extending Virginia's perfect season for at least another few days.
Earning the starting point guard job over sophomore incumbent T.J. Bannister suggested that this new kid was something special. But he hadn't proven anything at that point. Manning the point during Virginia's 18-point upset win over then-No. 10 Arizona was impressive, but it was only the Cavaliers' second game of the season. It could have been a fluke. After the sixth game of the season and following a pair of close wins in a span of 48 hours, there can be little doubt left in anyone's mind. Singletary is for real.
Both the Northwestern game and Friday's contest against Auburn went down to the wire. Each team still had a chance to win into the final minute. The fact that the Cavaliers pulled both contests out with Singletary as their floor general shows more about the freshman than any numbers on the stat sheet.
Some of the most talented point guards in the country call the ACC home. With the likes of Chris Paul, Ray Felton, Jarret Jack and John Gilchrist running the show for Virginia's in-conference opponents, Singletary will be going against some tough competition this season.
But the Cavaliers are happy with their situation at point guard. Even the elder statesmen of the team have been impressed by the play of the young starter.
"For him to come in this type of environment, playing two games in 48 hours, it shows a lot of character for him," Brown said of Singletary. "He's young and he's still got a lot of growing up to do, but sometimes talent can make up for experience."
For Singletary, it's more than just talent. He's confident, but not cocky. He knows what he can do, and he's ready to do it. It's there. You can see it.
All you have to do is look into his eyes.
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