When new Virginia head coach Dave Leitao entered the Bryant Hall recruiting room for Sunday's press conference, the large crowd of media, school officials and community members shushed to catch the first glimpse of his entrance.
Leitao's family entered first, his wife Joyce leading three young sons to the front row. The couple's youngest child sported a Virginia hat and was carried by his mother.
Then, out of the side door emerged Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, towering above most of the crowd as he paced to the platform. Four steps behind him, the applause began, and the giant 6-foot-7 Leitao approached the microphones to begin a new era in Virginia basketball.
There had been weeks of unending speculation on who the next coach would be.
There had been an even longer period with transfer rumors of the program's leading players.
But Sunday afternoon, Leitao and Littlepage succeeded in calming all of that uncertainty. At that moment and for every one since, Leitao has appeared to be the coach Virginia desperately needs.
"He said everything I wanted to hear," freshman point guard Sean Singletary said, making clear that after weighing his options, he intends to remain at Virginia. "I feel he has a great plan for us. He is going to take us to the [NCAA] Tournament."
Sophomore forward Gary Forbes echoed Singletary's sentiment.
"I'm ready to go," he said.
Leitao assuredly is ready as well, with proven experience at Connecticut, where he helped to develop stars such as Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler and Ray Allen.
At the press conference, University President John Casteen, III compared the current status of the Cavaliers to the Connecticut basketball situation before the 1986 hiring of Jim Calhoun. At that time, Casteen was president of Connecticut and assisted with Calhoun's hiring.
Before Calhoun was hired, the Connecticut basketball program was struggling against powerful Big East opponents and building a new arena with questions on how to fill it. Since that time, Calhoun has led the Huskies to 14 Big East titles and two NCAA championships, making Connecticut a perennial national powerhouse and earning himself a position in the National Basketball Hall of Fame.
When asked why the Cavaliers had not found recent success on the basketball court, Leitao responded with two simple questions of his own.
"So many questions about why, and I always ask the question 'Why not?'" he said. "I looked at this university from that perspective. Why can't it be successful?"
Leitao said he had found no such reason.
Next on the docket for Leitao is the process of hiring the rest of his coaching staff and getting to know his players. When Virginia hits the court in public next winter, the focus will be on defense and rebounding with a strong young core of starters.
"Every coach in basketball wants his team to play harder," Leitao said. "We're going to play harder."
After the conference, as media pounced on a beaming Joyce Leitao, her sons were asked if they were tired from the long series of questions and answers.
"I'm cranky," Leitao's second-oldest said.
He was probably the only one.
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