For a year that was generally expected to be one of unmitigated failure, the 2005-2006 Virginia men's basketball season concluded with a surprising middling record. Over the course of the year, the Cavaliers took their fans on an emotional roller coaster ride that fluctuated between unbridled hope and frustrating despair. Virginia finished the season with a 15-15 overall record after falling to Stanford in the first round of the NIT Tournament last Tuesday night.
In his first year at the helm of the Virginia program, Virginia coach Dave Leitao coaxed seven regular season ACC wins from a roster that featured only eight scholarship players. Those seven ACC wins marked a three-game improvement over last season's 4-12 conference record.
For the second straight season, Virginia won a game in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, a 60-56 victory over Virginia Tech, before falling 79-67 to North Carolina in the quarterfinal round. Virginia returned to the NIT as a No. 8 seed after missing out on the post-season altogether last year.
Virginia's inability to win on the road proved to be its Achilles' heel. Virginia posted an 11-3 home record that included wins over North Carolina, Miami and Boston College, but those successes were tempered by Virginia's 2-11 road mark. The two road wins came at Richmond Nov. 22 and at Virginia Tech Jan. 15. The Cavaliers were 2-1 in games played at neutral sites.
Throughout the season, Virginia's offense relied primarily upon its backcourt duo of sophomore Sean Singletary and junior J.R. Reynolds, who combined to provide 60 percent of Virginia's points. The two guards averaged 34.7 of Virginia's 57.9 ppg. Singletary slightly edged Reynolds to lead the team in scoring with 17.7 ppg, compared to Reynolds' 17.0 ppg. Singletary, who also led the Cavaliers with 121 assists, was named to the First Team All-ACC. Singletary's accomplishments are even more impressive due to the fact that he played through a nagging injury for much of the season.
Throughout the latter part of the season, Reynolds became Virginia's most reliable scoring threat. He scored a career-high 30 points in the March 5 regular season finale, a 71-70 loss to Maryland. After scoring only eight points in the Dec. 7 62-60 loss to Fordham, a game that Singletary missed due to injury, Reynolds scored in double-digits during Virginia's final 24 contests. Reynolds received Third Team All-ACC honors.
"It's been frustrating all year in that we have had to be a little bit unbalanced in our attack," Leitao said. "We've got two warriors that have done everything we have asked of them all year, and hopefully in the future we don't have to count on them to make those kinds of shots."
Sophomore swingman Adrian Joseph emerged as Virginia's third scoring option with 9.4 ppg. His best performance in conference play came Jan. 7 when Virginia defeated Clemson 64-58 at U-Hall. Joseph scored 19 points in that game while leading Virginia to its first conference victory of the season. Eight days later, Joseph clinched Virginia's sole conference road win, 54-49 at Virginia Tech, with a three-pointer from the corner with 44 seconds remaining.
In the paint, Virginia was led by junior forward Jason Cain. He scored 7.4 ppg and was tied for sixth in the ACC with an average of three offensive rebounds per game. His productivity lessened during the stretch run of the season, however, after he got into a verbal spat with assistant coach Steve Seymour during Virginia's 76-62 loss at Florida State Feb. 18. Cain saw significant reduction in his playing time following the incident.
Virginia's freshmen, swingman Mamadi Diane and forward Laurynas Mikalauskas, both made significant contributions on the floor. Mikalauskas was the more consistent player of the two, as he notched 6.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg. His best all-around game was in the opening round of the ACC Tournament against Virginia Tech. The Lithuanian native posted his first career double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in what was Virginia's third win over Virginia Tech for the season.
Diane played well at times, especially defensively, but struggled greatly with his offensive consistency. The most glaring example of this was his performance in Virginia's 99-54 loss at North Carolina March 1. Diane shot 0-11 from the floor of the Dean Smith Center during 21 minutes of playing time. His best offensive night was against Northwestern Nov. 30. In Virginia's 72-57 victory, Diane scored 18 points.
The team loses only one player from the roster before next season, walk-on guard Billy Campbell. The team will benefit from Leitao's first recruiting class that could consist of up to five players, depending on academic and eligibility issues. With this infusion of depth, Virginia should be in a position to improve upon the positive steps taken this year.
"We have to get ready now for next year," Mikalauskas said following the Stanford game. "We got to get back on the court because we can be really good next year."
Read More
With 10 games left in the regular season, Virginia baseball must be near-perfect
By Emory Huffman , Xander Tilock and Ryan Weiner | 19 hours agoVirginia has reached the witching hour.
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | YesterdayA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
For Virginia softball, the map to victory is clear — it’s also on the wall
By Cierra Lyles | YesterdayA team tradition inspires a culture of success.
