It's the last full week of classes, the weather has finally come around and Virginia basketball is the farthest thing from your mind. Then your buddy Sammy sends you a text message with the following:
"Oh S***. Singletary Declared."
After the initial shock wears off and you sort out the situation, what initially appeared to be a huge hit to next year's men's basketball team turns out to be a minor deal after all. Singletary has not hired an agent and does not intend to, a move that ensures his amateur status and allows him the option of returning to school should he pull his name out of the draft (by June 18) or remain in consideration but go un-drafted.
It was no secret that Singletary was at least somewhat interested in the pre-draft process and the workouts with NBA teams that come with it. In a post-game interview following Virginia's 77-74 loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in March, Singletary was asked whether he would go to pre-draft camps without hiring an agent. His answer was, "I'll definitely do that to see what it feels like and see the type of competition out there, but I'm definitely coming back."
Taken at his word, it really just seems like he wants to check out the pre-draft camps with no real intention of going pro early. Singletary has been asked about entering the draft after his junior year many times and has been steadfast in his stance that he would like to finish school before attempting a professional basketball career.
According to a mid-February Washington Post article, Singletary said, "I came to school knowing that I wanted to graduate. I have not graduated yet, and it's going to take me another year to graduate. So I'm here."
According to The Roanoke Times, Singletary is also quoted as saying after the tourney exit, "I'm coming back next year -- we've got a lot to build on. You wouldn't want to throw it all away."
This is what Hoos fans are excited about and also is the reason there is some uneasiness about the whole situation, no matter how unfounded it may turn out to be in hindsight. The first two years of the Leitao era -- and last season especially -- set the foundation for a program on the rise and proved there is a lot on the horizon for Virginia basketball.
With the team already losing two key contributors next year in J.R. Reynolds -- who really stepped it up throughout his senior year to earn second team all-ACC honors -- and Jason Cain -- whose stats fail to back up how much he meant to the team in my opinion (he may be tougher to replace than Reynolds) -- losing Singletary would be devastating to continuing the program's success. With many younger players ready to take on bigger roles next year (like Mamadi Diane did this past season), subtracting a veteran floor leader like Singletary would be a major blow to the development of the program's younger players.
So right now we are all going to hope that Sean sticks to his word and is simply declaring for the experience. Though it appears that Sean will likely play one more year in JPJ, what the news of his declaration really does is conjure up thoughts about Virginia basketball A.S. (After Sean).
Let's pretend for a minute that for whatever reason Singletary does enter the draft. Instead of watching intently to see who goes No. 1 overall June 22, Hoos fans will be much more concerned from about the mid-first round onward, when their former prized point guard is likely to be taken if drafted. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a coalition of Wahoos doing everything in their power to keep Sean's name from being called on draft day.
To optimists, Singletary's declaration is a chance for Sean to go up against NBA-caliber competition and really show what he can do. There will be the added bonus of NBA-level instruction and a good chance that he will come out of the experience and return to Virginia better than when the season ended, equipped with an idea of what he needs to do to be playing 82-game seasons on the biggest basketball stage in the world beginning in 2008.
To pessimists, this is a chance for Singletary to blow away NBA talent evaluators and be told he will be a guaranteed first-round selection, presenting a crossroads for the Philadelphia native about his professional future or his return to Charlottesville. There is also the heightened possibility of an injury during the high level of play at pre-draft camps, which would be a major setback considering Singletary enters the off-season with no surgeries on the horizon for the first time in his career.
There are about two months before the draft, which for Singletary and other potential draft picks will be full of NBA workouts, meetings with teams and final verdicts on one of the biggest decisions of their young lives.
If Sean's word is as good as his shot, I think Hoos fans have nothing to worry about.
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