In the 2006-07 season, J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary accounted for 37.4 of Virginia's 77.0 points per game. As Cavalier fans anticipate the start of this season both with apprehension caused by the loss of Reynolds and excitement at the return of Singletary, here is how the loss of one superstar and the return of another will affect Singletary, Virginia coach Dave Leitao and the rest of the Cavs.
Losing J.R.
Virginia relied on its backcourt duo of Singletary and Reynolds more than any other team in the ACC; even Leitao admitted that Singletary and Reynolds represented all of Virginia's creativity last season.
"Having lost 50 percent of that, the challenge is who is going to step up," Leitao said.
The 18.4 points per game that Reynolds provided is a daunting statistic for Virginia to replace; the big question for Leitao is who other than Singletary can create his own shot. While senior Adrian Joseph and junior Mamadi Diane provided some support last season, scoring a combined 16.8 points per game, most of this production came from open jump shots off penetration from the explosive backcourt. If Singletary remains the only threat to worry about off the dribble this season, defenses will have an easier time rotating to open shooters and will force players like Diane and Joseph to put the ball on the floor. This will be particularly true late in games, when teams will surely adopt a make-somebody-other-than-Singletary-beat-us strategy.
"I think that's the interesting part of the early start of our season will be who will step up into different types of roles in late-game situations," Leitao said. "[Diane and Joseph] come to mind more than the other guys, but I'll give them an opportunity, too."
While many fans think of Reynolds' contribution last season mainly in terms of scoring, Reynolds was also one of the Cavaliers' biggest assets on the defensive end. According to Singletary, Reynolds was Virginia's "best on-the-ball defender," and at 6-foot-2 and 188 pounds, Reynolds was indeed an imposing presence to opposing guards.
"The 18 points-plus per game is enough of a challenge unto itself," Leitao said. "Trying to replace a guy like J.R., who was a trusted defender, who helped other guys out there who weren't defending as well ... quite honestly, I'm not exactly sure that I have that answer yet as to how we're going to replace it."
Another area where Reynolds will be missed is ball-handling. Singletary and Reynolds were by all accounts the primary ball-handlers last season; only rarely, usually in the late stages of games with a lopsided score, were both players sitting on the bench simultaneously. Even with just one of them taking a rest, Virginia struggled at times against pressure, as the defense would force the ball out of Singletary's or Reynolds' hands. With Singletary as the only seasoned ball-handler, Virginia must turn to guards with no game experience in sophomore transfer Calvin Baker and freshmen Jeff Jones, Sammy Zeglinski and Mustapha Farrakhan to share the ball-handling load.
Can Virginia replace the numerous contributions that Reynolds provided? Singletary thinks so.
"J.R. is a big loss," Singletary said. "But I feel as though [with] the young guys we have coming in and the guys we have returning, we have enough firepower to make up for it."
Keeping Sean
"When you have Sean back, especially as a point guard, you always are going to feel comfortable with the ball in his hands at any point," Leitao said.
Leitao's words may as well have come out of the collective mouths of all Virginia hoops fans. Singletary's decision to put his future NBA career on hold for another year brought with it the hope that Virginia can have a repeat of last year's success.
Any casual Virginia fan knows how important Singletary was to the team's rise to the top of the ACC last year; Singletary led the Cavaliers in points per game (19.0), assists per game (4.7) and steals per game (1.19). At 6-foot-9, he even led all returning players on the team in rebounds per game (4.6) -- only 2007 graduate Jason Cain outdid Singletary, with 6.3. He led the team both in the locker room and by example on the court and gained national prominence for his late-game heroics that led to Virginia's come-from-behind victory against Duke.
But what else does Singletary do for Virginia? Leitao made an intriguing comparison.
"I tease him, and tell him that he's more like a free safety then he is a point guard, because those guys like to hit, and they're really aggressive and they just come after you," Leitao said. "That's how I see him other then what we see on the court, as a guy that will go to any length to get the job done."
With Reynolds gone, this mindset will be even more valuable to Virginia this season, as even more pressure rests on Singletary's shoulders to carry the Cavaliers back to the NCAA Tournament. Singletary, however, said he's used to the pressure.
"I don't feel any extra weight, because I played the same role last year," Singletary said. "It's nothing different."
What will be different for Singletary, however, is the added attention from opposing defenses. With no Cavaliers averaging in double figures in points aside from Singletary and Reynolds last year, the defensive strategy against Virginia is clear: Double Singletary early and often, and force the role players to beat you.
Leitao admitted that, even in a close game late in the fourth quarter, Singletary may not be the best option.
Singletary has "got to have the wherewithal, especially when we need a basket, to say, 'You know what, I might not be the best option right now for our team because there's so much attention being paid to me,'" Leitao said. "That adjustment is both physical and mental, and I'm sure he'll do well at it because he's such a good team guy, and he wants to win so much that he's willing to do anything to help the team win."
Regardless of how Singletary's role changes, these words from the mouth of P.A. announcer Ken White at the start of the season were music to the ears of Cavalier fans.
"SEEEEEEEEAN SIIIINGLETAARY"
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