Cavalier Call-In Highlights: 12/19/05

By: TheSabre.com |

UVa coach Dave Leitao

On his Cavalier Call-In radio show tonight, Dave Leitao talked with host Mac McDonald about last Saturday’s loss at Gonzaga and Friday’s upcoming home game against Loyola. They also discussed Sean Singletary ‘s performance against the Zags, the team’s schedule during winter break and Laurynas Mikalauskas ‘s defense. Leitao took questions from fans about making UVa “a force to be reckoned with” and about the team’s scholarship situation next year.

Callers and Questions

1) David in Richmond asked Leitao how he can convince the players and fans that Virginia will be “a force to be reckoned with” in the ACC.

“It’s more of a philosophical thing,” Leitao said. “First of all, the coach, his staff, the players, the trainers, the academicians, the fan base, the boosters and alumni – everybody who has a piece of this – the first thing that has to happen is everybody has to believe. If there’s any level of doubt with what you’re doing every day, especially in bad times, then it really has less of a chance to work. Everyone has to work together and know that a successful situation is going to come out of this. For myself, everything that I’ve seen, everything that I’ve felt, everything that I’ve touched since I’ve been here tells me that we’re heading in the right direction.”

2) Mark asked why the Gonzaga game wasn’t on TV in this area.

Leitao said he’s not involved with the television broadcasts of games.

3) Tim in San Francisco said he went to the Gonzaga game and cheered for the Cavs. He asked about the scholarship situation and wondered how Leitao could sign five recruits when he has nine scholarship players with eligibility remaining. The maximum number of scholarship players is 13.

“Look at us next August. There will be 13 guys on scholarship,” Leitao said. “We have three signees and a couple of commitments. One way or another, we’ll get to 13. Believe me, we have a little bit of a plan going on as to how we’ll get there.”

Notes and Quotes

  • With the players out of class for the winter break, Leitao held two practices today and said he will use the extra time to do more work on shooting and individual drills. The players will be able to go home after Friday’s game against Loyola on the 23rd and come back on the 26th.

  • Leitao called Loyola, coached by former Maryland assistant Jimmy Patsos, similar to the Terrapins in terms of style and schemes. “They’re going to force us to do some things we haven’t done well,” Leitao said. “So we really need to be careful.”
  • Leitao named Sean Singletary the BB&T Student-Athlete of the Week. “Nothing short of amazing the performance he put on” against Gonzaga, Leitao said. Singletary finished with 35 points, six steals, six rebounds and four assists. Singletary also “played with a heavy heart,” Leitao said, because earlier that night he found out that one of his friends had died. “That makes it even more amazing,” Leitao said. “He’s not just a great basketball player, he’s a better human being.”
  • One reason for the team’s early-season struggles, Leitao said, is that the players “have been used to a certain comfort zone. I told them that comfort zone is unacceptable. Where I’m trying to get them to is a place where they can play most comfortably and efficiently at the highest level of competition. Right now they’re kind of in between. They’re not as comfortable as they used to be and they’re not playing at the level they need to be. … J.R., just like anybody else, Mo, A.J., everyone, is trying to find an area that’s comfortable for them and for us.”
  • Leitao praised the “defensive presence” of Laurynas Mikalauskas against Gonzaga. Mikalauskas helped cut off the Zags’ penetration and also finished with seven points and six rebounds.

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