WANTED: One star point guard.

You may not find the sign hanging outside of the John Paul Jones Arena, but Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao is clearly scouring the country with this want-ad in hand.

The Cavaliers have not had to worry about a ball handler for the past four years but 2,000 points and several memorable plays later, senior Sean Singletary is hitting the dusty trail towards the NBA Lottery and hoping to bank on four years of stellar performances. Virginia, meanwhile, is trying to bank on an unexpected opportunity.

Bloomington, Indiana is used to controversial coaches. "The General" Bobby Knight had his fair share of criticism for his brash behavior and it eventually got him send down to Texas Tech until his retirement this season. Since then Indiana had struggled to find a replacement for the all-time winningest Division-I coach until former Oklahoma Sooner coach Kelvin Sampson jumped on board. However, before long, Sampson found himself immersed in controversy for recruiting violations. The same charges that got him in trouble in Norman, Oklahoma cost him a dream job. It also cost the University a prized recruit.

Terrell Holloway is the name. The 5'11, 170 lb. guard has decommited and his availability on the free market has intrigued Leitao and his coaching staff. The Harmony Community Prep star is number 100 on the Rivals top 150 and is listed as one of the top point guard prospects in the country. No wonder Virginia offered Holloway a scholarship early this Fall and hope to remain in the mix this time around.

Still, the suitors Virginia must compete with boast some big names. The Kentucky Wildcats seem to pursuing Holloway with the most interest. The Wildcats got a major coup last year at Virginia's expense when they took forward Patrick Patterson from Huntington High in West Virginia. Marquette, Ohio State and USC round out some of the other schools taking a hard look at the senior.

Virginia's biggest concern with this recruiting trip may not be the rivals but actually finding a scholarship for Holloway. The Cavaliers have been playing with fire for quite some time when it comes to its scholarship allocation. Ryan Pettinella and Calvin Baker both played last season paying their own way. Baker, the second highest returning scorer, has remained confident that his hard work will result in a scholarship. Someone must have forgotten to tell Coach Leitao.

With three scholarships already handed out to John Brandenburg, Assane Sene and Sylven Landesberg, Virginia is at the scholarship limit. That is not only bad news for Baker but Tunji Soroye. The senior big man was severely limited by injuries and will try to apply for a medical redshirt but nothing is guaranteed. Furthermore, Leitao appears to still be working hard to recruit not only Holloway but Wesley Witherspoon, brother of the former Virginia Tech Hokie basketball player.

Clearly math nor logic seem to be Virginia's favor. Leitao and his staff have the inauspicious task of replacing a legend and a limited number of ways to do it. No wonder rumors have been circulating about one or more players departing the program. Does Leitao know something we don't? Clearly there are some candidates but Virginia should be careful not to play with fire.

Just ask Derrick Byars and Gary Forbes, two men who left the Cavaliers for different reasons only to find great success at Vanderbilt and UMass respectively. Byars led his team deep into the NCAA tournament last season before a last second basket by Georgetown ended their dreams. Forbes led his team to the NIT championship this season before running into a buzz saw in Ohio State. Clearly they showed they have the talent to compete at a high level, who knows what the future will hold for some of the current Cavaliers sitting on the pine.

So as Leitao continues to search the country for the next big thing, let's remember that the answer can sometimes be sitting right under his nose.

So as Leitao continues to search the country for the next big thing, let's remember that the answer can sometimes be sitting right under his nose. Quotation