The king of Virginia basketball had quite the coronation on Sunday. His jersey was placed upon the rafters where it belongs, and the pomp and circumstance around his Senior Night was only surpassed by his actual performance. With a desperate Maryland team as his victim, Sean Singletary burst the Terrapins’ NCAA bubble with an uplifting 27-point performance that left no doubt: Virginia fans were watching a player fit for the history books, as he led the Cavaliers to a 91-76 victory.

“He saved his best for last,”

“He saved his best for last,”

Indeed, the bond that Leitao and his All-American share goes far beyond coach-player.

“As I’ve always said, Leitao is more of a father-figure to me than a coach,” Singletary said. “He teaches us to be aggressive not just in basketball but in life. He wants us to fight for what we believe in.”

Certainly this year has been a fight for Singletary. His memories of his career at Virginia are surely mixed. He has felt the highest of the highs, defeating Duke in 2007 after hitting the final shot in both regulation and overtime. He capped that win off with a stare down and point at the TV camera that will never be forgotten, in a game that led to Virginia’s capturing of a share of the ACC regular season title. He defeated national powerhouses North Carolina and Arizona (twice), and outshined NBA player Adam Morrison against Gonzaga in Spokane. Of course, Sunday he achieved an amazing accomplishment, scoring 2,000 points for his career. These points were not just garbage points either, as they came at critical times for the Cavaliers. More impressively, he did not force anything; Singletary was still able to get others involved, and took his shots when needed.

“I am always playing with guys that let me score and let me lead – they let me be the leader offensively and defensively, so it is just a credit to my teammates and my coach,” Singletary said. “Not considering that it was my last game, I just wanted to go out there and have fun. Winning is always fun no matter how you get there.”

However, Singletary has also seen the lowest of the lows. His team, despite all those gaudy individual numbers, went a combined 64-55 during his stretch as a Cavalier. He experienced the embarrassment in Puerto Rico last season and a stretch this year where an inexperienced and injury-plagued Virginia team lost 10 of 11 games, many in an excruciatingly close fashion. Singletary never complained, but don’t think that means he does not care.

“I didn’t cry tonight,” Singletary said. “I’ve cried after every loss this season so I don’t think I have any tears left.”

“I didn’t cry tonight,” Singletary said. “I’ve cried after every loss this season so I don’t think I have any tears left.”

Singletary is as loyal as anyone can be. When former coach Pete Gillen was on the verge of receiving his pink slip, Singletary consistently and vehemently backed his coach. He had faith that Gillen could turn it around and was saddened when he left. However, I think even Singletary would admit that bringing in Dave Leitao has helped both player and coach exponentially.

“I just thank God for giving me the opportunity to be at this place at this time,” Leitao said. “I hope everyone watching enjoyed this because I’m not sure if we will ever see another player like that walk through those doors again.”

A true point guard is an extension of his coach on the floor, and that description seems to fit these two. Both men are passionate, fiery, and determined, and have a propensity to take losing very personally. Who can forget the image of Singletary crumbling to the ground after the missed three-pointer (which would have forced overtime) in the waning seconds of the NCAA Tournament loss against Tennessee? It is little wonder that it was Leitao who was there first to pick him up.

“I understood at that moment in time, because he is so hard on himself, that immediately he would take blame, and that's the last thing I wanted him to do,” Leitao said. “So I wanted to be there for him to say, ‘Hey, let's help the guy up, let's embrace him and make him feel better, because we've all been there.’”

Leitao, for one, has definitely been there. As a forward at Northeastern, he too had a shot that would have taken his Cinderella team to the next round of the tournament, only to be denied.

“I've been there, and it's an awful feeling, and I wanted him to know just like I've tried to be there for him every day that I'm still going to be there for him,” Leitao said.

Singletary is used to being there for his team as well. He is no stranger picking up the slack and never complaining about the task either. Even when players could not finish lay ups or turned the ball over at crucial junctures, he kept faith. He remained the confident leader, and that was that attitude which led the entire Cavalier squad to give Singletary a home finale he would never forget. Six different Cavaliers scored in double figures against Maryland, the most since 2001 when Virginia defeated Grambling. With all apologies to the Tigers, defeating a SWAC team is not quite the same as shooting 62% in the second half against one of the top defensive teams in the number one rated conference in America. Virginia was the only ACC team this season to shoot 50% against the Terps for a game. How did a team that has the next to lost shooting percentage in the conference pull off such a scoring bonanza?

Confidence.

“In the second half we couldn’t play defense,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “With teams like that you give them confidence when they see they can score. They were clearly ready to play tonight.”

One man who had not been playing nearly as much had been Adrian Joseph. The senior wingman has always been a bit of an enigma at Virginia. He may not always have made a mark in every game, but when he did it was rather emphatic. Whether it was the cold-blooded three-pointer in Blacksburg to seal a road victory in 2005, or a scoring streak in last year’s comeback-for-the-ages on the road at Clemson, Joseph can certainly make a statement when focused.

“Of all the guys who can sometimes get distracted by the surroundings, Adrian, by his personality never does,” Leitao said after that game. “He just kind of lives in that box mentally. It speaks to a mindset more than to just a skill.”

Joseph, who averages 10.3 points per game this season, had not scored in double figures in seven straight games. He had not even played over 20 minutes in the past five games. In other words, he had completely fallen off the radar. Some of that certainly had to do with his health, as two bad ankles were not giving him the kind of lift he typically had on his jump shots. Yet against Maryland, he too had a Senior Night to remember, scoring 13 points, including a signature dunk off a feed from junior Lars Mikalauskas.

Confidence certainly helped the Virginia basketball team, but having a gracious leader like Sean Singletary may have played just as big a role. They played like a team that simply would not let their captain experience heartbreak for one night at least.

“They didn’t say anything about it to me,” Singletary said when asked if his team told him they would not let him lose. “Their actions spoke louder than anything they could have said.”

Words are what people like myself work with to try to describe what it felt like to be at a sporting event. The simple truth is that Singletary’s career cannot be summed up in words. What he meant to this program, his coach, and his teammates - and what that night meant to a crowd of 14,000 fans - cannot be described with simple text. Or if it can, it demands a power far beyond this modest writer’s capability.

The best I can say? Singletary will be missed. Just ask his mentor.

“We're connected emotionally to one another, and I think one of the reasons why this has worked for the two of us as well as for the rest of the guys on the team is because we understand each other,” Leitao said. “And whether he played well or whether he plays well or not is of less consequence to me than what he's given to our team and our program.”

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