For three years, Leitao and an army of UVa fans have been waiting for Diane to step up, take charge and not be afraid to fail.

Yes, for the last three years — ever since coach Dave Leitao came aboard — Virginia has been blessed with one of the best players in the conference.

The 6-foot-9 Pettinella, who started 20 games for Virginia this past season, is hoping to sign with a European club, preferably one in Italy.

Former Virginia star Sean Singletary agreed to terms with the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Sean Singletary, who was hoping to be a first-rounder, was the seventh point guard drafted behind Derrick Rose (Chicago), Russell Westbrook (Seattle), Jerryd Bayless (Indiana), George Hill (San Antonio), Mario Chalmers (Miami) and Kyle Weaver (Charlotte).

The Sacramento Kings picked the Philadelphia native in the second round with the 42nd overall pick.

“You can never really look at those mock drafts,” said Sean Singletary, during a phone interview from Philadelphia on Wednesday. “Only the first two or three picks are usually right.”

“He’s definitely an NBA player,” said Jared Dudley, who was in Charlottesville last week for the NBA Top 100 Camp. “He just needs to work on some things — like getting people more involved. He has the time to do it. If he has to go overseas for a couple of years — you do that — but I’m hoping the best for him.”

Sammy Zeglinski told The Daily Progress that his ankle is feeling good. The 6-foot, 175-pounder has been participating in pickup games since about the middle of last month.

J.R. Reynolds made some nice money, learned a little Italian and developed a better feel for the point-guard position.

Virginia big man Tunji Soroye wants to return for a fifth year, and the UVa coaching staff would like to have him back. However, a “Tunji Time” redux is still up in the air according to Virginia coach Dave Leitao.

You don’t need to be John Wooden or even Isiah Thomas to figure out where things went wrong for the Virginia men’s basketball team in 2007-08.

Virginia’s senior point guard has made 200 steals during his career, but none bigger than the one that came with seven seconds remaining Monday night. That’s when Singletary’s split-second anticipation resulted in a steal near mid-court and a dramatic breakaway layup that nearly brought the house down.

“He just continues to rewrite a story that is already a best-seller in the annals of Virginia basketball,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “We’ve been able to ride on his shoulders for a very long time.
“He’s one in a million.”