CHARLOTTESVILLE—Two of Dave Leitao’s centers—Tunji Soroye and Ryan Pettinella—are seniors, and another U.Va. big man, Lars Mikalauskas, is a junior.  Leitao’s basketball team is well-stocked with perimeter players, but the Cavaliers need to replenish their frontcourt for 2008-09 and beyond.

One target for 2008-09 is John Brandenburg, a center from St. Louis who returned the other day from an official visit to Stanford.  Brandenburg’s other finalist is Virginia, which he visited last month, and a decision is imminent.

The Cavaliers’ chances are probably better with Assane Sene, a 7-footer from Senegal who attend South Kent School in Connecticut.  U.Va. assistant coach Bill Courtney and South Kent coach Raphael Chillious have been close friends for years, and Leitao is well-connected with others who’ll be involved in Sene’s decision.

Sene, one of four Senegalese boys featured in a documentary, called “Hoopland,” about basketball and Africa, took an official visit to U.Va. this past week.

“He absolutely loved Virginia,” Chillious told The Times-Dispatch this morning.  “He’s going to take a lilttle time to let his visit marinate and decide if he’s going to visit anywhere else or make his decision soon, but he really, really liked it.

“It just confirmed a lot of what he felt about Virginia going in, in terms of obviously the facilities and the school, but even more so Coach Leitao and his relationship with his players. That’s very important to him.  And the guys were great.  He said he really loved them.  They weren’t a bunch of guys who just wanted to go out and party and stuff.  They hung out and were really good friends, so he appreciated that.”

Connecticut and Syracuse are among the other schools trying to get an official visit from Sene.

U.Va. has had a strong international flavor in recent years.  The 2008-09 roster includes two Nigerians (Soroye and Solomon Tat), a Lithuanian (Mikalauskas) and a Trinidadian (Adrian Joseph).