CHARLOTTESVILLE – When the preseason polls for ACC men’s basketball come out this fall, look for U.Va. to be picked last.  If the Cavaliers struggled with all-ACC point guard Sean Singletary last season, most prognosticators will argue, how can they reasonably expect to do better without him?

And that’s a legitimate question.  But no matter how this season goes for U.Va., 2009-10 promises to be much better.  Dave Leitao’s freshmen include two legitimate centers in Assane Sene and John Brandenburg and a McDonald’s All-American in Sylven Landesberg.  From the Class of 2009, Leitao has landed two well-regarded recruits—point guard Jontel Evans and 6-8 small forward Tristan Spurlock, who committed this week – and the team’s only seniors this season are Mamadi Diane and Laurynas Mikalauskas. Neither will be irreplaceable.

Assuming no unexpected attrition, here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the 2009-10 Wahoos:

 Point guard – Sammy Zeglinski, Jontel Evans, Calvin Baker, Sylven Landesberg

 Shooting guard – Landesberg, Jeff Jones, Mustapha Farrakhan, Baker, Solomon Tat

 Small forward – Tristan Spurlock, Landesberg, Tat

 Power forward – Mike Scott, Jamil Tucker

 Center – Assane Sene, John Brandenburg, Jerome Meyinsse

          That’s potentially a formidable group, and the only seniors would be Tucker, Baker and Meyinsse, all of whom might be reserves.  Also worth nothing: That roster includes only two recruits from the Class of 2009 – Spurlock and Evans.  Leitao could add a third now that forward Will Harris’ departure has freed a scholarship.

          Calvin Baker, who began his college career at William and Mary, came to U.Va. as a walk-on.  Even if he gets a scholarship for 2008-09, Baker could be asked to pay his way again in 2009-10.

Leitao has a lot of seats to fill in John Paul Jones Arena, and the fan base is likely to be restless if Virginia, which went 17-16 in 2007-08, slogs through another season of mediocrity.  But better days are coming.

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