CHARLOTTESVILLE—Dave Leitao met with reporters Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena and reflected on his second season as U.Va.’s basketball coach.

The Cavaliers bowed out with a 77-74 loss to Tennessee in the NCAA tournament’s second round Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Senior guard J.R. Reynolds, two days after ringing up 28 points in U.Va.’s first-round victory, scored 22 before hurting his right ankle late in the first half against Tennessee.

Reynolds played through the pain but scored only four points the rest of the way.  The injury turned out to be significant.

“The bad news is that we lost on Sunday,” Leitao said Tuesday.  “The even worse news is, had we won, he wouldn’t be playing this weekend.  His ankle was about triple [its normal] size.”

Would U.Va. be in the Sweet 16 if Reynolds hadn’t sprained his ankle?

“The easy answer is yes,” Leitao said.  “I think he was well on his way to scoring more than three or four points in the second half.  Because the game was open.  The game was a lot more free-flowing.”

Reynolds, a four-year starter, made the all-ACC third team as a junior.  He was the leading vote-getter on the second team this year.  Until Leitao arrived in 2005, Reynolds was exclusively a shooting guard, but the Roanoke native doubled as Sean Singletary’s backup at the point the past two seasons.

If he gets picked in the upcoming NBA draft, the 6-2 Reynolds is expected to go in the second round.  But NBA scouts have concerns about his ability to play point guard full time.

“He doesn’t have the size to continue to play—at that level, anyway—off the ball, so he’s going to have to prove himself as a ballhandler and a point guard more than anything,” Leitao said.  “I think there’s a lot less talented guys in the NBA than he, but it’s about opportunity, it’s about timing, it’s about being in the right situation with the right people, and again getting that specific question answered.”