Virginia freshman Sean Singletary sat in a leather chair in the team lounge surrounded with tape recorders and television cameras following Saturday's 110-76 drubbing at the hands of North Carolina.
He had some words for his teammates.
"The coaches are telling us what to do," Singletary said. "We all have to believe in their plan that they have for us. Today we all didn't do it as a whole."
The point guard then was asked about playing from behind against the Tarheels all afternoon.
"We have to play well against adversity," Singletary said. "As a team we didn't do that. I know a couple of players didn't give up, but some did."
Even when the questions strayed away from the team to topics of three-pointers and defense, Singletary re-centered the interview.
"[The] effort wasn't there, and that's what it's all about, tonight and the past couple of games," he said. "Other games in our losing streak, I feel as if we didn't all give our honest effort."
Finally, when asked about his personal leadership on the court during a losing streak, the freshman spoke once again on the subject of effort.
"It's something you can't teach," Singletary said. "Some players -- you have them giving the effort and have them putting the heart in. You have to play with heart, and you can't teach heart."
Now known for his fiery competitiveness on the court and maturity with the media, the freshman spoke out as an experienced veteran. When other notable players were not available for comment, Singletary stood in for extensive post-game questioning.
What emerged in Singletary's statements was an apparent division amongst teammates on the Virginia basketball team.
On one end, Devin Smith is constantly playing through injuries which frequently cause him to miss practice but rarely a game. He is leading the Cavaliers with 17.1 points per game. Similarly, Singletary, sophomore T.J. Bannister and others obviously attempt to provide a spark to a squad floundering on both ends of the floor.
On the opposite end, some Virginia fans are clamoring that certain players appear to be hustling less than others. Many Cavalier suporters failed to see last Saturday what Singletary called an "honest effort."
At ACC media day in November, conference coaches stood uniform in their support of Virginia coach Pete Gillen while commiserating with a peer's fragile job security.
After Saturday's game at Virginia, North Carolina coach Roy Williams echoed these sentiments.
"Pete Gillen is one of the gentlemen in the coaching profession," Williams said. "Pete has more desire in his little finger than all the Cavalier fans in the world. It is tough because he is one of the true quality people in our profession. You feel for any coach that is going through some difficult times."
For some Virginia fans, it is a foregone conclusion that Gillen is at the root of the team's current demise in the ACC the past four seasons. Yet Singletary's comments exhibit that Gillen is certainly the face and ultimately the recipient of blame for the team's troubles, though he may not be the only problem.
The difficulties Gillen faces with a potentially divided team should be evident in Charlottesville. As Singletary stated, "you can't teach heart." Unfortunately for Cavalier fans, it is heart that often carries a team through tough times.
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