Virginia fans are riding high right now. We're talking Keith Jenifer high.
And who can blame them? The Cavaliers already have equaled their ACC win total from last year after a mere six games. All they have to do is go 1-9 over the next 10 ACC contests, and they will arguably have a more successful season than last year.
It's clear that the Tor-Leitao has touched down, and the rest of the ACC is looking for shelter. Tuesday's 20-point win over Miami was Virginia's largest margin of victory in an ACC contest since 2001. Somebody put out a wind advisory, this is some serious stuff.
Of course, Virginia fans shouldn't get too far ahead of themselves. Last year's team was impressive enough early in the season to earn the Cavaliers a No. 19 ranking in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today National Polls in mid-December, and we all know how that team turned out. Virginia's 4-2 ACC record is impressive, but the Cavaliers have yet to face Duke, N.C. State, Boston College or Maryland -- possibly the top four teams in the conference.
Nonetheless, you can't argue with the numbers. Virginia has started 4-2 after ending last ACC season 4-12. This is clearly good news and reflects well on Leitao. But the coach that fans should really be thanking for this year's early success is the much-maligned Pete Gillen.
After all, Gillen is the one that brought Sean Singletary to Charlottesville. And it has been Singletary's super-human performances that have propelled the Cavaliers to victory so often this season.
I believe that Leitao's tutelage has turned Jason Cain from an absolute joke into one of the ACC's top rebounders. Adrian Joseph has looked better than ever with Leitao at the helm, and even Tunji Soroye has emerged as a defensive force in the paint. The Cavaliers are rebounding better and playing stingier defense. Leitao clearly has established the necessary principles for turning Virginia into a successful program in the long term.
But as far as the wins over the last few weeks, none of them would have happened without Singletary.
When teammate J.R. Reynolds went down with an injury only five minutes into the second half, Singletary picked up the slack and then some. Racking up 20 points in 15 minutes, Singletary turned a two-point lead at the time Reynolds went down into a 20-point blowout victory.
On the road against Virginia Tech last week, with the Hokies up 49-44 with less than four minutes left, Singletary came to the rescue. He drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and drained another bucket to tie the score at 49. When the Virginia Tech defense keyed in on him with 45 seconds left and with the Cavs in possession of the ball, Adrian Joseph was left wide open in the corner to sink a game-winning trey.
When North Carolina visited U-Hall only days ago, Singletary was the team's leading scorer with 18 points, eight of which came during a pivotal 13-2 Virginia run that gave the Cavaliers a 55-46 lead with under nine minutes remaining.
Remember the one game Singletary didn't play this season? That was in December when the Cavaliers played A-10 doormat Fordham and lost. At home, no less. When Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg saw Singletary in street clothes before the game, he said he "almost had a heart attack" and that Singletary's absence was "the big reason why we had a chance to win tonight."
Try the only reason. If Singletary had played, he would have never let Fordham beat the Cavaliers at home. It would have been scientifically impossible for Fordham to win. Call it the fourth law of thermodynamics: A crappy non-conference team cannot maintain enough heat to beat Virginia with Singletary on the floor.
While Leitao is slowly laying the foundation for a successful program, Singletary is single-handedly improving his former coach's legacy, and Virginia fans are reaping the benefits. Luring Singletary to Charlottesville may quite possibly go down as Gillen's greatest contribution to the Virginia program.
Forget about the wasted timeouts. Forget about the lack of defense. Forget about Elton Brown.
Okay, maybe I got a little ahead of myself with that last one...
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