The winds of change are blowing at the University of Virginia.
Gone is head coach Pete Gillen, who resigned in March after guiding the Cavaliers to a 118-93 record and just one NCAA tournament berth in his seven years in Charlottesville, Va.
Enter Dave Leitao, DePaul's head coach the past three seasons and a former Connecticut assistant.
"Dave is one of the country's most highly regarded young coaches," Virginia President John Casteen said at the time of Leitao's hiring. "As we work to rebuild a program that has enjoyed and richly deserves prominence in the ACC and NCAA, Dave's leadership and example matter in critical ways."
Leitao led the Blue Demons to a 58-34 record in his three years at the school, including two NIT appearances and an NCAA tournament bid in 2004.
Before he became DePaul's head coach in 2002, Leitao spent eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut, during which he helped lead the Huskies to their first NCAA championship in 1999.
Leitao, Virginia's first African-American coach in any sport, will face the imposing task of trying to steer the Cavaliers to their first winning ACC record since 2001.
Coming off a 14-15 season (4-12 in the ACC), Virginia returns three starters from a team that finished tied for tenth in last year's 11-team ACC. The Cavaliers, however, lost their top two scorers and rebounders from last year's team, center Elton Brown and forward Devin Smith. Guard Gary Forbes, who averaged 9.4 points per game a year ago, transferred to Massachusetts.
Even if they fail to make the field of 64 for the fifth straight season, Leitao can take solace in the fact that he will be presiding over a young team going through a rebuilding phase.
"Change in practice has definitely been a shock to some people, but they're getting a feel for it and they're understanding why we're doing certain things," sophomore guard Sean Singletary said. "Getting up in the morning and just having to do things the right way has instilled discipline in each one of us."
Singletary, who made the All-ACC Freshman Team last year, is expected to be one of the top point guards in the conference after he averaged 10.5 points and 3.9 assists in his freshman campaign.
The future of Virginia's team will fall heavily on Singletary and the team's seven other sophomores and juniors as the Cavaliers attempt to find their identity.
This team will be the last to play in the venerable University Hall, which has housed Virginia basketball since 1965. Virginia is constructing the new John Paul Jones arena, which will be ready for action by the 2006-07 season.
Although the new building will signal another step toward the revitalization of the Virginia program, Leitao noted that winning begins with the preparation of his players this season.
"If we start talking about the new building and what it represents, we stop taking care of the here and now," Leitao said. "I refuse to cheat our guys out of each and every moment because they've got to cherish it for the rest of their lives."
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