Cavs Want Consistency, Points From Diane

One of the most important objectives during the offseason and early portions of Virginia's schedule was to find consistent scoring support for guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. The duo carried the team last season, so much that both players wore down and the offense sputtered to the second-lowest scoring output in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Coach Dave Leitao talked about playing Singletary only 25 minutes a game at points, letting him rest and making others carry the load. He asked Mamadi Diane, though he is only a sophomore, to play like a junior or senior. The search for a third scoring threat, much like the Cavaliers in general, has been inconsistent this season. Virginia's next opportunity arrives tonight, and it figures to be a difficult task against No. 1 North Carolina (14-1, 1-0 ACC).

"We went through it last year, and we're going through a little bit this year," Reynolds said. "We're just trying to get the team involved and trying to get other guys to produce. It does take pressure off of me and Sean to not to try do everything."

In wins this season, Reynolds and Singletary have averaged 40.8 percent of Virginia's points. In losses, the average balloons to nearly half of Virginia's total, 49.5 percent. Singletary and Reynolds have provided more than half of the scoring just once in a win, when they combined for 59 of 91 points (64.8 percent) against American. Not including that outing, Singletary and Reynolds score only 37.8 percent of Virginia's points in wins.

At times, Diane, who is averaging 11.1 points in 27 minutes, has proved capable of blossoming into the third option Virginia (9-4, 1-0) needs. He scorched Arizona in the season opener for a career-high 25 points. He also has scored 17 twice and 22 against Gonzaga.

But as promising as Diane has been, he has been equally maddening. In the Cavaliers' surprising loss to Appalachian State in Puerto Rico, Diane scored only four points. In Sunday's game against Stanford, Virginia's first home loss this season, Diane scored just two points in 18 minutes and received a tongue-lashing from Leitao.

"We just kind of need to get him to come back to us," Reynolds said.

Virginia's struggling defense exacerbates the lack of scoring punch behind its guards. When it's on, the Cavaliers' defense leads to a flowing, transition offense. But when the defense struggles, the Cavaliers' transition game slows, and players often get stuck watching Singletary or Reynolds.

"Sean is going to score his points, because he's a great scorer," freshman guard Will Harris said. "When we defend, everybody scores. When we don't defend, we struggle."

The defense will be tested tonight against the second-highest scoring team in the nation. North Carolina, which scores 89.5 points per game, ascended to No. 1 this week, a ranking Leitao said the Tar Heels are worthy of.

"Having watched as much college basketball as I have this season, I'm pretty convinced we're playing against the No. 1 team in the country," Leitao said. "Not because of the polls, but because they are. They're like an old-style '80s basketball team where guys didn't leave early, and you could assemble talent."

North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said 75 percent of the questions he received centered on not how his team would perform, but how he would divvy up the minutes. Ten players average more than 11 minutes per game, including player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough and an assembly line of sophomores and freshmen led by forward Brandan Wright and point guard Ty Lawson.

"It's going to be a tough task for us, and it's going show our character," Reynolds said. "Like Coach said, we're either going to have a really good season these next couple games, or we're going to have a really bad season. I'm not going to say it's going to break or make our season. But it's very important to us."