Training means the world to standout Landesberg

This past offseason, Sylven Landesberg could have tried out for the USA Basketball under-19 team for the summer's world championship. He could have gone to Israel to play on the United States's Maccabiah Games team. He even could have represented his mother's native Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean championships.

The Virginia guard who was named the 2008-09 ACC rookie of the year spurned all those offers. Instead, he did what helped him earn accolades in one of the nation's finest conferences, opportunities on national teams and even discussions as an NBA prospect: Landesberg returned to his home in New York, sweating through the skill-training sessions that his father emphasized during Landesberg's youth.

"I've been doing this my whole life," Landesberg said. "A lot of people were saying I got to play [on Team] USA, I got to go Israel. And when I turned it down, a lot of people were upset with the USA team. I'm going to hear things. But I've been doing this for a while, and I like the way it's turned out."

Bypassing international opportunities was not a popular route, but it was one that befits Landesberg. He did not spend high school summers traveling the AAU circuit with the same frequency as other players, which limited his exposure until late in his high school career.

First-year Virginia Coach Tony Bennett played for USA Basketball while he attended Wisconsin-Green Bay and encouraged Landesberg to try out.

"But at the time, [Landesberg] was very committed to his individual summer workout, and I left the decision to him," Bennett said. "I said if you want to do it, I want to support you because I think it's good. But if it doesn't work, that's up to you. I want him to feel as comfortable as he can."

The motivation for Landesberg's decision was to improve areas of weakness with specific trainers in New York. Landesberg's father, Steve Landesberg, hired skill coaches throughout Sylven's youth to work on each fundamental of basketball. And because summer is the best chance to improve, Steve worried about down time when Sylven was not participating in games.

"He had a lot of good opportunities to go and play around, but playing around is the same to me as fooling around," Steve said. "Because when they're not playing, they're fooling around and not getting anything done. And I knew if he came back here, I would make sure that what has to be done, gets done."

Sylven Landesberg worked with trainers from Pro Hoops on Long Island, including Jay Hernandez and Ross Burns, who have trained a number of NBA players and spent time this summer with Maryland juniors Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory. Landesberg also worked with trainer Milton Lee, and participated in Lee's scrimmages at the New York Athletic Club with NBA players.

Hernandez specifically helped Landesberg refine a jump shot that was a problem late last season. Landesberg shot 31.4 percent from three-point range, and opponents started to play off him because he was lethal driving to the basket but pedestrian from the outside.

After hoisting what he estimated as more than 1,000 shots per day and working with Hernandez to make mechanical adjustments with his form, Landesberg said he is more comfortable with his range.

Hernandez used a computer program to measure the trajectory on each shot. Now, Landesberg considers three-point shooting part of his repertoire.

"One thing that remains consistent after you work on shooting mechanics is that the arc remains the same every time," Hernandez said. "We put Sylven on the machine, and at the start, his arc was a little up-and-down. After using it consistently, we figured out, 'Okay, this is going to be the optimal arc for you.' "

Bennett's challenge to Landesberg does not include a word about scoring. In any conversation about Landesberg, Bennett recites the same speech -- and it's one Landesberg hears each day in practice.

"Like it or not, when you're one of the best players on the team -- even though he's a sophomore -- you're going to be looked to lead," Bennett said. "The challenge I've really given to Sylven is, you're a good player, you've had good individual accolades, now I want to challenge you that the good players I've been around, they impact the game by elevating the play of their teammates. I really want him to embrace that."

Virginia's athletic department has not understated Landesberg's value to the program. He's the player featured in the team's promotional campaign. Landesberg narrates a commercial in which he says he appreciates the individual awards, but he'll measure his success by whether the team wins. Landesberg is the only non-senior featured on the team's media guide, and he was the team's lone representative at the ACC's annual preseason media day.

"Certainly, he works so hard on his individual game," Bennett said. "But a kid as a sophomore being the marked man in the conference? That will be a challenge."