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SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Photos by Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney (left) and Virginia's Sylven Landesberg are two of the top three returning scorers in the ACC this season.

Two of the top three returning scorers in the ACC play for schools in the same state.

If you're thinking that state is North Carolina, you're wrong. Don't forget, Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Teague, Ty Lawson and Gerald Henderson have moved on to the NBA.

If you're thinking that state is Florida, guess again. Toney Douglas and Jack McClinton are also gone.

That state is Virginia.

Virginia Tech point guard Malcolm Delaney is the top returning scorer in the conference, having averaged 18.1 points last season. Virginia off-guard Sylven Landesberg is the third-leading returning scorer with an average of 16.6 points.

"Delaney is going to be one of the outstanding guards in the league," TV analyst Dan Bonner said. "As the year goes on, he might end up the best guard in the league.

"Landesberg, he's also going to be one of the best players in the league."

Delaney made the All-ACC third team as a sophomore at the end of last season. He was voted last month to the media's preseason All-ACC team.

"I never thought I really would be in this position coming out of high school," said Delaney, a Baltimore native. "I definitely think I'm one of the best players in the league. My game developed a lot this summer."

Landesberg was chosen the ACC rookie of the year last season, when he had the fourth-highest scoring average among Division I freshmen.

"The assistant coaches tell me every day I got a bull's-eye on my back," Landesberg said. "I definitely know there's going to be a lot of [defensive] attention towards me this year. But I worked hard this summer, and I continue to work hard, so I think I'm prepared for it."

Breakthrough year

Delaney ranked sixth in the league in scoring and first in minutes (36.9 mpg) last season. He almost doubled his scoring average from his freshman year, when he averaged 9.6 points. His increase of 8.5 points per game was the highest in the league last season.

He attempted 416 shots, up from 243 as a freshman.

"He's a terrific, terrific player," Landesberg said. "He can score in bunches. He can shoot from the outside, he can get to the basket. He can kill you in many ways."

Delaney went to the free-throw line 259 times, making more free throws (225) than he attempted as a freshman (108). He ranked second in the league with a free-throw percentage of 86.9 percent.

"I was more aggressive last year," Delaney said. "I don't mind throwing my body around to sacrifice for my team if I'm going to make the free throws."

Delaney wasn't thrilled with his shooting percentage from the field, however. He shot 38.5 percent, down from 42 percent as a freshman.

"Last year I didn't shoot good," he said. So "I changed my shot a little bit, and went back to all the fundamentals.

"What if I shot like I was supposed to [last year]? I've never shot that bad in my life, but I still averaged that many points. But that was more free throws, me getting to the basket."

Delaney has been working on his mid-range jumper and his 3-point shot. He ranked ninth in the ACC with an average of 2.1 3-point baskets but shot just 35.4 percent from 3-point range, down from 40.2 percent as a freshman.

He attended two camps last summer to hone his skills. He joined Jeff Allen at LeBron James' camp in Akron, Ohio. Delaney was on the court when Xavier's Jordan Crawford made his now-famous dunk over James.

The 6-foot-3 Delaney also attended Deron Williams' camp for point guards in Dallas. Delaney ranked fifth in the ACC in assists last season (4.5 apg), and also had the league's fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Last year I averaged four and a half assists, but we didn't really make shots," he said. "I think this year, with people making shots, my assists can increase."

Delaney, whose 37 points against Clemson was the best outing in the ACC last season, also hit the weight room over the summer. He weighs about 185 pounds, about 8 more than last season.

"I can finish a lot better around the basket now. I'm a lot stronger than I was last year," Delaney said.

But Delaney will no doubt draw more defensive attention this year, especially with the departure of A.D. Vassallo, who led the Hokies in scoring last winter. Tech hopes to neutralize that defensive attention at times by running screens for Delaney in a motion offense.

"With ball screens and stuff, I get more freedom," Delaney said. "That's definitely going to help."

Delaney moved over to off-guard the past two years when point guard Hank Thorns entered the game. Thorns has transferred, but Delaney will shift over to off-guard when freshman point guard Erick Green is on the court.

"The big thing for him is getting him off the ball, just to free him up to be a scorer," TV analyst Mike Gminski said of Delaney.

If Delaney does have a big year, will he turn pro or return for his senior season?

"I don't know," he said. "If it gets to that point, I'm going to sit down and talk to my family and Coach [Seth] Greenberg and see what's the best decision for me."

Making an impact

Landesberg, who was a McDonald's All-American at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y., tied for ninth in the ACC in scoring and ranked sixth in minutes (34.2 mpg) last season. His scoring average was the third-best among freshmen in UVa history.

He credits being aggressive for his big year.

"I wasn't afraid coming in," he said. "I was just ready to go."

But as the best player on a bad team, he drew plenty of defenders.

"Every time I penetrated and got into the lane or below the 3-point line, they would throw multiple defenders at me. I was getting frustrated," Landesberg said. "I would force things up sometimes instead of making the smart decision and finding an open teammate.

"But I feel like I matured, and I can make the right decision now."

He said teams won't be able to concentrate on him as much this season because his teammates improved over the summer.

Landesberg not only wants to do a better job this year of getting his teammates involved in the offense, but he also hopes to improve his jumper, rebounding and defense.

"Last year I think I had a pretty OK year, but there were a lot of things that I could've done that I didn't," he said. "I'm hoping this year I'll be able to do all those things I wanted to do, and just wipe last year off the board."

The 6-foot-6, 207-pound Landesberg had 12 20-point games last season, breaking the UVa freshman record of nine that was set by Ralph Sampson.

"Landesberg was pretty good last year even though he didn't have a particularly good 3-point shot and even though he was like the only offensive threat they had," Bonner said. "Nobody could stop him."

Landesberg shot just 31.4 percent from 3-point territory. He was 16-of-51 from 3-point range, compared to Delaney's 70-of-198.

"I'd like to see him develop a little more range on his shot," Gminski said.

Landesberg vows to be more of a perimeter threat this season.

"My jump shot got a lot better," he said. "I'm more confident shooting it, so I'll definitely be shooting from the outside more -- make them come play me outside, and then ... I'll be able to go into the lane and get some layups."

Foes don't like to see Landesberg in the lane.

"He slashes, and it's hard to defend slashers in college basketball because there's not a lot of them," Delaney said.

Landesberg is also tough to defend because of his height, said Delaney.

Landesberg shot 43.6 percent from the field and 79.6 percent from the free-throw line.

"He's such a crafty, tricky guy to defend," Gminski said. "He really had a knack of getting into the lane, getting fouled."

Landesberg could also see time at point guard and small forward in new coach Tony Bennett's offense.

"I'm more in a playmaker role," he said. "I have more freedom to make plays -- score for myself or set a teammate up to score."

And scoring is something both Landesberg and Delaney know all about.