Doug Doughty

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The one message that Sean Singletary’s mother wanted to emphasize earlier this week was that she would have supported any decision her son made.

Singletary told NBA officials on Monday that he would be removing his name from draft consideration in order to return to Virginia for his senior year.

“From the start, we wanted to have him do what made him happy because we believe he’s mature enough to make an intelligent and sound decision,” Jaqui Singletary said. “Whatever he chose to do was OK with us.

“When he speaks, he is saying that he leans toward his parents’ wishes, which goes to show how in tune we all are to one another because we think alike, I guess. We’d been pretty much on the same page forever.”

Admittedly, she was disturbed by the assessment of her son as “torn,” a characterization used in a blog by Charlottesville Daily Progress beat reporter Whitelaw “Whitey” Reid.

“I don’t normally read those things,” she said. “That article was brought to my attention by someone. I was concerned because it wasn’t true and I didn’t know where that information came from. He’s not an indecisive person.

“I didn’t like the way he was characterized. That’s not Sean. He knows what he wants. He knew what he was doing. He wasn’t agonizing over the decision. He was going through the ropes. He was learning about the draft. He was preparing for the future, as he is every day.”

As for the perception that her son was not excited at a news conference Tuesday when he discussed his return, Mrs. Singletary said, “I think the public, for lack of a better word, is more excited about what’s going on than he is or we are.

“For us, it’s just routine: the experience, the learning. I don’t think he does anything as a lark [or] just to do it. He was extremely serious about what he was doing. He was not taking it lightly at all.”

It was almost as if he were interviewing for a 9-to-5 job.

“In essence, that’s what he was doing,” Singletary’s mom said. “Sean plans to be a professional basketball player. If you know what your chosen career is going to be, every day you plan for it.”

If Singletary had made it apparent at every step that he would be returning to school, how honest of an appraisal would he have received?

“There wasn’t any question,” Sean Singletary said. “They knew I was serious. Whenever you go into something, you have to be 100-percent into it. If I hadn’t been serious, I wouldn’t have been in the right frame of mind to do well.”

WHEN SARASOTA, FLA., LINEBACKER  Hunter Ovens made an oral commitment to Virginia Tech last fall, it was with the understanding of all parties that he might be selected in the major-league baseball draft.

Ovens was drafted, but his selection came in the 25th round (by San Diego) and players picked at that level don’t command the kind of bonuses that are too good to pass up.

Ovens batted .530 this past season for Cardinal Mooney and had eight doubles and one home run. More impressive for Hokie fans, Ovens stole 24 bases in 25 attempts.

Ovens originally committed to the Hokies last Aug. 1, then reopened his recruiting, only to recommit on Aug. 23.

Ovens scored 26 touchdowns in helping his team to a 13-1 record this past season.

In a June 13 notes column in the San Diego Union-Tribune, it was reported that Ovens had indicated he would choose baseball over football if the Padres came up with $250,000. Padres manager Bruce Bochy was expected to huddle with Ovens during batting practice.

“He has impact tools in power and speed,” said Grady Fuson, the Padres' vice president of scouting and development. “If he goes to Virginia Tech, his baseball career is over.”

Ovens was the 777th player selected overall.

ED HOMER, THE football coach at Christchurch School on the Northern Neck, said Florida’s Urban Meyer and LSU’s Les Miles were among the coaches who made a total of 50 visits to Christchurch during the May evaluation period.

“You’re allowed to make two visits as a staff and most of the schools in this [Mid-Atlantic] area took two visits,” said Homer, whose chief prospect is 6-4, 195-pound wide receiver Deion Walker.

Homer said he was at a movie theater in Gloucester last week when his phone rang. When a Stanford assistant called, Homer handed the phone to Walker’s father, Art, who is the Christchurch offensive coordinator. Within 10 minutes, there had been a second call from Stanford, this time from head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Art Walker was from California before entering the Air Force (Deion was born in Alaska) and they will make a visit to the West Coast later this summer to visit Southern Cal, California and Oregon. Proximity to Virginia will not be a factor, although Deion has an interest in UVa, which was among the first schools to contact him.

Homer said that Virginia Tech first thought that Walker was not the kind of receiver they were targeting until assistant coach Jim Cavanaugh took a closer look and came back with an offer on the second of two visits.

Christchurch linebacker J’Courtney Williams was selected a SuperPrep All-American before signing with Virginia in February and the Seahorses actually had a third Division I-A prospect in 2005, then-sophomore offensive lineman Corey Lewis (6-6, 260).

Homer said that Lewis’ disappointment over a lack of playing time as a sophomore on the 2005-2006 Christchurch boys’ basketball team may have contributed to a decision to move to East Stroudsburg, Pa., where his father had moved. Both parents previously had lived in New York.

Lewis has made no secret of his interest in Virginia, which became aware of him during the spring of 2006 while defensive coordinator Mike London was observing Williams.