Associated Press

Jeff Jones could become the face of the Virginia program.

Dave Leitao's message after Virginia's final game of the men's basketball season wasn't much different than it had been on numerous earlier occasions.

Leitao can only hope it sinks in this time.

"His last words as he left the locker room were, 'We're going to play defense,' " UVa freshman Jeff Jones said.

Minutes earlier, the Cavaliers had seen their season close as Bradley shot 56.5 percent in the second half and defeated Virginia 96-85 in the third round of the College Basketball Invitational.

Virginia (17-15) might have been the only team in the country that peaked Nov. 17, the date of its 75-72 victory at Arizona's McKale Center, where the Wildcats had not lost a November home game in 29 years.

The next week, Virginia lost a neutral-site game to Seton Hall, followed shortly by a home loss to Syracuse and it wasn't long before the Cavaliers were out of NCAA tournament contention.

This from a team that had tied for the regular-season ACC championship in 2006-07 and finished 21-11 following a second-round NCAA tournament loss to Tennessee. The June announcement that point guard extraordinaire Sean Singletary would be returning for a fourth year led many to predict a repeat NCAA trip.

The Cavaliers were a preseason choice for fifth in the ACC but spent most of the season in the cellar, needing to win four of their last six conference games to finish 10th at 5-11.

There are 328 teams in Division I and Virginia finished in the bottom 100 in four defensive categories: scoring defense (293rd), blocked shots (264th), field-goal percentage defense (240th) and steals (258th).

"Somewhere along the line, there was a disconnect," Leitao said. "It's my belief that you have to go back to square one, step one and re-establish the importance of it. We've got to have them understand that we're not going to go anywhere unless everybody's mind is on the same page about being able to stop people."

Leitao always says that defense is more attitude than ability, but the Cavaliers did lose some of the top defenders off their 2006-07 team, including seniors J.R. Reynolds and Jason Cain.

Moreover, projected center Tunji Soroye underwent preseason knee injury. He played briefly in back-to-back games around New Year's, then missed the rest of the season with a bad back.

"It's not all about having a shot-blocker," said 6-5 junior Mamadi Diane, whose 22 blocks led the team. "It's the idea of having somebody in the lane who can alter shots or have guys think twice about going in there."

Soroye was one of four scholarship UVa players who missed significant playing time due to injuries. Junior post man Lauris Mikalauskas (shoulder) missed 13 games, sophomore forward Will Harris (back) missed 16 games and freshman guard Sammy Zeglinski (foot) missed 24 games.

Zeglinski eventually underwent surgery and plans a hardship appeal for another year of eligibility. Soroye, a senior, also has a case to return in 2008-2009.

"What we've got to do is get together with the doctors," Leitao said Monday. "If the doctors are not in agreement with what's going on medically, then there's no conversation. Where we're at right now mentally is, if it can happen, Tunji would like for it to happen and I wouldn't mind that either."

Of the rest, Mikalauskas is the one most likely to go under the knife. Harris probably presents the biggest mystery.

"We had three guys with similar but different problems with their backs," said Leitao, referring to Harris, Soroye and Jamil Tucker, "and here's what was most perplexing for me -- none of them could be corrected by surgery. Backs are very, very unpredictable like that."

Virginia, with all 13 of its scholarships allocated for 2008-09, is continuing to recruit as if one or more of the upperclassmen will not be returning. There is no scholarship currently earmarked for Soroye or for Calvin Baker, a walk-on who played more than 800 minutes this year.

"Last year, we were [having] the same conversation and I maintain, when school starts in September, we will have 13 guys on scholarship," Leitao said. "That's where I'll leave it."

The Cavaliers won't find it easy to replace Singletary, the only player in ACC history with more than 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. Virginia also loses third-leading scorer and leading rebounder Adrian Joseph from its senior class.

There was some hope for the future when freshman Jeff Jones hit six of eight 3-point shots and finished with a team-high 26 points against Bradley.

"The future is real bright for him," said Singletary of his fellow Philadelphian. "He'll probably be the face of the program because he works his heart out and he's a real good kid."