Associated Press

Virginia guard Sean Singletary had a memorable college career. He is considered to be a possible second-round pick in today's NBA Draft.

On the day after he removed his name from consideration for the 2007 NBA Draft, then-Virginia junior Sean Singletary said he was "sure" he would have been chosen.

Mock drafts weren't as unanimous on that topic and, if Singletary is to be chosen tonight, his selection would fly in the face of some of this year's projections.

ESPN.com draft analyst Chad Ford predicts that Utah will use its second of two picks, the 53rd overall, to choose Singletary. Other projections either do not include the second round or do not include Singletary.

While the likes of 5-foot-11¹₂ Texas point guard D.J. Augustin are mentioned as possibilities for the top-10 picks, a similarly sized Singletary isn't getting the same kind of love.

Singletary, measured at 6 feet, is the only player in ACC history to finish his career with more than 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds, and 200 steals.

"I like him," NBA scouting director Marty Blake said. "I thought he had a great year. They talk about all these other guys; I hope somebody drafts him and gives him a chance because he's a true point guard."

The knock against Singletary, not that anybody complained about it when he was at Virginia, is that he is seen as a scoring point guard. If he were a distributor, that would be one thing, but it might not be as easy to get off his shot in the pros.

"What I really like about him is he's just an extremely tough, competitive, [a] get-in-your face defender," Minnesota Timberwolves assistant general manager Rob Babcock said. "Even though he's small, he's a gamer. He's got a knack for getting the job done.

"He's got a chance to get drafted. He's going to have to [be a pass-oriented point guard] because I don't think he's going to be able to make it as a scoring point guard."

As agents like to say, it's not a matter of all 30 teams finding a player draft-worthy. All it takes is one.

Nobody is advising Singletary to pick out a home in Dallas, but don't think new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn't aware of him.

While he was still an NBA analyst, Carlisle took time out from his schedule to return to his alma mater, Virginia, for the first basketball game he had seen there since his 1984 graduation.

Carlisle was in the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena for the occasion of Singletary's senior night, when he had 27 points in a 91-76 victory over Maryland.

"I saw him play against Arizona earlier in the year and he was great in that game, but I always place more weight on seeing somebody in person," Carlisle said days later. "You get more of a feel for the presence they have on the floor, their leadership ability and will to win.

"This guy is a tremendous player, a terrific little player. He'll be in the league. I can just tell by the way he handles himself that he's going to find a way to make a career in the NBA and be successful."

Carlisle didn't hesitate when asked if Singletary would be a player of interest if he returned to the NBA.

"I'd love to have 12 guys on my team who played with his kind of energy and unconditional commitment," Carlisle said. "After 23 years in the NBA, I believe that you have to have enough size and enough ability, but there are very few players that enter the NBA Draft that have as big a heart as Sean Singletary."

Dallas has a group of veteran point guards who are at or past their prime -- Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Tyronn Lue -- and their first pick comes at a point, No. 51, when other teams might be considering Singletary.

However, there has been speculation in the Dallas media that owner Mark Cuban might write a $3 million check as part of a package for a first-rounder.

In his draft analysis, ESPN's Ford said that Singletary is a favorite of Kevin O'Connor, Utah's senior vice president of basketball operations. O'Connor was an assistant at Virginia Tech in the 1970s and his daughter Katie starred for the Tech women's basketball team.

Singletary was in Salt Lake City this past weekend at a tryout where he was paired against ex-Washington State point guard Kyle Weaver.

"When you come out here with the big guys, you just show you have basketball IQ, quickness and basketball ability," Singletary told the Jazz's Web site. "I think I did that real well. I shot the ball well today. It was a good workout for me."

He returned to Virginia because he wanted to have his degree. Carlisle said it was possible that Singletary might be drafted later as a senior than he would have as a junior, but nobody's ever going to know for sure. Not even Singletary.

Mark Berman contributed to this article.