Photo courtesy of University of Virginia

Virginia forward Mamadi Diane averaged 11.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last year for the Cavaliers.

One of the virtual certainties of Virginia's upcoming men's basketball season is that Mamadi Diane will go over the 1,000-point mark for his career, probably before the end of the calendar year.

That would be a nice feat, accomplished by 41 players in UVa history, but not one that will result in Diane's jersey being hoisted to the rafters.

In all likelihood, numbers aren't going to define Diane's career.

If Diane is to leave a legacy, it remains to be determined.

"To this point, I really haven't done much -- or done anything -- to leave a lasting impression," said Diane at the ACC's Operation Basketball in Atlanta.

While that might sound a little harsh, Diane arrived at Virginia with high standards and hasn't revised them.

Diane has never made first-, second- or third-team All-ACC but he has had some monster games during his career, scoring 20 or more points on eight occasions over the past two seasons.

On the night that Virginia christened the John Paul Jones Arena in 2006, Diane was 8-for-9 from the field and finished with 25 points in a 93-90 Cavaliers' victory.

On the flip side, he has been known to disappear at times, losing and regaining his starting job with numbing regularity. He knows every corner in coach Dave Leitao's doghouse and every expletive in his coach's vocabulary.

"When I was younger, it got to me sometimes," Diane said. "I really tried hard not to let it, but, you know, it really would. I was worried about what coach was thinking or what was happening on the sideline or what happened in the last game."

After Diane's sophomore year, there were rumors that he might leave UVa for another school.

"Did I ever think about transferring?" Diane said in response to a question. "Not really. Not seriously. I wouldn't say I was unhappy, exactly, but I would say that anybody who's getting yelled at [is left] really confused, unsure, sort of lost."

Diane is everything Virginia would want in a representative of its school -- polite, articulate, well-groomed. He's never been a problem off the court or in the classroom.

"Mo and I have never been at odds," Leitao said.

"We've never disliked each other but we haven't always been exact in our thought process. Part of him coming off the bench was: 1. Adrian [Joseph] playing well at the time and 2. I wanted to make sure he understood that this was never going to be a given."

In his first two seasons, Diane never scored in double figures in more than two straight games.

Last year, he had 10 points or more in the last seven and averaged in double figures (11.8) for the first time in a college season.

The whole time, he played with a foot injury that required surgery in early June.

"I knew it was there as early as November and December," said Diane, who had a fracture of the sesamoid bone in the bottom of his left foot. "It was something that was painful to play with -- moving, cutting, bending, different things. It feels good. I've gotten past the point where I'm thinking about it."

Diane, a 6-foot-5, 204-pound wing player, was best known as a shooter coming out of DeMatha Catholic High School and had a career-high 60 3-point field goals in 2007-08. Sean Singletary and Adrian Joseph had 58 and 56, respectively, but their eligibility has expired.

Leitao doesn't want Diane to be a shooter exclusively, and his 99 free-throw attempts last year suggest more of a willingness to drive to the basket. Diane attempted 102 free throws, combined, in his first two seasons.

"I think it's going to come down to not just what he's done in the past, which is make a lot of shots, but he's got to make a lot more plays," Leitao said.

"That's just not scoring. He may have to make the play that sets up the play. He may have to take the big charge. He may have to get the big rebound offensively and be diversified in what his importance is to his team."

Virginia announced this past week that Diane, fifth-year senior Tunji Soroye and fourth-year junior Calvin Baker would serve as co-captains. If Diane could leave one legacy, he said, leadership would be the most important.

Don't be scared when Leitao starts screaming, he will advise the freshmen.

"Sean would get yelled at but he'd just take it and keep moving," Diane said.

"Most of the time, I just keep going. Sometimes it gets frustrating and we may bump heads and get into it, but in the end, you look for something simple to take out of it."

Diane has logged 2,501 minutes in his UVa career -- only seven other returning ACC players have had more playing time.

"He's [Diane] battle-tested with anybody in this league," Leitao said.

"He's at a great place right now. I feel comfortable and confident that, at least mentally, he'll be better than he ever has been."