ACC Freshman of the Year Landesberg says he never thought seriously about leaving UVA

CHARLOTTESVILLE - On the day last month when he was named ACC rookie of the year in men’s basketball, University of Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg shot down Internet speculation that he might enter the NBA draft this year.

“I don’t think I accomplished anything for me to leave [early for the NBA],“ Landesberg told reporters. “There’s a lot of things I want to accomplish before I leave this school, so I’m coming back.“

Those public statements notwithstanding, espn.com continued to report that Landesberg was an early-entry possibility. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft passed last weekend, though, and Landesberg’s name is not on the list.

The 6-6 swingman said this week that he’s not sure what led to the espn.com reports. Some people told him he’d be picked late in the first round if he came out this year, but Landesberg said he never seriously considered doing so, even after the March 16 ouster of Dave Leitao as U.Va.‘s coach.

“It might have popped into my head for a second, but it wasn’t really nothing to be taken seriously,“ Landesberg said. “There was that gap where we didn’t have a coach, and all the guys were wondering, ‘What’s going on?‘ I think a bunch of guys, things started popping in their heads about what they were doing to do. But then we spoke to [Athletic Director] Craig Littlepage, and he just made everything more comfortable, the whole situation.“

Two weeks after Leitao stepped down, U.Va. hired his successor, Tony Bennett. For Landesberg, a graduate of Holy Cross High in Queens, N.Y., it was yet another milestone in a freshman year that’s been anything but dull.

“Definitely been very interesting,“ Landesberg said with a smile. “Coming in and playing for one coach, building a relationship . . . It’s basically like starting over and trying to get to know the new coaching staff and be comfortable with them.“

Landesberg, who averaged 16.6 points, six rebounds and 2.8 assists, started 27 games in 2008-09. Officially he was a wing, but he often initiated U.Va.‘s offense late in close games. Don’t be surprised if he plays some point guard as a sophomore.

“He’s very good with the ball in his hands,“ Bennett said yesterday. “The little bit I’ve observed in person with him, he’s got a nice feel for the game and the ability to find people and pass. He’s unselfish when he needs to be, but he also has a nose for the basket in terms of getting in the lane and making plays. So he has a lot of those characteristics that you like in a lead guy at times.“

Virginia’s season ended March 12 with a first-round loss in the ACC tournament. Landesberg was soon back in the gym. He knows he must develop his 3-point shot to keep defenders from playing off him. He was 16 for 51 from beyond the arc in 2008-09, with most of those baskets coming late in the season.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t really expected to do much, so a lot of things were open for me,“ Landesberg said. “I was able to get to the rim easily, and then towards the end people started realizing what I did, and then I had to change my game around a little bit.“

College coaches who recruited Landesberg raved about his work ethic, and in recent years he’s followed a grueling offseason regimen under the direction of his father, Steve, in New York City.

“We start early, like 5:30 in the morning, and usually end up finishing around 6 or 7 [p.m.],“ Landesberg said. “So by the time I get home I’m just dead.“

He’d been looking forward to more such punishment in New York, but he’s now torn. Landesberg recently was one of about 20 players invited to try out for the USA Basketball team that will compete in the under-19 world championships in New Zealand this summer.

He’s honored to have been invited, and if he were to make the team, Landesberg knows, he’d play with and against great competition. “But the workouts I get at home, I would say they’re unmatched,“ he said. “I’m still talking about it with my father and Coach Bennett.“

Whatever his decision, count on Landesberg’s returning to school a better player.

“When one of your top players, a guy who had a decorated freshman year, seems to be so serious about improving his game, that always encourages me,“ Bennett said.

Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838 or .