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By Geoff Brown, Athletics Media Relations
Before the 2007-08 basketball season officially started, there were already signs that things were not going to go as planned for then-freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski.
In a pick-up game last September, the Philadelphia native rolled his ankle badly and suffered lingering pain throughout the fall. Despite persistent rehabilitation, he was never able to get back to 100 percent and his ankle injury only worsened as the season progressed. After eight games, Zeglinski consulted with the coaching staff, medical team, and his family and decided to undergo season-ending surgery to repair the damage on three ligaments in his ankle and accept a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA, still allowing him four full years of eligibility. Despite the injury, the six-foot guard knew that everything was not lost because he had such a talented role model in Sean Singletary to learn from, who happened to play the same position.
“It was frustrating but I was able to take a lot out of it,” Zeglinski recollected, “I learned from Sean about being the point guard and being the leader of the team. I observed the team and tried to learn as much as I could everyday.”
Playing with and learning from Singletary was nothing new for Zeglinski; he played one year of high school basketball with the three-time all-ACC performer at The William Penn Charter School. When he signed on to play at UVa, he was not even sure if his former high school teammate would still be in Charlottesville. Fortunately for him, Singletary did not enter the NBA draft in 2007 and decided to stay for his senior year and helped the injured freshman become a better point guard and overcome the frustration of not being able to play in his first year.
“I learned a lot of things on and off the court (from Sean): his drive, his competitiveness, his leadership, and just the way he conducts himself,” said Zeglinski.
If Singletary wasn’t enough of a role model for Zeglinski, than all he had to do was look towards his own family. His father, John, was a football and baseball star at Wake Forest and his older brother Joe plays basketball at Hartford.
“My dad was always my coach in a lot of things,” said Zeglinski. “I played with my brothers in a lot of things and I really give a lot of credit to them for making me the player that I am today. They really pushed me and taught me a lot of things.”
This season, Zeglinski describes his role on the team as completely different from last year.’ With the departure of Singletary, Zeglinski believes that he has to step up and can’t play like a freshman, even though he is one eligibility-wise.
“I have to lead the team as a point guard and get people to do what they are supposed to be doing,” he said. “Coach (Leitao) puts a lot of pressure on me and I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. I know my team needs me to fill that point guard role and they need me to be able to distribute the ball, get people easy baskets, and control the tempo of the game.”
This season, UVa’s roster is loaded with young players; there are just two seniors and because of that, Zeglinski has noted that he needs to grow up fast’ in order to keep up with the other talented ACC teams. So far he has taken strides to live up to that statement, scoring in double figures in eight of the first 13 games of the season and leading the team with 54 assists.
“I’ve been shooting a lot,” he said. “When I have open shots, I have been making them.”
Still, there are some aspects of his game, through his own admission, need to be improved. During the offseason and into the beginning of this season, Zeglinski has worked on become more of a vocal presence and communicating more effectively with other players on the court.
Last season, Sammy Zeglinski was a mere observer of one of UVa’s all-time greats. Growing up he had the advantage of learning from former and current college athletes. In his first official year of college ball, it is up to him to prove he can combine his physical tools with everything he has learned along the way.