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 With no new Virginia men's basketball commitments expected prior to signing day Nov. 12, it occurred to me that UVa coach Dave Leitao might have altered his approach.

 Virginia currently has the maximum number of players on scholarship, 13. Two of those scholarship players are in their final season of eligibility, Tunji Soroye and Mamadi Diane, and the Cavaliers have commitments from two players who will take their place, Jontel Evans and Tristan Spurlock.

The Cavaliers stand to lose four players after the 2009-2010 season, so presumably Leitao and his staff would be concentrating on the 2010 class, but that’s not necessarily the case.

 “Are you asking me, ‘Are you recruiting '09s?' ” Leitao said Sunday at the ACC’s Operation Basketball in Atlanta. “Yeah, we’re recruiting '09s. How would you rather do it at as a coach? Don’t [recruit a player], have something happen and then try to start recruiting a guy? Or, recruit a guy?

 “You never stop recruiting. I’ve been consistent in everything I’ve said. When we get to September, we’ll be at 13. I haven’t had a problem with it yet. I don’t know whether you would characterize it as ‘predictability’ or ‘unpredictability,’ but things are not always as they seem to be. So, in this game we call ‘recruiting,’ you can’t ever stop.”

 Actually, Virginia was under the limit for a time this summer, following the departure of scholarship players Will Harris and Lauris Mikalauskas. But if Harris and Mikalauskas had not hung around, Leitao wouldn’t have had scholarships for Soroye and Calvin Baker.

 Soroye had been on scholarship for four years and would have completed his eligibility if not for a series of injuries that limited him to two games in 2007-2008. He petitioned the NCAA for an extra year but would have had to take out loans if a scholarship had not materialized. Baker began his college career as a scholarship player at William and Mary but had been paying his way for two years until he got Mikalauskas’ scholarship.

 It would make sense for Leitao to wait until the spring to see if an opening arises, “but that depends,” he said. “I don’t control that as much. If somebody is going to improve our program and he wants to come today, I’ve got to evaluate it. We’ve been at 14 or 15 this time of year.”

 Rival recruiters have made light of Virginia’s scholarship situation, particularly last spring, when the Cavaliers were recruiting Wesley Witherspoon, who signed with Memphis.

 “Some people do,” Leitao said, “but, if they don’t use that against you, they’ll use something else. That’s because they negative recruit.

 “But, if you look around the country [overstocking] goes more than at just this program. That goes on a lot. Especially in this day and age, we’re forced to do that. There’s such an unpredictability from so many different angles that cause you to add or subtract from your roster.”

 THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBANY was successful in getting immediate eligibility for Harris, who played in 15 games for Virginia last year as a sophomore.

 Harris had a back problem that prevented him from playing in the last 14 games and 17 of the last 19 games, although he did not meet the criteria for a successful hardship appeal.

 Harris’ appeal for immediate eligibility was based on "family hardship," according to an Albany release, and was supported by Leitao.

 “Will was one of my [favorites], if not my favorite,” Leitao said. “He worked hard. He was a great kid. We had great conversations. He came from a tough and humble background. I thought, by coming to the University of Virginia and ultimately graduating from here, he could become a great story. I was a big fan of his.

 “I was hurt by him leaving because I thought he was leaving behind much more than what most guys think of, which is basketball success. He has family problems with health and all that kind of stuff that weighed on him greatly. Even if I wasn’t such a fan and he walks out, unless something is drastically wrong, I’m going to support a guy.

 “Life is too short for me to cast any negative stones toward people. When he goes to Albany, I wish him nothing but the best of success and health and luck and hope that he realizes his dreams because, believe me, I’ve been blessed many more times than I can count.”

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