Dudley: Singletary is NBA ready

Some people aren’t convinced that Sean Singletary — a three-time All-ACC guard at Virginia — has what it takes to make it in the NBA.
Charlotte Bobcats forward Jared Dudley — the ACC Player of the Year in 2007 while at Boston College — isn’t one of them.
“He’s definitely an NBA player,” said Dudley, who was in Charlottesville last week for the NBA Top 100 Camp. “He just needs to work on some things — like getting people more involved. He has the time to do it. If he has to go overseas for a couple of years — you do that — but I’m hoping the best for him.”
So is an army of Virginia fans who will be glued to their televisions on Thursday night for this year’s draft.
Dudley knows Singletary well. In 2006, his
No. 11 BC squad was upset by Singletary and company.
“His best quality is his scoring,” Dudley said. “He can shoot the ball well and is hard to guard on the pick and roll. When he got it going, he was hard to stop.
“But on the next level, everyone can score. You have to be able to do the little things — make people better, play defense — especially at point guard.”
Singletary, of course, declared for 2007 draft before returning to Virginia after realizing he wasn’t going to be selected in the first round (only first-round contracts are guaranteed). The Philadelphia native’s goal was to improve on certain facets of his game — those “little things” — and make himself a first-rounder.
Presently, the majority of mock drafts don’t have Singletary getting selected in either the first or second round, though ESPN’s Chad Ford has him going to the Utah Jazz in the second round (with the 53rd overall pick).
“I definitely think he’s a solid second-round pick,” Dudley said. “I think first-round picks are all on potential and who they can see being a star.
“You know, they don’t know sometimes. They mess up just like everybody else.”
Singletary’s stock could be hurt by the fact he didn’t get the national acclaim that other players seemed to achieve by birth right (see North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson) or NCAA Tournament success.
“You have to be like a Stephen Curry and make your name nationally,” Dudley said. “[Singletary] made his name in the ACC but not nationally.”
Dudley knows all about flying below the radar. The 6-foot-7 forward was barely recruited coming out of Horizon High School in San Diego.
Even after tearing up the ACC for four years, there were plenty of people doubting his chances to make it in the NBA.
“All my hard work paid off when I became a first-round pick,” said Dudley, who was picked by the Bobcats with the 22nd pick of the first round. “The guaranteed money and to have [NBA Commissioner] David Stern call your name — it was a lifelong dream.
“But you can’t just stop for that. That’s not the kind of person I am. I want to get better and solidify myself as a good NBA player.”
Charlotte has the ninth overall pick on Thursday night. Dudley believes the Bobcats, who will have a new coach in Larry Brown this season, will look for size. Charlotte has Emeka Okafor but may want to slide him over to power forward.
“I think we’re leaning toward a big man or power forward — the guy from Texas A&M [DeAndre Jordan] I’ve been hearing. Our two and three spots I think we pretty much have solidified.”
Dudley, who made 14 starts as a rookie — he averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds — misses the ACC.
“The game is so much different in the NBA,” he said, “but I’m enjoying it. I have different goals now.”