Heralded freshman Landesberg suits up for Cavaliers

In the waning moments of last Sunday’s exhibition game at John Paul Jones Arena, Sylven Landesberg soared majestically toward the basket.
Then, almost out of nowhere, the Virginia freshman announced his arrival to Wahoo Nation — a thunderous one-hand dunk right on the head of a defender from Shepherd.
If Marv Albert, Landesberg’s hometown basketball announcer, was calling the game, he might have exclaimed, “Landesberg, providing a facial!”
Unfortunately for Landesberg, the basket
didn’t count. The Queens, N.Y. native was called for traveling.
The one play, however, was arguably the most encouraging sign from an incoming recruit during Virginia coach Dave Leitao’s tenure.
The play showed athleticism. It showed aggression. It reeked of confidence.
But would you expect anything else from a McDonald’s All-American?
Landesberg, though, doesn’t like to bask in his “Burger Boy” glow.
“The McDonald’s thing — that’s past, that’s done with,” said Landesberg, when asked about the expectations associated with the accolade. “I’m just coming in here fresh and trying to do whatever I can to help the team. That’s what I want to do — help the team win, regardless of what my role or position is. I just want to help the team win.”
Landesberg is certainly going to be counted on to do so. The 6-foot-6 guard, the school’s first McDonald’s All-American since Majestic Mapp in 1999, will likely be under the microscope because of his high school acclaim.
Landesberg, who played at Holy Cross High, led the New York City Catholic League — one of the most competitive leagues in the country — in scoring for three straight years.
Coincidentally, he broke the all-time scoring record at Holy Cross that former Virginia player Willie Dersch set.
The most impressive thing about Landesberg, however, doesn’t seem to be his offensive prowess. It’s his all-around game. At Holy Cross, Landesberg averaged over 11 rebounds and three assists per contest.
So far at Virginia, Landesberg has continued to show that well roundedness.
During the team’s exhibition tour to Canada over Labor Day weekend, Landesberg posted double-doubles in two of the three games.
In the win over Shepherd on Sunday, he had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in just 20 minutes of action.
“He can score, but can also be very unselfish,” Leitao said. “When you do that, you have a tendency to stuff a stat sheet pretty well.
“He’s a work in progress, but I think those kind of performances are something we can come to expect from him.”
Exactly where Landesberg fits into Leitao’s master plan is still a little up in the air. Leitao originally recruited Landesberg as a point guard, but then seemed to back off the idea following the emergence of former walk-on Calvin Baker.
But now with Baker trying to play through a foot injury, Leitao’s only other point guard is redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski.
That brings Leitao back to square one.
“We’ll probably see [Landesberg] at some point, sooner rather than later,” Leitao said. “That was the position I tried to keep him away from initially, but injuries being as they are, I’ve had to put him in that position earlier than he or I would have liked.
“We’ll just use him as a jack of all trades and allow him to grow as he does that.”
Landesberg doesn’t care how Leitao uses him.
“As long as I’m on the court, I’m happy,” he said. “I could be playing the 5, the 4, the 2, the 1 – it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy to be on the court.”
Leitao sees some similarities between Landesberg and Sammy Mejia, a 6-foot-6 point guard he coached at DePaul.
Paul Gilvary, Landesberg’s high school coach, believes his pupil has the ability to play anywhere on the perimeter.
“He’s not a stereotypical point guard — in kind of the old-school, dribble the ball up the court and screen-away kind of player,” Gilvary said. “That’s not his game at all.
“He’s very good with the ball in his hands because he understands the game and can handle and pass well enough to create things. But as long as he’s out there playing, I don’t think it really matters what [position] they assign him to. He’ll do what he’s good at.”
Landesberg seems to have a knack for getting to the free-throw line. That bodes well for a team losing Sean Singletary, who accounted for over 30 percent of the team’s attempts from the charity stripe last season.
In the game on Sunday, Landesberg was 7 of 10 from the line.
“He’s an attacker,” said Virginia sophomore Jeff Jones. “He likes to attack and keep people on their heels — just attacking the defense. He’s aggressive and we need him to stay aggressive in order for us to be good this year.”
Gilvary says the best thing about Landesberg is his humble attitude. He calls him a “low-maintenance player.”
“He’s a very hard worker,” Gilvary said. “That’s a tremendous asset when your best player is your hardest worker.
“He’s kind of unique in that he’s not one of these kids who thinks that he’s great and walks around with a sense of entitlement. He wants to be great and is willing to put the time and effort in to make it happen.”
Landesberg seems tired of all the talk surrounding him. He’s just chomping at the bit to start the season.
“I can’t wait,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been waiting for this for a while. Ever since my high school season ended I’ve been waiting to play Division I, ACC basketball.”