Hansbrough draws plenty of attention

Following Thursday night’s 83-61 loss to North Carolina, Virginia coach Dave Leitao was effusive in his praise of UNC guard Ty Lawson. Lawson, Leitao said, managed the game perfectly.

While that was certainly true, the Tar Heels wouldn’t have been able to win as easily as they did without the inside play of All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who had 17 free-throw attempts, a John Paul Jones Arena record.

It seemed like there was a whistle every time Hansbrough received the ball in the paint. A few of the calls — notably one midway through the second half when “Psycho T” appeared to have his shot blocked as Jerome Meyinsse played excellent position defense — seemed a bit questionable.

But being national player of the year comes with some privileges.

“Tyler gets calls,” said Virginia junior Jamil Tucker, who had a team-high 12 points. “He’s a very aggressive player, so he’s going to make a lot of calls. We had that in the back of our heads. We just tried to keep our hands up, but at times it was just tough trying to get in the right position.

“When he has the refs going for him and he’s being aggressive, it’s mind-boggling because you’re battling with him and for them to call a foul it’s like, ‘Wow.’”

“That’s Tyler Hansbrough,” added Virginia sophomore Mike Scott. “He’s a very good player. Sometimes people aren’t fouling…he has amazing body control. Sometimes he flops and gets calls. Sometimes he flops and doesn’t get calls.”

Singletary returns

Virginia players said they were surprised to see former teammate Sean Singletary milling about in the arena before the game.

“I was in the training room and I was like, ‘Yo, is that Sean?’” Tucker said. “It was good having him here definitely.”

Singletary gave a pre-game pep talk to the Virginia crowd on the video board, then high-fived fans in the student section as he took his seat.

Singletary, now playing for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, also did a little coaching.

“Before the game, during the game, after the game,” said Tucker, smiling. “He kept telling us, ‘Don’t worry about what they’re ranked, their coach, their press. Play our game. They’re players. When they’re on the court with us, we’re just two teams going at it.”

Sylven struggles

It seemed like only a matter of time before freshman Sylven Landesberg had his first real dud of a performance. Landesberg had been so good in the team’s first 13 games, you knew he might be due for a bad one.

Against UNC, Landesberg, who came into the game averaging a team-high 18.5 points, was just 1 of 9 from the field and finished with a season-low of two points.

Leitao said Landesberg was trying too hard to draw contact in the early going instead of just playing his game.

After the game, Landesberg wasn’t made available to the media.

“I know he had a bad game,” Scott said. “He wasn’t really himself. It’s tough. He’s hurting.”

Nicked up

Landesberg isn’t the only one hurting. Scott said he sustained minor knee and hamstring injuries in the game and Mustapha Farrakhan received three stitches on the top of his head after getting elbowed. Farrakhan said he didn’t see who hit him.

Boo birds

UNC freshman Ed Davis was booed every time his name was announced. The 6-foot-9 forward from Benedictine High in Richmond, who spurned UVa for UNC during the recruiting process, finished with six points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 17 minutes off the bench.