Pettinella looking for European employment

Sean Singletary hasn’t been the only former Virginia player in Las Vegas trying to carve out a professional career for himself.

Ryan Pettinella was recently in Sin City taking part in a showcase camp for European scouts.

The 6-foot-9 Pettinella, who started 20 games for Virginia this past season, is hoping to sign with a European club, preferably one in Italy.

“I think it was really good exposure,” said Pettinella, a Rochester, N.Y., native. “I’m hoping to get an offer out of it.

“I was encouraged by my play. I talked to a couple of scouts afterward and they said my game looked pretty good and they might be contacting me. I think I represented myself well out there.”

Pettinella, who turned 24 on Saturday, played on a team with Raymond Hicks, the former University of Miami player.

“We were a good combo down low,” Pettinella said. “He played the 4-man position and I played center. Our team did pretty well. It was good talent level and good competition.”

Pettinella, whose grandfather was Italian, is in the process of obtaining a dual-citizenship passport. Having the passport would greatly enhance his chances of signing with a team since European clubs are usually only allowed to take a couple of American players.

“It’s much easier because if you’re one of the Americans and you have a couple of bad games, they send you home,” Pettinella said.

While Pettinella was in Las Vegas, he had a chance to watch Singletary, a member of the Sacramento Kings, take part in the NBA summer league. Pettinella said his former teammate more than held his own against Jerryd Bayless, a first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I thought [Singletary] looked fantastic,” Pettinella said. “He really played aggressive defense and looked really explosive off the dribble. He had a ton of speed and quickness on the court. That’s what he’s always been good at and I expect him to continue that in the NBA.”

Pettinella graduated from Virginia in May with a foreign affairs/political science degree, but says playing professionally somewhere in Europe is definitely his No. 1 goal right now.

“In terms of how long I want to play over there, I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ll have to feel that out as I go, but I definitely want to get over there for one or two years just for the experience alone, then maybe parlay it into a career if it works out.”