A finale worthy of Hollywood

Seventy-five seconds into Saturday’s senior day game against rival Maryland, Dave Leitao spotted something that only coaches see and immediately felt good karma.

Mamadi Diane, affectionately referred to as simply “Mo” by Virginia teammates, had suffered through one bummer of a senior season. Picked as a team captain, a product of the vaunted DeMatha Catholic program, he was expected to pick up his game and fill some of the void left by All-ACC guard Sean Singletary.

Instead, the personable Diane struggled so badly that he was eventually benched for four games late in the season. Only an unexpected outburst of 11 points in a loss at N.C. State two weeks ago helped him regain some self-respect.

Still, in Virginia’s last outing prior to this weekend — a lopsided loss at Clemson on Tuesday night — Diane didn’t score in his surprising three minutes of playing time.

Grand ambition

At that point, a 1,000-point career (he was 25 points shy) appeared a thousand miles away.

That is, until Leitao saw the way the senior came off a screen and scored Virginia’s first basket against the Terps, leaving a little twinkle in the coach’s eyes.

He had decided to honor Diane with his first start since a loss at Boston College on Feb. 4, because it was senior day, and Diane was determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“I decided I was going to play as hard as I can,” Diane revealed later.

Leitao picked up on that will immediately as Diane nailed a jumper to open the game.

“It was his body language coming off that screen,” Leitao said. “It was comfortable. It was confident. And whether the shot went in or not, my eyes told me there was something about him.”

Indeed, there was something about Diane on this special day. Through all his trials and tribulations,

No. 24 left an indelible lasting impression on Wahoo Nation in his last home game, not to mention jabbing a dagger into Maryland’s postseason dreams.

Finishing strong

For the record, Diane scored a season-high 23 points in a season-high 34 minutes. He connected on 7 of 12 shots, including 3 of 4 from Bonusphere (after coming into the day with a woeful 12.8 percent shooting average from beyond the arc).

Of all those points, though, the biggest wasn’t the first one, which convinced Leitao and Diane that he was ready to play. It was the last one — a HUGE 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining that answered a barrage of Maryland bombs and broke a 61-all deadlock.

While UVa survived with an eventual 68-63 win, Diane’s trey gave the Cavaliers a 64-61 lead that they didn’t relinquish.

Diane hadn’t scored 20 points since Boston College on Feb. 17 — of last year.

But there’s something about Terrapin red that brings out the best in Diane. Maybe it’s because he grew up in the shadows of College Park. Some of his better games have come against the Terps, including a career-high 26 in 2007.

“Funny how it comes out like that,” Diane said.

Not if you’re Gary Williams it isn’t.

“I grew up right there, so Maryland was always a big game to me,” Diane said. “Maybe that’s in the back of my head every time.”

Leitao, who has been questioned and sometimes criticized for not giving the senior more time, praised the effort, calling it “poetic justice”. For an embattled coach suffering through one of the most frustrating Virginia seasons in decades, it left the John Paul Jones crowd of 11,000 with the feel-good story of the season.

A Hollywood script writer couldn’t have come up with a better scenario. An inspiring story of a guy, struggling, but never gave up.

“I don’t think they’re going to be writing a movie about this or anything,” Diane said. “But it sure felt good.”

Still, it was a storybook ending. When the starting lineup was introduced, his teammates carried him out on the court. When he buried the Terps, capping off a sparkling performance, his teammates buried Diane in a wild celebration.

Asked if he had an opportunity to chat with Williams after the game, Diane smiled.

“I couldn’t,” Diane said. “My teammates were on top of me.”

It was a day that he said he would cherish. He will remember every detail, save every scrap of a souvenir.

On a day where the pressure could have been enormous, Diane said he felt none because he knew all along that his teammates and family always had his back.

Oh, yeah, and the fans, too. They never gave up on him, something that Diane appreciated.

“I could tell that,” he said. “Games where I hadn’t played, I would stand up and take my warm-up off and fans would go crazy. I’ve had fans come up to me after games with signs and I’ve gotten random e-mails. I really appreciate their support.”

While there have been many great moments to relish along with the frustrating ones from his final season, Diane said Saturday’s performance was without a doubt the highlight of his career. This day made up for everything that went wrong in his mind and was a finish that, up until it became reality, was one he could only dream about.

About that magical 1,000-point plateau (he would be the 42nd Cavalier to reach that number), well, that isn’t a thousand miles away any longer. Rather, it’s only two points away heading into Thursday night’s opening round of the ACC tournament in Atlanta.

“It would have been better to get those two points for a thousand,” Diane said. “Every time there was a timeout, my teammates were telling me, ‘Look, you’ve got 11 left ... you’ve got nine left.’ I could tell they almost wanted it more than me.”

Maybe they did. The Cavaliers have heartwarming respect for their senior captain. They were just as happy that Diane went out a winner as they were in upsetting Maryland.

“I think this means a lot,” teammate Calvin Baker said. “It’s been a tough year for Mo compared to the previous three. And he’s stayed positive throughout the whole thing. For him to leave off like he did, I think that’s the way it’s supposed to happen.”

Both in Hollywood and Charlottesville.