If you think Sean Singletary was happy simply to be picked Thursday night, especially after many analysts predicted that he wouldn't get drafted at all, you underestimate how much confidence he has in himself as a basketball player.

More than three hours into the NBA draft, the Sacramento Kings used the 12th pick of the second round on the 6-0 Singletary, who was a four-year starter at point guard for the University of Virginia and one of the greatest players in ACC history.

"Me being the competitor I am, I was definitely disappointed" to fall to 42nd overall, Singletary said on a teleconference yesterday. "It'll definitely give me motivation. I feel I was better than the pick I was picked at."

Another player not mentioned in most mock drafts was Virginia Tech forward Deron Washington, but Detroit chose him with the second-to-last pick, 59th overall. Still, don't expect to find Washington on the Pistons' roster when the season starts.

Team President Joe Dumars told reporters that Washington and Detroit's other second-round pick, Brigham Young center Trent Plaisted, will play for the Pistons' summer-league team in Las Vegas. But neither is likely to make Detroit's 2008-09 roster, and both have agreed to head overseas to gain experience if they're cut.

Neither Washington nor his agent, Andy Miller, returned telephone messages yesterday. But Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said he believes the Pistons are a good fit for Washington, because Dumars emphasizes defense. That's one of Washington's strong points, thanks to the long arms attached to his 6-7 body.

"It only takes one team to like you," Greenberg said. "That's what people don't understand. You don't need 15 teams to like you. You need one team to like you."

Virginia coach Dave Leitao said that, after talking with NBA representatives, he was cautiously optimistic Singletary would get drafted.

"They were saying all the right things, but you never know," Leitao said. "It's a disappointing night for a lot of players and a great night for others."

In the end, what matters most is not where a player gets picked, Leitao said, but how he performs when NBA camps begin. First-round picks usually are the only rookies with guaranteed contracts.

That Singletary will succeed in the NBA, Leitao has no doubt.

"Again, so much of the success of guys is from the inside out, and just being around guys for 25 years, I know he has the kind of interior that will allow him to get in a situation and make it work," Leitao said. "He's too good a kid, too hard a worker, not to."

Singletary was to fly to Sacramento yesterday afternoon. He spent draft night in his hometown of Philadelphia but says he wasn't watching when his selection was announced on ESPN.

"I knew I was going to get picked," he said. "It was just a matter of when."

Singletary appears to be moving into an ideal situation. The Kings' top two point guards last season -- Beno Udrih and Anthony Johnson -- are free agents, and at least one of them is expected to play elsewhere in 2008-09.

Washington was the first Hokie drafted since swingman Eddie Lucas in 1999. Not since Roger Mason Jr. in 2002 had a U.Va. player been picked.

Among NBA players last season, Mason was the only former Cavalier. If Singletary can join Mason in the NBA, the Cavaliers' program will benefit.

"In terms of recruiting and all the things that matter to young people, the more you have [in the NBA], the better off you are," Leitao said.
Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838 or jwhite@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Darryl Slater contributed to this article.