Sean Michael-Eli Singletary (born September 6, 1985) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other professional leagues. He played college basketball at the University of Virginia, where his jersey is retired.
Early years
Singletary was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended C. W. Henry Elementary School in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, attended The Haverford School and then The Perkiomen School for his freshman and sophomore years of high school, then attended high school at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia for his junior and senior years. He was also a football player in high school, excelling at wide receiver, but he gave up the sport to focus on basketball.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Singletary was listed as the No. 10 point guard and the No. 56 player in the nation in 2004.
College career
Singletary improved upon his All-ACC Freshman performance in 2004–05 by averaging 17.7 points per game and earning all-ACC first team honors during his sophomore season, which included his second highest scoring game, a 35-point effort against an Adam Morrison-led Gonzaga team.
Singletary was Virginia's floor leader during their pivotal 2006–07 season in which the team moved from their old home at University Hall across the street to the 130 million dollar John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia enjoyed perhaps its best season since 1994–95 with Singletary and senior J. R. Reynolds forming one of the most outstanding backcourt combinations in the history of Cavalier basketball.
On March 9, 2008, against the University of Maryland, Singletary scored his 2,000th career point and finished the game with 2,002 points, and finished his career as the fifth-highest all-time scorer in school history with 2,079 points. He also joined greats Greivis Vasquéz, Johnny Dawkins, and Danny Ferry as the only four players in ACC history to record 2,000 career points, 500 career assists, and 400 career rebounds; adding his 200 career steals makes him the only ACC player to ever record each of those four milestones. Singletary was selected to the 2007–08 All-ACC team, making him, Bryant Stith, and Ralph Sampson the only three Cavaliers to be named all-conference three times in their careers.
Singletary's number 44 was retired by the University of Virginia at halftime of a game against Clemson on February 15, 2009.
As a freshman, he was the only player on the team to start every game during the 2004–2005 season, and was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman Team. He averaged 10.5 points per game, as well as 3.9 assists per contest in his rookie campaign. Singletary ranked first among ACC freshmen in assists and steals, second in minutes played and third in scoring. He was selected to the CollegeInsider.com Freshmen All-America Team and a second-team selection to the Rivals.com Freshmen All-America Team.
In his sophomore year, Singletary earned a first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection (the first from UVA since Bryant Stith in '92) by averaging 17.7 points (1st team, 5th ACC), and ranking third in FT% in the ACC (.845 125–148), fifth in steals (1.86 54), and sixth in assists (4.17 apg. 121). Against Gonzaga on December 17, 2005, he scored a career-high 35 points, including four 3-pointers, and had six steals and six rebounds in an 11-point loss, and was named ACC Player of The Week. His first career double-double (29 pts, 10 reb) came in the ACC Tournament against the University of North Carolina on March 10, 2006. Singletary was also a co-captain of the Cavaliers and was also named First-team All-ACC selection by SI.com, State Player of the Year and a first-team All-State selection by the VaSID, Player of the Year in Virginia and first-team All-State as selected by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, co-recipient of the Bill Gibson Cavalier of the Year Award (team MVP), co-recipient of the Sidney Young Memorial Trophy (team award to that athlete who exemplifies the highest qualities of leadership, cooperative spirit and unselfish service in the interest of athletics at the University of Virginia), and received the team's Most Assists Award.