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T BY WHITELAW REID HERE ARE CERTAIN PLAYERS who because of their hustle, team-first attitudes and great personalities will always be fa- vorites among coaches, media members and fans. Virginia's Assane Sene is one such player. The fourth-year's statistics will never blow you away, but the seven-footer leaves everything he has on the court — and he's a major reason why UVa is ranked second in the nation in team defense and in the hunt for its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2007. "It's a big deal for me to be in the U.S. and be a student," Sene said. "I've really enjoyed being here at the University of Vir- ginia. Academically, it's not an easy school. [Academics] are taken very seriously here. "It's not easy to be a student-athlete, but you just have to fight through and good things will happen one day. I love it here. I love the environment here during games. I love my teammates." Sene, known as "Zu" within the Virginia program — it's a nickname he's had since his childhood back in Senegal — feels his game has gotten much better since his rookie season. fense has accelerated our growth as a pro- gram immensely. "I think you just can't equate or substanti- ate his value based solely on the other end of the floor. He brings a lot to our team. Coach Bennett, to his credit, has recognized that, and may have traded some of the sexy numbers, if you will, for just his contribu- tion on the other end." Sene is hoping those contributions help the team get to a place that current play- ers have only dreamed about: the NCAA Tournament. "That would be great for us and the pro- gram," Sene said. "It would really put the DOING THE DIRTY WORK Assane Sene Embraces Being A Role Player "Assane [is] such a great teammate, role player, a guy who does a lot of those little things defensively — whether it's helping, showing on screens, blocking shots, getting rebounds," Virginia head coach Tony Ben- nett said. "He's very valuable to us. "[He's] kind of the fixer, the Mr. Fixer. He's plugging gaps, he's rotating, communi- cating on that defensive end. He's very im- portant to us. He's had some terrific games where maybe it didn't show up in the stat column, but where he did the things that makes your team defense better." Sene's journey to Virginia was a unique one — so much so that it was the subject of a documentary film called "Elevate" that debuted this past fall. Growing up in Senegal, Sene attended the SEED Academy, an enrichment program that helps kids develop their basketball and academics with the hope of playing college basketball in the United States. In 2007, Sene, with the help of the acad- emy, left Senegal to play his final year of high school at South Kent Prep. From there, he gar- nered a host of Division I scholarship offers. In the end, Sene wound up picking Virginia over the likes of Syracuse and Connecticut. There have been some bumps in the road during his time in Charlottesville — adapt- ing to a new culture, a coaching change, and his good friend and former roommate Syl- ven Landesberg leaving the program — but Sene says he's glad he stuck it out. 18 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER Sene believes his catching and finishing skills have improved the most, though he thinks his hands may have gotten a bad rap during his first season under former head coach Dave Leitao. "I always knew how to catch the ball," he said, "but a reason why a lot of people thought I couldn't catch the ball well was because I hurt my thumb my first year and I was playing with a brace the whole season. "I can say there's nothing worse than that. It was hard playing with a brace the whole season. The way I was shooting from the free throw line was terrible and the amount of rebounds I was getting was terrible com- pared to now. I can say that was because of my thumb and the brace." This season, Sene — who had been a 51 percent career free throw shooter — made 17 of his first 21 shots (80.9 percent) from the stripe before reinjuring the same thumb just before the team's victory at Seattle on Dec. 21. While Sene has tailed off from the line following the injury, Virginia assistant coach Ritchie McKay can't say enough about Sene's contributions and growth over the last three seasons. "The thing is when you're evaluating As- sane Sene — you cannot look at the offen- sive production and get a full appreciation for how far he's come from," McKay said. "Because truth be told, he's the anchor of our defense, and his communication on de- program on the map where everybody will be respecting UVa basketball because a lot of time I feel like people haven't respected UVa basketball. I think now it's time for them to see the way we play. "But right now, we're just trying to win all our ACC games because I think every- thing you do in your life, you have to do step by step." When his college career comes to end this spring, Sene, a French major, hopes to play professionally for as long as he can. After that, he hopes to give back to his homeland. "People helped me to get here, why not try and do the same? Why not just go back home and have my own academy?" he said. "Things like that help kids and teach them basketball, but it's not all about basketball. It's school and basketball. If we didn't go to school, we wouldn't be here. A place like that helps you to grow as a man." Sene relishes being a role model to kids in Senegal and clearly takes the responsibil- ity very seriously. "When you leave your country and your family and everything, and go to a different country and then come back home, people are definitely proud of you," he said. "They want to do the same idea with their kids so they can succeed, too." ◆ Sene averaged 5.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 21.4 minutes per game to help UVa to its best start (14-2) in 30 years. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA