per TimesDispatch.com....

So you thought Selection Sunday misery was as bad as it gets. No.

Worse, still, for Virginia Cavaliers basketball rooters is staring deep into the tunnel and realizing the only glow is a candlelight vigil. Worse for Pete Gillen is watching a window of opportunity to make noise in the ACC begin to close.

Worse is Roger Mason Jr.

If swooning from late January to the finish line was a stinging jab to the schnoz for the Cavs, Mason delivered the sucker-punch haymaker Monday evening. That's when the e-mail transmission hit the fan: Mason - U.Va.'s best player and leading scorer as a junior - would be leaving semi-pro ball and research papers behind to collect NBA paychecks and per diems.

That's his intention, at any rate.

In announcing he'd submit his name for draft consideration, Mason didn't equivocate much. He did leave the door slightly ajar by saying NCAA regs "allow me to pursue this opportunity while maintaining my college eligibility" - code words for a player's right to withdraw his name between now and June 19, a week before the draft.

Otherwise, Mason statement gave no indication he's anything but fully committed to bolting for the NBA. League rules give underclassmen till May 12 to submit the include-me-in paperwork. Mason made his call more than a month ahead of that deadline. He said the decision was "based on information suggesting that now is the optimal time for me to begin pursuing my chosen profession." He added that he feels "confident in my ability to play at the next level, and I look forward to the challenges ahead."

Think that sounds as though Gillen can count on the kid to show up in Octo- ber for preseason wind sprints?

Whether Mason is actually ready for this step is immaterial. I might look at his sub-40-percent accuracy in ACC games and so-so assists/turnovers ratio and wonder if he's ready. Doesn't matter. You might consider he was a prominent member of a squad that dropped 10 of its closing 13 starts and wonder if he's ready. Doesn't matter.

What matters - all that matters - is whether Mason believes he's ready, wants to pocket some serious coin, is weary of classwork, doesn't think another season of Gillenball will raise his profile, any or all of the above.

College hoops once was viewed as the bridge to education by our nation's schoolboys. Now it's just a way station en route to draft-day handshakes with David Stern. Indiana sophomore Jared Jeffries already has taken the plunge. Stanford junior Curtis Borchardt and Maryland sophomore Chris Wilcox are said to be on the brink.

The difference is those are big guys, and Mason is a 6-5 guard who's sized up by one pro scout as no sure thing. On the flip side, a draftniks Web site currently slots him as the No. 16 selection. And even if Mason isn't included in the guaranteed-money first round, he can take comfort in knowing that 11 of the first 13 players picked in the second round landed roster spots.

Conclusion: Your guess is as good as mine.

What's beyond dispute is the damage Mason's departure inflicts on U.Va. He was the Cavs' go-to scorer, their primary perimeter threat, their off-the-dribble slasher, their linchpin. Without him, the offense is Travis Watson in the low post, transfer guard Todd Billet presumably firing from long range and . . . what?

Based on the way U.Va. plays defense, it needs offense. Based on projections for the ACC next season, the Cavs had a shot. Kingpins Maryland and Duke don't figure to be as strong. North Carolina will be young enough for daycare. Wake Forest might slip a notch or so. N.C. State lacks ballhandlers. Georgia Tech is probably a year away. Virginia - with Mason and Billet to spread rival defenses and five serviceable players 6-8 or taller on board - was maybe the team most likely to make a move.

Now, without Mason, all bets are off. He was 18.6 points per game. He was experience. He was get-us-a-basket-at-money-time. He was top gun.

He leaves as an unfinished product. He leaves a gaping void as well.