I Bleed Blue and White

Stay in the draft or come back to school to round out a potential national title contender.  This is the decision Scottie Reynolds faces, and his final choice must be made within the next 2 weeks, as the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is June 15th.  Make no mistake though: Reynolds wants to get drafted this year.  He wasn’t invited to the 52-player NBA Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago, but he continues to work out for teams and try to impress.  Has he impressed though?  According to one Eastern Conference NBA scout,

His best chance is the second round.  It’s a matter of position and his athleticism is not quite there.  He’s not quite a one [point guard].  He’s pretty small, and he’s not that athletic and his decision-making is not there yet.  It’s such a point guard-deep draft, too, it’s probably not the best year for him to get out.

Keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so regarding Scottie’s decision.  For what it’s worth, I still think he will be back as a Wildcat next year.  Feel free to comment on what you think Scottie will do.

A reader named Joe sent in the following video that highlights Villanova’s historic 2009 season. The video is a compilation of photos from the season as well as a couple of memorable video clips.

Follow this link to watch the video and thanks to Joe for creating this!

Bob Hurst of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote an article today detailing Dante Cunningham’s expectations for the upcoming NBA Draft.  He also portrays how Dante has continued to work harder each year to become the best player he can be, and he will continue to do this in his post-Villanova years.  Cunningham is currently at the NBA Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago, showcasing certain skills for NBA scouts.  One of the more impressive quotes in the article is Cunningham being asked the type of player he would be in the NBA.  He says,

The Ben Wallace type that gets rebounds, plays defense.  On the other hand, I’m the type of player that can pick and pop and stay in the mix with everything that’s going on on the court.

If you ask most prospects this question, you will probably hear they envision themselves as a Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, or some other superstar.  Ben Wallace was very good for a few years, but I don’t think he was ever a superstar.  Even so, Wallace puts everything he has out on the floor night in and night out, and it’s great to hear Dante wanting to do the same.  While I say it’s great, this is not surprising, because we saw it the last 4 years, as Dante did whatever was best for Villanova basketball throughout.  All in all, just shows the true character of Dante Cunningham.

As has been reported numerous times over the last few weeks, it looks like Chris Walker will be the next Villanova assistant, replacing Patrick Chambers.  Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News is also reporting that Walker is the top choice to join Jay Wright’s staff.

ESPN’s Andy Katz breaks down the 17 players who will try out for the 12 spots on the U-19 National Team.  Tryouts are June 16th-18th in Colorado Springs, and as Chris mentioned in the previous post, Dominic Cheek will be trying out.  Katz on Cheek,

He is a part of a heralded freshmen class entering the Main Line campus. If the ‘Cats are to win the Big East — and they will be favored to do just that — Cheek will likely be a key element.

Additionally, Katz believes that New Mexico assistant and former Villanova player Chris Walker will be the replacement for Patrick Chambers as assistant coach.  Katz on Walker,

Expect Jay Wright to announce Villanova graduate and current New Mexico assistant Chris Walker as his new assistant coach in the near future. Though the deal isn’t finished yet, a source told ESPN.com that Walker will be hired to replace Pat Chambers, who left Villanova last month to become the head coach at Boston University.  A former point guard for Rollie Massimino, Walker led the Wildcats in assists for three seasons and made three postseason berths in his collegiate career.

Dominic Cheek is one of 17 players who have been invited to compete for 12 spots on the USA U-19 World Championship Team. Cheek has previously represented his country as part of the U-18 FIBA squad that competed last summer.

Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon will coach the team, and Big East foes Kemba Walker and Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant will join Cheek at the trials.

…This is great news for Domi…I think he should have a pretty good shot at making the team,and hopefully a Big East coach will help him out there…any experience he can get before coming to Villanova is great…

ESPN has been covering the college basketball programs with new head coaches.  Today, an article has been posted about Boston University, entitled “BU Seeks The Wright Stuff.”  With the hiring of former Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers, there is a different atmosphere surrounding the Boston University basketball program.  The atmosphere closely resembles the one established on the Main Line, which has been one of Chamber’s goals since taking over.  As Chambers puts it,

Thanks. That’s my goal — to make this a mini-Villanova, at least at our level.

Jay Wright has certainly rubbed off on Chambers a great deal, which is displayed in the article over and over.  Don’t be surprised to see Boston U. enduring lots of success in the years to come.

Not that there was much doubt in any of our minds, but Jay Wright is not interested in the Philadelphia 76ers job. One day I do believe that Jay Wright will leave for the NBA, but that time hasn’t come, and won’t come for a while.

In a post to his blog for ESPN, Andy Katz updates us on the draft process for Scottie Reynolds. Reynolds has now worked out for 4 teams, and is schedule for a league-wide workout as we previously mentioned. According to Reynolds, he wouldn’t be against staying in the draft if he felt he’d be a 2nd-round pick, but no final decisions have been made.

UPDATE: Maalik Wayns will not be having surgery. Andy Katz got a hold of a bad rumor.

…If you click through to Katz’s post the Villanova info is about 2/3 of the way down the page…still rooting for Scottie to do well, but still under the impression that he’ll return for his senior season…

Yesterday, May 18th, Scottie Reynolds had a workout with the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.  Joining him in this workout was Jerel McNeal, Lester Hudson, and Mike Rose.  The Wizards website has some videos posted of the workout and player interviews.  It looks like new head coach Flip Saunders worked these guys out extremely hard, with lots of full court drills. 

Comcast SportsNet also covered Scottie’s workout with the Wizards.  A short video clip in which Scottie talks about what needs to work on is posted.  This link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet, then click on the SPORTSNITE tab, and the aformentioned video clip is from 5/18 – “Scottie Reynolds visits the Wizards.”

Lastly, ESPN’s Andy Katz wrote an article today regarding the underclassmen players who are currently sitting on the fence for the NBA Draft.  Scottie was not mentioned in the article, but the piece is an excellent read and provides insight into who might stay in the draft and who may return to school.  Obviously, these decisions will have a big impact on Scottie staying in or returning to Villanova.

One of the biggest concerns for Scottie Reynolds’ draft prospects was the ability (or lack thereof) to showcase his talents to scouts and GM’s leading up to the draft. Unlike Dante Cunningham, Reynolds wasn’t invited to the official Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago.

There was also concern that due to the economy, many NBA teams would be cutting back private workouts, but it appears that teams are attempting to set up massive workouts for many players to compete.

According to Chad Ford at ESPN, Scottie Reynolds has been invited to a workout being held in New Jersey from June 12 to June 14.

…Still expecting Reynolds to be back next season, but this can really only help him if he is set on getting drafted…or it could finalize his return to school…anyways good luck to him as he attempts to improve his stock…