Courtesy of Sean Donovan (YouTube page found here) and Andrew Keefe, here is his annual highlight video recapping the season. The video is set to Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time.” (Aptly named, and a great choice).
Thanks Sean and Andrew for all the work you do!
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With the NBA Draft in the rearview mirror now, let’s take a look at what some people are saying about Dante Cunningham going 33rd overall to the Portland Trailblazers.
We want to hear your reactions as well, so feel free to leave some comments.
Dante Cunningham was just selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers! Cunningham was the 3rd pick of the 2nd round in this year’s draft.
Cunningham joins a solid young nucleus for an up and coming team. Really, you have to love how things worked out for Dante (assuming he stays there). He went higher than expected, and landed in a great situation.
…Obviously, Dante will most likely come off the bench behind Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge to start his career…that’s a great situation for him though…
…On a completely random side note, Commissioner Stern handed over the duties of announcing the draft picks to his Deputy Commissioner…this guy is so excited to be in the limelight that after every sentence he puts on this clownish grin and looks around the room for approval…high comedy…
UPDATE: The Blazers just took Jon Brockman out of Washington. They then ended up trading Brockman to Sacramento for the rights to Jeff Pendergraph. That makes a crowded frontcourt that already included Joe Pryzbilla in addition to Oden and Aldridge. Still, I think there is a huge opportunity for Dante to grab some serious PT. His game fits that team perfectly and he should be able to provide a lot of energy off the bench in addition to his solid defense and improving offensive game.
Although not official, all signs are pointing to a deal that would send Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards. In addition to Foye, Mike Miller would go to the Wizards, while the Minnesota Timberwolves would get Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov, and the # 5 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. If the deal goes through, the T-Wolves would have back-to-back lottery picks this Thursday at # 5 and # 6.
Added by Chris:
…Not to mention they have 2 more 1st round picks…talk about a major overhaul…
…Glad to see Foye moving back farther East…he won’t see as many looks playing with Gilbert Arenas (Mark’s man-crush) but it should help him develop as an NBA guard…congrats Randy…
…But as a Knicks fan, I’m not happy that the T-Wolves just one-upped us to snag the 5th pick…
Thanks to YouTube user NovaBasketball a.k.a. Sean for recreating a classic Michael Jordan commercial. If this doesn’t give you chills, check your pulse.
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With so much hype around this year’s recruiting class, the task is going to be develop these young players and build some team chemistry. Another tough task at hand is continuing to bring in top-notch recruits to the Main Line on a yearly basis. In a couple of years, Villanova may land a big prospect by the name of Sterling Gibbs, the younger brother of Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs (who will likely start at point for Pitt next year). Sterling is a rising junior guard at Seton Hall Prep and currently, says his favorite school is Villanova. Gibbs says,
I just like the way that they play and how their guards play. They’re just an open offense. There’s not real set plays. They just like to have players who could just make plays.
Jay Wright recruiting another guard. Surprising. As mentioned in the previous post, Corey Fisher was named to the U.S. team to compete in the World University Games. Fisher spoke about his selection to the team and his play during tryouts. Fisher, on making the team:
It was just a dream come true. I just first want to thank the committee and everyone who selected me to be here and to try out. When I got my name called, it was a dream come true, and all I was thinking about was going out there and playing for USA, representing my country. I wouldn’t be here without God, my parents, my Villanova teammates and my university.
Fisher, on how he played at tryouts:
I think I did pretty well. I could have done better, nobody is perfect. There are things that you need to work on, and there are things you are good at, but you got to always work on the things that you’re not good at. I was just trying to come out here, compete and win some games – get my teammates involved. I think I ran my team well. I talked real well. I think I was a leader. I think I turned the ball over, but that will stop.
Villanova junior guard Corey Fisher has been selected to participate on the United States team for the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Fisher joins 11 others on the 12-man squad, which will be coached by Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan. It was thought that Fisher may have a tough time making the team, because Kansas’ Sheron Collins was practically a shoe-in at point guard, which meant that Fisher had to compete with Penn State’s Talor Battle and Arizona’s Nic Wise. Collins backed out a couple of days ago due to family reasons, opening the door for Fisher and Battle to make the squad. According to ESPN’s Andy Katz,
No one associated with the selection was overwhelmed by the point guard position with Collins out, but Battle and Fisher are expected to suffice, considering the talent at every other position.
The team’s schedule in the Games is as follows: July 3rd vs. Finland, July 4th vs. South Korea, July 6th begins the 2nd round, July 9th begins the medal round, July 11th is the finals.
Do not underestimate the experience that Fisher will gain in this tournament. Playing against foreign players is a very difficult task, but a very worthwhile one nonetheless. Fisher will only get better by playing against some of the best players in the world. Congrats to Corey.
As mentioned in the previous post, Dante Cunningham participated in a pre-draft workout today with the Portland Trailblazers. Joining Cunningham was Derrick Brown (Xavier), Darren Collison (UCLA), Justin Dentmon (Washington), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), and Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona State). After the session, Chad Buchanan (director of college scouting for the Trailblazers) and Kevin Pritchard (Trailblazers General Manager) gave their thoughts on each player. Buchanan on Cunningham:
Just a solid role guy. He’s physical and can shoot a little bit. Tough kid. Comes from a great coach, great program. Very solid player.
I think most people would echo the same thing about Cunningham, but it’s good to see NBA people recognizing what Dante is all about.
As the NBA Draft rapidly approaches, prospects, especially projected 2nd-rounders, try to get in as many workouts as possible for various teams. Recently, Dante Cunningham has worked out for the Charlotte Bobcats on June 12th, the Utah Jazz on June 15th, and he has a workout scheduled with the Portland Trailblazers today, June 17th. After these workouts, the media caught up with Dante down in Charlotte and out west in Utah to discuss these sessions.
ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi is back with an updated version of his notorious bracketology. For what it’s worth, Lunardi projects Villanova as a #2 seed, but reading into March Madness projections on June 17th is way too premature to say the least.
Pat Forde, of ESPN, also came out with his top ten teams for next season. For Forde, Villanova ranks #2 behind the Kansas Jayhawks. His take on the Cats:
When Scottie Reynolds re-upped, the Wildcats became Big East favorites and a national title threat. Reynolds returns to join three other key players from last season’s Final Four team, plus coach Jay Wright adds one of the nation’s best recruiting classes and Duke transfer Taylor King. Replacing Dante Cunningham’s points, rebounds and leadership will be the hard part.
As you can see by the title, this post will contain a variety of different things, so I apologize for the randomness. First, with the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft officially over, some new preseason rankings have come out. Andy Katz has placed Villanova at #4 in his new top 25. Katz on the Cats,
Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds and a highly touted newcomer class means the Wildcats are the pick to win the Big East. Losing Dante Cunningham hurts, but Jay Wright has this program rolling. There won’t be a dip.
SNY also published their updated Big East rankings for next season with Villanova coming at #1 in the conference. On Villanova,
Reynolds returns to bolster an experienced core that includes Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Reggie Redding. The Wildcats also feature a top-five national recruiting class that should make Jay Wright’s team the class of the Big East.
While Katz released his opinion on teams for next year, he also came out with a story regarding the World University Games. Corey Fisher is trying out for the U.S. team competing in the Games, and it looks like he has a good shot to make the team now, as Kansas guard Sheron Collins recently backed out of the tryouts. Katz on Fisher,
Collins’ absence practically puts a must-get tag on Arizona point guard Nic Wise and Villanova lead guard Corey Fisher. Both players were probably going to make the squad anyway, but now it almost seems like a given.
Katz also mentions in the article that Boston College is trying to schedule a Big East opponent for next season, and Villanova is at the top of their list.
The Nova Notebook is back with another offseason feature, entitled “Attitude of a Champion.” This is the title of the 70-minute DVD that will be coming out in August, which tells the tale of Villanova’s 2008-2009 basketball season and their ultimate run to the Final Four. The film features behind the scenes footage and interviews throughout the season. All of Nova Nation will be looking forward to this release later in the summer.
Lastly, even though many people see Villanova as a national title contender next year, replacing a player like Dante Cunningham will be a tall task. Recently, Jay Wright and Tony DiLeo (former 76ers head coach) gave their thoughts on Dante’s future in the NBA. Most notably, they both think he will have a long career, lasting possibly 10 years or more. The above link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet. Then, click on the SPORTSNITE tab, and the aforementioned video is from 6/16-Jay Wright on Dante Cunningham’s future in the NBA.
