If you went to Villanova, chances are you’ve been on the move in the past 6 months. For Malik Allen, this makes it twice in the last couple of weeks. Allen was again traded, this time from Milwaukee to Denver in exchange for Sonny Weems, Walter Sharpe and cash considerations.
…At least Allen is heading to a team with playoff aspirations for next year…
The Villanovan Sports Blog has the official statement from Jay Wright, as well as Villanova. Wright’s statement is copied below.
“Reggie understands the seriousness of this matter and how it could impact the team. We will go forward as a basketball family and University to work together with Reggie to deal with this in the proper way.”
And here is some scoop from Dick Jerardi of the Philly Daily News that is about as good as we can hope. Jerardi relays some quotes from people in Redding’s camp that seem to say that the initial facts reported aren’t exactly the truth. Here is Redding’s attorney on the matter.
“The facts as alleged in that [police] report aren’t completely accurate. And that will come out. He was not driving the car. The car was, in fact, stopped in the parking lot. He felt some kind of commotion at his car and came out. It was campus Public Safety that was first involved and they contacted the Radnor police.”
The article goes on to say that the charge could eventually be moved down to disorderly conduct (for some reason I doubt that) but after reading the article, I do feel better about the situation. Reggie’s a good guy and a good teammate and he has the Villanova community behind him, although as we’ve seen, sometimes the school will hand out a harsher punishment than the police, so stay tuned.
Villanova recruit Markus Kennedy will be switching to Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts, after Living Faith Christian will not be re-opening this year. Kennedy also thought about attending Penn Wood, but Winchendon offers stronger academics and a more national schedule, which is something that Kennedy feels will help him prepare for life at Villanova.
It is fair to point out that this will be Kennedy’s 4th high school in 4 years, something that may raise some eyebrows, but as Kennedy says, there is no reason for concern.
“I think what’s important is that people know the truth,” Markus said. “They see four schools in 4 years and think something is up. But I know coach Wright only accepts character players and I would have been back at Living Faith if the school was still open.”
Kennedy averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds for Living Faith last season.
UPDATE (11:40 a.m.): I looked at the Villanova Student Handbook to see what the typical punishment is for such offenses. Copied below are the sanctions pertaining to marijuana.
“5. Use or possession of marijuana will result in a minimum sanction of disciplinary probation plus an automatic fine of $ 750.00, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the University. Second offenses will result in expulsion from the University. The University reserves the right to sanction both the residents of the room where the violation occurs and/or those present at the time of the violation. The University reserves the right to sanction students in cases where indicia of use are present, but where no marijuana is recovered. These indicia may include, but are not limited to: the odor of marijuana, the presence of drug paraphernalia, lack of cooperation or attempts to mask odors upon confrontation, deliberate attempts to block airways or other such similar behavior designed to avoid detection.
6. The University does not allow any form of drug paraphernalia on the grounds. Any student found in possession of drug paraphernalia (bongs, pipes, rolling paper, hookahs, etc.) is in violation of the drug policy. The minimum sanction for this offense is disciplinary probation, and/or loss of campus residency and an automatic fine of $500.00. Subsequent offenses will result in suspension from the University.
All students found in violation of the University Drug Policy must comply with any educational requirements specified by the Assistant Dean of Students for Alcohol and Drug Intervention. When a student is placed on disciplinary probation, suspended or expelled for a drug related offense, the University reserves the right to notify a parent or legal guardian about the student’s disciplinary status, consistent with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.”
…It appears that Redding will at the very least be fined…I’m almost certain this is a ‘first offense’ for Reggie, so the door is open for just probation, which would definitely be followed by some type of suspension from the team…although the hit and run with the sign makes this a much more serious offense, so as I said earlier, this could lead to a similar situation where he is lost for the year…
…Hopefully we’ll know more sooner rather than later…hang in there Reggie…we’re still all behind you…
ORIGINAL: Reggie Redding has been arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on the Villanova campus, according to Radnor Police. Radnor Police discovered that a traffic sign had been hit, and a search of the Villanova parking lots yielded a car that belonged to Redding.
Upon being interviewed, Redding removed two plastic bags from the car that had marijuana and what appeared to be a grinding device. No comment has been made by the University.
…Umm…this isn’t good…more coming on this later as the details are released but I’m guessing Redding will be suspended…Remember a couple years ago when Notre Dame kicked Kyle McAlarney out of school for a year for a similar offense?…I fear we may be heading down a similar path…
…This could potentially be a huge loss for a team that had such high hopes for this season…
Way back when, during that amazing Final Four run, we talked a lot about how it wasn’t only right then that Villanova would reap the benefits, but that they would in the future as well. One of the biggest points was on the recruiting front, where Villanova has primarily been entrenched on the East Coast scene, albeit with success.
Tony Wroten Jr. is a Top-10 player in the Class of 2011, and more importantly, hails from Seattle. The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently talked with Wroten, and he listed Villanova amongst his favorites.
Obviously a lot can change, but this is incredible news for our program. Expanding your recruiting base and becoming a more national program will only help to create sustained success in the long run, so this is very encouraging news, even if we don’t land Wroten in the end.
…I bet I’m not the only one fantasizing about a class headlined by Mike Gilchrist and Wroten right now…speaking of which, we added him to the Recruiting Page as it looks like we’re firmly in play for Wroten for the time being…
Just 2 weeks after being bought out by the Chicago Bulls, former Wildcat Tim Thomas is on the verge of signing a contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
Thomas would join the Mavericks in a reserve role, but would add some much needed frontcourt depth and some outside shooting for a team that is looking to make a deep playoff run next year.
…Good move for both sides…Thomas will definitely help on the outside, and having Jason Kidd setting you up isn’t the worst scenario to have if you’re Tim…
Adam Zagoria, a contributor for SNY.tv, wrote an article discussing the current state of Villanova basketball. Simply put, it’s a stellar time to be associated with the Wildcats; NCAA Tourney the last 5 years, Final Four last year, a top-5 recruiting class coming in, a probable top-5 ranking going into next year, and maybe most importantly, having Jay Wright as head coach. He has things in order on the Main Line, but what are his feelings on the upcoming year?
A lot of times I go to Phillies games and I hear people say, ‘Great year, great year. We’re going to win it all this year.’ I like the excitement that everybody has for our team. I like the confidence they have in our team. I like the buzz.
It’s hard not to have a lot of excitement for the Villanova basketball program. Wish I could say the same thing about the Mets, but we will leave that to another day.
Villanova has teamed up with WipeOut Productions to create the Official 2008-2009 Highlight Video, titled “Attitude of a Champion.” Full details are available on Villanova’s website, but there will be an official on-campus premiere on August 4th in the Villanova Room and Cinema in The Connelly Center. There will be two showings, at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30.
Additionally, there will be two more showings on August 6th at the same time, but with more limited seating.
Free parking is available in Main Lot and admission is free, but first-come, first-serve.
The DVD will be available for purchase immediately following the event for $19.95, and will be on sale to the public via Villanova.com on August 10th.
…This is supposed to be an amazing job, complete with not only highlights but behind the scene footage as well…needless to say it is a must own for any Wildcat fan…
…So if you are a student that’s on campus or an alum that’s in the area make sure you get to the premieres early as I’m sure it will be crowded…
