I Bleed Blue and White

Last week we talked about how Andy Katz had released his list of 50 players to watch for the John R. Wooden Award, and Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds both made Katz’ list. Yesterday, Jeff Goodman of FoxSports published the actual watch list for the award, and once again both Reynolds and Fisher made the list.

VUHoops astutely notes that Villanova was one of 9 schools who had 2 players selected to the list. In the Big East, West Virginia (Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks) and UConn (Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker) were also in this distinctive group.

…Congratulations to both Scottie and Corey…very well deserved…seems like people outside the ‘Nova world are expecting big things from Fish this year as well…

…On a side note I’ve never liked these ‘watch’ lists…I’m pretty certain that now only these players are eligible for the award…or at least that is how it works in college football…so basically, if some unknown guy pulls a Larry Bird and takes some small school on a title run he has no shot at the award…but maybe the rules have changed…

I wasn’t able to attend the banquet (back home for more interviewing! Woo-hoo!) but thanks to VUHoops, we have an account of the evening’s awards.

• Reggie Redding won the Paul Arizin Award for ‘Most Improved Player.’
• Corey Stokes won the Alexander Severance Award for ‘hard work and dedication in the classroom and demonstrating a commitment to reaching his full potential.’
• Frank Tchuisi won the Jake Nevin Award for ’selflessness and providing an outstanding example to his teammates.’
• Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds were co-winners of the Most Outstanding Player Award.
• Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark were co-winners of the Villanova Basketball Award.

…Definitely agree on the award for Redding…the Stokes award is great and hopefully keeps his confidence growing…I think we are all hoping that he can step up and fill Anderson’s role next year, and he did show massive improvement on defense and with his rebounding…

…Naturally, Anderson and Clark get the ‘Villanova Basketball’ award…those guys were definitely the glue, and we are really going to miss them next year, whether you want to believe it or not…

The Herb Good Basketball Club will hold its 64th annual banquet next Monday and will hand out several awards to Philadelphia area basketball players and coaches. Villanova personnel, coming off one of the best seasons in school history, will take home three different awards.

Jay Wright will receive the Harry Litwack Award as the Eastern College Coach of the Year. Dante Cunningham will receive George Paull Award as the Big Five’s most improved player, and Scottie Reynolds will take home the Cy Kaselman award as the Big Five’s top free-throw shooter.

…Congrats to Jay, Dante and Scottie on the hardware…

The All-American teams were released yesterday, and Dante Cunningham was given the Honorable mention. Below are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams.

First Team All-America
Blake Griffin, 6-10, So., Oklahoma, 335 votes (71 first team)
Tyler Hansbrough, 6-9, Sr., North Carolina, 304 votes (50 first team)
DeJuan Blair, 6-7, So., Pitt, 294 votes
James Harden, 6-5, So., Arizona State, 290 points
Stephen Curry, 6-2, Jr., Davidson, 288 points

Second Team All-America
Luke Harangody, Jr., Notre Dame
Ty Lawson, Jr., North Carolina
Jodie Meeks, Jr., Kentucky
Jerel McNeal, Sr., Marquette
Hasheem Thabeet, 7-3, Jr., Connecticut

Third Team All-America
Sherron Collins, Jr., Kansas
Toney Douglas, Sr., Florida State
Gerald Henderson, Jr., Duke
Terrence Williams, Sr., Louisville
Sam Young, Sr., Pitt

…It’s a great accomplishment for Dante…he’s finally getting the recognition that he deserves for an outstanding season and more importantly an outstanding career…

Dante Cunningham has been named one of 15 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which is given annually to the National Player of the Year as determined by the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association. Cunningham joins fellow Big East players DeJuan Blair, Luke Harangody, Jerel McNeal and Hasheem Thabeet on the list.

Here’s a description of the award:

“The Oscar Robertson Trophy is awarded to the USBWA’s Player of the Year. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA’s first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.”

…Congrats to Dante…this is a big honor, especially coming basically out of nowhere like he did…I’m glad that somebody finally recognized…