I Bleed Blue and White

From the villanovambb YouTube people comes the next great behind the scenes video of the basketball team. This time around, Scottie Reynolds hosts as we watch a game of H.O.R.S.E. between Reggie Redding, Taylor King and Corey Stokes.

…My favorite line was “he lived in California but he was shootin’ from Hawaii”…

Corey Stokes‘ brother Brandon, who goes by BiZz, has officially released his remake of last year’s hit song. The beat remains the same, but the lyrics have been altered for this year’s team! Check it out!

And make sure to check out BizZ Online.

Via ZagsBlog, Jay Wright took some time to speak about the scheme he plans to run this upcoming season while at the Garden State Coaches Clinic, and from what he’s said, the team might inspire some memories of teh 2005-2006 team that put Villanova back in the national spotlight.

“When Reggie Redding comes back [from suspension], that gives us an option of really having four experienced guards on the floor,” Wright said at the Garden State Coaches Clinic.

“If our bigs are good enough, Antonio Pena and Mouph [Yarou] and Maurice Sutton, if they can play with those four [older guards], it would be nice,” Wright said. “I think we have some good options with [Duke transfer] Taylor King and Isaiah Armwood [in the frontcourt].

Wright indicated that his optimal 4-out-1-in offense would comprise of Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Redding and Corey Stokes. Even with that much talent on the court, the depth of the bench is startling to think about.

…I just played out that scenario in my mind…awesome…I loved watching the 4 guard offense (though it has its disadvantages) in 2005 with Foye, Ray, Lowry and Nardi…but I think this year, where we lack a proven frontcourt, it could be absolute hell for opponents in spurts…

UPDATE: Goodman has upgraded Villanova to #8 after some of the ‘Nova faithful let him have it in the comments section. Still not high enough to warrant praise from me.

The usually reliable Jeff Goodman has me completely puzzled on his latest post. In his list of the best backcourts in the country, he lists Villanova all the way at #10. Goodman on the Wildcats:

Reynolds and the rest of his backcourt mates don't have the hype of some others.

“That’s a lot of talent and depth for Jay Wright & Co. Reynolds has the experience, and Fisher needs to mature in order to become an elite floor leader. Stokes can really shoot the ball, and both Cheek and Wayans have tons of potential.”

It should be noted that Goodman did not include Reggie Redding in his analysis. Why? I have no idea. He’s going to miss 10-12 cupcake affairs before conference play, which is what really matters. Bad oversight by Goodman.

…This is a putrid list…UCLA is ranked above us, and they have absolutely zero backcourt experience, and this is after we took them to the woodshed last year…really I could realistically debate everyone outside of Michigan State and Kansas, because everyone else Goodman seems to assume that freshman are going to be stars (except for ‘Nova it seems)…

…Anyways, I read this and it confused me at first, before I really read the whole thing and it angered me…

…Discuss…

ESPN continues their Summer ShootAround series with a look at the Big East. The article, which contains many aspects concerning Villanova, is a great read, so I highly suggest taking the time to sort through it as it really gives you a good feel of what to expect as the conference turns over a new leaf. Below are the Villanova highlights.

Jay Bilas on Villanova, who he ranks as the best team in the conference:

“The Wildcats are a bit younger, but very talented at every position. Jay Wright has guards that he encourages to make plays, and Villanova is versatile enough to attack mismatches on offense and switch every screen on defense. Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes form one of the nation’s strongest backcourts, and all can get into the lane and to the free-throw line. Freshmen Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns can play right away. But making up for Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson will be a challenge.”

Dana O’Neil on Mouphtaou Yarou, who she believes is 1 of 10 key players in the conference:

“How far the Wildcats go may depend heavily on how quickly the rookie big man succeeds. Jay Wright always has been a guard’s coach, and Villanova has no shortage of backcourt talent again this year. But it is not a coincidence that when the Wildcats finally found a talented inside man — Dante Cunningham — they went to the Final Four. If Yarou, with the help of fellow freshman Isaiah Armwood, can make up for Cunningham’s loss, Nova might be busy on the final weekend of the season again.”

John Stovall on Mouphtaou Yarou and Dominic Cheek, both a part of 10 freshman to watch this season:

Yarou – “He’s big, strong and has solid skills. ‘Mouph’ should definitely have an immediate impact. He’s physically ready to play and skilled enough to have his presence felt right away in the Big East.”

Cheek – “He’s talented enough to be an all-conference player. He has to improve his motor, but once that happens he’ll be heading to the next level. Look for Villanova’s two other recruits — Maalik Wayns and Isaiah Armwood — to make an immediate impact as well.

Dana O’Neil on Villanova vs. Maryland, 1 of 10 non-conference games to watch:

“Two of the most exciting guards in the nation, Greivis Vasquez an Scottie Reynolds, square off in the nation’s capital. The Terps, who return just about everybody, are good enough to give Big East favorite Villanova a run for its money.”

Dana O’Neil on a potential Villanova/Georgia Tech matchup in Puerto Rico:

“This is a big if, because the Yellow Jackets would need to knock off A-10 favorite Dayton in the first round (and Nova has to beat always-pesky George Mason), but this semifinal matchup would feature some of the best freshmen in the country: Mouphtaou Yarou, Isaiah Armwood, Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek for Villanova; Derrick Favors and Mfon Udofia for Georgia Tech. Mix in the fact that Tech coach Paul Hewitt, like Jay Wright, is a Rollie Massimino disciple and you have the stuff for a high-level game in November.”

And finally, ESPN’s ‘quick take’ on Villanova:

“Jay Wright is at the point where he is reloading, not rebuilding. The Wildcats bring one of the top recruiting classes in the country, headlined by Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns, to go with the nucleus from the Final Four team. Senior guard Reggie Redding, arrested for marijuana possession, will be ineligible until mid-December. But with plenty of depth at the guard position, Villanova ought to survive without him.”

…The last part about reloading instead of rebuilding has really been a theme around Villanova’s program lately…I love it…I say it everyday but I really wish the start of the season was closer…

Checking in with our counterparts this morning, there was some pretty interesting stuff going on at VUHoops and Villanova By The Numbers.

We’ll start off with the number-crunching greyCat, who sometimes can make my head hurt with such in-depth analaysis, but his latest article covering 10 rising juniors in the Big East is a must-read. The article covers 1o guys who are ‘laying in the weeds’ so to speak, instead of some more high profile players. To give you an idea, it talks about guys like Mac Koshwal, Rick Jackson, Jimmy Butler, and Marshon Brooks. Not guys who have seen their name on a couple All-Big East lists, but guys who have a good impact on the game nonetheless.

greyCat also took a look at 9 rising seniors to watch (a little more notable list) as well as a quick look around of the A-10 for the upcoming year, a conference that yields several of our opponents.

The guys at VUHoops have been very active during the summer recess, running multiple series as well as keeping up with the general Villanova news.

We’ll start with their ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ experiment in which they have been polling their readership to determine what the fans’ feelings are about each player’s upcoming season, and the amount of minutes they will play. They’ve already covered Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Reggie Redding, Maalik Wayns, Corey Stokes, Dominic Cheek and Taylor King. Voting for Antonio Pena is ongoing. Make sure you head over there and participate.

They have also been running a Meet The New Wildcats series which gives fans a little introduction to the 4 newest Wildcats, as well as redshirt freshman Maurice Sutton and transfer Taylor King.

I finally got my copy of Attitude of a Champion today, and finished watching it for the first time a few minutes ago. I’m delving into the bonus features as I post this.

To sum it up in one word is easy: Amazing. An all-around great job by everyone who was involved.

Here are some random thoughts I jotted down while watching it.

Thoughts:

• I got chills at the opening montage. Dwayne’s steal especially. Really took me back to being there at the game.
• Loved the practice video followed by the clips of the team executing in the game. Really gives you a new perspective on the offense that Jay runs.
• Frank Tchuisi never got enough credit for what he brought to the program. The fact that he is staying around the team is huge for the next group of incoming players.
• Jay Wright was absolutely correct about the victory at Seton Hall. Despite Scottie Reynolds’ absurd performance, that win is one of the few team wins you can point out that really sent the team on its way. I never saw a single clip from that game because I was out in Steamboat with Mark, so it was a really a new experience for me.
• Never heard about the team meeting at South Florida before. Another testament to Frank and the rest of the seniors.
• For some reason I always forget the first Pittsburgh game (a great win). Probably because we tailgated out in the freezing rain for 3 hours before it.
• Hilarious that Reggie Redding doesn’t think of himself as a lockdown defender. But I’m glad he’s embraced the role.
• The one memory I have of that Notre Dame game is Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark giving Luke Harangody a crash course in how to play both offense and defense in the post.
• Senior Night was so special.
• I completely forgot about coughing up the lead against Marquette in the Big East Tournament. Yikes.
• If Corey Fisher makes a similar jump in play like he did last year, this next season could be another big year. Same goes for Corey Stokes.
• The Boston trip is one that I will never, ever, forget. One of the most fun, rewarding times in my short life. Words cannot really describe the entire weekend. During the portion of the DVD that covered that part of the season, I had goosebumps the entire time.
• I’m really going to miss both Dante and Dwayne on the floor. They were truly the heart and soul.

If you haven’t purchased your copy of the DVD yet, make you sure head to the Villanova Online Store and do so immediately!

When Brian first texted me yesterday with the news that Reggie Redding had been suspended for the fall semester, I had a few different reactions. My initial words were, “Damn, that’s going to hurt.” And it surely will. Redding was a very big reason why we went to the Final Four. He took his defensive prowess and added a rapidly improving offensive game, and opened up a new chapter in his Villanova career. So yes, missing a senior leader while the team tries to navigate it’s way through the OOC schedule will hurt.

But there are a couple of silver linings in this mess, with the first being increased playing time for Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns. Taking Redding out of the backcourt mix for 10-12 games allows the freshman guards to get more of a ‘trial by fire.’ In the short run, it may cost us a couple games as the two young guys go through growing pains, but in the grand scheme of things it will help prepare them for the daunting Big East schedule, and the NCAA Tournament.

In Cheek’s case, he’s already got a little bit of Redding in him. He’s got great length to match up with some of the bigger guards (although the strength probably isn’t there yet) and like Redding, he loves to play defense. He’s got a nice shot from the outside and if you remember the McDonald’s Game, loves to get inside and hit the boards (another ‘Villanova Basketball’ staple.)

Wayns doesn’t play the same position as Redding, but again his minutes will increase because there is one less guy in the rotation. And like Cheek, he’s got the makeup to succeed early because he’s a hard worker who is a classic pass-first point guard.

So while it may not be all good initially, let’s just say I’m very excited to see more of Cheek and Wayns than I am scared to throw them in there because of Redding’s suspension.

Finally, that brings us to Corey Stokes. Stokes was billed with a lethal shot coming in, and hasn’t let anyone down in that department (and actually showed improvement last year). But after a somewhat mixed freshman campaign, he took a major step forward last season as he showed us an increased desire to play top-end defense, as well as an improving offensive game that began to include the dribble-drive and the mid-range jumper.

Stokes has the most to gain in Redding’s absence, because if he was on the fence for a starting spot before the suspension, he’s absolutely in there now. Just for argument’s sake, this is what I believe our starting lineup will be on opening night:

Corey Fisher — Scottie Reynolds — Corey Stokes — Antonio Pena — Mouphtaou Yarou

You can argue that Stokes may have even started at the expense of either Pena or Yarou while Redding was still in the picture, but I believe he would have been the 1st man off the bench.

So now, it is Corey’s time to shine. I don’t want to say he has to fill Reggie’s shoes, because while they play the same position, they have different strength’s and weaknesses. I’d rather see Stokes take charge in his own way. And not only that, but he is an upperclassman now. He’s a leader on this team. That’s a role we haven’t seen him in yet, so how will he respond to that challenge?

Color me very excited for the early portion of the season. I’ve decided that I’m just not going to dwell on what could be if Redding was playing, and rather view him as a mid-season acquisition, much like the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee. Because if this team struggles early, there is some hope on the horizon. But if they gel early and are looking strong, Redding’s return for one last senior hurrah is icing on the cake.

Not much info here other than they’ve made a roster, but both Antonio Pena and Corey Stokes have been invited to the Global Sports Academy Team USA All-Star squad that will be doing a 4-country tour of Europe beginning on August 9th.

The team will arrive in Brussels on the 9th and play two Belgian teams before leaving for France where they will face two French teams and one from Luxembourg. From there they will play one game in Germany before traveling to Amsterdam on August 16th, where they will play their final game.

…A lot of games with not that much time to rest…it is a 15 man roster so I’m sure that players will get days off, but this is nothing but good for Stokes and Pena…both of them are going to have a much bigger role heading into this season, so hopefully the added experience pays out…

…Is it too early to make Amsterdam jokes?…

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…