I Bleed Blue and White

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…

Dominic Cheek is finally an official member of the Villanova family after signing his Letter of Intent yesterday. After the other three members of the class signed their letters in November, it has been a long awaited day until Cheek finally did the same.

“We are thrilled to add a player of Dom’s ability to our program,” stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “He comes to Villanova as prepared as any player we have had here, having played for Coach Bob Hurley at St. Athony’s. Dom is a winner. He was a part of a national championship team at St. Anthony’s and he has a great understanding of the game. We are very excited to have him as a part of our basketball family.”

Cheek joins Maalik Wayns, Isaiah Armwood and Mouphtaou Yarou as the incoming freshman for next year.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog and SNY.tv has a great article up about Mouphtaou Yarou and Dominic Cheek as they prepare for the Jordan Brand Classic this weekend. Zagoria talks with both players about their final seasons in high school, and about their futures at Villanova. Yarou’s guardian had some very encouraging words about Yarou.

Credit: SNY.tv

“He could definitely be one of the best,” said Chris Timba, Yarou’s guardian. “His goal is to be the best. He has soft hands, big hands, he can shoot a little bit outside, can shoot inside, can shoot the 10-footer, can put it on the floor a little bit. You’re talking about a big-time player.”

Zagoria also talks to Cheek about his injury troubles this year, and to Yarou about how much Jay Wright meant in his recruitment.

By the way, the Jordan Brand Classic game will be played this Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. in Madison Square Garden. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster if you are in the area. Yarou will play on the home team in white jerseys, while Cheek plays on the away team which will wear black jerseys.

ESPN has released its 2009 Team Basketball Recruiting Rankings and Villanova comes in at #2 behind North Carolina.  You all know the recruits by now – Mouphtaou Yarou, Isaiah Armwood, Maalik Wayns, and Dominic Cheek.  ESPN is giving a lot of hype to Yarou:

“Yarou has improved just as much as any player in the country and uses his physical brand of basketball to impact the game on both ends of the floor. As he improves his post game, Yarou could develop into the elite big man who could lead the Wildcats back to the Final Four and ultimately to an NCAA title.”

Those are some lofty words, considering he hasn’t proven anything yet, but another trip to the Final Four and maybe an NCAA title would be awesome to say the least.  Some other notable Big East teams at the top of the rankings:

• UCONN - #6
• Marquette - #13
• Pittsburgh - #18
• West Virginia – #24

Added by Chris:

…All I’m going to add is to remember the name Dante Taylor…he’s a big athletic freak going to Pitt…I watched him in the McDonald’s game and was very impressed….we are going to cheer the day he leaves for the NBA…

Andy Katz just released his pre-season Top 25 for next year, although he admits that his list will constantly change as more players decide to leave for the NBA or stay in school. Katz does believe that even with the loss of the best senior class in Villanova history, the Wildcats are the team to beat in the Big East next year, ranking them #5 in the country.

“5. Villanova: The Wildcats were one of the most improved teams in the country. Regardless of who returns to Syracuse, Villanova should be the pick in the Big East. Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Reggie Redding provide the core for Nova with an infusion of talent arriving led by Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek. Losing Dante Cunningham hurts, but the Wildcats’ incoming class can make up for the departure.”

Again, no mention of Taylor King, but I’m not complaining about a player flying under the radar. That really only helps us. I just have to keep telling myself to not believe the hype — yet.

As I drove back to Villanova today I felt the pain. With each mile that passed, I had to come to the realization that Villanova basketball is over for this year. And for me, it was my last year as a Villanova student (unless I decide to come back for graduate school at some point). And then I read an article where Dante Cunningham shared his feelings. And I felt even more pain. I’m really going to miss watching him play. I’m just in awe that he, along with the 3 other seniors are leaving.

• I thought I was upset the season was over. This puts it in perspective…Philadelphia Daily News (Bob Cooney)
• I don’t think any of us will ever forget this team, and what they accomplished…Philadelphia Daily News (Dick Jerardi)
• We’ve been losing assistants left and right lately, but we will really miss Pat Chambers…Philadelphia Inquirer (Mike Jensen)
• We’ve still got some wrapping up to do, but it isn’t too early to think about next year. And because of our ridiculously deep pool of guards, we might be a Top 5 team…Sports Illustrated
• 3 of our recruits were named High School All-Americans…Parade Magazine

Some highlights of both Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns from the McDonald’s All-American game. The highlights come courtesy of YouTube user Villanova Basketball.

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Spent some time watching the McDonald’s All-American Game last night (while also dedicating myself to LOST and the United States World Cup Qualifying match). I’m proud to say that all 3 went great, especially the Mickey D’s game.

If you weren’t able to watch, you can check out the box score here, but here is what you need to know on Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek. Keep in mind, this was the first time I’ve ever seen either play.

Cheek went 14 minutes, made 6-8 shots (2-2 from downtown), and also had a monstrous block. Cheek looks great shooting the ball. He really has a pretty stroke. He’s a long and rangy athlete who can hit the outside shot as he demonstrated last night, but he also got to the rim with regularity and threw some a couple sweet dunks.

Wayns played 18 minutes, but did not have a great shooting night (just 2-6). More impressive, and more important, were his 7 assists. Wayns has an unbelievable handle on the ball. Honestly, he might have a better handle than Corey Fisher does as this point, which says a ton. He plays hard and fast and always has his head up looking for teammates. His alley-oop passes were on the money and he is a very unselfish player.

But the best thing about both is how hard they played in an all-star game. With Lance ‘Born Ready’ Stephenson refusing to pass the ball and showboating for 40 straight minutes, the two future Wildcats made a huge impression not only with their defense (Cheek especially) but with their overall drive. They played very hard, which is great to see.

After last night, I’m convinced that both of these guys will be seeing solid minutes next year, even with our phenomenal returning backcourt depth. I can only find one criticism for each right now. In Cheek’s case, he needs to get stronger. But what high school kid doesn’t? He’s going to be a monster after he hits the weights hard.

As for Wayns, his outside shot needs work, but I totally see the Kyle Lowry comparisons now. He’s the typical hard-nosed Philly guard. And he’s unbelievable with the ball in his hands and running the fast break. Very impressed by him.

We still have 2 more games left this year, but the future looks great.

Lost in the hoopla of the Final Four is the McDonald’s All-American game. The game tips off at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN. Villanova recruits Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek will be playing for the East team.

With a hat tip to VUHoops, here are some pictures from practice earlier in the week.