Coach K says, "Who is this man?!"

I had a legit man-crush on Dwayne Anderson last year. He was the epitome of what I thought a “Villanova Basketball Player” should be. Not the biggest, strongest, or fastest. But man, did he have heart. Every loose ball, that was his. Every challenge, he rose to the occasion. When I finally came to grips with his graduation, I was legitimately upset. I didn’t know if he could be replaced.

Then I met Taylor King in Boston. I was on my way to a hotel to pick up my friend Meaghan and and I went to her room and there is Taylor watching SportsCenter. I knew that he wasn’t allowed to travel with the team, so it was a general shock to see him sitting there. After talking with him for 20 minutes or so, it was apparent that the guy loved Villanova. Hell, he made sure he was there for Boston. And he was amongst the most rambunctious fans during that famed weekend. That was the day I decided Taylor King would fit right in at Villanova.

It is early, but it looks like we may have found our answer to Dwayne Anderson’s graduation. Taylor King is playing Villanova basketball. Once known as a no-defense, shoot-only-3’s Dookie, King has transformed himself into the mirror image of what Dwayne Anderson was to last year’s team.

Nothing signified that more than what he did last night when the team was up by 20 (hint: it is what made Anderson a ‘Nova legend). Make sure you watch the highlight video starting at 1:53 to see what I mean.

So Taylor, this Bud’s for you. Keep yelling. Keep diving on the floor. Keep your teammates fired up. Keep pulling down those loose balls. And most importantly, keep making sure Coach K regret pushing you out the door at Duke. We love you.

Mike Sheridan’s latest ‘Nova Notebook focuses on Jay Wright and the lack of defense that was exhibited by the Wildcats in their win over Kutztown last Thursday. According to Wright, the graduation of Shane Clark, Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham, along with the suspension of Reggie Redding, is a huge part of what went wrong on opening night.

“That’s the sign of a young team,” said Wright. “A young team looks at the scoreboard and it only has to change your intensity a little bit for there to be a drop off. You have to give (Kutztown) credit – they made shots and they pushed the ball at us. It’s just the little things with young guys. You score and they’re jogging back remembering their score and Kutztown was pushing it right at us. We need to learn that lesson.”

Wright believes that the team will improve as the year goes on however. Scottie Reynolds shared that sentiment, and believes it is up to the veteran players to show the younger guys what playing Villanova basketball is all about.

“We have to continue to stay to our principles and stay with what Coach (Wright) preaches,” said the senior guard, who’ll enter the regular season with 1,620 career points. “We can’t just get lackadaisical. We have to stay focused and that’s going to take time. We have to just keep pounding, keep pounding and never let up. When you let up a team can get hot like that – just look at the score.

“We, as upperclassmen, have to preach what Coach is saying. We have to do it ourselves and let the younger guys watch that happening on the floor so that when they come in, they can pick up where we left off.”

Wright also talks about the debuts of Mouphtaou Yarou and Taylor King in the article.

..As always, great job by Sheridan…

Anderson is off to Germany.

The Hoop is reporting that Dwayne Anderson has signed his first professional contract with the German Bundesliga’s MEG Goettingen. Apparently, they are one of the top teams in Germany.

Congratulations Dwayne! Keep making us proud!

A ton of the Villanova greats are back on the Main Line for a 3 day workout that commences today. Kyle Lowry first reported that he was back at school with Randy Foye via his Twitter account, but now The Nova Nation has given us an idea to who else is around for it. The list includes:

• Kyle Lowry
• Randy Foye
• Dante Cunningham
• Mike Nardi
• Chris Charles
• Dwayne Anderson
• Shane Clark
• John Celestand
• Ed Pinckney
• Doug West
• Kerry Kittles

Plus a few more big names from the ‘Nova Network. I have no idea if any of this is open to the public, but if you are on campus, I would try and check it out because it sounds like a lot of fun.

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…

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!

Before getting to my experience this past Thursday night regarding “Attitude of a Champion,” another sports outlet is looking ahead to the college basketball season.  Yahoo! Sports recently posted their bracket projections for the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  For what it’s worth, they have Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Villanova as #1 seeds. 

On Thursday, August 6th, I made it to the 7:30 pm showing of “Attitude of a Champion” in the Connelly Center Cinema on the campus of Villanova.  My guess is this auditorium seats about 200 people, and there were about 40 people in the room for this particular viewing.  The only person I knew was Scott Graham, who produced and narrated the documentary for Wipeout Productions.  He introduced himself to the audience in the beginning, and I immediately recognized his voice from the show, “Inside Villanova Basketball,” which airs weekly throughout the season.  Graham mentioned that the idea for the documentary took form in the very beginning of the season.  As he put it, “We wanted to have snip-its, just in case something big happened.  Well, something big did happen.”  He also mentioned how it was the most fun he’s ever had on a project and wishes he was still working on it.  Anyways, the airing I saw was 56 minutes in length.  It follows the team’s journey throughout the season, through the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys.  More importantly, though, the team’s seniors, Dante Cunningham, Frank Tchuisi, Dwayne Anderson, and Shane Clark, truly are the focal point of the video, just like they were on the team.  Watching the documentary made me want to go back and re-live the amazing ride it was.  Everything, from the footage to the narration to the interviews, was excellent.  After the airing, I purchased the DVD outside the Cinema for $20.  It will be made available for sale online on August 10th on villanova.com.  Obviously, the 2008-2009 season was an unforgettable one, and the “Attitude of a Champion” video truly encapsulates how special of a year it was.  In my opinion, a definite must-see.

Before we talk about Dwayne Anderson, I wanted to wrap-up talking about Dante Cunningham’s first game in the NBA Summer League.  Obviously, Dante had a very good game in terms of statistics, but the most important thing is what the Portland Trailblazers coaching staff thinks.  The Portland Trailblazers game recap relayed some important quotes about their game last night.   Head coach of the Trailblazers summer team, Joe Prunty, discussed Dante’s play:

He looked very comfortable.  I thought he did a really nice job setting screens, slipping screens, separating after he set screens.  I thought he did a really nice job of going after boards.  He got a few of what I like to refer to as ‘dirty rebounds,’ where they’re out of your area, you hustle after them.  They’re not the ones that sort of fall into your lap.  So I really appreciated the effort he gave. 

Additionally, the Portland Trailblazers official blog, called Center Court, written by Casey Holdahl, provided some discussion about the game and postgame audio from the players, including Cunningham. 

One more thing before we get to Dwyane.  Just a quick update on former Villanova coach Patrick Chambers.  It seems like he is doing well at Boston University.  Little did I know that he named former Villanova walk-on, Ross Condon, as one of his assistant coaches awhile back.  I found this out in his blog, seeing a picture from one of his older posts. 

Chambers also has a Twitter account, which he regularly updates, keeping fans in the loop regarding the BU basketball team.  

Finally, on to Dwayne Anderson.  Undoubtedly, many wondered how Anderson would perform in live NBA game action, as he was supposed to take the court tonight for the Washington Wizards summer team.  After checking the box score, Dwayne’s name was not to be found, which left some questions to be answered.   I checked around a little bit, and it looks like Dwayne was cut from the Washington Wizards yesterday, along with a slew of other players.  I did not see any reasoning behind the decision, but my guess is only a certain number of players can attend the Summer League, meaning the Wizards had to cut down their roster, and unfortunately, Dwayne was one of many to lose a spot.

Courtesy of reader Larry Harris, we believe we now have an outlet to watch our boys play in the Summer League. Larry relayed this site to us and reported that he was able to watch Dante Cunningham’s first game. It looks like there is a justin.tv link available for Dwayne Anderson’s game with the Wizards tonight.

CLICK HERE for the index where you can search for the game amongst a list, or you can CLICK HERE for the direct link into the game. Game time is 6:30 p.m. EDT.

…I won’t be able to watch the game tonight but I’m positive Brian will be all over the recap of the game…any reports on issues with the video and/or quality would be appreciated in the comments below…Enjoy!…

Brian just updated you on Dante Cunningham’s first outing (a very good one), so I figured I’d post the schedule for the Summer League for both Cunningham and Dwanye Anderson in case anyone was planning to catch a game out in Vegas. Anderson went undrafted but is currently on the summer league roster for the Washington Wizards.

Note: All times are Las Vegas local times; i.e. add 3 hours for the East Coast.

Dante Cunningham and the Portland Trailblazers:

- Monday July 13th vs. Toronto

- Wednesday July 15th vs. Houston at The COX Pavilion, 7 p.m.

- Friday July 17th vs. Denver at Thomas & Mack, 7:30 p.m.

- Saturday July 18th vs. San Antonio at Thomas & Mack, 7:30 p.m.

- Sunday July 19th vs. NBA D-League Select at The COX Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Dwayne Anderson and the Washington Wizards:

- Tuesday July 14th vs. Cleveland at Thomas & Mack, 3:30 p.m.

- Wednesday July 15th vs. Denver at Thomas & Mack, 7:30 p.m.

- Friday July 17th vs. Minnesota at The COX Pavilion, 5 p.m.

- Saturday July 18th vs. L.A. Clippers at Thomas & Mack, 5:30 p.m.

- Sunday July 19th vs. New York at The COX Pavilion, 1 p.m.