I Bleed Blue and White

You may have already seen this on ESPN, but the network did a great job of putting together a bevy of things to remember from college basketball in the last 10 years.  Brings back some great memories.

-Top Games

-Fondest Memories

-Witnessing the Classics

-Headlines

-Best Teams/Programs

-Best Players/Coaches

So hard to choose my #1 favorite memory of the decade.  For college basketball as a whole, it would either be George Mason’s run in 2006 or Stephen Curry’s heroics in 2008.  In terms of best Villanova basketball memory, the experience of a Final Four last year and seeing it in person is something I will never forget.  A close second is storming the court after beating UConn at the Wachovia Center. 

They went to the Final Four last year, so they should return this year.  They have one of the best recruiting classes in the country, so they should be one of the most talented teams this year.  The Big East is weaker this year, so they should be right at the top by season’s end.  These statements have been heard and seen throughout the offseason.  Of course, everyone wants to see another magical season, but it’s not going to happen overnight and no group knows that better than the 2009-2010 Villanova squad. 

As Jay Wright puts it:

How do we handle it?  We’ve got to do what we always do.  It sounds boring, but we’ve got to understand that this is a new team.  This isn’t the team that went to the Final Four.  That’s not a bad thing, but this team has to prove themselves.

Scottie Reynolds adds:

If we can just fight human nature, and stay humble and hungry and focus on the little things that will create big opportunities for us, I think everything will work out.

With the big expectations for this season, there are flaws nonetheless.  Rivals analyzed the biggest flaws of the country’s elite teams.

Jason King on Villanova:

The graduation of Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark has left the Wildcats thin in the frontcourt, where Antonio Pena is the only returnee with significant experience.  Pena averaged 5.1 points off the bench last season.  Villanova is hoping for big contributions from 6-foot-10 freshman Mouphtaou Yarou, who is expected to start at center.

Mike Huguenin on the Cats:

If coach Jay Wright could enact a rule saying teams can’t have anyone taller than 6 feet 4, I’d bet he would do it.  The Wildcats will have one of the best – if not the best – backcourts in the nation. But the frontcourt is a monster question.  If some freshman big men don’t come through, the Wildcats will finish third or fourth in the Big East.

Don’t freak out by Huguenin’s comments of finishing 3rd or 4th in the Big East.  If they finish 3rd or 4th and end up making a deep run in March and April, I’ll take that all day.  First thing’s first though: Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday.

The 2009-2010 college basketball season has officially started.  Numerous teams held their respective “Midnight Madness“ (or some variation)last night.  As you all know, Villanova will celebrate the the new campaign with Hoops Mania next Friday night, October 23rd.  In effect, it is time to focus on the task at hand: reaching the NCAA Tournament this year.  Last year’s Final Four run was unbelievable and truly something people (including myself) will never forget, but the time is now to close the book on 2008-2009.  Jay Wright and his team agree, as Dan Gelston of the Associated Press found out.  As Wright puts it,

We’re doing all the Final Four things now.  Then we’re going to say, ‘That’s it.’  Let’s get fired up about ‘09-’10.  Let’s put it behind us.

Scottie Reynolds adds,

It’s kind of like the closure of the Final Four thing.

In addition to the Wildcats getting things underway, the rest of the Philly-area teams have begun official preparation for the upcoming season.

It’s not everyday that an athlete is asked to autograph an actual seat from an arena.  But this is what Scottie Reynolds has signed for a few die-hard (to say the least) fans since the Final Four run.  Not sure how these fans actually pulled off stealing the TD Banknorth Garden seats after Scottie’s infamous shot, but kudos to those who did.  Adam Zagoria, creator of ZagsBlog, mentions this in his new article entitled, “Reynolds hopes to provide leadership.”  Zagoria touches base with Reynolds on numerous issues including his role as a leader this year, the incoming freshman, the overall talent of the team,  and of course the signing of those seats. 

I wasn’t even worried about signing.  I wanted to know how he did it and how he got away with it.  I’ve signed like two or three other seats.

As Chris mentioned in the previous post, the anticipation for the college hoops season cannot get any higher at this point.  I’ve been sorting through which games I am going to try to attend and can’t wait to watch this team throughout the season. 

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.