I Bleed Blue and White

Surpisingly, I have something positive to report regarding a Big East player.  I bashed the players who were suspended recently, but hopefully, it looks like at least one of them is turning it around.  Reggie Redding, arrested in late July for marijuana possession, has owned up to his poor decisions and is trying to turn a negative into a positive.  Redding spoke with Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer and said:

I want to be a positive example for the program, for the university, just do the right thing, don’t get into any bad situations and not feel sorry for myself.  What happened, I can’t look back.  I can’t start over.  I’m just going to look forward. 

Obviously, some may say he is just saying this for the sake of saying it, but Jay Wright has praised Redding’s handling of the situation too, saying:

He’s still a leader on this team and you can’t hide that.  Everything we do, he’s a leader.  I think he’s handled it great, I really do.

Hopefully, Redding can continue to be a positive presence around the team and stay out of trouble.  A player who remembers Redding very well is Pittsburgh’s Jermaine Dixon.  As you all remember, Reggie was the imbounder for Scottie Reynolds’ infamous shot in last year’s Elite Eight.  It was Dixon who had the assignment of covering Reynolds during that sequence.  The bitter loss still haunts Dixon to this day.   

You’re only as good as your last game and that game is still in my head.  That’s the only game I have, so I sit there and watch it sometimes.  I like to critique myself and see what I did wrong, so I can get better….I was getting over it, but the thing that always held me back was Levance stayed in his house for a month after that.  He didn’t come out.  He was hurting and that kind of hurt me. I was getting over it, but his pain still stays with me.

I can imagine that game and specifically, that play, still linger in the minds of the Pitt players, coaches, and fans.  There’s no doubt that the Panthers will be looking for revenge when the Wildcats travel to the Pedersen Events Center this year. 

With Achraf Yacoubou committing to Villanova today, you can add yet another young stud to  Jay Wright’s long list of star recruits.  Obviously, the hype around the current freshmen, all big time recruits, is very high.  Again, though, don’t underestimate what last year’s senior class meant to the team, the program, and the university.  Jay Wright certainly knows what he lost due to the graduation of Cunningham, Clark, Tchuisi, and Anderson.  To sum it up, he calls the current squad “prettier” than last year’s team, meaning that as of right now, his team obviously has lots of talent, but the intangibles (toughness, poise, determination, etc.) are still a question mark. 

On the loss of last year’s seniors:

They were so unselfish, so tough, so rugged.  Now we kind of look a little prettier, but I know in a Big East battle what those three brought.  In preparing our guys, you don’t know how much we’re going to miss them.  I miss them a lot already.

On the current state of the 2009-2010 Wildcats:

These [returning] guys are all highly recruited guys.  They can score, they look good out there, things the fans like.  I like them, too. But with Dante, Dwayne, and Shane, no one would talk about them [last season]…They did all the work that made us win games.  We have guys do a lot of things that the media likes, but they’ve got to learn to do the things that those three did.

I’ve been saying it all offseason and I completely agree with Jay’s comments.  Sure, on paper, this team has more talent than last year’s group, but great talent usually isn’t the key to long-term success.  It’s about meshing together, executing game plans, working harder than opponents, filling respective roles regardless of stats and personal achievements, etc.  I absolutely think this team can be great and make a deep run, but the season is a marathon and you never know how it’s going to play out.  One thing is for sure though: it should be a real fun ride. 

Be safe and enjoy Hoops Mania and Homecoming Weekend.