I know Chris said that Syracuse sophomore PG Jonny Flynn would hire an agent the other day, but it wasn’t made official by him or Syracuse. Just want to say that Syracuse and Flynn have made it official this morning. Check out Syracuse.com for the video interview.
In response to Chris’ previous post regarding Scottie, I do not think he will leave for the NBA. Of course, it’s possible he could enter his name and not hire an agent, but I don’t think he will even do that. The chances of Scottie being drafted are minuscule, in my opinion, since he is not athletic enough, big enough, or skillful enough for the NBA. It would shock me if he was not on the floor for Villanova next season.
On to the Big East news. Dar Tucker, the sensational sophomore guard from DePaul, has announced that he will enter the NBA draft and will hire an agent. As a result, he cannot come back to DePaul. This is more outstanding news for Villanova, as Tucker has torched the Wildcats for the last 2 years. He continually got in the lane against Villanova, and made plays happen. I think he could definitely be drafted as a point guard in the NBA, since he has solid size at 6′5″, and has excellent quickness and vision.
Also, although it was reported yesterday that Jonny Flynn would be leaving for the NBA, it seems like he may be having second thoughts, according to coach Jim Boeheim, who says that Flynn’s status is “kind of up in the air.” This decision is huge for Villanova, since Flynn is a dynamic player who gives teams fits, as we all know.
Obviously, his decision will impact Syracuse greatly; if Flynn stays, I think they are a definite top 20, top 15 team, but if he leaves, they most likely will not be a large threat in the Big East next year. Aside from the impacts Flynn’s decision has on Villanova and Syracuse and the rest of the basketball landscape, I think this indecisiveness truly shows that Flynn loves college basketball, and the NBA money may not be his top priority, like it is for so many others. I ultimately think he will leave, but we shall see in the near future.
A new week for us, and more players are staying in school, more players are entering the NBA Draft, and we’ve even got some transfer updates in the Big East. Exciting indeed! (I really hate the offseason).
It was reported earlier that Jonny Flynn was going to enter his name in the draft, but not hire an agent. This would have left the door open for a return by Flynn, but his plans have changed. Flynn is going to sign with Leo Rose, the agent who represents LeBron James.
…Adios Jonny…we all know the real reason why you left — Villanova was just too good for you…seriously though…good for him…he’s going to be a steal for whoever gets him in the mid-1st round…and personally as a Knicks fan I wouldn’t be too upset if the Knicks reached a bit and grabbed him in the lottery (assuming they are at the bottom end)…
Devin Ebanks has decided to stay at West Virginia. Not really a shocker there. He needs some time in the weight room before he can reach his full potential. But that potential might be higher than anybody else in the conference.
Jeff Goodman’s blog has been updated to include the impending transfer of Omar Wattad, a 6′5″ SG from Georgetown. Wattad, who you’ve probablyl never heard of either, is a sophomore who was a former 2-star recruit. He was buried on the bench for the Hoyas so his transfer isn’t a total shocker. Good luck to you Mr. Wattad.
And to nobody’s surprise at all, Earl Clark has declared for the draft and hired an agent. The ultra-talented Clark is a lock for the lottery, and has shown flashes this year of reaching his enormous potential. He really came on strong at the end of the year. I’m not even going to bring up how this guy almost came to ‘Nova (well, I guess I just did).
…Flynn and Clark are two guys I’m not going to miss at all…in Flynn’s case though, Syracuse is going to have a rough year without him…Louisville should be okay…
ZagsBlog is reporting that 3 Syracuse players will declare for the NBA Draft. Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf are likely to declare and hire agents, thus ending their ‘Cuse careers. Star guard Jonny Flynn is leaving the door open however, and will likely not hire an agent.
Flynn, a sophomore and the best player of the 3, has widely speculated that he will return to school unless he feels he will be a Top 10 pick. Devendorf and Harris, who both have a year of eligibility left, have much more unknown draft prospects.
…In my mind Flynn’s decision could weight heavily on Ricky Rubio’s draft status…I like Flynn a lot and he is a lottery talent in my mind, but with players like Eric Maynor and Brandon Jennings likely to be higher on the board than him right now, Rubio’s declaration would almost assuredly push him out of the lottery…
…I don’t see Devendorf getting drafted at all, although I hope he makes a team because I want to see somebody lay him out in the NBA for his ridiculous antics…Harris has two kids already, so he’s running for the money…he’ll get drafted but I don’t think he’ll stick in the NBA…
As I promised, here’s my chat with Brian from Orange:44 following Villanova’s victory over the Orange last Sunday. Brian was kind enough to answer my questions this time. I know it will pain you, but we want Syracuse to win out until the BET. Not only will it help our SOS, but if they can score a victory over Marquette, that will help our push for a Top 4 seed.
Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): Well, it appears Andy Rautins is over the injury bug. He was scorching the nets. Syracuse as a team attempted 39 3-pointers Sunday, while Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson and Kristof Ongenaet combined to attempt just 6 shots. Obviously I haven’t watched a ton of ‘Cuse this year, but is this how they typically play, or was this a strategy for the ‘Nova game only?
Brian (Orange::44): Yeah this is not normal. They practically shot almost 50% more three point shots this game then they average. It did not seem too strategic, but I suppose if Andy Rautins is feeling good and getting open shots, why not take that many? Only one of his shots was bad. Similarly, Eric Devendorf had a few bad shots, but most of them he was open so I can understand why he would want to take it. Plus, I think this was a flow of the game adjustment as well. It seemed like Syracuse was having trouble, save Paul Harris, driving on this Villanova defense, therefore they felt like shooting a lot and it worked for a while.
Chris (IBBW): What player (players?) need to pick up their game down the stretch for Syracuse?
Brian (O::44): Clearly Arinze Onuaku needs to get back in this game. I realize he is battling some knee problems, but he looked fine the last game, and then with Villanova he basically phoned it in, did not have his hands up on defense and was certainily not hungry enough to rebound. He will be a key factor in playing any future teams with decent big men. Similarly, Rick Jackson will have to do a better job of filling Onuaku’s shoes when he is on the floor. Our entire low post presence in this game was practically non-existent, and that is a problem in the future if it’s not fixed.
Chris (IBBW): What was up with Jonny Flynn? I heard some rumors about him having the flu, but he didn’t seem like himself. I know how he feels about ‘Nova and expected more from him, but he seemed to shy away from the spotlight all game. Off-day or were other factors present?
Brian (O::44): Yes, I think it was a combination of feeling under the weather and just having an off day. You could visibly see a difference with him in the second half. I think he overcame the sickness mentally and started playing like vintage Flynn, cutting to the hoop and breaking defender’s ankles. But the first half was definitely not his best work by far. Flynn definitely does not have these kinds of games often so he gets a pass from me on this one. However, he definitely needs to show up from here on out. Get this kid some Vitamin C.
Chris (IBBW): Without getting too ahead of ourselves, do you think either Flynn or Harris leaves school early for the NBA? To me, both could clearly use more seasoning in college, but after reading that SI article last week, I got the feeling that harris wasn’t totally happy at Syracuse.
Brian (O::44): Be under no illusion that Jim Boeheim is not the hardest on Paul Harris. He is always yelling at him. For good reason though. Paul Harris has had the most epic of mental lapses in his Syracuse career over anyone else currently in the program, and if you may recall it cost Syracuse a victory over Pittsburgh at home last year, and possibly an NCAA berth. However, I think everyone knows that Harris is not ready for the NBA (if he ever will be) and will most likely stay around another year. I think if Syracuse does not get that far in the NCAA Tournament Flynn will be back for sure. Frankly, I think he will be back either way. Flynn play with Harris in high school in Niagara Falls and was basically the reason Flynn came to Syracuse. He will most likely stay until Harris graduates anyway. But you never know.
Chris (IBBW): At 7-7 in a brutal conference, with a few quality OOC wins and a favorable schedule down the stretch, how do you see ‘Cuse finishing in conference and where are they going to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament (I don’t care what the “experts” say, ‘Cuse has done enough to get in)?
Brian (O::44): I think Syracase will definitely finish in 6th or 7th in the conference. Syracuse has a rather soft schedule coming down the stretch, with the only possible stumbles coming from Cincinnati and Marquette in my opinion. Now the Cincinnati game is at home so I am not that worried, but they are playing Marquette on the road, and frankly we would need a miracle to win that probably. Either way, they are looking no better than a 6 at this point. Similarly, pending a good run in the Big East Tournament against some really elite teams, I think Syracuse will be a 6 or 7 seed in the big dance as well. I think right now Syracuse has done enough to get in, with marquee wins against Memphis, Florida and Kansas. So at the very least, the mission of Boeheim and his team to get back to the NCAAs should come true, pending a horrific, horrific collaspe.
Thanks to Brian for doing this. We had fun this season. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully we won’t see you again in the BET because it’s tough enough beating the same team twice in a season, let alone 3 times. Make sure you check out Orange::44, he does great work over there.
Jay Wright talked with Clark “great call by the refs” Kellogg following the game. I agree with Wright that the seniors and Reggie Redding really carried the team to this win.
For the record, I don’t believe in fouling at the end like Kellogg suggested. Play good defense like Corey Stokes did on Eric Devendorf and like Shane Clark did on Paul Harris and they’ll have a tough time getting a good look. Although, good thing Jonny Flynn choked.
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If you missed the referees attempt to hand Syracuse the game (I kid, sort of) check out the recap and the box score.
Redding was all over the place on defense today.
Villanova survived a trip to the Dome this afternoon, but just barely. Early on, this looked like it was headed towards a repeat of the first matchup, with ‘Nova jumping out to an early double digit lead. Syracuse used some hot shooting to hang around though throughout the game. Everytime that Villanova made a run, Syracuse would claw back.
Dwayne Anderson was the star for Villanova today, finishing with a career high 22 points as well as 5 rebounds. He came out on fire, draining 3 straight 3 balls in the early going. It was indicative of how his day was going to go. Shane Clark was brilliant throughout the game, and not just on the glass (8 rebounds, 5 offensive). He finished with 15 points. Huge boost when you get that kind of offensive performance from Shane.
Corey Fisher and Jonny Flynn got in each other’s face at one point, but you could tell it was complete frustration on Flynn’s part. Fisher got the best of him today, finishing with 16 points and just 1 turnover. He was spectacular all around in my opinion. The people who want him to start are going to have a hard time being shut up, because Fisher is playing amazing. Conversely, Scottie Reynolds was a no-show today. 10 points and 5 turnovers.
Reggie Redding was all over the place today. 11 points, 6 steals, and 7 assists. Never would have thought he could put up a stat line like that. But he was great today, and did a good job of hitting his free throws down the stretch.
Dante Cunningham’s jumper wasn’t falling and he had a rough go of things, but still finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Solid game for him, although he needs to see that if the jumper isn’t falling he has other ways to score.
Syracuse was just bombing 3’s. They really had no other offense at all. They attempted 39 from downtown. I repeat, 39. Andy Rautins was on fire today, finishing with 18 points (all on 3’s), but his backcourt mates had little success. Flynn was 2-8 (including a last second miss that looked like it was going in), and Smells Deuces was 3-10, but finished with 22 points in what was a turnaround game for him.
I know we all get on the refs from time to time, but today was really bad. And you know what the funny part is, I guarantee you that there will be remarks from both coaches after the game about how bad it was. Boeheim is known to be a media quote, but Wright isn’t. And I think even Wright will have something to say. Syracuse was the main beneficiary, and really, at the end I was convinced that that one bald ref (anyone who knows his name, please tell me) was trying to throw the game. It was awful.
But the good thing? Villanova showed a lot of heart. Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham weren’t at their finest, and they still looked very good. Fisher, Redding, Anderson and Clark stepped up and delivered a performance for the ages. Even with the refs and all the momentum against them, they still came out on top.
That is the important thing to take away from this game, not the quality (or lack thereof) of the officiating. What Villanova showed today is what will carry them deep into the NCAA Tournament. They can battle with not only the other team, but the elements as well.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone. Villanova returns to action Wednesday night at DePaul.
The last time Villanova played Syracuse, I chatted with Brian from Orange:44 about the game. Brian ended up making the trip down to Philly for the game along with countless other Orange fans, and therefore never had the chance to ask me any questions about the game. He ended up asking me some questions after the game though.
This time, we’ve flipped it around. Brian asked some questions, and I’ll get back at him after the conclusion of the game on Sunday. Below are my answers to his questions. Head over to Orange:44 and check out his blog!
Brian (Orange:44): Villanova was embarrassed by West Virginia this past weekend. Is this indicative of a slide by the Wildcats, or was this just an off night?
Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): It wasn’t really a shock that we lost because playing in Morgantown on a Friday night is tough enough, but add in the fact that West Virginia was backed up against the wall and I was hoping for a close win, but in my mind was pretty certain we weren’t going to emerge on top. The way we lost was harsh though. Dante Cunningham was called for 2 offensive fouls in the first few minutes and it was all downhill from there. Our defense was horrendous again, but Da’Sean Butler wasn’t going to miss if Michael Jordan was guarding him. Career night for him.
In the end though, it felt more like a hiccup than a trend-starter. ‘Nova played a sloppy game in a win against Rutgers on Thursday, but got back on track with the win, which is really all that matters at the end of the day. The defense really hasn’t been right in a few weeks, so they are going to have to turn that around because as they showed against West Virginia, the offense won’t always save them.
Brian (O:44): Will Dante Cunningham have just as huge a game as the last time these teams met, or was that just an outstanding night for Cunningham?
Chris (IBBW): That was the best game of his career and I’d be shocked if he had another game like that. He really couldn’t miss. He was as close to automatic as can be. He’s not always going to shoot like that, and as he showed Thursday (5-17), he can struggle at times with the jumper. I think Syracuse is a great matchup for him though. Onuaku and Jackson just can’t stay with his movement in the zone, and he’s good at finding those soft spots and releasing a quick jumper. If he’s hitting them early on, Syracuse will have to try something different. I expect another good game from him, but certainly not what he did last time.
Brian (O:44): What will be the keys to victory for both Syracuse and Villanova?
Chris (IBBW): For Syracuse, I think they need to shore up the zone defense. ‘Nova picked it apart last time and put up 100 on them without shooting the lights out (except for Cunningham). Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher have been blazing lately and if Syracuse allows Fisher to get into the lane it could be another long day. Stokes was scorching the nets on Thursday (5-7 from downtown) and he’s playing with tons of confidence. I’d expect a big game from him because if he’s left open, it’s going in the bucket. Also, Syracuse needs to avoid the bad turnovers (that’s you Eric Devendorf).
For Villanova, they need to remember that Syracuse is going for blood this time around. They were embarassed in Philadelphia a few weeks back and they’ll play with a lot of pride this time around. I consider ‘Cuse a ‘lock’ for the Tourney, but they will want a few more quality wins to get better seeding. Villanova can’t expect to roll like they did last time. Thankfully, they’ve cooled off since the first meeting and realize that they need to play better. Fisher and Stokes are the key. If they play well, Villanova has a good shot to come away with the W.
Brian (O:44): This will be a very hostile environment for Villanova. How do you see them reacting to the Loud House?
Chris (IBBW): Honestly, I see them handling it well. Villanova won in 2008 with the same team, so they’ve proven they can win there. Plus, they are coming off a loss in Morgantown where the crowd really had an impact, so they’ve had some experience with the hostile crowd recently. Fisher is the guy I would worry about the most in there, but he had a pretty good game there last year so that makes me feel better. There’s no doubting that the noise will have an effect though.
Brian (O:44): Finally, how worried are you about this game for your team and how do you see it shaking out?
Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated followed Syracuse around for a stretch of games to learn just how tough the Big East can be on the players of a ‘good’ team. MaCallum’s trip showed the struggles that Syracuse went through in road trips to Villanova and UConn before finally pulling out a win against Georgetown last weekend.
“Our bottom teams would be middle to top tier anywhere else in the country, including the ACC,” says Pitt point guard Levance Fields, whose Panthers are ranked fourth behind UConn, Oklahoma and North Carolina in the latest AP poll. “Quality teams like Georgetown and Notre Dame are struggling because of how tough the league is.”
McCallum’s article details the struggles that Paul Harris is experiencing, as well as the growing leadership of Jonny Flynn and how Andy Rautins came here with the knowledge that it would be like this.
…This is without a doubt one of the best articles I’ve ever read…McCallum does a great job of showing how the toughness of this league can way on not only a player, but an entire team…after reading that I have a newfound appreciation for just how well Villanova is playing this year…
…There are som nice shoutouts to Jay Wright and Rollie Massimino in there, as well as come compliments towards Villanova’s toughness in the league…make sure you read this one…
Excuse me for the late post. It was my birthday today so I’ve been out all day celebrating that along with the big ‘Nova win with friends and family. Some down time now before we head back out. Great day. In case you missed it, here is the recap and the box score of Villanova’s dominating win.
Anyone else as fired up as these two?
On a day when Syracuse’s orange colors were very prominent in The Wachovia Center (and at McFadden’s after the game), Villanova absolutely laid the lumber on the Orange. Dante Cunningham had without the best game of his career scoring 31 points and grabbing 9 rebounds as he set up camp in the middle of the Syracuse zone. He was lethal, finishing 12-15 (I kid you not) from the floor. Shane Clark has simply come out of nowhere the past week. He’s an absolute force on the offensive glass, and he made the most of it today, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds (7 offensive!!), including an absurd putback off a missed 3 ball.
Even more important than those performances in my mind were those from Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Both were simply outstanding. They didn’t do too much and didn’t force the issue, but they were all over the place hitting big shots and helped to bury the Orange early. Stokes finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds and Fisher had 14 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and n0 turnovers. If they are going to play like that, this type of result is going to become the norm.
On Syracuse’s end, Jonny “The Mouth” Flynn, finished with 22 points on 5-14 shooting, but don’t be fooled. He did most of his damage at the line and was out of rhythym the entire game. By the way Jonny, nice job getting T’d up to kill your momentum. Eric Devendorf had 21 points, but 7 turnovers. Score one for women everywhere today. Orange big man Arinze Onuaku was held to 4 points on the day. Credit the Wildcat bigs for rendering him ineffective.
If I’m being completely honest, I never saw this coming. Villanova has been riding a nice hot streak, but I thought that coming off the stressful PC win, they might be do for a stinker, especially with a pissed off Syracuse team coming in. I couldn’t have been more off. Villanova smacked them around from the start, using hot shooting and a fast break offense to essentially end this one about 10 minutes into the game. Syracuse had a few runs here and there, getting it to around 10 a few times, but sitting in the crowd, you just knew it was never in doubt (which is amazing considering the last game).
I’m psyched to say it, and I may be getting ahead of myself, but this is looking more and more like the team that we all envisioned. They’ve got a dominant big man and guards galore. Hell, they just stuck 100 points up and Scottie Reynolds had just 10 points. What were the odds on that?
Just a spectacular performance all around. Great atmosphere at The Wach and a dominating win over a team that had been running it’s mouth. Donovan McNabb being there to watch his alma matter go down was icing on the cake. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.
Cheers to Villanovans everywhere. We’ve got ourselves a team. I leave you with a quote, from a true leader.
“I never really think about whether it’s a big game or who it’s against,” Cunningham said. “You’ve just got to go out there and play. Every game’s a big game just because Villanova’s playing.”
That is a man with the right attitude.
