I Bleed Blue and White

On a rare Saturday where Villanova didn’t play, the Wildcats needed help from another group of Wildcats to make history.  With Kentucky losing to South Carolina on Tuesday night, Villanova had a chance to become #1 in the nation for the first time in school history.  The Kansas Jayhawks downed the Kansas State Wildcats in a nailbiter though, so in all likelihood, Kansas will be #1 and Villanova #2 when the new polls come out on Monday. 

Not really a big deal if you ask me.  It would be cool to hold the top spot, but being #1 in the very last poll is all that matters.     

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.

Rivals.com has updated their Top 25 Rankings for next season, now taking into account the underclassmen who have entered the NBA Draft.  Villanova comes in at #5, behind Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, and Texas, respectively.  According to Rivals,

Villanova still is waiting to hear whether Scottie Reynolds stays in the draft, but the Wildcats are loaded in the backcourt with or without him.  The Wildcats also are bringing in three of the top 30 prospects in the 2009 recruiting class.

Additionally, Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote an article today about Villanova reflecting on the recent Final 4 run, but the challenge that lies ahead to get back there.  There are a ton of quotes in the article, mostly from Jay Wright, and it certainly is a great read.