I Bleed Blue and White

Thought I’d update anyone that’s interested in the status of the ‘Nova players in the NBA.

• After a strong 3 game start Randy Foye, and the Wizards for that matter, have cooled off considerably.  In his last 5 games Foye has only 4 assists.  He’s had point totals of 7, 6, 16, and 16.  He sprained his ankle against the Heat Tuesday night and did not return.  The Wizards have lost all 5.
• Kyle Lowry remains a player off the bench for the surprisingly strong Rockets considering their situation.  He gets about 25 minutes a game, and playing an efficient game as a back seat option to Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry.  In his last 4 he’s averaged 8 pts, 5 asts, and 3 rebs.  He also had 4 blocks against the Thunder.
• Dante Cunningham, as you know if you’ve seen the recent posts, got his first NBA game time action.  He scored 6 pts in 6 minutes against the Timberwolves on 3-4 shooting.  No other box stats.
• Tim Thomas is still in Limbo.

It occurred to me today that I’m quickly tiring of waiting for Villanova hoops. I’ve already bought my tickets, and I’d pay good money to be able to see a game this weekend. Seriously. No disrespect to the football team — you’re having a great year, and I’ve actually become a huge fan the past 2 years, but I need me some basketball.

Luckily, the Villanova chapter of the NBA got things underway this week with their preseason starting up. That, and more Villanova athletes continue to bring home the hardware during the fall season. I guess times aren’t so rough.

• Kyle Lowry didn’t start for Houston, but he ended up playing more minutes than Aaron Brooks and filled the stat sheet. Keep it up Kyle.
• Dante Cunningham was a DNP (Coaches’ Decision) in the Blazers opening game. But he did having a little dunk contest at their Fan Fest. In the words of the Blazers’ columnist “he can fly.”
• Randy Foye came off the bench to score 14 points in his Wizards debut. He, like Lowry, is a stat-sheet filler.
• Gary Parrish of CBSSports ranks ‘Nova 6th in his final pre-season poll. Fair.
• Get ready for “Hoops Mania presented by Advance Staging Productions.” Wow, I think I just threw up a little.
• The Women’s Cross Country won the Bill Dellinger Invitational to start their season. And afterward, they moved up to #2 in the country. Way to go girls!
• Megan Goelz was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the third consecutive week. Kudos.
• Elysse Studzinski was also named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll in volleyball.

NBA Camps have opened up this week across the country, and Jonathan Feigen brings us a Houston Rockets update via the Houston Chronicle. Feigen talks about Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry competing for the starting PG spot, after both were impressive late last year when Lowry arrived in Houston.

“Everybody should think that,” Lowry said. “I know me and Aaron are going to go out there, we’re going to battle, and Coach is going to make the decision on who is best to be the starter. I think we both want that job. Whatever happens happens. We both have to go out there and play and help the team win.”

Lowry’s conditioning has been impressive early on in Rockets camp, something he worked hard on this offseason.

“Basically, I just put my time in, put the extra time in the gym, put the extra work in putting up shots, did things to make myself better,” Lowry said. “I basically prepared myself to be a high-powered player to help our team.”

…If you follow Kyle on Twitter, you know that he has been a gym rat all through the offseason…every single day he’s in there working hard, so it’s great to see it is paying off for him…

Here is Part 2 of Kyle Lowry’s Vlog! Enjoy it! And thanks to Kyle for sharing this, and a great choice of music for the background!

Here’s a new video where former ‘Nova star Kyle Lowry does a little video blogging, or vlogging. Enjoy!

So here’s the way I see the schedule falling for the Wildcats this year.  We’ll see how ‘Nova handles the traditionally difficult Big East schedule with lofty preseason expectations.  While we may have dealt with them my freshman year, the team was littered with experienced stars (Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter, Kyle Lowry).  This year’s team may ultimately have more talent, but we are replacing Shane, Dwayne, and ‘Te.  The non-conference schedule will be key in gaining experience.  If the freshies can get comfortable in the system we’ll hit fewer roadbumps in the Big East schedule.

So here’s a list of the games and my keys to the season:

NOVEMBER
5 (Thursday) KUTZTOWN (exh. at WC)     Win
13 (Friday) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON    Win
16 (Monday) PENN+   Win
19 (Thursday) vs. George Mason  Win
20 (Friday) vs. Dayton or Georgia Tech   Win (Dayton)  Loss (GT)
22 (Sunday) vs. TBD    (if we get here – Win)
28 (Saturday) LA SALLE+   Win

DECEMBER
2 (Wednesday) DREXEL   Win
6 (Sunday) vs. Maryland   Win (home state university and future grad school, but my heart’s with NOVA)
9 (Wednesday) at Saint Joseph’s+  WIN (may kill myself if we lose this one)
13 (Sunday) at Temple+  Win
19 (Saturday) at Fordham  Win
23 (Tuesday) DELAWARE   Win

JANUARY
2 (Saturday) at Marquette* - Win
6 (Wednesday) DEPAUL* -   Win
9 (Saturday) MARQUETTE* –   Loss
11 (Monday) at Louisville*  –  Win
17 (Sunday) GEORGETOWN* –   Loss
20 (Wednesday) at Rutgers* – Loss
23 (Saturday) at St. John’s* –  Win
27 (Wednesday) NOTRE DAME* –   Win

FEBRUARY
2 (Tuesday) SETON HALL* –  Win
6 (Saturday) at Georgetown* – Loss
8 (Monday) at West Virginia* –   Loss
13 (Saturday) PROVIDENCE* –   Win
15 (Monday) CONNECTICUT* -   Win
21 (Sunday) at Pittsburgh* –  Win
24 (Wednesday) USF* –   Win
27 (Saturday) at Syracuse* - Win

MARCH
2 (Tuesday) at Cincinnati* –  Win
6 (Saturday) WEST VIRGINIA* –  Win

Final Record  26-6 (#1 Big East)

First thing that strikes me about my picks, is I flip-flopped the home court advantage with Marquette winning there and losing at home.  I feel like we typically struggle against them at home but do well there. We struggle at the RAC and in Morgantown so with more experienced teams there I have  us losing. Georgetown will be our main competition, and UConn will again be up there, but I don’t see us losing at home. Louisville and Pittsburgh lost All-Big East performers Earl Clark and Terrance Williams, and Levance Fields, Sam Young, and DeJuan Blair.  While most of the teams that were good last year have lost a bunch of players, I think 6 losses seems about right with a couple of let down games.

I’ll be back in a week to look more in-depth into some teams, players, and games.

V for Villanova, V for Victory.

In the latest ‘Nova Notebook Mike Sheridan talks with freshman Maalik Wayns who is quickly acclimating himself to life at Villanova. It’s been a long time coming for Wayns, who committed to Jay Wright and staff during his sophomore year of high school. Wayns is well known all across Philadelphia, and his competitive streak has already been likened to former ‘Nova star Kyle Lowry.

Wayns is locked and loaded for the season.

“Even in individual (drills), I want to win all the time,” says Wayns. “I could have 30 points, 40 points in a game but if I don’t win it doesn’t mean anything. That’s another reason I came to Villanova – to be a part of a winning team.”

Wayns, who roomed with Scottie Reynolds during summer workouts, is excited to get things started for real in November. Even with a crowded backcourt this year, expect Wayns to make contributions early on because of his attitude and defensive skill-set.

As always, excellent work by Mike Sheridan.

…Wayns is probably my favorite freshman because of his attitude…he just oozes ‘Nova pride to me…plus the reputation that he comes to us with is very similar to what we got with Lowry (minus the temper issues)…I have no doubt that this kid will take a lot of pressure off Scottie and Fisher in the point guard role this year…he’s that good…

Via Chris Charles’ blog, we now have the first video of the recent workout at Villanova for alums and friends. This particular video is of former assistant Brett Gunning (now with the Houston Rockets) running through some pick and roll drills. Randy Foye going up against Kyle Lowry is the main matchup in this particular video.

And make sure you check out Charles’ recap of the event!

Enjoy!

Great picture of the entire family here. It includes the current team as well as the past players and coaches. This kind of thing really strikes home. Major thanks again to The ‘Nova Nation Twitter people.

By the way Kyle Lowry twittered that they scrimmaged young guys against the vets and that the alums won 4 games while the young guys won once. Go old(er) people!

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.