I Bleed Blue and White

With the college basketball season coming to an end, naturally the pace is going to slow down around here. There won’t be as much news daily, and sometimes for days at a time (especially in the summer). But we are going to make a collective effort to make sure that everything Villanova-related is covered on here throughout the spring and the summer.

In the coming weeks, look for the following:

• A tribute to each of the four seniors that are graduating.
• A focus on Dante Cunningham’s draft status as he works to make an NBA team.
• A new addition to the blog’s staff.

In addition to those, we’re primarily going to make sure we start to focus on Villanova’s recruiting efforts for the classes of 2010 and 2011 (remember that Villanova has one commitment already — SG James Bell — for the Class of 2010), as well as begin to give our thoughts on the outlook of next season.

With 4 freshman, a redshirt freshman, and a transfer eligible for playing time next fall, Villanova is looking at a major overhaul. There will still be many familiar faces, but this is an essence a new era of Villanova basketball we are entering. When Randy Foye, Allan Ray and Kyle Lowry left, these past 3 years were viewed as “transition” years by many of us. It turned out to be something much, much better.

So as we say goodbye to 4 great ambassadors of the program (as well as an assistant coach), keep in mind that more good times lie ahead. We may be graduating from ‘Nova in May, but we’ll always have our hearts with this program.

ESPN’s Dana O’Neil has yet another spectacular article on Villanova. In her latest entry, she discusses how the identity of Villanova was born. It was a tradition that was started 4 years ago against North Carolina, and now it has come full circle. Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry aren’t here anymore, but they are still on the minds of the current team.

“Coach always would say, ‘That’s the way Randy did it,’ or ‘This is how Kyle did it,’ and of course it gets old hearing it,” Reynolds said. “But at the same time, they earned it. They made us reach to be what they were. They set the bar for everything that we wanted to be and how we wanted to play.”

O’Neil also discusses that 2005 matchup with North Carolina, and how the players weren’t scared then, and they aren’t scared now.

…How can you not love Dana O’Neil?…another fantastic job by her…I was just listening to Jay Wright on 950 AM and he said that the team watched the 2005 game against UNC on their way to Detroit…these guys weren’t in school then…but you can tell it’s time for revenge…

…I love how the alumni still stay in touch with the current players…I wasn’t even at Villanova yet for that last matchup, but I was committed to come here and remember that game vividly…I want revenge too…

Spent some time watching the McDonald’s All-American Game last night (while also dedicating myself to LOST and the United States World Cup Qualifying match). I’m proud to say that all 3 went great, especially the Mickey D’s game.

If you weren’t able to watch, you can check out the box score here, but here is what you need to know on Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek. Keep in mind, this was the first time I’ve ever seen either play.

Cheek went 14 minutes, made 6-8 shots (2-2 from downtown), and also had a monstrous block. Cheek looks great shooting the ball. He really has a pretty stroke. He’s a long and rangy athlete who can hit the outside shot as he demonstrated last night, but he also got to the rim with regularity and threw some a couple sweet dunks.

Wayns played 18 minutes, but did not have a great shooting night (just 2-6). More impressive, and more important, were his 7 assists. Wayns has an unbelievable handle on the ball. Honestly, he might have a better handle than Corey Fisher does as this point, which says a ton. He plays hard and fast and always has his head up looking for teammates. His alley-oop passes were on the money and he is a very unselfish player.

But the best thing about both is how hard they played in an all-star game. With Lance ‘Born Ready’ Stephenson refusing to pass the ball and showboating for 40 straight minutes, the two future Wildcats made a huge impression not only with their defense (Cheek especially) but with their overall drive. They played very hard, which is great to see.

After last night, I’m convinced that both of these guys will be seeing solid minutes next year, even with our phenomenal returning backcourt depth. I can only find one criticism for each right now. In Cheek’s case, he needs to get stronger. But what high school kid doesn’t? He’s going to be a monster after he hits the weights hard.

As for Wayns, his outside shot needs work, but I totally see the Kyle Lowry comparisons now. He’s the typical hard-nosed Philly guard. And he’s unbelievable with the ball in his hands and running the fast break. Very impressed by him.

We still have 2 more games left this year, but the future looks great.

I’ve got some evening links for you, and I actually am re-linking you to the article about Scottie’s health. I didn’t realize that Jay’s press conference transcript was in there. Mea culpa.

• Jay Wright has seemingly been on every show, radio station, website that you can name. The man is a worker. Here’s his press conference transcript from today…Post Patterns
• Kyle Lowry dresses like Jay-Z these days, but like Randy Foye hasn’t forgotten his roots…Philadelphia Inquirer (Ashley Fox)
• Jay Wright was once a mere college student. And apparently, they hadn’t invented gel yet (see the picture)…Philadelphia Daily News (Rich Hofmann)
• I wasn’t able to make the live blog last night, but the fellas did a good job without me. And they hate Duke….PittBlather

Lowry has a fresh start in Houston.

I’m not the biggest NBA fan around, but I do follow the New York Knicks and being that yesterday was the NBA Trade Deadline (and the Knicks definitely needed to make some moves) I was following the action. Yesterday, two former Wildcat stars were shipped to new homes.

Former PG Kyle Lowry was traded to the Houston Rockets as part of a 3 team deal. Lowry was stuck behind Mike Conley in Memphis, so the move to Houston is definitely an upgrade for Lowry, and in the Rockets opinion, an upgrade for them as well.

“We feel like we got better today, upgrading that position was a goal going into the deadline,” Morey said. “We feel like we accomplished it. Kyle is going to be a guy the town really loves. He’s a really tough competitor, up-tempo player, a winner. Jay Wright at Villanova thinks he’s the smartest point guard he ever had. He is someone we’ve had our eyes on really since the draft.”

That’s very high praise for Lowry, who had seemingly fallen out of favor in Memphis. The other Wildcat to be traded was Tim Thomas, who the Knicks sent to the Bulls with 2 other players for SG Larry Hughes. Thomas came to the Knicks earlier this year via trade, and found some success in Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense. The Knicks were seeking guard help, while the Bulls were looking to shed Hughes’ 13 million dollar salary for next year.

…I’m very happy for Lowry, I never really thought he got a fair shot in Memphis, as management there just fell in love with Conley and basically gave him the keys…as for Thomas, I’m not really sure what his new role in Chicago will be…but he’s been moving around a lot and seems to be a good role player for every team he’s on…

(Note: No Blogger Beat for this game as the turnaround time from Syracuse was just too quick. But make sure to check out the excellent Marquette blog “Cracked Sidewalks” before the game.)

On Saturday, December 3rd, 2005 (my freshman year), my friends and I woke up early, trudged to the SPIT, and got some breakfast. Afterwards, we went straight back to our rooms on the 3rd floor of Stanford Hall, and preceded open up a deck of cards, and crack our first beers of the day. It was gameday of the first big basketball game of my college career and a day that I’ll never forget.

Oklahoma was coming to campus that day to play Villanova. It was the 4th game of the year, and a matchup of two Top 5 teams. The campus was buzzing. Everyone knew we had a chance to be a special team, but nobody really knew how good we could be. And Oklahoma was going to be that barometer. They boasted big men Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout while we trotted out a line-up that looked better suited for a high school game than primetime ESPN matchup. People doubted Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Kyle Lowry, Mike Nardi, Will Sheridan and Jason Fraser. We’d lost our consensus best player (Curtis Sumpter) for the year and many thought that we wouldn’t even compete.

More importantly, this game was on campus. My teachers and my older friends told me that you wouldn’t see another game like this in your 4 years here. The big match-ups in the Big East were played downtown at The Wachovia Center and Villanova typically scheduled soft out of conference. All of those things I heard have been proven true. Until tomorrow.

When Marquette arrives on Tuesday, they are going to meet a raucous crowd. Sure, I won’t be up at 9 am drinking in a crowded room on South Campus, but I like to think that there will be some people doing that. I won’t not see my roommate come in with glazed eyes and proclaim “it’s game time” at noon (6 hours before tip-off, mind you) and take off running for The Pavilion with just shorts and a ‘Nova jersey on, but the feeling of excitement will be the same.

When the official line comes out tomorrow, I won’t be surprised when ‘Nova is favored by a few points. But in reality, we’re still the team with something to prove. Although they lost their first game last week, Marquette is atop the conference standings, and in a lot of ways, they mirror that taltented ‘05-06 Villanova squad. Villanova is still the team with question marks and the team trying to garner national respect.

You know what though? We won that game in early 2005, silencing the doubters and making believers out of everyone. Randy Foye dazzled the ‘Nova faithful with 32 points. Jason Fraser forgot about the injuries for the night and scored 10 huge points. Kyle Lowry harassed anyone within 10 feet of him and Allan Ray scorched the nets. And a little known freshman named Dante Cunningham played 12 minutes and grabbed 1 rebound.

And what is my enduring memory from that game? It wasn’t the spectacular offensive performance from Foye and Ray, but the crowd and the way they impacted that game. The way they exploded louder for blocks and steals than they did for 3’s and dunks. The way they applauded a lanky Cunningham for helping stifle one of the best frontcourts in America and the way they loved a hobbled Jason Frasier like The Garden loved Willis Reed.

So tomorrow when the doors open and the students pile in to the point where those bleachers don’t feel safe, I’ll be remembering my freshman year, when a talented yet unrespected team ran through the students and proceeded to run a team out of the gym. I’ll remember deafening cries of “Lets Go ‘Nova!” and the “On Your Feet!” chants at the alumni. I’ll remember feeling the students’ confidence before the game. Because only we knew how good we were and how we were going to win.

We had the knowledge then that we were good, but only we knew it. But as Dick Weiss pointed out this morning in the Daily News, this Wildcat team has everything.

They have a Randy Foye-like superstar in Dante Cunningham. They have a lethal 3 point shooter in the mold of Allan Ray (Corey Stokes). They have an electric guard that can leave a crowd in awe like Kyle Lowry used to (Corey Fisher). They have a talented yet injury plagued senior who always seems to come through like Jason Fraser did (Shane Clark). And they’ve got glue guys who don’t make headlines but hold a talented team together like Will Sheridan and Mike Nardi used to (Dwayne Anderson and Reggie Redding). And we haven’t each touched on Scottie Reynolds yet, who unlike any of those old Wildcats, has already carried a team all my himself.

And looking at that, it’s not even far-fetched to think that this Villanova team has more working parts than the Elite 8 team did. They are making believers out of everyone and are playing like they are on a mission at the moment. I might not even be there tomorrow night because I don’t have a ticket yet (and if you read this and have an extra, let me know!), but I know that everyone is that bandbox we call our home will be behind our team.

Am I getting too excited and possibly letting myself up for a letdown? Possibly, but with the way this team is playing, it’s extremely difficult for me to temper my expectations.

Lets Go ‘Nova.