I Bleed Blue and White

What started off as a day where I couldn’t catch a break (train troubles) while trying to get to the Giants-Cowboys game turned into just a fabulous Sunday. The New York Football Giants beat the Cowgirls, who continue to prove that they just cant, and wont, get it done in December.

That was followed by me remembering that I did not have to go to a bar to watch the Villanova game (My body was not going to accept more alcohol) and I settled in on the couch for some Villanova hoops and pizza. And it was fabulous to watch for about 10 seconds. And then the announcers started talking.

I really did not know the extent of what was happening (as I mentioned, a few adult beverages were consumed) but I do remember venting about the idiocy of the 2 morons assigned to cover this game, who were not only completely pro-Maryland, but more often than not just flat out wrong about their “facts.” And I could not have been happier when the final buzzer sounded and we were on top. It was time to sleep.

Anyways, as i said I was pretty out of it watching this game, but I think I do remember some things good, and bad, about the game. Here they are:

• Greivis Vasquez is going to give Jon Scheyer a run for his money in terms of being the biggest whiner in the college game. Not surprisingly both are from the ACC – where optional defense happens!
• Speaking of optional defense, Corey Stokes and Dominic Cheek have been doing anything bu that. They were again the main men responsible for Vasquez poor outing. I cannot wait til Reggie Redding is back in 2 weeks. That is 3 shutdown defenders on one team. Stokes also had 18 points on 5-11 from deep. The offense is coming back. Watch out.
• Scottie Reynolds referred to the Verizon Center as his Madison Square Garden. Hard to argue with that after 25 points and 8 assists and a phenomenal game from the senior.
• Corey Fisher had 20 points, was lethal from deep (4-6) and hit a monstrous 3 to give the Cats a cushion in the 2nd half right after Maryland cut it to 3. I do remember that shot, as I’m sure everyone does. It was the biggest one of the game in my opinion.
• Another near double-double for Antonio Peña. He has really stepped up this year. Couldn’t be happier for a kid who has clearly worked hard for everything that he’s getting right now.
• Looking at the stat sheet, it appears Taylor King was chucking a bit (5-17 from the field), but I thought he had a good, scrappy effort. Plus, I liked when he got in that punk Vasquez’ face.
• Other than the good D by Cheek and Stokes, the rest of the team was terrible. Three Maryland guys (names escape me) had monster games. That basically tells me everyone else did not do their job on D. Maybe keying on Vasquez was the gameplan, but I don’t like giving up 86 points to anyone. And we’d been playing so well.
• At least we showed we can just outgun people when we need to.
• The Holy War is on Wednesday. Awesome. I love kicking the shit out of them. Yes, I refuse to acknowledge the name of that hell-hole.

…Solid win in what many labeled the biggest OOC game this year…and it was definitely a road-game and a great test for the young guys…

Conflicted day for me – really happy about going to the Giants-Cowboys game. Do-or-die for my G-Men. But a little upset about missing a little of the ‘Nova game. Oh well, that’s life. Quick refresher of the rules before we get to the spread.

• On Game Day, I will post the official line we will be using for the game.
• In that thread, post your pick against-the-spread for the game that night.
• Make sure you use the same username for every pick (I know some of you are registered, if you aren’t this is a good reason to do so to make it easier). Also, make sure you provide your email so that I can contact the winner at the end of the year.
• Anonymous entries will not count.
• Entries posted after the game starts will not count.
• If you do not provide a pick for the game, it will be marked as a loss in the standings.
• If you are away and can’t make a pick in the thread, you can email me your pick. Email me at clane2787@gmail.com and I will try to email you back ASAP with the line (again, it must be emailed before the start of the game).
• The winner at the end of the year will win a prize (TBD) and I promise it will be something good. I’m not going to be lame like that. I’m searching eBay for cool Villanova stuff as we speak.
• In the event of a tie, the poster with the best BIG EAST record (regular season) wins. If still tied, the best Big 5 record wins. If still tied, the best OOC record wins. If still tied, we may have to do multiple prizes.

The spread for the game is Villanova -1.5. Jesus. We aren’t going to have a single Maryland pick. Anyways, fire away with your picks!

The Game: #3 Villanova (7-0) vs. Maryland (5-2)

Location: The Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Broadcast: MSG+ in NY/NJ and Fox Sports Net

Brief Rundown: Ever since the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, ‘Nova has been cruising through its OOC schedule. They haven’t been tested in a couple of weeks, but that will all change on Sunday night. Antonio Peña has been the workhorse for the Cats as he continues to average a double-double on the year. The Cats defense was superb against Drexel, which is a trend that needs to continue against the Terps.

When this game was first announced, everyone looked at this as one of the best OOC games of the year. The Terps have disappointed in some aspects, losing games to Cincinnati and Wisconsin to start the year (that Wisky loss doesn’t look so bad now). But Greivis Vasquez is still a premier playmaker in college hoops and he has the supporting cast to make this team dangerous. This is listed as a neutral game, but it will be anything but that in D.C.

What I Want To See: We’ve seen Corey Stokes and Dominic Cheek shut down the opponent’s top players all year, but Vasquez is a different animal. If you can stop him, you’ll stop Maryland. It they can’t, the Cats will be in trouble. Those two need to keep doing what they’ve been doing to ensure a victory.

Links:

• Villanova Game Notes

Whenever a team loses upperclassmen to graduation, someone else has to step up.  For Villanova, that someone is Scottie Reynolds.  This may seem obvious, but with the suspension of Reggie Redding, Reynolds has everyone looking up to him for guidance, which Terry Toohey of the Delco Times points out.

Jay Wright on Scottie’s leadership thus far:

He’s a tremendous leader.  He’s like an NBA veteran.  That’s how much respect he has.  Everyone on the team looks up to him and Scottie takes that responsibility serious.  I was away one day in September and I called him up to see what was going on.  He was in the video room with our freshmen going over our defensive concepts.

Reynolds, discussing that specific day:

That was just something I felt I had to do.  We were doing all these things on the court that they had never seen before so I decided to take them up and show they what we were trying to do.  I showed them the Duke game (from the NCAA Tournament).  We weren’t perfect in that game.  We made mistakes, but we worked hard and we did it together.  That’s what made that group so special.  We knew we were going to work hard and work together.

Reynolds will certainly be a focal point for both teams tomorrow night, as the young Wildcats will be looking to feed off Scottie’s experience, while the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights will definitely try to prevent a big scoring outburst from the senior guard.  Scottie will be a key in just about every game this season, and ESPN’s Andy Katz can’t wait to see Reynolds against Maryland, as this is one of his “25 games you’ll want to see” this year.  Katz also looks forward to the big showdown with the Mountaineers in early March at the Wachovia Center. 

Dec. 6: Villanova vs. Maryland, BB&T Classic (FSN): Villanova is probably overrated, while Maryland isn’t getting enough publicity.  This game in Washington D.C., matches Scottie Reynolds against Greivis Vasquez in one of the better playmaker games.

March 6: West Virginia at Villanova (CBS): The top two teams meet for, perhaps, the Big East title in the last game of the season.  The Big East schedule makers got this one right, just like Pitt and Connecticut last season. 

Overrated according to Katz?  To each their own.  We’ll just have to wait and see. 

Just a heads up as I got an email from Villanova. Apparently, I am a loyal Cyber Club member. Interesting.

Anyways, you can go here to order your tickets to the December 6th game vs. Maryland at The Verizon Center in Washington D.C. The tickets are $40 each.

…I know that the D.C. Alumni Association is still putting the final touches on an event that they will host that day and night…we will post more about it when we hear it…

A pre-sale for the Sunday, December 6th game between Villanova and Maryland are now on sale! Go to Ticketmaster and use the code CCF to purchase your tickets.

This pre-sale ends at midnight on Thursday, and the general public tickets will go on sale on Friday. Act fast!

…Thanks to VUHoops for the heads up on this!…

I was thinking today about the last few seasons of Villanova hoops. Over my 4 years there I saw two great teams (2005-2006 and last year’s) as well as a team that exceeded my expectations (2007-2008) and one team who met my expectations (2006-2007). And then I began to think about the upcoming season, and what to expect from this year’s team.

After a productive summer, Fisher is ready for the big-time.

In my eyes, there are 5 distinct groups that we could split the team into:

Proven commodities:

• Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding

Guys who are ready for the spotlight:

• Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes

Guys who can make this team great:

• Antonio Peña, Taylor King

Newcomers:

• Mouphtaou Yarou, Dominic Cheek, Maalik Wayns, Isaiah Armwood, Maurice Sutton

Anything you get is gravy:

• Jason Colenda, Russell Wooten

I didn’t list King amongst the newcomers because he has played big-time college basketball before. If he can grasp the concept of Villanova basketball and doing the dirty work as well as provide the offense we know he’s capable of, he’s a guy, like Peña, who could bring us to the next level.

What’s most troubling to me though, is that we will be introducing 5 new guys to the rotation. Many people have said that Armwood may be looking at a redshirt year while Sutton may not yet be ready, but the frontline is pretty thin and if they can play hard and play good defense (we know Sutton can) then they will see some time.

But like any sport, chemistry is incredibly important. Especially for the team-style brand that Jay Wright preaches. The last two great ‘Nova teams had brilliant chemistry. Guys knew each other like family. So it’s not a stretch to say that there will be growing pains when introducing new faces, while counting on new players and become leaders (Fisher and Stokes) and while waiting for a true leader in Redding to return from suspension.

Our OOC schedule as it stands right now isn’t anything that will cause the team to lose sleep at night, but it does have some possible speedbumps that could turn us from a consensus Top 5 squad into a middle of the Top 25 squad. Looking over the schedule, 5 games have the potential to either be character-builders or struggles in the early going.

Puerto Rico will provide and early and stiff litmus test as to how this season could unfold. George Mason is never a pushover, but I still like our overall talent level to carry us through. The next round leaves Georgia Tech as a potential opponent. They’re a young team, but very, very talented and they have an experienced coach in Paul Hewitt. Should we make the finals, whoever we play will likely be a stiff test as well.

Beyond that, the BB&T Classic vs. Maryland in Washington D.C. may be listed as a neutral game, but I bet it plays more like a Maryland home game. Maryland is rapidly improving, and has always been a good program under Gary Williams. Plus, it seems like at least once every year they pull off a shocker. Not that beating us would be a shocker, but we could easily be in the Top 5 while they could be unranked.

And finally, the Holy War vs. St. Joe’s. I don’t think many people care as much about this game as they do, but that’s precisely what is worrisome. It’s the Super Bowl for the Hawks, and it will be played at The Palestra this year, where anything can happen.

In the end, I see Villanova getting through this portion of the year either unscathed or with 1 loss. But with Reggie Redding, there will be some learning curves.

What do you think about our OOC schedule?

ESPN continues their Summer ShootAround series with a look at the Big East. The article, which contains many aspects concerning Villanova, is a great read, so I highly suggest taking the time to sort through it as it really gives you a good feel of what to expect as the conference turns over a new leaf. Below are the Villanova highlights.

Jay Bilas on Villanova, who he ranks as the best team in the conference:

“The Wildcats are a bit younger, but very talented at every position. Jay Wright has guards that he encourages to make plays, and Villanova is versatile enough to attack mismatches on offense and switch every screen on defense. Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes form one of the nation’s strongest backcourts, and all can get into the lane and to the free-throw line. Freshmen Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns can play right away. But making up for Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson will be a challenge.”

Dana O’Neil on Mouphtaou Yarou, who she believes is 1 of 10 key players in the conference:

“How far the Wildcats go may depend heavily on how quickly the rookie big man succeeds. Jay Wright always has been a guard’s coach, and Villanova has no shortage of backcourt talent again this year. But it is not a coincidence that when the Wildcats finally found a talented inside man — Dante Cunningham — they went to the Final Four. If Yarou, with the help of fellow freshman Isaiah Armwood, can make up for Cunningham’s loss, Nova might be busy on the final weekend of the season again.”

John Stovall on Mouphtaou Yarou and Dominic Cheek, both a part of 10 freshman to watch this season:

Yarou – “He’s big, strong and has solid skills. ‘Mouph’ should definitely have an immediate impact. He’s physically ready to play and skilled enough to have his presence felt right away in the Big East.”

Cheek – “He’s talented enough to be an all-conference player. He has to improve his motor, but once that happens he’ll be heading to the next level. Look for Villanova’s two other recruits — Maalik Wayns and Isaiah Armwood — to make an immediate impact as well.

Dana O’Neil on Villanova vs. Maryland, 1 of 10 non-conference games to watch:

“Two of the most exciting guards in the nation, Greivis Vasquez an Scottie Reynolds, square off in the nation’s capital. The Terps, who return just about everybody, are good enough to give Big East favorite Villanova a run for its money.”

Dana O’Neil on a potential Villanova/Georgia Tech matchup in Puerto Rico:

“This is a big if, because the Yellow Jackets would need to knock off A-10 favorite Dayton in the first round (and Nova has to beat always-pesky George Mason), but this semifinal matchup would feature some of the best freshmen in the country: Mouphtaou Yarou, Isaiah Armwood, Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek for Villanova; Derrick Favors and Mfon Udofia for Georgia Tech. Mix in the fact that Tech coach Paul Hewitt, like Jay Wright, is a Rollie Massimino disciple and you have the stuff for a high-level game in November.”

And finally, ESPN’s ‘quick take’ on Villanova:

“Jay Wright is at the point where he is reloading, not rebuilding. The Wildcats bring one of the top recruiting classes in the country, headlined by Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns, to go with the nucleus from the Final Four team. Senior guard Reggie Redding, arrested for marijuana possession, will be ineligible until mid-December. But with plenty of depth at the guard position, Villanova ought to survive without him.”

…The last part about reloading instead of rebuilding has really been a theme around Villanova’s program lately…I love it…I say it everyday but I really wish the start of the season was closer…