I Bleed Blue and White

One of my favorite things to do is read the quotes from the postgame press conferences following each game.  The script was not available for last night’s postgame press conference at the Palestra, but the following articles provide some reactions from both teams. 

• “Villanova outlasts Saint Joseph’s in Big 5 rivalry” by Mike Kern
• “Against Villanova, Saint Joseph’s hangs around, for 40 minutes” by Dick Jerardi
• “Reynolds, Villanova turn back Saint Joe’s” by Terry Toohey

By the way, there are 16 undefeated teams in Division I basketball currently.  Not surprisingly, 5 of these teams are from the Big East, including Villanova (9-0), Syracuse (8-0)-who is playing Florida right now, Seton Hall (7-0), Georgetown (7-0), and West Virginia (6-0).   

Bob Hurst of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote an article today detailing Dante Cunningham’s expectations for the upcoming NBA Draft.  He also portrays how Dante has continued to work harder each year to become the best player he can be, and he will continue to do this in his post-Villanova years.  Cunningham is currently at the NBA Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago, showcasing certain skills for NBA scouts.  One of the more impressive quotes in the article is Cunningham being asked the type of player he would be in the NBA.  He says,

The Ben Wallace type that gets rebounds, plays defense.  On the other hand, I’m the type of player that can pick and pop and stay in the mix with everything that’s going on on the court.

If you ask most prospects this question, you will probably hear they envision themselves as a Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, or some other superstar.  Ben Wallace was very good for a few years, but I don’t think he was ever a superstar.  Even so, Wallace puts everything he has out on the floor night in and night out, and it’s great to hear Dante wanting to do the same.  While I say it’s great, this is not surprising, because we saw it the last 4 years, as Dante did whatever was best for Villanova basketball throughout.  All in all, just shows the true character of Dante Cunningham.

As has been reported numerous times over the last few weeks, it looks like Chris Walker will be the next Villanova assistant, replacing Patrick Chambers.  Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News is also reporting that Walker is the top choice to join Jay Wright’s staff.