I Bleed Blue and White

Coach K says, "Who is this man?!"

I had a legit man-crush on Dwayne Anderson last year. He was the epitome of what I thought a “Villanova Basketball Player” should be. Not the biggest, strongest, or fastest. But man, did he have heart. Every loose ball, that was his. Every challenge, he rose to the occasion. When I finally came to grips with his graduation, I was legitimately upset. I didn’t know if he could be replaced.

Then I met Taylor King in Boston. I was on my way to a hotel to pick up my friend Meaghan and and I went to her room and there is Taylor watching SportsCenter. I knew that he wasn’t allowed to travel with the team, so it was a general shock to see him sitting there. After talking with him for 20 minutes or so, it was apparent that the guy loved Villanova. Hell, he made sure he was there for Boston. And he was amongst the most rambunctious fans during that famed weekend. That was the day I decided Taylor King would fit right in at Villanova.

It is early, but it looks like we may have found our answer to Dwayne Anderson’s graduation. Taylor King is playing Villanova basketball. Once known as a no-defense, shoot-only-3’s Dookie, King has transformed himself into the mirror image of what Dwayne Anderson was to last year’s team.

Nothing signified that more than what he did last night when the team was up by 20 (hint: it is what made Anderson a ‘Nova legend). Make sure you watch the highlight video starting at 1:53 to see what I mean.

So Taylor, this Bud’s for you. Keep yelling. Keep diving on the floor. Keep your teammates fired up. Keep pulling down those loose balls. And most importantly, keep making sure Coach K regret pushing you out the door at Duke. We love you.

Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays Taylor King’s feelings on playing Duke this Thursday. King says it’s been difficult because he hasn’t been able to officially be a part of the team since the Big East Tournament, and now must pay his own way up to Boston.

“It’s probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” King, a 6-foot-6 forward, said yesterday. “I’ll be in the arena, but I won’t be on the bench, and I won’t be able to play against my old team. But I’m here with my new family, my new team, and I’m excited and ready to watch us play them. I want us to play the best we can and win.”

King also talks about his relationship with Coach K, as well as his relationship with his former classmates Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler.

…Thanks to Brian for the link…

Villanova’s biggest strength heading into their game with Duke is their guard play. ‘Nova attacked the rim with disdain against UCLA, and with great success. Against the slower Dukies, one would figure that the dribble-drive would again figure prominently into the game plan.

But could it hurt Villanova? With the way that Coach K teaches the flop, it could. Duke is widely known for their questionable flops that only Kristof Ongenaet has been able to rival so far this season. When Corey Fisher, Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding and Dwayne Anderson attack the rim, they are going to need to be mindful that there is a flop waiting to happen.

And more importantly, Dante Cunningham is going to need to be very careful. He likes to throw his muscle around a bit in the post, but he’s going to need to be careful that he doesn’t give the refs anything to call.

With any luck, the game will be called the right way and flops, such as the one by newly discovered junk-lover Greg Paulus, will not be called.

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Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (yes I had to look it up) was a guest on ESPN’s Mike & Mike radio show hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic. On the show, Coach K talks about how he sees the matchup on Thursday and how the two teams are very similar, and what coaching the Olympics did for him.

You can listen to the interview here.

…Thanks to Brian for the link…