I Bleed Blue and White

The decision probably won’t come today or even this week, but it sounds like Scottie wants to decide by early next week.  The article relays much of what has already been discussed and reported, but according to Reynolds,

I definitely want to do it (make a decision) before the 15th.  I want to do it a little in advance of the 15th because if you decide on the 15th, you really don’t know what you’re doing.  I kind of want to get it under control next week.

Thus, we have about a week to ponder.  Does he stay in the NBA Draft or come back to school?

Stay in the draft or come back to school to round out a potential national title contender.  This is the decision Scottie Reynolds faces, and his final choice must be made within the next 2 weeks, as the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is June 15th.  Make no mistake though: Reynolds wants to get drafted this year.  He wasn’t invited to the 52-player NBA Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago, but he continues to work out for teams and try to impress.  Has he impressed though?  According to one Eastern Conference NBA scout,

His best chance is the second round.  It’s a matter of position and his athleticism is not quite there.  He’s not quite a one [point guard].  He’s pretty small, and he’s not that athletic and his decision-making is not there yet.  It’s such a point guard-deep draft, too, it’s probably not the best year for him to get out.

Keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so regarding Scottie’s decision.  For what it’s worth, I still think he will be back as a Wildcat next year.  Feel free to comment on what you think Scottie will do.

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.

Yesterday, May 18th, Scottie Reynolds had a workout with the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.  Joining him in this workout was Jerel McNeal, Lester Hudson, and Mike Rose.  The Wizards website has some videos posted of the workout and player interviews.  It looks like new head coach Flip Saunders worked these guys out extremely hard, with lots of full court drills. 

Comcast SportsNet also covered Scottie’s workout with the Wizards.  A short video clip in which Scottie talks about what needs to work on is posted.  This link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet, then click on the SPORTSNITE tab, and the aformentioned video clip is from 5/18 – “Scottie Reynolds visits the Wizards.”

Lastly, ESPN’s Andy Katz wrote an article today regarding the underclassmen players who are currently sitting on the fence for the NBA Draft.  Scottie was not mentioned in the article, but the piece is an excellent read and provides insight into who might stay in the draft and who may return to school.  Obviously, these decisions will have a big impact on Scottie staying in or returning to Villanova.

One of the biggest concerns for Scottie Reynolds’ draft prospects was the ability (or lack thereof) to showcase his talents to scouts and GM’s leading up to the draft. Unlike Dante Cunningham, Reynolds wasn’t invited to the official Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago.

There was also concern that due to the economy, many NBA teams would be cutting back private workouts, but it appears that teams are attempting to set up massive workouts for many players to compete.

According to Chad Ford at ESPN, Scottie Reynolds has been invited to a workout being held in New Jersey from June 12 to June 14.

…Still expecting Reynolds to be back next season, but this can really only help him if he is set on getting drafted…or it could finalize his return to school…anyways good luck to him as he attempts to improve his stock…

Rivals.com has updated their Top 25 Rankings for next season, now taking into account the underclassmen who have entered the NBA Draft.  Villanova comes in at #5, behind Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, and Texas, respectively.  According to Rivals,

Villanova still is waiting to hear whether Scottie Reynolds stays in the draft, but the Wildcats are loaded in the backcourt with or without him.  The Wildcats also are bringing in three of the top 30 prospects in the 2009 recruiting class.

Additionally, Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote an article today about Villanova reflecting on the recent Final 4 run, but the challenge that lies ahead to get back there.  There are a ton of quotes in the article, mostly from Jay Wright, and it certainly is a great read.

The NCAA has altered its rules regarding the deadline to withdraw your name for the NBA Draft.  This new rule will take effect next season, and instead of underclassmen being able to withdraw their names by June 15th, they will have to withdraw by May 8th next season.  This means that players will have much less time to showcase their skills to NBA scouts.  There are many reasons why this rule was altered, but there is one major reason.  College coaches want to know if a player is coming back to school or not, so they can determine how to structure their team in the near future.  A player deciding to come back or not impacts recruiting a great deal.

I don’t really have a problem with this change, but it certainly could affect some players on the Villanova basketball roster for next year.  I think the most notable name is Corey Fisher, considering that I heard he was thinking about entering his name in the draft this year.  Especially if Villanova makes a deep run next year, a Fisher or any other underclassment will only have about a month to declare, get workouts in, and then decide if they want to keep their names in or come back to school.   

ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz wrote an article about this year’s underclass entrants into the NBA Draft.  The article is entitled, “Sorting through the draft decisions,” and Katz places players into certain categories, including best move (Blake Griffin), perfect timing (Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington), hard to argue, foolishness, questionable, should go back, and winners (denotes college teams who benefited from guys staying at school).  Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds falls into the “should go back” category, as Katz says:

“Reynolds had the shot of the NCAA tournament, the game-winner against Pitt in the East Regional final. But he doesn’t have enough in his game to warrant a high pick. If he goes back, he has a real shot to win the national title.”

This article is a great read, as Katz does a fantastic job at ESPN.  I wholeheartedly agree with his comments about Scottie. 

There’s a write-up in the Philadelphia Inquirer today about Scottie Reynolds entering his name in the NBA Draft.  There’s not much new stuff from what we already know in this article, but there is some.  He spoke to current Philadelphia 76ers’ players Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young, regarding what the NBA is like.  Here’s what they told Scottie:

“They said it’s a different world,” Reynolds said. “It’s not like college. Know what you’re getting yourself into. They were letting me know so I wouldn’t get caught by surprise.”

Also, Scottie says entering his name in the draft but not hiring an agent is a win-win situation.  I completely agree.

“If it goes my way, great,” Reynolds said. “If I come back, I’ll be happy as well. I’m putting everything into it. There’s times when you have to think about yourself, know what’s best. That’s how I approached it.”

There’s also a short clip of Scottie talking to the media yesterday after a workout at the Davis Center, provided by Comcast SportsNet.  The above link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet, then click on the SPORTSNITE tab, and Scottie’s video is from 4/21 – Scottie on declaring for the NBA Draft.

Scottie has spoken, and he is going to enter his name into the NBA Draft, but will not hire an agent. If you read the quotes from Scottie and Jay Wright, it really does sound like he will be back next year and that he is merely ‘testing the waters’ because there is nothing to lose by doing so.

…We’ll start to cover Reynolds’ draft prospects in the coming weeks, but I don’t think they’ll be good enough to warrant him staying in the draft…Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio declared for the draft today as well, so that’s just one more guard in front of Scottie on the big board…