I Bleed Blue and White

Villanova Coach Jay Wright has been voted The Sportsperson of the Year by the Philadelphia Daily News! Humble as ever, Jay quickly dismissed the award saying it could have gone to a host of other people.

“I think I would have voted for Chase Utley, just because he was such a beast in the World Series,” said Wright, the charismatic Villanova basketball coach who took the Wildcats to the Final Four last April. “And the Eagles went to the [NFC] championship game. That still counts for this year, right? When I think of Sportsmen of the Year, I think of Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, Charlie Manuel, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins. To me, that’s what last year was.”

Oh, Jay. Don’t be so modest. I of all people know you’re a much better human than those asses you just ran off. Plus, getting to the Final Four is harder than getting to the World Series, and especially harder than making (and not winning) the NFC Championship. Oh well. Congrats Jay!

Dick Jerardi, a writer for the Philadelphia Daily News, came out with an article today which talks about Scottie Reynold’s decision to return for his senior season.  There are some excellent quotes from Reynolds regarding the NBA Draft process he went through as well as some thoughts about next season.  It sounds like the speculation started to get to Scottie, as he says,

People can stop asking me every time I order something, do something.  Every time, it’s ‘Yo, what are you doing?’

Additionally, Comcast SportsNet caught up with Jay Wright and Scottie at the Davis Center to get some more input from them.  The above link will take you to the video page for Comcast SportsNet.  Then, click on the SPORTSNITE tab and the video is from 6/9-The Wildcats on Reynolds returning to school.

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.

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.