I Bleed Blue and White

Well, after another loss where the weaknesses stuck out like a sore thumb again, there is definitely a panic inside the Villanova camp.  Jay Wright might not admit it, the players might not admit it, fans might not admit it, but this team is spiraling downward at a rapid rate.  I’m not going to solely focus on yesterday’s debacle against the Mountaineers, because the problems of this team have been glaring for the last month or so.  I’m obviously not an expert, but I feel the need to call out some people, so take a look below.

In no particular order:

1.  Jay Wright-The man who has turned this program around is starting to bother me a little.  Without a doubt, the officiating has been extremely bad this year, but every time I look over, Jay is complaining about something to the referees.  At some point, the attention of the man in charge has to turn to his own players.  Instead of berating the refs for the full 40 minutes, even though they usually deserve it, Wright needs to start actually teaching and making adjustments during the game.  Second, the rotation has to be cut down to a set 8 or 9, unless dire circumstances warrant otherwise.  Playing 11 guys in the postseason is not going to work in my opinion.  Nobody can get into the flow of the game, and furthermore, most of the players never know how much they are going to play each game.  This may seem like good motivation, especially for the young guys, but I think it’s starting to mess with the chemistry of the squad.  One last thing–stop getting technicals Jay.  He must have around 8 T’s this season, which is not ok. 

2.  Maurice Sutton-Plain and simple, he should not be on the floor for meaningful minutes, unless there is extreme foul trouble.

3.  Maalik Wayns-The excuse may be that he’s only a freshman, but his reckless play is an issue now.  Sure, we saw flashes of brilliance early in the season, and there’s no doubt he has the potential to be a star on the Main Line, but other teams are figuring the youngster out.  They know he will force just about any shot and is prone to turnovers.  Thus, opponents are more than happy to let him make one spectactular play, which will usually be coupled with multiple turnovers and errant shots.  We need him to create, but turning the ball over every other possession doesn’t cut it.

4.  Taylor King-There are far more serious concerns with King than on the basketball court.  I heard from a friend that King has been suspended for academic reasons, but this may just be a cover up, as he might have got caught smoking weed.  Again, this is not confirmed, so don’t hold me to it.  On the hardwood, it’s all in King’s head in terms of his offense.  His shot is obviously not falling, and it’s screwing up his psyche.  If he gets the chance to play again this season, I still think he can be a valuable asset with his rebounding and defense, both of which have been surprisingly stellar this season for a team that has not done well in these categories.  

5.  Reggie Redding-The senior was never an offensive star in college, but he hasn’t produced at all when the Cats have the ball.  He can take it to the hole, we have all seen it before, but not so much this year.  I’m not asking Redding to light up the scoreboard, but at least look like you’re a part of the offense and create something for your teammates every once in awhile.

6.  Corey Stokes and Antonio Pena-Lumping these two together stems from their lack of consistency.  Both are extremely talented players with the ability to take over games singlehandedly, but they never seem to put back-to-back solid games together or even a full 40 minutes.  For example, Stokes will hit a couple of trey balls early on in a game, but then he disappears for long stretches.  Pena looks dominant one game and then comes up with a dud the next.  Stokes probably deserves to be called out more than Pena, but if Villanova is going to get back on track, these two will be need to be vital cogs.

7.  Fans in attendance-This includes myself.  Each of the games I’ve been to seemed to have a noticeable lack of energy in the building compared to years past.  Obviously, there’s a pass for yesterday’s game with the students still on Spring Break, but passionate fans really can energize a team.  Now is not the time to desert this team, rather their struggles should motivate us even more to maybe make a difference in propelling the Cats back into form.

Some may think I’m being too harsh or just flat out wrong, but this is just how I see it right now.  One person/one issue is not the sole reason for the lackluster performances recently, but when all of the problems are combined, the Cats do not play like we expect them to play.  At this very moment, my optimism is dwindling, but I still have hope that this team can turn it around and make a run over the next few weeks.  One thing is for sure: we will definitely find out what these group of Wildcats are made of in the very near future. 

I’ll end this post on a positive note by mentioning the Wildcats who earned 2010 Big East Honors.

Scottie Reynolds-First Team

Corey Fisher-Third Team

Maalik Wayns-All Rookie Team

Thanks to blog reader Katie for mentioning the story in the comments of the previous post.  Sure enough, Corey Stokes was cited for public urination last night on the Main Line.  The key here is that Stokes was not arrested, unlike Reggie Redding, who was arrested prior to the season and susbsequently suspended.  The article mentions that Stokes is likely to play against Syracuse on Saturday, but it will be interesting to see how Jay Wright handles this.  A second player in trouble with the law in a very short time frame does not look good for a premiere coach like Wright.   

Funny thing is I was at the same bar Stokes and some of his teammates were at last night.  Hopefully, this does not become a distraction, especially now heading into March.

Note: I’m going to be doing my postgame reports a little different this year. More reactions and opinions, less reporting.

My excitement could hardly be contained all day as I sat in my office. And this was all knowing that I wouldn’t be able to watch the first half of the game. Hey, Villanova basketball is back. A light goes on in me. I didn’t think anything could get me down. This, of course, proved to be untrue.

Taylor King impressed in his debut.

I arrived at Grand Central Station ready to catch the 6:29 train when I discover that the train hasn’t even arrived yet, with just 10 minutes until it’s scheduled departure. Finally, at 6:30, it arrives and I hustle on board. The conductor tells everyone to get off, saying the police need to search the train. Fabulous.

After a quick search (seriously, if you are going to search the train with SWAT, be thorough) we depart and I settle in. Around 6:55 I have an epiphany that I can listen to the game on my phone by downloading a radio application. I do this, and tune into 950-AM in Philadelphia, the station that usually broadcasts ‘Nova games. To my dismay, some asshole is talking about Donovan McNabb sucks and he wishes he would just quit. Now, maybe the game wasn’t on the radio, but I was 99% positive that it was, and this really set me off.

So now with just seconds until the tip, I try to load ESPN’s GameCast onto my Blackberry. “Data Not Available.” As 10-12 people around me at the time can attest, this caused an audible curse and a slammed fist into the back of the seat in front of me. I mean, really? I follow football and basketball games all the time on my phone, and never have a problem. Then again, it was Friday the 13th, and something was bound to go wrong.

So as a last resort, I finally load up my Twitter account and begin to follow the game thanks to brianisawesome, dgoneil1, and VillanovaBBall. Many thanks to all 3 of you, who legitimately kept me informed about the 1st half.

But oh no, from there the trouble wasn’t over. I finally get home with the 2nd half about to start and begin to get the backdoor feed going on my computer. Now, keep in mind this is a new computer that doesn’t have all my necessary add-ons installed yet. So I need to install Microsoft Silverlight to watch the game. Fine, this will take 20 seconds. But oh no, the file is corrupt! I have no idea what this means. And I was very angry for hours as I watched updates on ESPN’s bottom-line. As I said, ‘Nova basketball turns a switch on.

So I didn’t get to see any of the game. Until RFC brilliantly uploaded the highlights just hours after the game. Phenomenal. I really went from a completely angry person to a very euphoric person — all because of highlights. In the end, nothing could spoiler the opener for me, even if I didn’t get to see it. I did get to talk to some people who did see it, and take a few notes from the highlight tape. Here we go:

• Heard from multiple people that Antonio Peña had a crappy game? Really? 9 points and 10 rebounds seems pretty solid to me. FT’s (3-6) continue to be a problem but I think I’ll take a (near) double-double from ‘Tone every night.
• As much as I like hearing that Scottie Reynolds was managing the offense, I like hearing even more that he’s got 2o points or more. Terrible shooting night for the senior and I’m sure he’ll rebound nicely soon, but I don’t want to see too many of these games this year.
• Corey Stokes! Looks like he’s taken a big leap forwards in terms of leadership, defense, and scoring. Yes, the majority of his points were of the long-range variety but that and-1 finish was great and it wasn’t the only time he attempted to get into the lane.
• Taylor King! Heard from a lot of people that he has the best game out of everyone. Enthusiastic, great rebounding, and scoring to boot. That 3 he launched from the corner was one of the quickest releases I’ve ever seen. So smooth. TK looks like he’s going to be big for us this year.
• Corey Fisher looks like he’s in better shape (again) and legitimately looks like a guy who will challenge for 1st-team All-BIG EAST. He just looks so much more confident than he already was.
• Dominic Cheek just looks like a basketball player. Super smooth. Mouphtaou Yarou looked better than I expected, and at the same time I was a little disappointed. Can’t decide. Maalik Wayns doesn’t look like a freshman, nor play like one. He’s the real deal. Hopefully I’ll get to see some Isaiah Armwood next game. Love that he played. Don’t redshirt him!
• Maurice Sutton may be ready to contribute sooner than we thought.
• Seriously, Reggie Redding isn’t back yet. How friggan deep are we?

All in all, I just loved seeing the first game. It’s a joy to finally have ‘Nova basketball back. I’m excited for the year and ready for the ride!

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. 

Mike Sheridan’s latest ‘Nova Notebook focuses on Jay Wright and the lack of defense that was exhibited by the Wildcats in their win over Kutztown last Thursday. According to Wright, the graduation of Shane Clark, Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham, along with the suspension of Reggie Redding, is a huge part of what went wrong on opening night.

“That’s the sign of a young team,” said Wright. “A young team looks at the scoreboard and it only has to change your intensity a little bit for there to be a drop off. You have to give (Kutztown) credit – they made shots and they pushed the ball at us. It’s just the little things with young guys. You score and they’re jogging back remembering their score and Kutztown was pushing it right at us. We need to learn that lesson.”

Wright believes that the team will improve as the year goes on however. Scottie Reynolds shared that sentiment, and believes it is up to the veteran players to show the younger guys what playing Villanova basketball is all about.

“We have to continue to stay to our principles and stay with what Coach (Wright) preaches,” said the senior guard, who’ll enter the regular season with 1,620 career points. “We can’t just get lackadaisical. We have to stay focused and that’s going to take time. We have to just keep pounding, keep pounding and never let up. When you let up a team can get hot like that – just look at the score.

“We, as upperclassmen, have to preach what Coach is saying. We have to do it ourselves and let the younger guys watch that happening on the floor so that when they come in, they can pick up where we left off.”

Wright also talks about the debuts of Mouphtaou Yarou and Taylor King in the article.

..As always, great job by Sheridan…

Disclaimer: I was not able to attend or view/listen to this game. All of what follows are opinions of various people that I talked, texted, or followed on Twitter. This is more of a general recap.

From the sound of things, it appears that Villanova fans got a mix of good and bad last night in watching the team defeat Kutztown 110-84 at The Wachovia Center. I’m going to run down a list of what I heard from last night:

The Good:

• Scottie Reynolds – Looked exactly how you thought he would, and maybe even better. Looks leaner and quicker and primed for a real All-American campaign. Had 27 points and 4 assists in 29 minutes of action.
• Corey Fisher – Looks even stronger than last year. His body continues to be redefined from the kid who showed up out of shape as a freshman. Hit a few nice mid-range jumpers after he pulled up in the lane. 18 points and 5 assists for Fisher-Price.
• Corey Stokes – Really aggressive on defense, improved ball skills which allowed him to take his man to the goal and/or pull up and knock down a jumper. Still a lights out shooter.
• Team Shooting – 60% from the field and 63% from downtown. Quite frankly, as one person put it – “we can shoot the f*ckin ball real good.”
• Taylor King – 4-4 from beyond the arc. Played with a lot of passion. Really lost a lot of weight and looks to be in much better shape, although he is definitely a tweener. Looked better defending the post than he did defending out on the arc. From all signs though, he won’t be a defensive liability like some thought and looks like he can help defend inside.
• Antonio Peña – Really improved offensive game. Hit a few nice baby hooks and even knocked down some mid-range jumpers. He isn’t Dante Cunningham (yet), but from all accounts he was one of the stronger players on the court.
• Maalik Wayns - More than one person said he was by far the most impressive of the freshman. Knocked down a 3 for his first career basket and was in the face of people all night. Played with a lot of heart. Him, Reynolds and Fisher sound like they are going to terrorize teams. Sounds like he’ll be a fan favorite.
• Mouphtaou Yarou – Picked up a lot of soft fouls, but was aggressive on offense, which is good to hear. Can’t have him shying away.

The Bad:

• Defense – Apparently, there was very little of it. We expected to have a dropoff with the personnel we lost, but apparently Jay Wright was going absolutely wild at a few points during the game. Not good. One person tweeted “we play defense like a mid-level ACC team.” Ouch.

The Puzzling:

• Dominic Cheek – Only 14 minutes of action for the true frosh. Heard he has the skills and the desire, but lacks the strength. Still, thought he would get more action with Redding out. King appears to be ahead of him by a good amount. This doesn’t look good for my predictions on him.
• Maurice Sutton – Just 4 minutes of playing time for the big man. For a team that has an unknown frontcourt, you’d figure he’d get a little more run in an exhibition game. Oh well. Think we all need to temper our expectations on him this year.

At the end of the day, the team did what they were supposed to do. They blew out Kutztown, who never really had a chance. The defense is a huge concern to me personally, because that is what the backbone of Villanova teams usually is. But you’ve got the offense. From all accounts it could be one of the best in the country if they can get consistent production out of the frontcourt.

The Game: #5 Villanova vs. Kutztown (Exhibition)

Location: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: If anyone has anything please let us know

Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off the school’s first Final Four appearance since they won it all in 1985. The most heralded senior class in school history is gone (Frank Tchuisi remains on the coaching staff) but a consensus Top-5 recruiting class has arrived. Villanova boasts one of the best and deepest backcourts in the country, but the frontcourt remains a mystery for the time being.

Kutztown is ranked 16th in the Division II preseason polls, and is coming off one of the best season’s in the school’s history as well. They won the PSAC East Championship, made the PSAC Finals, and made their first trip to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Final. They are led by pre-season All-American Stephen Dennis, who is currently third on Kutztown’s all-time scoring list.

3 Keys to Victory:

1. Find a stopper - With Reggie Redding out until late December, ‘Nova needs to find another defensive stopper. Corey Stokes has shown great strides in his defense the last two years, and he may have the mentality to be that guy. Dominic Cheek could also be a candidate. Stephen Dennis is as good a pre-season test as they could hope for.
2. Don’t pull a Syracuse – Seriously, I’ve been talking a lot of crap to my Syracuse friends.. Don’t make me regret that. Come out and play the game.
3. Enjoy it - For the freshman, this is your first taste of ‘Nova basketball. Make it worthwhile. For the seniors, this is the start of the season you’ve been working towards. Lead this team towards greatness.

Links:

• Bears can’t wait to face Villanova (Reading Eagle)

…Lets Go Nova!…let’s have some predictions on score, starting lineups, whatever you want in the comments section…

Yes it’s World Series time, but for myself (and most Met fans), this is the worst possible matchup.  At least I have Villanova basketball to fall back on.  Below are some really interesting articles surrounding a number of Villanova basketball issues.

1. Learn what others have to say about Reggie Redding’s arrest, including what Jay Wright said to him the night before the incident
2. From Africa to America, from soccer to hoops, from high school basketball to big time Big East basketball
3. Success for the Wildcats also means more challenges for Jay and Co.

Surpisingly, I have something positive to report regarding a Big East player.  I bashed the players who were suspended recently, but hopefully, it looks like at least one of them is turning it around.  Reggie Redding, arrested in late July for marijuana possession, has owned up to his poor decisions and is trying to turn a negative into a positive.  Redding spoke with Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer and said:

I want to be a positive example for the program, for the university, just do the right thing, don’t get into any bad situations and not feel sorry for myself.  What happened, I can’t look back.  I can’t start over.  I’m just going to look forward. 

Obviously, some may say he is just saying this for the sake of saying it, but Jay Wright has praised Redding’s handling of the situation too, saying:

He’s still a leader on this team and you can’t hide that.  Everything we do, he’s a leader.  I think he’s handled it great, I really do.

Hopefully, Redding can continue to be a positive presence around the team and stay out of trouble.  A player who remembers Redding very well is Pittsburgh’s Jermaine Dixon.  As you all remember, Reggie was the imbounder for Scottie Reynolds’ infamous shot in last year’s Elite Eight.  It was Dixon who had the assignment of covering Reynolds during that sequence.  The bitter loss still haunts Dixon to this day.   

You’re only as good as your last game and that game is still in my head.  That’s the only game I have, so I sit there and watch it sometimes.  I like to critique myself and see what I did wrong, so I can get better….I was getting over it, but the thing that always held me back was Levance stayed in his house for a month after that.  He didn’t come out.  He was hurting and that kind of hurt me. I was getting over it, but his pain still stays with me.

I can imagine that game and specifically, that play, still linger in the minds of the Pitt players, coaches, and fans.  There’s no doubt that the Panthers will be looking for revenge when the Wildcats travel to the Pedersen Events Center this year. 

From the villanovambb YouTube people comes the next great behind the scenes video of the basketball team. This time around, Scottie Reynolds hosts as we watch a game of H.O.R.S.E. between Reggie Redding, Taylor King and Corey Stokes.

…My favorite line was “he lived in California but he was shootin’ from Hawaii”…