I Bleed Blue and White

Is it really that easy to get suspended these days or maybe it’s just too hard to follow rules?  Who knows, but today, Pittsburgh suspended redshirt junior Gilbert Brown for the fall semester due to academic problems.  So let’s see, that’s Joe Mazzulla (WVU), Darryl “Truck” Bryant (WVU), Reggie Redding, and now Brown to add on to the list of Big East players being suspended at one point or another.  Most of these players are upperclassmen as well, but evidently, they don’t get it.  In fact, Brown was honored after the season with one of the Pitt team awards.  No, this is not a joke, but he actually received the “Academic Excellence Award” after last season.  Academic excellence leads to suspension for academic reasons.  Interesting.

Overshadowed by DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and Levance Fields last year, Brown was expected to step up and be a key cog for the inexperienced Panthers this year.  Pitt’s nonconference schedule is not incredibly difficult, but is certainly no cakewalk.  They play Iowa in late November, Wichita State and/or Texas in late November, and Indiana in early December.  Brown will be eligible for reinstatement on December 20th, just before Big East play begins.

Added by Chris:

…You may also know this man as the guy that Scottie elevated over for the game winning shot in Boston last year…for more on the suspension, check out Pitt Blather’s reaction…

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.

I got to thinking today about Dwayne Anderson’s probable absence for Friday’s game at West Virginia, and what the consequences could be. On the surface, he’s not the #1, 2, 3 or even 4 scoring option, and his defense is good, but not anything the team can’t compensate for. But losing him means going to a 7-man rotation on the road in a tough place to play against a good team, which isn’t good, especially when he is considered a frontcourt player.

Will Anderson's absence expose 'Nova's depth issues?

Then I started to think about what the greatest weakness for this team is. They’ve got the outstanding guards on offense, a legitimate offensive threat down low (for the first time in a while), and they have defended spectacularly well in the post despite the perceived lack of depth and size. They are killing it from outside right now and Corey Fisher has suddenly put it all together and has given Villanova a player that can get into the lane and cause havoc.

So really, what it comes down to in my mind is the depth issues, and the ability to defend the perimeter. Villanova’s lack of depth hasn’t reared its ugly head yet. In fact the only instance I can think of is Dante Cunningham’s foul troubles at UConn, forcing Frank Tchuisi into the game mid-1st half. But even then Villanova was taking it to the Huskies.

So in my opinion, Villanova’s greatest weakness has been perimeter defense. It’s been a struggle for a couple years now. Teams always seem to shoot well from beyond the arc against us, and the “star” guards just seem to have their way. For example, in 3 of Villanova’s 4 losses this year, they have been destroyed by the opposition’s backcourt.

1. Texas — AJ Abrams had 26 points on 44% FG (44% 3 pt FG)
2. Marquette — Jerel McNeal (26 points on 50% FG, 50% 3 pt FG), Wes Matthews (19 points on 83% FG (50% 3 pt FG), Dominic James (17 points on 37.5% FG (40% 3 pt FG)
3. UConn — AJ Price (29 points on 77% FG (67% 3 pt FG), Jerome Dyson (19 points on 55% FG (0-1 3 pt FG)

That’s really ugly. Now, in fairness, Corey Fisher has been dynamite on defense lately, but even in the wins vs. Syracuse and Marquette, it felt more like Villanova just couldn’t be stopped rather then them shutting down the opposition. Jonny Flynn and the trio of Marquette guards still found sucess against Villanova.

So in my opinion, if Villanova is going to really continue moving forward, they are going to need to improve the perimeter defense. I know that they trap a lot and have to compenstate down low, but teams are having too much success with their guards.

What does everyone else think? Leave your comments below and we’ll talk about it.