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…

Before getting to my experience this past Thursday night regarding “Attitude of a Champion,” another sports outlet is looking ahead to the college basketball season.  Yahoo! Sports recently posted their bracket projections for the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  For what it’s worth, they have Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Villanova as #1 seeds. 

On Thursday, August 6th, I made it to the 7:30 pm showing of “Attitude of a Champion” in the Connelly Center Cinema on the campus of Villanova.  My guess is this auditorium seats about 200 people, and there were about 40 people in the room for this particular viewing.  The only person I knew was Scott Graham, who produced and narrated the documentary for Wipeout Productions.  He introduced himself to the audience in the beginning, and I immediately recognized his voice from the show, “Inside Villanova Basketball,” which airs weekly throughout the season.  Graham mentioned that the idea for the documentary took form in the very beginning of the season.  As he put it, “We wanted to have snip-its, just in case something big happened.  Well, something big did happen.”  He also mentioned how it was the most fun he’s ever had on a project and wishes he was still working on it.  Anyways, the airing I saw was 56 minutes in length.  It follows the team’s journey throughout the season, through the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys.  More importantly, though, the team’s seniors, Dante Cunningham, Frank Tchuisi, Dwayne Anderson, and Shane Clark, truly are the focal point of the video, just like they were on the team.  Watching the documentary made me want to go back and re-live the amazing ride it was.  Everything, from the footage to the narration to the interviews, was excellent.  After the airing, I purchased the DVD outside the Cinema for $20.  It will be made available for sale online on August 10th on villanova.com.  Obviously, the 2008-2009 season was an unforgettable one, and the “Attitude of a Champion” video truly encapsulates how special of a year it was.  In my opinion, a definite must-see.

Mari Schaefer and Don Beideman, writers for the Philadelphia Inquirer, composed an article with some new, detailed information regarding Reggie Redding’s marijuana incident.  He has an August 20th court date stemming from charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.  Something that could factor in court is how Redding handled himself at the scene.  Radnor Police superintendent, John Rutty, states,  

Redding ‘was not impaired.’   He was very cooperative with police and has never been in trouble before.  Redding was very remorseful at the scene.

This could help him in court, but a judge’s decision is not the only thing Redding must face.  His attorney, James Famiglio, says,

He has two separate procedures he needs to be concerned about.  One is the legal system and one is Villanova.  He is going to deal with them both head on.

I’m sure Radnor police is loving this, as they always seem to enjoy Villanova kids getting in trouble. 

Coming off another stellar performance in the NBA Summer League, Dante Cunningham will miss tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to a groin injury.  Apparently, he injured the groin in Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets, although Dante finished the game, scoring 20+ points again.  The Trailblazers play tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday night to wrap up their summer league schedule, and as of right now, Dante is listed as day-to-day. 

Aside from Cunningham’s recent injury, though, he has been a pleasant surprise for the Trailblazers.  Summer league coach Joe Prunty has noticed Dante’s good play:

Dante has been very solid.  He’s been aggressive offensively.  He’s been getting shots and he’s been confident stepping up and trying to knock those down.  And he’s doing a decent job on the boards.

How has he played so well thus far?  Usually, rookies come in very nervous with lots of pressure and hype to live up to.  Well, it might have all started with the strict household he grew up in.  Cunningham, on his parents: 

They didn’t take any (nonsense) from me.  So I understood what I could do and couldn’t do; what was OK and what wasn’t OK.  And I learned that whatever I was doing, I should give all my focus to it.  That has carried over to my basketball. I don’t put up with any (nonsense).

Another Trailblazers blog, called Blazersedge, posted in-depth scouting reports for some of the summer league players, including Dante Cunningham.  Trailblazers scout Chad Buchanan covered virtually every facet of Dante’s game.  Some notable information from the report:

He plays every play until the play is finished.  He doesn’t give up on rebounds or loose balls.  Playing at Villanova that’s how they are.  They build this junkyard dog mentality with all their guys.

The roster as it is today it’s going to be tough for him to come in and get a lot of minutes.

It certainly is going to be tough for Dante to get minutes this year with the Trailblazers, with all of the forwards they have, but that shouldn’t deter Dante.  He already has 2 summer league games under his belt to use as hard evidence to show that he can play at the NBA level.  Other teams are always watching and you never know when a situation may arise where you are thrust into a prominent role.  If he keeps playing like he is, he will get minutes somewhere. 

As the summer rapidly progresses along, we draw closer and closer to the college basketball season.  Today, Villanova learned their Big East home and away opponents for the upcoming season.  Also of note, Villanova will play West Virginia, Marquette, and Georgetown twice, both home and away. 

Without a doubt, Villanova has one of the toughest schedules in the Big East, and Andy Katz agrees with this assessment.  He says,

Already you can see Villanova will have the toughest slate in the Big East if the predictions hold up.

Additionally, Katz breaks down some of the early tournaments, such as the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which Villanova will participate in.  Another ESPN writer, Pat Forde, ranked his most recent top ten rivalries.  Villanova-Pittsburgh comes in at #5 on Forde’s list.  Forde, on why the rivalry is hot now,

If you saw that memorable East Regional final last spring, you know why. Scottie Reynolds snatched away Pitt’s first Final Four in eons with a last-second drive, giving Nova a leg up in the Pennsylvania hoops hierarchy. It also gives the Wildcats a leg up in what many people believe will be the Big East rivalry of the next decade as Jay Wright and Jamie Dixon turn down other jobs and become even more entrenched. Nova could be the favorite to win the league this season, with Reynolds pulling out of the draft and returning to potentially haunt Pitt again. And even after losing the guts of a great team, you cannot discount the perennially competitive Panthers.

The rivalry will continue to heat up as the Wildcats have to travel to Pittsburgh this year to face the Panthers.  Pitt always plays well at home, as the atmosphere is always great for college basketball, but tough for road teams to play in.  We are curious to hear your thoughts on Villanova’s Big East opponents or the Villanova-Pitt rivalry.

Today, Jay Wright dished out some information on the process he went through with the Philadelphia 76ers for their head coaching position, which was recently filled by Eddie Jordan. Surprisingly, he may have been closer to accepting this job than some really thought. Wright wouldn’t interview with anyone else except the 76ers and the process certainly made him consider taking the job. In the end, though,

I didn’t need anything from Villanova. I just needed to say to (Nicastro), if I did this, my next concern would be our program. The program’s in good shape. At some time you’re going to have to leave Villanova. With everything in place, coming off a Final Four, it’s not the time. We have so much we want to do here and we hope to be here a long, long time.

A big factor of Wright’s success in his years at Villanova has been Scottie Reynolds.  He’s had the opportunity to coach Reynolds for 3 years, but will he have the chance to coach him as a senior?  Jay says Scottie is, 

…leaning toward coming back.  I think his decision is, ‘Do I want to go into the NBA this year maybe as a second-round pick with the confidence I’ll make it, or do I want to wait and get my college degree and try and be a first-round pick next year?’

One cannot underestimate how much Wright has done for this program.  I’m not going to run through all of the accolades, but there is excitement year round with this program, which is hard to accomplish in college basketball.  At some point, I do see Jay going to the NBA, but hopefully, not in the near future. 

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.

ESPN’s Andy Katz breaks down the 17 players who will try out for the 12 spots on the U-19 National Team.  Tryouts are June 16th-18th in Colorado Springs, and as Chris mentioned in the previous post, Dominic Cheek will be trying out.  Katz on Cheek,

He is a part of a heralded freshmen class entering the Main Line campus. If the ‘Cats are to win the Big East — and they will be favored to do just that — Cheek will likely be a key element.

Additionally, Katz believes that New Mexico assistant and former Villanova player Chris Walker will be the replacement for Patrick Chambers as assistant coach.  Katz on Walker,

Expect Jay Wright to announce Villanova graduate and current New Mexico assistant Chris Walker as his new assistant coach in the near future. Though the deal isn’t finished yet, a source told ESPN.com that Walker will be hired to replace Pat Chambers, who left Villanova last month to become the head coach at Boston University.  A former point guard for Rollie Massimino, Walker led the Wildcats in assists for three seasons and made three postseason berths in his collegiate career.

ESPN has been covering the college basketball programs with new head coaches.  Today, an article has been posted about Boston University, entitled “BU Seeks The Wright Stuff.”  With the hiring of former Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers, there is a different atmosphere surrounding the Boston University basketball program.  The atmosphere closely resembles the one established on the Main Line, which has been one of Chamber’s goals since taking over.  As Chambers puts it,

Thanks. That’s my goal — to make this a mini-Villanova, at least at our level.

Jay Wright has certainly rubbed off on Chambers a great deal, which is displayed in the article over and over.  Don’t be surprised to see Boston U. enduring lots of success in the years to come.

A couple of interesting items to point out from the last week or so. First, the Nova Notebook, written by Villanova’s director of media relations Mike Sheridan, has returned with a piece on Dante Cunningham. The entry discusses Cunningham’s excitement in working out for NBA scouts, but also his continuing role in helping out the younger Villanova basketball players.

Next, the field for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Tipoff, a tournament to be held in Puerto Rico next season, has been announced.  The tipoff takes place Novemeber 19th-November 22nd, and the 8 teams in this mini-tournament include Boston University, Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, Ole Miss and Villanova.

Lastly, with the departure of Patrick Chambers to Boston University, there is a coaching vacancy on the Villanova staff.  It looks like University of New Mexico assistant coach Chris Walker, a former basketball player at Nova, is a leading candidate. He interviewed for the position this past Monday, but declined to comment if he is actually considering the opening.

These mini-tournaments early in the year have become a staple on Villanova’s schedule.  While the teams in the field may not seem all that impressive, these games are very important, as you never know which team will end up having a great year.  Nonconference wins, such as these, provide big opportunities early in the season to build the foundation for your NCAA tournament resume.

Also, if you notice, Boston U. is in this field.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Chambers vs. Villanova?  In terms of the coaching vacancy, I don’t know much about Chris Walker, but from what I read in the posted article, it sounds like he is a great recruiter, which can never hurt.  I know Jay will pick a solid guy to fill the Chambers vacancy.