Nova Basketball Report

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10/18/10--17:55: Hoops Mania this Friday! (chan 3143739)

If you haven't done so already, register for Hoops Mania this Friday at lottery.villanova.edu. There will be player introductions, the 3v3 championship game along with a scrimmage featuring the Villanova basketball team. Doors open at 6, so be sure to get there early in order to get good seats.

Also starting Friday, Nova Basketball Report will be kicking into full gear. Be sure to check back soon and often!


10/20/10--18:43: Big East Coaches’ Poll Released, Villanova Ranked 2nd (chan 3143739)

Every year, the Big East coaches cast their votes on expectations for the upcoming season. Each head coach provides a list in which they rank every team in order, and teams are then assigned point values based on the aggregate ratings.

For example, for every first place vote a team receives, they will be given 25 points. A second place vote adds 24 points, a third place 23 and so on.

While the Wildcats were largely outnumbered in terms of first place votes, we were a clear cut pick to finish in second place behind Pittsburgh. A projected second place finish might even be too optimistic based on how we fared last season, but the Big East as a whole will experience a "down year" with notably less talent on each roster. Pittsburgh is officially the team to beat.

Here is how the votes turned out...


10/22/10--13:08: It All Starts Tonight (chan 3143739)

It's officially basketball season. Doors open for Hoops Mania at 5:30pm where we will witness our first basketball team scrimmage. Here are a few things I'm expecting to see...

1.  A much higher level of team chemistry. No more Scottie vs. Corey issues and no struggle for playing time at point guard. Maalik Wayns will be there to fill in Scottie's shoes but both he and Fisher are capable of playing off the ball.

2.  A new and improved Antonio Pena. I've been hearing lots of reports that Pena has really stepped up his game over the off-season now that he can finally playing his natural position at the Power Forward. Hopefully we'll get to see a glimpse of that today.

3.   Dominic Cheek's perimeter game. With the dismissal of Taylor King and the departure of Scottie Reynolds, we seem to be lacking in pure shooters. Stokes is good but inconsistent and Cheek struggled with his shot for a good part of last season. I expect that to change this year.

4.   Maurice Sutton. Yes, he will actually see the time on the court this year. He may not have much offensive skill, but he's an extremely tall guy with long arms to compensate for it. Three years down the road we may actually be grateful for having him.

5.  Improved court awareness from Wayns. Everyone knows that his potential is through the roof so that's nothing new. But I'd really like to see a better sense of direction in his game. He needs to learn how to locate the open man.

6.   Corey Fisher's all around dominance. We saw glimpses of it last year and I don't expect that to change. This is a big time for Fisher to prove that he can step up and lead this team. The talent is there, we just need that leadership.

There will be a full break down following the event. Let the season begin!


10/25/10--19:55: Nova Lands Top 5 PG in 2012 Class (chan 3143739)

Highly rated point guard Ryan Arcidiacono out of Langhorne, PA committed to Villanova earlier, claiming that his heart remained with the Wildcats despite visits to several other schools. The 6'3 point guard ranks at #23 overall on scout, #45 overall on rivals, and #31 overall on espn, and is known for his outstanding shooting ability.

He may not be as quick or athletic as most of our past point guards, but his court vision and basketball IQ are much better than most will expect. He also has an insatiable desire to win, something we've seen in both Foye and Reynolds. This will help take the pressure off Tyrone Johnson when Maalik Wayns decides to go pro, and will provide us with a much needed shooter down the road. It is safe to say that Ryan "Arch" Arcidiacono will fit right in with the rest of Guard U. After all, who doesn't love a pure shooter?


11/10/10--19:04: The JayVaughn Pinkston Incident (chan 3143739)

Many of you have already heard, but in case you didn't, news broke out that Pinkston punched two different people last weekend at an off-campus party. Nice going JayVaughn.

Without getting into too much detail, he was intentionally locked in a room and managed to escape, then proceeding to retaliate. It was merely a matter of anger management for the freshman, but nonetheless it will be an incident that results in a suspension.

In terms of the implications for our team, Pinkston isn't a starter, nor is he a go-to option off the bench at this point. So a suspension at the beginning of the season won't hurt us too much, just as long as he comes back with his head on straight...


11/13/10--10:40: Bucknell Thoughts (chan 3143739)

There's never a lot to take away from game one because it is exactly what it sounds like: game one. The team we see in March will be completely different from the one we have now, so if there are problems, they will be fixed.

With that being said, a lot of people are coming away with impressions that are either flat out wrong or exaggerated.

First off, Mouph is by no means a "bad player." The kid didn't start playing American basketball until about 3 years ago and also missed half of last season, the most crucial part of his development, because of hepatitis B. So we, as fans, are in no position to say he's overrated or that he won't reach his potential.

However, raw and undeveloped are perfectly acceptable in this case, due to the aforementioned reasons. Mouph is still very hesitant when he gets the ball in the post and struggles in back to the basket situations. At this stage though, his size is enough to deter opponents from attacking the paint, and that's all we need. To the fans: don't get impatient with Mouph. Big men take considerably more time to develop.

In terms of our guards, Corey Fisher showed the leadership everyone was looking for last night. He led the way with 24 points, including 4-8 from beyond the arc. He also displayed some Scottie instincts, widening the scoring margin when we needed it most. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be the go-to-guy in crunch time.

Maalik's turnovers still annoy me. Despite the 6 assists for the night, he turned the ball over an equal number of times and never looked to feed the ball into the post. The three-point shooting was somewhat disappointing, but it wouldn't be fair to judge his shooting by one game. I fully expect him to improve in both of these areas over the season. One last thing: he needs to learn how to use his quickness to beat defenders off the dribble. We saw very little of that last night. He isn't NBA ready just yet.

Finally, we MUST utilize our post players now that we have some. Mouph, Pena, Armwood, and Sutton all have substantial height advantages against these lower caliber opponents, so why aren't we using them? Pena only got 4 shots and Mouph 5. They aren't going to get any better if we don't give them the chance. We cannot blame coaching or the post players themselves here. The burden has to fall onto both Fisher and Wayns who are responsible for distributing the ball. The day we learn to utilize them is the day we will truly dominate our opponents. All championship teams have a post presence that can step up when perimeter shooting fails.


11/17/10--21:21: Overrated No More (chan 3143739)

After the first half of the round one Marist game, my hopes for this season were already dwindling. How can you only be winning by 10 against Marist? This is a team that won a total of ONE game last year. On top of that, we were favored to win by 27.

Villanova was still settling for jump shots and refusing to pass the ball down low for easy scoring opportunities. It looked like the same old careless team we saw last season... the one that got knocked out in the second round after narrowly avoiding a loss to Robert Morris.

But then something clicked. Maurice Sutton (of all people) triggered some sort of chain reaction that instantly provided an entirely new dimension to our offense. At that point, Wayns and Fisher finally realized that some of those big guys under the basket were on our team. And they were capable of putting the ball in the basket just like them! Who would have thought?


11/25/10--13:56: Thoughts on the UCLA Game and a Look Ahead to Tennessee (chan 3143739)

Joe is a guest writer for NovaBasketballReport and will be publishing articles throughout the season.

Aside from the big performances of ‘Nova’s three starting guards, the storyline of last night’s game was the coming out party of Mouphtaou Yarou. Many asked how Mouph would handle playing against a frontcourt with size and skill, and he answered loudly by scoring 13 points grabbing a career high 16 rebounds. He was aggressive on the glass and was a defensive presence. He looked fluid and showed several nice moves in the post. We are finally seeing the skilled post game that recruiting analysts raved about in high school.


11/26/10--11:03: Gameday: Villanova vs Tennessee (chan 3143739)

UCLA was the first to fall to the new and improved Villanova squad. People were expecting a repeat of last year, where we beat up on weak teams but flopped against the higher caliber ones. Yet they couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, the Wildcats started out hot and never looked back. The Bruins simply had no answer for Corey Fisher and his 26 points or Mouph, who had a career high 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Tennessee, however, should pose a much greater threat. The Vols are freakishly athletic and LOVE to play a full court press on defense. They thrive off opponents' turnovers and will push the ball whenever possible.


01/06/11--12:31: Heading into Conference Play (chan 3143739)

Guest Writer...

Villanova recently began conference play off strong with a win over Rutgers. A more impressive win though was the recent triumph over a dangerous Temple team. Last year, Temple pulled off the upset with the help of guard Juan Fernandez’s 33 points (21 of which came off of 7 threes). This time around Fernandez was still lights out but it was no 33 point performance. The score looked closer than what it really should have been, due to a flurry of last second points by Temple.