kennedyandrew wrote:

Throwing out a few scheduling oddities I noticed this year (from a
Nova fan's perspective):

Villanova @ Northwood.
This game makes sense, as Rollie is starting up the Northwood
program. If Rollie's starting up a school's hoops program, I guess
Villanova should give him a home game to open their new gym.



IIRC, Rollie announced the game in a press conference without telling
the folks at Villanova first.
----------------------------
Villanova @ Stony Brook.
I cannot think of any reason why this game is being played on eastern
Long Island besides RPI considerations.
Last season, Villanova played a Trenton and AC game as a means of
additional revenue and to make the games more accessable to alumni.
At first glance, people figured this game would be at Nassau Coliseum
for the same reasons. However, this game will be on Stony Brook's
campus, which makes this a real odd game.


I looked at the roster to see if there were any Long Island
kids...two from Brooklyn (Sumpter and freshman Antonio Pena) were as
close as I could get.

When I saw the game on the schedule, I had a bit of a flashback, as
Stony Brook was one of Coach Mass's early career stops.

Since it doesn't figure to be much of a contest, I don't know why
they would book a 17,000 seat arena. I'm figuring they just want to
play a couple of easy road games (Northwood being the other) and
showcase for recruits from the NY metro area, long a gold mine for
Villanova's program.
------------------

But a road win against Stony Brook is worth more than double a home
win versus Georgetown or UConn, so I like the game.


I'd like to have the Georgetown or UConn wins!
-----------------------
Curtis Sumpter is my pick for Player of the Year.
Hearing that he looks great, stronger than before. Lateral defensive
quickness is not all there yet, and he's going to be a little rusty,
but he's been a beast from what I have heard.


I watched their Paradise Jam games against Xavier and Iowa on an off-
brand cable channel I subscribed just because there was nowhere near
enough hoop available on TV ;-)

Sumpter is back, that part is certain. He was the quickest player on
the floor both nights, despite being larger than most at 6-7, 225.

However, his play against Xavier was not stellar at all. I noticed
he often was out of control, playing like a guy trying to make for 18
months without competition all at once. Too much one-on-one or one-
on-five, too little play within the offensive structure. He lead the
team in scoring, but I would point to Curtis' play as the reason
Villanova lost that game.

The game against Iowa was everything the Xavier loss wasn't. Curtis
was playing within himself and within the team's game. By involving
his teammates more, he became more unguardable. He ripped off 26
points in a 29 point win even while sitting long stretches in the
second half.
--------------------

The rest of Nova's team? Well, they are young and are going to need
some time to become effective supporting players. Strong
defensively, but nobody knows how they will develop offensively.


There is serious talent up and down this lineup. After the Xavier
debacle, I wasn't so sure but last night's demolition of Iowa was
breathtaking. Sophomores Shane Clark (wing) and Dante Cunningham
(post) got minutes last year and have enormous talent. Dwayne
Anderson showed nothing last year because he didn't play much, if
ever, but demonstrated last night that he can stroke with the best.
He'll probably remain a role player on this team, but the seeds of
excellent upper-classmen years have been planted.

Prediction on this team? My guess is they're good enough to go about
21-9 in the regular season (plus or minues two games), tack on a win
or two in each the Big East conference tournament and the NCAAs.

BobE, yeah I went to Villanova