Villanova head coach Jay Wright joined Mike Missanelli today on SR950...
- [On getting ready in the Tournament], We try to keep things the same, but scale it down a bit...
- Shoot as a team in the morning, eat breakfast as a team.
- Practiced about an hour and 10 minutes. Then have dinner together.
- Team leaves for Boston tomorrow
- Will try and get the team accustomed to staying up later
- Reverse of the Big East season where they have 12p games
- Film Sessions will begin @ 11p
- [Against American] we weren't that bad... they were really good. They're execution and experience made it difficult for us to guard them. But then our athleticism and depth kicked in. The squad knew that during UCLA they would need to be ready from the start.
- [On Duke] Duke is a similar team. They spread the team and space you out. They have skilled players like we do. Defensively they are more aggressive- especially in the half court like us.
- In Gerald Henderson, they have a 1 on 1 player who can create their own shots maybe better than us. But Dante in our post is a better post pressence than us.
- [On Recruiting Gerald Henderson]... "he broke my heart". He would see Henderson and Wayne Ellington everyday when he would drop his kids off at Episcopal Academy. Jay had to document every meeting with Henderson. But it didn't help us at all!
- Speaking on the dynamics [around Philadelphia] about the snooty school in Philadelphia is similar to the opinion many have of Duke around the country. But the Philly basketball community appreciates 'Nova, even though the general population may not. It is what it is, and it's not going to change.
- [On leaving Villanova]: I love coaching, but I want to stay at Villanova. I have a great situation here. A great AD. A great president. So as long as those guys stay in place, I want to be at Villanova. I don't want to look at other options. I really want to be at Villanova and I don't see any reason why I will leave no matter what college offers or NBA offers come... As long as you have your people in place- I have a great AD, a great President. I hope to be here at Villanova a long time.