Villanova’s Season Ends with Loss to George Mason

WHAT A JOKE THIS YEAR WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We hope that Coach JW will hire a very good coaching staff to develop the players individually so that they will grow up fast and play Nova ball.

Hey, at least we aren’t Tennessee.

STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!

This team was just not that good.

They were OVER=RATED.
THE BIG EAST is OVER=RATED

The were the 10 seed in the BIG EAST and a 9 Seed in the NCAA’s. Give me a break!
They played hard but they have NO INSIDE GAME. Moph can rebound but is no offensive threat at all. Hopefilly that will change next year!.

If you hitt the free throws you win….oh well LETS GO TEMPLE!

You know folks, bottom line, this years’ seniors were good but they weren’t great (might things have been different with Malcolm Grant? He had a decent year). I would have greatly preferred a win, but it would have been one and done anyway. JW might have burnt his get-out-of-jail card re: getting in to the Dance, but I’m glad to turn the page. I hope the new guys will get a chance next year because if used correctly there may be some talent there. If our scouts are correct and there is any steady maturity next year we’ll be in the middle of the Big East. A little better with a nice surprise or two (even modest nice surprises) and we could be fine. Maybe some team ball again. Watch out for those Mickey D All-American’s, I’m starting to think they’re a curse. Ain’t never seen a guy that could shoot like Stokes who never got plays run for them (screens, etc)–incredible FT shooter that rarely got to the line. Oh well.

You know folks, bottom line, this years’ seniors were good but they weren’t great (might things have been different with Malcolm Grant? He had a decent year). I would have greatly preferred a win, but it would have been one and done anyway. JW might have burnt his get-out-of-jail card re: getting in to the Dance, but I’m glad to turn the page. I hope the new guys will get a chance next year because if used correctly there may be some talent there. If our scouts are correct and there is any steady maturity next year we’ll be in the middle of the Big East. A little better with a nice surprise or two (even modest nice surprises) and we could be fine. Maybe some team ball again. Watch out for those Mickey D All-American’s, I’m starting to think they’re a curse. Ain’t never seen a guy that could shoot like Stokes who never got plays run for them (screens, etc)–incredible FT shooter that rarely got to the line. Oh well.

I agree, but this blog is getting as repetitive as the second half slow down.

This game was pitiful. Some people on here gave me crap when I said we were not a good team when we were 13-1. I had said back than that we are not developing a team and playing as a team. That you can depend on small guards when you are playing bad teams. It was all FOOLS gold last year and this year in the beginning of the year. I gave up my center court tickets because I could not watch Lappas coach anymore. I feel the same about Jay now he has to change in a major way. This is my concerns long term.

1. Jay only knows how to coach guards and develop “Guard U” but that is not a complete team. I truly believe that Mouph could have had 16 points today to go with 13 rebounds. He touched the ball 3 times in the offense. Think about that. He came out to play you could see it.
2. They have to stop dribbling and learn how to pass the ball. This team does not know how to pass the ball. They had the worst team intelligence of any team I have ever seen at Nova.
3. Why slow the game down when you cannot execute as a team? You play right into the other teams hands. Come on George Mason knows how to execute so you speed the game up. Push the damn ball after a made basket. Instead, you run two small guards out there who cannot shoot. Play into our strengths and that is pushing the ball. We pushed it twice today and scored both times.
4. Get some real assistants. People who are going to question you some. You cannot grow with young yes men. YOU NEED FRESH IDEAS
5. Forget the Senior totem pole. Sometimes leaders are just made. Believe me, if Cory Joseph came here he would have sat. Forget the everyone gets a turn and let the kids play who play hard.
6. How are you ever going to recruit a good big men when he does not get touches? It is a Catch 22 you need a big man but who is going to come to “GUARD U”.
7. Change up game plans more. Shock a team with a surprise. As I said a Big East coach told me Nova is the EASIEST team to prepare for as nothing changes.
8. Play as a TEAM. This was not a team it was a collection of individuals. No back cuts no cutting without the ball and not good screening.

I have to say that this was my least favorite Nova team EVER. I do not like Corey Fisher and do not believe he plays a team game. He mouthed off at Jay three times in the first month of the year and was sat for “teaching points” His circus shots just count as two points if they go in but it also does not help team chemistry.

I am concerned for the future. I believe Jay is good for the school but you have to look in the mirror and make changes Coach.

Well said. That says it all. During the second half I said, what’s the point of winning, we aren’t playing any better and will be crushed by OSU, but ti still hurts.

Thanks for teh memories SENIORS. I enjoyed watching! Gppd Luck with all your futures and CONGRATULATIONS on your graduations! It is a real accomplishment to graduate on time.

The sophs are 1-2 in the NCAA. Shit happens, look at what happened to Michigan State this year.

Personally I would hope that none of the sophs play in any chuck and duck summer league but spend time at development camps and with the Nova pros who return home namely Dante Cunningham and Malik Allen.
Mouph, Sutton, Armwood—attend the Jay Bilas big man camp for as many sessions as possible.
Dom Cheek—regain confidence in your shot by working with Randy Foye and if JW can swing it Herb Magee. Also work on going left and finishing with your left hand.
Nova assistants—attend as many coaching clinics that you possibly attend.

What’s Baker Dunleavy’s dad doing next season? We could definitely use his coaching experience. Maybe he could work pro bono on Jay Wright’s coaching staff next season.

I’m pissed, but not ready to throw out the baby with the bath-water. We need a 180 and need one fast. JW deserves blame on this season, but bottom line… I think this team was “uncoachable.” Like many people noted, Fisher was benched this year, and last year, for mouthing off at practice. Unfortunately, that bleeds to others on the team. When your “leader” has no respect for the coach or institution, you can’t expect others on the team to have that. Hopefully, someone will step up, like a Dante or Dwayne, and take control of the team. No putting up with the “ME” bullshit that’s probably going on.

I’ve coached youth teams where it only took one or two bad apples to ruin the bunch and takes the team on a course that cannot be easily reversed. Sometimes, when things go so south, the only thing that you can do is suck it up for the rest of the year and cross your fingers that you can regroup in the off season. I don’t have “inside info,” but on the surface, I think this team started going down this path at the end of last season, and reared its ugly head again when things started getting tough, particularly after the Rutgers loss.

Wayns has a choice next year to be a leader like Dante or be someone who fractures the team. Sadly, he wasn’t around to see what a true leader was like, and only experienced this team’s demise and the challenges they had last year. If not Wayns, can Armwood or Cheek step up? Perhaps Bell?

I agree with Jim. The definition of “insanity” is when you do the same thing again and again. Jay did that. I am also concerned for the future unless Jay changes things around. I think he has been in denial this year.

are we done with recurits next year?

Steve, I’m pretty much with you all the way on your post. Jay has to take some hits and figure out how to regain the confidence of the remaining players, reinvigorate the offensive approach, and hit the recruiting trail hard. The players certainly get a ton of blame as well for basically not taking charge and manning up when things started going south. I agree the Rutgers loss was the last straw that broke the crippled camels’ back. Not sure whether this team was uncoachable, but definitely challenging for Jay. Maybe there was a cancer in the locker room, maybe there wasn’t, but there was a huge lack of chemistry and confidence — so seniors have to smart over that regardless.

baker dunleavy is a joke. anyone who knew him at nova knows that. kid was a chump.

Who thinks our team next year is going to be borderline unwatchable with: Wayns, Cheek, Armwood, Mouph, Jayvaugh?

ME.

Time to hold our breath thru next 3 or 4 weeks to see if someone might be transfering OUT.
I am not convinced anyone will, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes with team chemistry and/or personal issues, school grades.

Jay needs to OPEN up every position in training camp this year. I don’t want to hear all summer that Wayns is his point guard leader or that Mouph is his main big man. Make them win the slots in camp.

And in this Pre-Olympic year, Jay needs to take the whole team to Eastern Europe or even China for a FULL Trip of preseason games in late August/early September. Not just a four day weekend in Canada like he did 4 yrs ago when the Coreys were Freshman. Challenge them to compete against the best International talent you can line up. By the time that Hoops Mania comes around, Jay should know everything he needs to know about these incoming freshman.

Fresh start folks; the only one that stays is JW (and believe me that damn near makes me throw up in my mouth). Someone call Mike Brey out in South Bend and ask him how he gets solid TALENTED players. This years team was a joke and its only fitting that they pulled a “one and done” in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. On second thought, get rid of JW too……go sell suits somewhere.

Unless one of the recruits is secretly John Wall we are screwed and good.

Corey Fisher. Team Cancer.

Well if we weren’t they are probably done with us.

I can’t help but wonder if Wright did this slow down crap on purpose.. I mean really nobody can be dumb enough to make this team play that way just to see loss after loss. What did you guys notice in the first half? I noticed Fisher running the point and we were looking good. In the second I noticed Wayns brought the ball up about all half and look what we did. Same result as South Florida. Why Coach Wright? WHY? I WANA KNOW WHY?!

if we played fast paced the whole game we would have won easily. The only thing the burn creates is bad shots. The usf game and this game were pretty much the same thing and If you slow the ball down with this team(1 consitent shooter) your not gonna win.

You can’t blame JW for missed free throws, but you can blame him for going into slow down in the second half. You can also blame him for players not developing. The last two years players have regressed during the year at Nova. You can also blame him for players not blossoming until they are seniors. There were five Mc AA’s on this team, and this is what you produce? You can also blame him for having the 2nd highest recruiting class in the country last year, and they basically imploded down the stretch both years. Listen I like JW, but he gets out coached on a consistent basis. That’s not an opinion, that’s fact. Why would high recruits want to come here any longer? People keep hoping that these sophmores will keep improving, but I bet many of them are thinking about how they can transfer from Nova. Listen, I could keep going on, but JW has a big problem. If this happens again next year, he will be on the hot seat. Who would have ever thought this would have happened two short years ago? The Final Four seems pretty far in the future doesn’t it? This whole program should be completely embarrassed.

2011 is a FULL CARD unless someone tranfers out and Jay grabs one of the few that are still unattached floating around.

2012 is technically FULL with Arcidiacono/Goodman but Sutton should be graduating next Spring so Jay can always bump him from his 5th year to add a more talented player in Fall of 2012.
Also Wayns would need a Kemba Walker season to probably leave after his Junior year as a 1st Rounder.
Who’s out there for 2012 with Nova on their lists of schools?
6’10 center D.Ochefu – 6’8 Forward A.Jefferson – 6’8 F/G K.Anderson – 6’3 Omar Calhoun – 6’2 sharpshooter M.Davis

2013 = up to 5 Scholarships available and a HUGE NEED for bigs (6’9 – 7’0).

thank God the season is over. Simply put we just sucked. No need to worry about slow downs or missed free throws. Time to start working on next season is now. Enjoy the rest of the tournament mates. Let’s go Yankees!!!!

Barney…..the best player on Montrose Christian is junior Justin Anderson….when I saw him play as freshman, with seniors Armwood and Yarou…..Anderson as frosh outshone at least Armwood…and Gary Williams had his eye on him from the start. Justin is going to Maryland.

Barney, I change my mind and agree that we should be fearful that recruiting will be affected. It would hard for a kid and his family to watch what has transpired during the second half of the season and say, “Yeah, I want to play there! WInning!” And I would go into convulsions, even though I will not be surprised, if we wind up losing Tyrone, Ryan, or Savon, among others. F#$k a duck!

and if you do graduate in May, don’t let the diploma hit you in the ass…or drop it..

Hi Junior. Seriously, I hate to write this lame following line, but I have been in contact with people “close to the program” but not in the program and they tell me this is one of many conspiracy theories floating around. I was told that sometimes “things just don’t work out…” Not sure about the last part, but pretty sure we can’t lay this at the feet of Fisher.

You know watching Pat Chambers coach Boston University is interesting. He is running some nice sets against Kansas with penetration and kicking. Yes BU will lose but you can see what Nova lost when Chambers lost. X and O man.

JW needs to hire a professional coach who can teach and develop the posts so that the good posts will want to come to play for Nova.

While I am not going to defend the players, I think they come in for too much criticism on this site. Yes, they make mistakes, their defense today was particularly poor, but our coach did not use his talent. We played a smallish team today and we fed Mouph on the low post one time! He made an easy layup on that one occasion. Instead of going to him over and over and getting GM in foul trouble and scoring points, we ran the clock down and took tough outside shots almost the entire second half. Jay has not shown that he knows what to do with a big man. He has Mouph and Pena running around 30 feet from the basket setting picks the guards don’t even use effectively. We will be bigger and slower next year. If Jay doesn’t get an assistant to help him develop an offense that uses your bigs and we continue to play like we did going down the stretch, I think I will either lose my mind or have to quit watching Nova games. Please, Jay, I don’t want to do either of these things!

He’s currently on Jay’s staff as Director of Basketball Operations, a/k/a towel boy. The best contribution he could make for Villanova would be to get his dad to come on board as an assistant coach next season.

It’s funny you mention him because in all the film I try to watch on Johnson, I also like Justin Anderson a lot..passion & power. Villanova was on him early but fell off his list. He really plays BIG for his size. We just have too many guards//small forwards in the next few years so it wasn’t our need in adding another.

I think these Five scholarships for 2013 might play out this way ove rthe next 25 mos.
2 big F/C types
1 smallish speedy PG 5’10-6’0 (in case they want to move Tyrone over plus it’s depth)
1 best SHOOTER available G/F

+ remaining 1 scholarship held by Jay for 2014….or walk-on could use
That gives us 2 scholarships in 2014 for whoever is coaching the team at that point…LOL.

RE: Recruits

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Ryan A. (not going to even try) and Tyrone Johnson, along with Darron Hillard, Markus Kennedy and JayVaughn Pinkston all signed LOIs to play. Wouldn’t Villanova have to agree to let them out of their contract or they would have to sit out a year and transfer?

Savon Goodman has only verbally committed and therefore not under the constraints of the LOI. That could be a risk, but I think Nova has been a dream of his for years and would still want to come to Nova under almost any circumstance.

The other guys seem fairly level headed, especially Tyrone Johnson, and this season hopefully won’t sour their desire to play here.

I think canning JW would put Nova at a much, much greater risk of losing these recruits than the shitty 10-11 season. Then we’d really be a true rebuilding mode a la DePaul.

I can’t believe its that simple. Even though I agreee with you.

Pinkston will be a decent player and would have a made a big difference this season. Maybe like a DeJaun Blair type on the boards but who can also shoot the 3.

Bullshit, this team has plenty of talent. But with bad coaching, we were doomed to fail.

At the moment, 16 seed BU is down by 5 to no 1 seed Kansas. Pat Chambers knows how to coach. In spite of his team being completely out-manned, BU is hanging tough.

Can anyone seriously say the same for Nova or Jay Wight?

We wont lose Tyrone. He’s SIGNED LOI and he is walking into a guard oriented offense with Fisher leaving. And he is physically a different player than Fisher. Less dipsy doo and more power to the hoop. Besides some dunks, you will see more finger tip drop-ins above the rim…81″ wingspan.

We won’t lose Ryan either….Legacy kid. He is as heart broken as we are right now probably sitting next to his alumni Mom & Dad watching Villanova lose today all wearing their Villanova gear.

Goodman was the first time Jay beat out DUKE for a kid. He is playing alongside K, Anderson this Summer and Kyle Sr is his dad. So let’s hope he stays true to us into his senior year. I am curious whether he transfers for his senior year or stays at ANC.

I am more worried how we get the BIGS that we need after Mouph, Sutton, Armwood all graduate. We already have bad rap with Bigs and now they see this burn offense…ouch. Jay better use his best cologne and hope there are a lot of BIGS with single parent MOMS to smoooze. HoneyBadger’s point was we still have the academics, the run of 7 NCAA tourneys and not so distant past success to swoon these kids to Villanova University but on the heels of all this turmoil, I still think it’s going to be tougher this offseason.

Exactly. A coaching change usually unlocks LOIs. Would not be surprised if the damage were worse if JW were no longer coach.

So nothing wrong with watching Jay’s future replacement as he gets his experience at BU.

Barney as I had said before the bigs we are recruiting are very smart people and they are intelligently looking at the schools and how they play and how they would fit in to the system they play. I cannot see how any big would look at the last two games and the amount of touches the big men got and go there.

I honestly have to say that I think people are on Mouph too much. The guy shot 50 percent from the field and if he was fed the ball by the end of the year his footwork would have been down.

I wonder why?

Isn’t he still at VU?

YEA, and thank GOD VU isn’t in Japan!!

First of all, Jay isn’t getting canned. We can bitch about his in-game coaching but it’s not happening. He may sniff around in off season but I think he will be the coach here for forseeable future but probably not lifetime if he has other aspirations
.
All four of the 2011 recruits have signed LOI so they are locked in for joining us next season.
Johnson-Yacoubou-Hilliard-Kennedy

Ryan Arcidiacono won’t be signing LOI until next Fall period. He is a verbal as a junior but also a Legacy so he is not likely bolting anywhere.
Goodman is also a verbal and both Duke & Nova were his dream schools. He has switched AAU from Team Philly to join Kyle Anderson on NJ PLAYAZ where Kyle Sr coaches.
===================

If there is a surprise transfer out, it would be from among the 4 true sophmores or Bell.
Sutton & Pinkston have already burned a redshirt year.

Next year was already a rebuilding year before we sucked up this season. Everything is broken and dilapidated though. Not sure there is much to rebuild. Success this year was supposed to make it more palatable. Hopefully they play hard with a lot of heart so it won’t be as painful when they get crushed.

you know people on here are ridic.. its not the staff or coach wright.. i personally know these guys and have for along time.. the players didnt play villanova basketball the staff cant make them play its up to the team to do it quit blaming coaching. the only freaking reason you people expect high things of nova is becasue of jay wright and his staff of past and present..

I agree we were overrated, but so what,that doesn’t explain another EPIC collapse!!
Please remember,we were not happy campers after we lost to UCONN at UCONN by 2!!
We knew we let 1 get away!!
BTW the next game was at Syracuse and I hope you know what happened!!
I honestly can’t name a Program that we can beat,considering the state we’re in!!

Inappropriate yet still hilarious.

I could be very off base as we may never know exactly why this team didn’t live up to their perceived talent level, but I wonder if this year was a bit of the opposite of the Ewing Theory. For their entire Villanova career’s everyone on this team (except James Bell, who didn’t really play a ton anyway) was on a team led by Scottie Reynolds. Late shot clock situations where people had to create their own shot, down the stretch of the game, when the team needed a bucket to slow down a run, Scottie was the go to guy. At the very least defenses had to key in on him and the other guys had an easier time getting their looks. I just don’t think anybody stepped up to be that guy this year. This team lost far more close games than they won, gave up huge leads in more than a few games, and struggled scoring for much of the second half of the Big East season. I just can’t help but think that, given Scottie and Reggie were the only players who left last year and we went from a high scoring team to a team that couldn’t score, players (the seniors in particular) were simply unable to adjust to playing without that go-to guy they had for their entire college careers.

Looking ahead to next year, things should be relatively wide open. Three starters gone, two remaining should end up starting at center and point guard. Lots of rumors about Wayns potentially leaving after this year, which I think would be a huge mistake for him as he might go undrafted, but would also leave the team with just one point guard (and a freshman at that). I agree with what I think Barney said above, open competition across the board. Mouph and Wayns probably start, but regardless, screw seniority. If Yacoubou, Pinkston, Kennedy, Johnson, or Hilliard deserve to start, they should be starting. Make Armwood, Sutton, and Cheek earn a starting spot. Bell falls in between those two groups, and based on what I saw this year I think he should probably win a starting job. Good basketball IQ, good athlete, presence on the defensive end, can shoot the basketball, like him quite a bit. Think Ash Yacoubou’s going to bring a lot of toughness and confidence, really excited for him and I hope he gets an opportunity to play a lot of minutes. Pinkston needs to develop from what we saw this past year. Kennedy’s a big body, might not be able to play a ton of minutes but hopefully those he does play are good. He and Mouph should be able to push each other in practice both being around 6’9-6’10 and 250. Armwood and Sutton have to develop a skill level because outside of finishing (and even that’s questionable) they really don’t even need to be guarded. Work on dribbling, maybe a bit of a mid-range game, and perhaps we’ll find a starting PF who complements Mouph/Kennedy and a weakside shot blocker. Both need to bulk up as well. Hilliard probably doesn’t start off the bat based on some of the reviews we’ve had from people on this site who have seen him, but could be an interesting long-term glue guy. Johnson I’d like to see coming off the bench so we get a little more size in the starting lineup along with shooting, but if he pushes his way into starting I’m all for it. Cheek needs to get some confidence, for a guy who was a top 10 recruit before he got banged up his senior year of HS he fouls too much defensively, doesn’t shoot the ball that well either. He’s got a lot of tools, hopefully he can put it together. Interesting thing about next season is it’s a rebuilding year, very similar to the year that Fisher and Stokes came in 4 years ago, no seniors. Only this time there will be five freshmen coming in. Hopefully they learn to play together, surprise some people in Big East play, and we’ll have another Final Four caliber team in 2012-2013.

Sorry lu122290, you won’t get crap for an audience with that argument. TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. We went through this a LONG time ago and don’t recall you weighing in. Complete weak sauce for you to refute any attempts to lame blame on coaching. Most of us love Jay and think he has done wonders and is a victim of his own success, but life kind of sucks that way and he has to pay the piper like everybody else. Last season’s collapse OK, but add it to this season’s joke and the way it went down, and you have to expect the coaches you “personally know” to take some crap. It comes with the job and the millions in salary. Cry me a river.

first of all burn the burn offense and stick it where the sun don’t shine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!jw needs to reevulate himself,asst. coaches,offense and defense.they need to bring in a big man coach.second all the top coaches have a veteran asst coach on there staff in the big east.why arn’t the sophmore class developing? ucon is using 3 freshman and we can’t use one why???????????????????????????
looking at boston u team and chambers has them busting there ass and running nice sets against kansas.no,jay shouid not be fired,but must be responsible for how last year and this year ended.i would expect a transfer or two.we will have alot of problems recruiting big men by the way we play and how they don’t develope.mouph play a heck of a game but we never went inside to him why?????????????????

Jim,
#7 Sorry,1 of the main problems was NO real game plan!!
FISH: I understand where your coming from ,however I’m not ready to blame Fish to the point of
laying the season at his feet.(PLAYERS ONLY)
We could go on and on,my point is there is plenty of player’s blame and I think Fish is being overcharged.
Great Post and agree with other points and extremely concerned for the future and the mirrow!!!

“Big picture, I feel really good about our program,” Wright said afterward. “This is going to make us stronger.” What is he talking about? I think JW has completely lost it. How could this possibly make the program stronger?

Speaking of which, I was looking at NC State’s 2011 recruits and they have a lanky 6’9 240 lb Center from Nigeria named Joseph Uchebo who excelerated his graduation to Start college early. He was named by Scout as best 2012 recruit in North Carolina before reclassifying for 2011.
Jay should get feelers out to see if the kid is reopening his recruitment. Nova could shuffle the kid to Prep school for a year and take him in 2012 as Sutton’s replacement.
http://packinsider.com/2010/06/2011-nc-state-basketball-recruit-profiles/
Both J. Uchebo and Tyler Harris have not reconfirmed to NC State yet, while the other recruits did so.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncpreps/basketball/recruiting/player-Joseph-Uchebo-93682
Rivals 4 star
ESPN 4 star
————————————

Jeff,
I think last year also!!

It was only at the end of the game when Sutton slammed home that dunk that I felt good. Then Fisher and Stokes started chucking air balls and I knew the coup de grace was coming. Jay needs to build this team around the big men Mo Sutton and Armwood next season.

Also, Fisher’s game is sick, that guy is going to make so much money playing in Croatia.

He is in denial. He has been for the last month and a half. Of course he is going to say we will be stronger he has built a team around “Guard U” and you see it falling apart. And derp I agree with a lot of your post but you have to remember that we faltered last year down the stretch with Scottie. I feel it is more the problem of playing small guards without a balanced team which works against Delaware or St.Joe’s but not when the teams get better.

Watching Marquette play is unreal. They have much less talent but Raymond pushes these guys to hustle and pass the ball.

around Sutton and Armwood!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!

guessing he means a team without the Coreys

what has made villanova basketball fun to watch over the last decade was a consistent effort and gritty, grinding style of play. We weren’t the most talented team but we did whatever we needed to do to win. The last two years have been undeniable disappointments, but its because we didnt play villanova basketball. We got out hustled, and fundamentally out played because we thought our “talent” would bail us out. Here’s the wake up call. While we were never as good as our early rankings made us seem it fed the players egos and when adversity and difficult situations arose we cowered instead of risingto meet it (call that a lack of leadership if you want). My hope for 2011-2012 is that I have a team that I can be proud of again. We don’t have to win EVERY game- but lets get back to the days where we didnt actively participate in helping lose them.

Perhaps JW and restructured Asst. Coaches,but not a 18/19 year player!!

You know you are offensively challenged when Long Island University has scored so many more points then you did against GM and they are playing NC.

You watch all these other teams and they all have tall athletic big men with hops and coordination. Unless you count the incoming guards as big men we have nobody like that on our team. We have too many problems to count

yeah, sounds like code for some major changes are about to take place.

Anyone have a link to the post game presser?

Strong accusations about a 4yr senior!!

I think it is code for “oh shit, we are in some deep sewage and I need to find a shovel before anyone else smells something…” Seriously, I think he is just saying all the right things because he has no other choice.

Hello Buzz…..we do have beer in Philly and it’s warmer than Milwaukee

Let’s face it: Jay and his coaching staff are completely clueless when it comes to coaching big men, both on offense and defense. Mouph, Pena, Armwood and Sutton are just wandering around aimlessly. Here’s the halftime speech of our opposing coaches: “OK, guys, the cats have no inside threat, so over-play their guards and we’ll win!” It works every time! For God’s sake, Jay, lose the “Guard U” nonsense and build a balanced team! It’s become embarassing how easy we are to scout and defeat!

He’s probably not going to say that “I f*cked up midway through the season and recruited some dipsh1ts along the way”……

OK.. probably too harsh…

No offense to whats going on in Japan, but what we witnessed was a basketball “meltdown” of epic proportions. I think these “Five Star” players were totally overrated, but also have not been coached up. The Cats have become DePaul/Rutgers, whether we like it or not. Jat does a great job graduating his players, and we can all be proud of that, but the product that we see on the court is really embarrasing on a lot of levels.

Barney,
What are the chances of a trip?

Good post. Reminds me of a Seinfield rerun, you know exactly whats going to happen after seeing it 10 times. The only difference is the Wright reruns make you want to cry.

right, Corey Fisher,if he does graduate,will get his major in Teachable Lessons” from Prof Wright..how proud.

Just wondering out loud about a few things. We had supposedly two point guards in Fisher and Wayns. Do you realize every game we had a lead in the last three minutes and teams pressed us we lost? They had no clue weather to attack or not. Jay says he trusts the guards but you have to tell them some input. Fisher made a stupid mistake attacking when we were up six with 2 minutes left.

It is also hard to believe that we had three 1,000 point scorers and could not get past the first round. I feel we have now had two epic collapses last year and this year. Psychologically, it now becomes like the Chicago Cubs if we get off to a good start again we will feel the pressure.

I find it interesting to watch Xavier a team with two guards like our two guards(dribblers and not passers) getting beat. Jimmy Butler of Marquette has shown what a Senior does.

You bad Mddcny…but probably right!

Two words: Pat Chambers

You nailed it in every way. I could not concur more.

Nova was on Justin Anderson. 2 years ago, he was NOT better than Armwood. He was bound for the ACC from Day 1.

Still think we’re one assistant away from being really good. We need a hard ass “bad cop” former coach to come in and teach some basic skills and teamwork to go along with Jay’s “good cop.” Corey F. wouldn’t have gotten awy with that crap under a guy like Coach Knight or Coach K! He’d have a one way bus ticket back to Queens! I’m old enough to remember the year Coack K had a “bad back.” The team sucked. He then recovered and the team was right back on top. In college sports, it’s ALL about coaching. Period. case closed.

I need to sort through a lot of stuff. But tonight, I’ll say thanks to Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher, Antonio Pena, and Russell Wooten for their efforts in representing Villanova to the best of their abilities.

The end of the year is always a sad, yet inevitable thing. And I think this team’s legacy, much like last year’s, is that we in Nova Nation need to get a serious grip on our expectations. This program is considered among the best in the nation, and has been to THREE Final Fours in 40 years. We are who we are. Like it or leave.

And before I go, a tip of the cap to the 1971 team, on the 40th anniversary of their trip to the Finals in Houston, If not for you guys, today’s result would have never broken my heart. Love’s funny like that.

They went to Canada before the ’08 season so they are eligible for an international pre-season trip before next season.

Ryan A. hasn’t signed a LOI b/c he is a Class of 2012 graduate.

It really is all about coaching at the college level. Period.

Hate to say it, but you’re totally correct. Enough already about not damaging psyches and stroking these guys. A hard ass coach never killed anyone. And think about it, what does it get the player anyway? Our best college player since Kerry Kittles is busting his ass in the CBA. Will Fish or Stokes do any better?? Cmon Jay, you owe it to these guys to get on ‘em!!

Gunner…I was about to spit out my Jameson’s until you mentioned 1971. In Porter we trusted….he was god back then

In reply to the Gunner, my own disappointment is that, if scouting services have any credibility, we get very good athletes, and our expectations are that our coaches will take these highly rated athletes and mold them into a good team. What we are seeing is a very inefficient bunch of players who really have no clue had to play as a team. Seriously, I’ve seen games where the guard dribbles the ball down to about 35′ away and shoots; other games where they dribble the clock away and then try one of those ridiculous “dribble drives” into the lane. At the end of this pathetic season, I’d say this is probably one of the worst coached teams, at any level, I’ve ever seen. For $2 M a year, we can do a lot better.

and we can be coached without expensive suits! and fat and bald is ok

and Pena’s will diploma will read “about time you old geezer”

Go VCU!!!!…..PLEASE!

It’s ALL about coaching.

What you see VU92 is what you get….crappy performance. This team was a rudderless ship, making every freaking game a nailbiter. I don’t want a repeat next year…I’m too old! Time to cut our losses and move on.

GOTCHA!

Alright, had enough and going to bed, but a little food for thought. Have any of you guys actually been to Duke? A VU sized school, private, elite some would say, in the freaking middle of nowhere! Durham is not Chapel Hill or Villanova for that matter. What they have had forever is coaching. Forget those associates on Coach K’s bench. They’re window dressing. He is the boss. He is also a tough son of a bitch. Just read his lips during a game. My point is he’s able to bring in the same level of talent as J but gets much better results. Jay is just too nice to these guys, and it’s not working. People don’t change, and Jay won’t change. He’s a great guy and we love him a lot, but he’s not tough enough to deal with these guys. Make a change now rather than later.

I’ve been to Duke. They have nice tee shirts

Good Post. Somewhere down the line and I don’t know where, Jay Wright lost it. When folks like us, who post, see glaring problems, like the burn offense, and Wright doesn’t see it as a problem then something is terribly wrong. His reluctance to change is something to be concerned about. . He’s great at bringing the clay to the ceramics class, but he can’t mold it into a beautiful pot. If he was in the real working world of big business and was reluctant to change when things took a turn for the worse, he would be gone. He had better talent, than George Mason but not as much talent as their coach. If the great collapse happens again next year, JW will lose a lot of support.

There’s way too many books in their book store Mddcny and not enough T-shirts! You know I’m right. Make a change now rather than later or it will get worse.

I agree,but how?

Agree with virtually everything.
This is 2007-08 coming up again…no seniors (although Sutton is academic senior..we hope)
The team they are building is the 2012-13 team to win it all.

Less experience but No depth issues next year with 12 scholarship players + Ouanu on roster.
Corey Fisher out…Tyrone Johnson IN.
Corey Stokes out…Ach Yacoubou IN.
Antonio Pena out…JV Pinkston & Markus Kennedy IN.
Russell Wooten out…utility player Darrun Hilliard will gives us some hustle minutes as a reserve.

When Archy & Savon join in 2012, I wouldnt be surprised if Jay redshirts Hilliard that year unless someone is injured. Jay will have too many minutes to juggle among guards/small forwards.

Bullshit. Horrible post. 2 years ago Wright put forth his best coaching effort yet. He took a team that wasn’t as talented on paper and got them all to play hard. The seniors on that squad were a special bunch that exhibited real leadership. The result was a Final Four appearance.

I blame Fisher, Stokes, and Pena more than anyone else. Those guys were totally absent down the stretch run. They couldn’t hit shots when the game was in doubt. Compare this latest bunch to Cunningham, Anderson, and Reynolds.

That’s not Wright’s fault. He can only do so much to mold players. This program went from being perennially just off the bubble on Lappas to a team that will make the tourney ever year and has a realistic possible to make noise each time they get there. Anyone calling for Wright’s head is clearly too young and too stupid to remember the Lappas years. They were truly horrible and Wright has done a remarkable job reviving the program.

Here’s to hoping that Wayns, Cheek, and Yarou do a better job next year. It will be their show.

A preseason trip is allowed every 4 years by NCAA including early workouts and scrimmage games. PITT was in Ireland last Labor day and they hit the ground running this season.

Jay took the team to a short 4 day trip to (CHEAP…lol) Canada in 2007 for Labor Day.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/basketball/ncaa/2007/09/what-they-learned-on-vacation-villanova.html
It’s a great bonding experience and we are adding 5 NEW players including JVP.

I think the horrible Villanova Womens Basketball team even played in Italy a year or two ago. Spend the money, Nova and send them to Russia or China. Maybe we come back with a 6’11 recruit for 2013…lol

1. The last ‘Nova guy to make it to the next level — Dante Cunningham — was not a guard. He developed nicely under Wright’s tutelage. Yarou will too. It just takes longer than you think — especially with a guy who picked up the game so recently.

2. Fisher has the worst basketball IQ of any stud guard I’ve seen at Villanova to date. Wayns is actually an excellent facilitator and I believe that you will see that in his play next year.

8. Previous teams have moved better without the ball. I truly think that this all starts with Fisher. Hard to run an offense with that guy. He just dribbles all over the fucking place. I’ve never been sold that he is a good player. He’s definitely not a point guard.

I’m still waiting for the link also. Anyone have it?

Plain and simple, the offense was dysfunctional and it is the coaches job to put his players in a position to win the game. Our players did not have a chance with our game plan. The leadership issues start at the top.

Jump shot after jump shot….it must be easy to defend us because they know there is NO attempt to go inside.

I can not think of one good team… past or present ….college or pro, that completely ignores the post.

BTW….When did Jay decide that Pena was shooting forward and should be roaming 20 feet away from the basket.

Guest, go back to your slumber. I’m sorry that you just woke up and decided to start posting here, but those points about the senior leaders letting the team down and Jay raising the program to new heights are nothing new — they are true and have been made ad nauseum. But you are just $hit house crazy if you think rational people are going to let Jay completely off the hook for what has transpired. Deez nuts crazy.

And for the rest of you who are sick of me jumping in to reply to all of these “defend Jay Wright even if he commits triple murder” posts, tough crap, deal with me. You had your chance to prove your point that he and the team would turn things around the entire second half of the season and you were flat out wrong. The chickens have come home to roost. It is called accountability.

Totally agreed. This team is an absolute nightmare right now. No short-term fix, either, other than recruiting legitimate talent. This team has none.

Whats up with all the ‘New Yawk’ baseball fans on this site……..Villanova is a Philadelphia school why not root for St Johns..Go Phils

Out of all the people that said Jay has to go, nobody has named a coach that they think could come in here and do a better job? if you want him gone name somebody? JW brought them to a final 4, any idea how hard that is? I guess not because a lot of you think its easy and he can’t coach. I went to a an A-10 school that hasn’t been to the NCAA in 10 yrs and my GF went to Nova so I follow them because she likes watching the games I found her on this web site and started reading these comments and honestly I think the majority of you are snobs. I’m an outsider and envy Villanova’s BBall program and have so much respect for what Jay does for your program. The grass is not greener on the other side. Villanova is on CBS or ESPN almost every time they play. He brought College gameday to campus, which is pretty much gold for the program and the school. The team just under achieved this year, so what. All these comments about the “burn” but I didn’t see a lot of “burn” today just game tempo. I was surprised actually at how they were attacking the hoop at the end of the game. Stokes can shoot but is a liability every where else,slow can’t rebound, can’t D and you can’t go inside because Yarou isn’t polished enough inside, but he’ll get there. Pena missed 2 huge free throws in a “senior moment” . Fisher and Wayns are the only players that can create there own shots. Which is why the offense looks the way it does. One good thing about this season was a lot of talk was that if Wayns had a good season he was a pro prospect, not anymore, he’ll be back next year with Yarou and Bell showed flashes. Sprinkle in a the 5 players coming in and your back in the NCAA’s next year, but have respect for your program, I know others do.

How about this?

No more McDonald’s All Americans.

More good, solid, coachable players who aren’t inked up and hyped up with playing pro. Players in the proud VU tradition, which was tarnished with this year’s dismal effort. Dare I say VU recruit “gentlemen?” Brey does it, K does it, Larranaga does it, Boeheim does it, Barnes, etc.

How can you not blame JW for this collapse?

That’s why I say FORGET the “top recruits” and get better citizens. Good post though. I hold Coach wholly responsible.

All of the comments claiming that better assistants are needed are simply condemning the head coach. If people are saying that he’s needed for recruiting then that can be translated into saying he should be one of the assistants. Be real.
Is the grass greener?? Can anyone name a coach who has done less with such highly ranked recruits? Most of the coaches would die for the talent that Nova can get. Hard to believe that any coach in the BE would have done worse with this talent.
His comments are simply not that of a bright person let alone a bright coach. Lucked out having NBA talent before that masked the coaching problems.

Realistically, the talent has not had any directives or realistic coaching. It is sad. The coaching (JW), not the “staff”, has not shown any leadership whatsoever. The phrase is sophmoric and juvenile. Offensive plays, cuts, etc… all the coaches in the BE design this except this one. “Leadership” accepts responsibility. Why hasn’t that happened? Stop blaming the kids.

WHY DID WE RUN THAT STUPID OFFENSE IN THE 2ND HALF AGAIN? WHAT THE F!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jay remarked about the randomness of it all . . .
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14829608/wright-keeps-villanovas-heads-right-amid-seasonending-tumble

Anonymous…This is a call out to your Nova GF……She needs to find another BF.

The majority of the people on this site have the utmost respect for Jay and what he has done for the program but that does not mean we have to agree with his game strategy

The people on the this site are not snobs they just really like VU HOOPS and know the difference between a well executed plan and street ball.

Foreign players come to America every year with the same amount of basketball experience that Mouph Yarou brought with him. What they don’t all have is his physical abilities for a big man which is why someone should be held accountable for WASTING his talents if he doesn’t develop faster. It was “only a matter a time” for him to bust out when he was a High School Junior getting the opportunity to play Basketball in America, not when he is going to be a College Junior.
Mouph played at two different Basketball Academies as well as summer AAU where Villanova accidently discovered him. He has been in the Villanova program for 2 years now. He is a smart kid, so what’s the problem?? Who is working with him on daily drills to make him more efficient? Shouldn’t this be a TEAM issue to make him better? We got what everyone describes as a gifted big athlete in the middle and the guards are dribbling out the clock to avoid passing it to him.

This should be the SUMMER OF MOUPH!! I don’t want to hear Jay bragging about Temple’s Lavoy Allen like last summer when he was moonlighting for USA Basketball.. If Jay is looking for answers to kickstart the 2011-12 team, he need only spend more energy on “Project Yarou”. He has Kennedy and JVP as well as Sutton and even thin man Armwood to all throw at Mouph in workouts.
==================================

Markus Kennedy was a youth swimmer. Never played competitive basketball until the summer AFTER his Freshman year at Monsignor Bonner where he had been a 9th grade football player.
….Cue the excuses for Kennedy next year on how he is too inexperienced playing hoops…lol.

When things went worng it is normal that every one will blame each other. Coach said that we did not get very good players as we wanted because they went to Tar Heel, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas instead of Nova. Players blamed Coach and Coach blamed palyers and so on……… I think that it is about time that all Nova fans and the team should stick together and hope that we will see the very good Nova Ball again.

I would go after Coach Norman Dale. Gene Hackman hasn’t been busy lately!

There is no fun in that stick together crap. Hold their feet to the fire!!
WIN or go home!! This is VUhoops not VUwhoops!!
The day Jay refuses a salary and the players pay their own tuition is the day I’m just happy for their showing up…LOL

Play to win. Winners get compliments. Losers get criticism. Losing Coaches that collapse repeatedly get the hot seat.

Norm hit that kid at Ithica and got banned in College…lol

But the Holy Name guy is around town. Has more D-1 experience as a high level asst coach than our entire staff combined. Comes recommended by Paul Hewitt.

Dear JW,
Tennessee Called, they want you and your burn offense.
Good Luck

I meant Holy Family College….Coach John O’Connor.

is the rumor true that in the week leading up to the Syracuse win, JW was off on a shoot for GQ and Larry Brown stepped in to set the game plan….if not, I’m starting the rumor now.

disco is NOT dead @ Villanova…burn,baby,burn,,,,disco inferno…..

I suspect we should give credit to Cunningham, Anderson, and possibly Twesi(sp) for maintaining discipline in the locker room as well as on the practice floor.

Of course, the opening at NC State creates anther opportunity… that is a school with multiple national championships in a down conference with 2 coaches in neighboring schools approaching retirement (Duke & UNC)… with their commitments and current level of talent, there is a risk that Wright bolts for greener pastures. We have to be careful with what we wish for!

Is Larry Brown interested in Nova coaching staff? Can he accept with a small salary?

honey badger — you are a stupid little kid who lacks perspective.

A little morning reading from the Daily News that sums up much of the talk on this board (An excerpt appears below)

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/villanova/118287529.html

It’s his turn now. He knows it, understands it, expects it. One late-season fold is an anomaly. Two in a row, especially the way this Villanova season ended, and well, people see a pattern.

Jay Wright can’t coach. Jay Wright can’t recruit capable big men. He just got really lucky when his teams reached the Elite Eight and Final Four, got all the breaks he’s not getting now.

He was exposed in 2010. He was exposed this year as well. This is what it will sound like for the next 6 months at least. Maybe for the next 12, or even beyond that. Phil Martelli went through it after St. Joe’s incredible run, is still going through it. John Chaney felt the doubt and vitriol after he built expectations to an unrealistic level.

Everybody knows what Temple’s victory over Penn State Thursday meant for Fran Dunphy.

“Right now . . . it sucks,” Wright said after ‘Nova’s season finally skidded over the edge with a 61-57 loss to George Mason yesterday in its first game of the NCAA Tournament. “They’re really dying.

“We’re all dying. And I think that’s why I like being a college coach. If I was a pro coach? With what happened here? I wouldn’t be talking about learning lessons. We’d all be out of here.”

Well, maybe that’s a little extreme. But he’d be on the clock. Truth is, without the glory days that preceded these recent disasters, Wright would be viewed no differently from his predecessor, Steve Lappas, whose teams won 20 games or more six times, but broke into rashes once the postseason appeared.

Is it fair? Hell, yeah, it is. As the coach pointed out: “We got a lot of positives when we went through the good times. And I remember saying to myself we’re not that perfect. I’m not that good of a coach. So when it goes this way, you’ve got to take it. It’s all part of it.”

If it soothes you at all, know that Wright might do a few things differently if he could do it all over again. The experiment of playing big men, such as Isaiah Armwood, out of position when Corey Stokes missed games didn’t work. Replacing Corey Fisher with lengthier-but-younger Dominic Cheek in the waning moments of that South Florida game probably cost the ‘Cats that game.

yes….he said he’d do it…….and never leave.

Hello “Guest.” I would bet that I am older than you and have a greater appreciation for the bigger picture than you.

You haven’t been here long enough to know my overall views so you have no clue what you are talking about. Read my post carefully, think about it, and then please respond to the following question:

What did I write to suggest I lack perspective?

Thanks to the VUHoops staff for a great season. Wish I could say the same the players and coaching staff.

On yesterday: I thought Jay’s gameplan was fine — aside from not running one single play for Mouph, who was clearly 11 times better than anything GM had to offer inside, and seemed like a man on a mission in that first half. This loss for me falls on the players, namely the seniors. Pena’s missed free throws were pathetic. Stokes was a joke in that second half, missing wide open looks, and letting a slow white boy juke him out of his shoes before popping the game winner in his eye. I found that pre-game interview with the seniors hilarious — they used the word “leader” about 15 times each in answering the first questions… but I don’t think one of them even knew what that word means.

I’m optimistic about next year. I think Wayns and Mouph both make huge strides and become two of the best in the Big East. Looking forward to the incoming recruits and JVP. Cheek is an enigma, but hoping that more playing time and a more vital role in the offense brings out the Dom we thought was signing that much anticipated letter of intent. Is it November yet?

Newsday backpage “Stupor Nova”

Classic. Way to go, you are the joke of college basketball. Hopefully, you find motivation to improve. Sorry, I am not as confident as mprams. Not one but at least two incoming freshman will need to be much better than they are currently ranked for the team to make the NCAA’s next year. Too many sophs went backwards for me to trust in any of them.

Sorry HoneyVag, I have better things to do than measure my internet cock against yours. You’re a moron. Enough said. Two disappointing years don’t indicate that the program is in freefall or that Jay Wright can’t coach. Get a grip on reality.

You are an idiot if you think that we lose recruits because of this. Other things might transpire elsewhere — coaching changes, player transfers, etc — which impact who ultimately stays and who goes but this isn’t going to hurt us per se.

The simplicity with which you view just about everything related to basketball is astounding.

This blog is a worthless piece of shiite. It contains no useful insights — just a bunch of stupid ass people offering up worthless conjecture,

Get lives folks.

Thanks “Guest.” I apologize for being such a simple man with very rudimentary analytic skills and limited intellectual capacity. If you believe my posts and this blog are “shiite” and contain no useful insights, might I suggest you either raise quality of the discourse or take your business elsewhere? I wish you the best with whatever path you choose. In the mean time, I will search for a life. Peace and love.

Great comments, and enjoy reading the feedback. Agree that there’s plenty of blame to go around what was one of (if not the) worst intraseason and postseason falls from NCAA basketball grace in recent memory.

Missing free throws down the stretch by senior leadership is a major factor in both first-game tourney departures, but I agree that many opponents seemed to “figure out” Nova this year and make the appropriate halftime adjustments… whereas we didn’t, on either side of the ball. I’m too lazy to look it up myself, but does anyone know our plus-minus for the final 10 minutes of games this year? Perhaps with a focus on the last 20?

Hi “Guest.” No problem, you are more than reasonable to not want to “measure your internet cock against mine.” I’m not sure what that is anyway and how to judge such a contest — do we go with length or girth or both? If I were to guess, mine resembles a tuna can. Regardless, feel free to post your thoughts in a vacuum, but that just means you are responding to comments completely out of context. All I would offer is that I never said the program is in free fall because of the last two years. But I would say that Jay’s coaching abilities are now suspect. I know that statement bothers you, but it is a perfectly reasonable point of view backed up by evidence. He has even admitted making a bunch of coaching blunders this year. Let me know if you would like me to dig up the quotes. Doesn’t mean he isn’t great for the program and that I and the others critical of his coaching think he is anywhere near a hot seat. The world is full a gray. Stop living in the black and white — I guess that means I’m telling you to get some perspective. Be good.

I agree that the pre-game press conference/interview was hilarious.

I thought the best line was Pena’s response when asked if Jay was an X’s and O’s coach or just a rah-rah guy. His response: “What you mean, rah-rah?” Classic!

Obviously the question was indubitably answered by the game results.

Hi mprams. Glad to read you decided to come back to the fold and post your thoughts. A few of us feared you might have jumped off a bridge rather than face the cold hard reality of what occurred. I look forward to reading your optimistic posts leading up to and during next year’s basketball season.

did you see Tennessee or Georgetown play. Neither covered themselves in any glory. every team but 1 will lose their last game, it would have been nice to play Ohio State but , it had the potential for an ND sized blowout… The biggest play of the season was the James Bell clutch shot against Rutgers and the aftermath. Bell hits the shot, everybody relaxes in celebration, allowing an uncontested 3, Fish misses a foul shot..oops. just that win alone would have given VU Connecticuts schedule in the BE tourney(depaul and georgetown) and a probable 7th seed.oh well, no seniors next year. still had the same record as St. John’s and everybody thinks they are revived.

Yes, breaking news: Larry Brown has joined the staff in an unknown capacity for an undisclosed salary.

Yet again, ‘Nova has another come-from-ahead defeat! It’s appalling. Jay is convinced that he can take his foot off the gas in the closing 10 minutes of a game, and hang on for the win. Wasn’t this game-plan mentality proven to be completely wrong in the Rutgers and USF games? If Jay can’t get his mind around the idea that he has a quick-footed offensive squad that works best when they attack rather then when they slow-down, then it’s time for Jay to go! Every time we eat clock we end up letting opponents back into the game – and it frequently ends up costing Nova the game. When will he adapt his coaching to this realization?

In last years loss in Round 2 of the NCAA’s, St Mary’s Omar Samhan (6’11″, 270 lbs) put up 32 points to assure the win. With the speed of Nova, wouldn’t it have been worthwhile to try an up-tempo game pace that would have kept Samhan running up and down the court and exhausted him? But no, we walk it up, giving Samhan plenty of time to rest on the floor, and he has a career day against Nova. We played to St Mary’s strengths! That particular game, in my mind, was a glaring example of an absurd game plan!

Different opponents require different game plans, and Nova has played ONE game plan while Jay has been coach. It only works well wih a strong effective floor leader, like Foye, Lowry, or Reynolds. Fisher has not been up to that role. There are plenty of recently retired basketbal coaches who could join Jay’s staff and be the X’s & O’s coach that Jay desperately needs (ala Gene Keady at SJU). Somebody to breakdown film, create game plans, get the right personnel on the floor, and make halftime adjustments.

The merit of a coach is earned when he can help his players do different things when they are not playing to their potential, as in the last few games of the past 2 seasons. I didn’t notice any changes in roles or planning over the last 12 games of this season. I was hoping that with 10 days of rest, and 5 days to plan for GMason, Jay would have come up with something surprising, but it was the same old song and dance game plan that hasn’t been working, and therefore the result should not be surprising to anyone. I’m not surprised, but I am very disappointed.

I like Jay. He’s good for Nova’s program, especially recruiting, and VU students love him, but he can’t do it all. The demands on his free time for speaking engagements, clinics, charity events, and other things must be enormous, so he needs to realize that he needs experienced help on his coaching staff to keep this train on the track. The wrecks of the past 2 seasons prove it.

See you all next season…and pray for change!

mprams…Jays gameplan was fine??? we had 7 baskets in the second half (4 baskets in the second half of the USF game, ND hit 20 three pointers in a 40 minute game…..lucky to beat De Paul…. should I continue…you watch the games and you are on this site often so I am confused by your endorsement of the the game plan.

“Aside from not running one single play for Mouph”….that is a very big exception in your analysis….run 10 plays for him and if he makes his average of 50 % we win going away.

Leadership (or lack of) is a very popular criticism of Fisher however leadership is situational. If the game plan is flawed then there is no leadership.

Graveyards are full leaders with no strategy.

I agree, except, let’s go Red Sox!
BTW, thanks guys for this site. I hope you’ll be back next with renewed enthusiasm.

Again, lots of fools blaming the few players who are good–Wayns, Fisher and Stokes, when the problem was the rest of the team.

Mouph: Junior high school skill set. Never played any playground ball to develop rudimentary skills.
Armwood: Just an athlete without basketball skill or IQ
Cheek: no left hand, weak right hand dribbling too. Zero penentration ability, streak shooter, at best.
Sutton: To weak to be a factor at high level college play.
Bell: Good potential, but was injured a third of the year, and too inexperienced.
Pena: Average.

You aholes are idots to balme Jay Wright. Our Sophomore class was the most over-rated in the NCAA, considering their resumes. We lost Reynolds, Redding and King without the Freshman improving to replace them, except for Wayns.

Jay’s not going to trash his talent and you guys are too dumb to realize the truth of the situation. Our front line can’t compete. The attempt at a burn offense was simply Jay trying to work with lesser talent.

“The Summer of Mouph.” Worlds are colliding. Nice, Barney.

Mock it if you want, but I’m all for it. If he’s not joining the staff per se, I think you throw him some nominal dough as a consultant. Sometimes the answer is right in your backyard.

FOOLS….Using your rationale.,…. GMU had better talent????

For some reason no one has mentioned Waysn failure to get his pressure layup into the hoop near the end. maybe not a good play but he had a chance. It asn’t blocked.

Frame this one too. Great post.

Bingo

So we grow what we have by ignoring it? So Mouph has two more years of rebounding and blocking shots and no offense? Where di the team go that beat Syracuse at the dome by a strong margin? GMU showed more inside offense than we did.

What, you don’t like lazily crapping around down the court to just drive, kick, drive, kick, drive, kick and get an off-balance badly missed 3?

4 year senior? I graduated in 2007. And, you can all me Junior…as in Junior…not as in what year I am in school. Thanks pal.

Charles Barkley was just on campus to visit his daughter. He pointed in the direction of the Pavilion and yelled “You guys are TURRIBLE. Crazy, knuckleheaded TURRIBLE!”

Im not calling for Jay Wright’s head but how can he let the same thing happen over and over again. Everytime this team gets a big lead you know their gonna lose the lead because of the burn.(Rutgers, USF, GMU) and there were a bunch of other games they barely won or should have one by more because of the burn. The reason this time has struggled the last six games is the Coaching.(The burn.)
Free throw shooting was also terrible during the last stretch of the season and injuries also hurt us. Next years team could be good(praying Wayns stays) but whos gonna be your consistent three point shooter(thats right we don’t have one). Jays gonna have to bring a good assistant in to develop the big guys because sadly they are gonna be the strength of our team next year. So basically im really not really too excited about next years team but I think the 2012-2013 team can bring us back to the elite not only in the big east but also the country.

Gunner, I wasn’t mocking it. I think it would be awesome, but I am “half empty” so I just don’t think it will happen. We’re just having fun.

If Charles Barkley is going to be on campus ask him to suit up and give the big guys a free lesson or two. Pinkston has been compared to Charles Barkley for years. What better position coach could we find for him? What about it Charles you still got any game left? Help a brother out.

Nothing wrong with the “burn” – when used strategically/appropriately. IMHO, this team was using it way too early, to the detriment of our W/L. When our out-of-the-gate, up-tempo style built significant leads on USF and GMU, I don’t know why we’d switch from what was working, until the “W” was basically within grasp by using a “burn” style.

We’ve lost games that we should’ve won in recent years, by not using a “burn” offense style in the final 3-4 minutes of play, while possessing a commanding lead. E.g. racing down and jacking up a bad shot with 25 seconds left on the SC, in the final 3 minutes with an 8 point lead, is just dumb, dumb, dumb. Poor situational awareness.

Well Beardog, it goes with out saying that the Red Sox are the best team in Baseball.
Most of the teams have conceded the 2012 World Series to us Red Sox fans.

I meant 2011…got a head of myself on their upcoming Dynasty. LOL

couldnt agree more with lu122290. Jay Wright has, and is still a damn good basketball coach. Hes not the problem, we just have to reset, and try again next year. People werent complaining about losing in the NCAA tournament 11 years ago when we never made it there!! NIT, and no postseason as opposed to making sweet 16s, and Elite 8s, and Final Fours, whenever you are a good team, you have seasons, and let downs like this. It doesnt mean you cant coach anymore, he has prooved time and time again that he can coach circles around most coaches in the country

Wayns was clearly fouled on that shot. Clear, that is, to everyone but the refs.

I’m not looking forward to JVP. Not at all, unless they hire a top level sports psychologist or one of the Auggies on campus is an exorcist.

Coach K is a disciple of Bobby Knight. Not the bad behavior part obviously but still, as you point out, a tough guy who knows what he is doing.

I have a couple of suggestions. How about Mark Few from Gonzaga. They put on a clinic against St Johns the other day. If he is untouchable, how about the guy from VCU? I don’t recall his name but talk about a team that leaves it all on the floor. They press with a purpose, their offense is up tempo. They don’t care if the other team is bigger, better, deeper, higher ranked. They go after every team they play rather than that candy ass burn approach Jay has fallen in love with.

I think they also said on the broadcast of their game last night that he was accepted to 3 or 4 Ivy League schools coming out of high school so it is pretty clear the guy is a smart guy. May not look as good as Jay in his suits on the sideline but I will make that trade right now.

Nothing good about yesterdays game or how this team has played for the past 6 weeks. A collapse like this leaves a lot of blame to go around. Players and coaches. When you look at the common denominators to last year, you have to think about the seniors and how they didn’t step up. I can’t imagine why they didn’t but it is clear they were shot by the end of the year. Maybe they never had it in the first place. Maybe there were things going on behind the scenes as many have suggested that got them all to just give up.

But I still go back to coaching as a major factor in all of this. If these guys were that bad, why did Jay continue to count on them and call upon them to be leaders. Izzo tossed two of his best guys from his team early in the season because of detrimental behavior. His team suffered but he took a stand and I think his team will be better for it in the long run. What our team has learned is that one or two bad apples can spoil things for the whole team. Two years in a row. Sorry to the JW lovers out there but I see that as a serious leadership problem and the fingers have to point straight at Jay.

Then there is that ridiculous burn offense. Over and over all season long they went to it. It worked against the bad teams in November and December. It worked for the first few games in the Big East and then the coaches figured it out and we stopped winning. What is maddening is why Jay never realized how it was killing this team. You could see it in our players body language with about 3 minutes to go yesterday. We were still winning at that point but you could see in their faces and their drooping shoulders that they knew they would find a way to lose the game. Because our coach had coached any momentum we had in the first half right out of the team. They players knew it.

But here comes the worst part. I had actually hoped Jay had learned something in the USF game but seeing his pregame comments to the GM game, I realized he hadn’t. You could see that we would once again slow it down and let our 6 foot guards take the majority of the shots with time running out on the shot clock. So guess what Nova Nation. Wait until next year. If you think this season was bad, just wait. Because our coach doesn’t get it, you can expect to see Wayns get turned into Jimmer Freddette. He will take 20-25 shots every game. He will make about 7 of them because he can’t shoot like Jimmer. But, we will run the clock down game after game while the rest of the team watches Malik dribble and then get forced into a bad shot. Because, our coach fundamentally believes this is the way to run the offense. This is not targeted at Wayns being a selfish player. I don’t think that at all. This is Jay’s concept for offense and with the limited offensive options we will have next year, you can count on watching this same offense with the same results all year long. The only difference will be that next year we will be squeaking by or losing to the Delawares and Bucknells of the world. And in the post games, Jay will say he doesn’t understand why we are losing because we are doing everything right.

But I know, it isn’t Jay. We are blessed to have him and he is the best coach in the world. We can’t possibly find a better one than him.

The dark ages of Villanova basketball is back.

A few certainties:

1. This team will be WORSE next year. We will not have to worry about watching Selection Sunday or underachieving in the tournament.

2. Jay Wright will hire a new assistant. Jay Wright seems like a good guy and is a good person to be the coach of our team BUT only if he has assistants that can coach. Jay is not a good basketball coach.. actually his is a really bad basketball coach. He needs new assistants that know how to coach or Jay needs to go. Period.

3. We need to recruit better big men. Armwood, Sutton and Yarou all suck. I would love for Armwood and Sutton to transfer or quit. They are USELESS. Yarou still has some promise if he works hard in the offseason. Armwood and Sutton have promise flipping burgers at McDonalds in two years.

A few possibles:

1. At least one of our recruits for 2011 decommits. All of the momentum in the program is lost now. I would not want to play for Jay and his staff right now. See “2″ above.. Jay is an “empty suit”.. he cannot coach or develop players. Don’t give me the Cunningham story.. That was Cunningham’s personality and determination that made him better, NOT Jay Wright AND we had better assistant coaches then. The bottom line is that Jay did a great job recruiting his first real class with “Fraser, Foye, Ray and Sumpter”.. they were awesome and also had the personalities to naturally develop into leaders.. they made Jay look really good. He got Lowry… the best recruit he ever had.. best player in his tenure.. that was great for 2 years. Then he got lucky with Reynolds. The collapse would have happened alot sooner if not for Scottie. Scottie is a top 5 player in Nova Basketball history. He covered up for Jay sucking as a coach for 4 years. Jay is a great recruiter and hit on some guys that could be self-made leaders/stars.

2. At least one of the players we want to stay (Wayns, Cheek, Bell or Pinkston) transfer.

3. We do not make the tournament over the next 3 years.

The brief ride was fun while it lasted. We will become the masters of the NIT again….

“If I were a PRO Coach I would probably get fired for this”.(Jay Wright)

That is correct and your wrong!!
Meant respectively!

There it is! The first post whining about the refs! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I actually think that Mouph has the ability to develop into a very good player. Not sure he will get there with our staff or the strategy we follow but in the right program I think he would be very good. Calhoun would turn Mouph into a beast.

Could you be any more pessimistic??

DOM,
WE have already set BE and NCAA records for losses and the last two years ended on EPIC COLLAPSES!!
JW as a gentleman would step down if there was another EPIC COLLAPSE!!

Remember if someone starts talking about Steve Lappas, they don’t know much about VU basketball
history!!

Dom,believe me we had some great teams, a lot of fun and no EPIC COLLAPSES!!!
VU’s Basketball history can be found on the Internet very easily and it will show you a very successful
program with no records for bad play and nothing resembling the total collapses of the last 2 years.

Where in Heaven’s name have you been,you must continue to hang around,You are Hilarious!!

WOW!! You are FUN!!

Thanks!!

Thanks!!

So how come it can be Cunningham’s attitude that made him improve, but it can’t be the attitude of some of the current guys that make them not improve?

That Charles Barkley. I think he’s crazy. I think he’s crazy. I think he’s crazy. Just like me.

I am not asking for Jay Wright’s head now. If the wheels fall off next year at this time again, I will feel differently. However, the Administration and/or Athletic Director needs to have a heart-to-heart with Jay.

They need to let him know that while his job is safe for now, he needs to make some major changes in
his coaching philosophy and start showing signs of a plan B, plan C if needed during a game and in general, as the season progresses.

If JW seems steadfast in the way he approaches each and every game, then it is time to part ways. If the vibe is that he (himself) knows that he needs to make significant changes in order to grow as a coach and get this program back to respectability, then give him a leash (for now) for the 2011-2012 campaign.

I am not saying that the situations are identical, but I am starting to feel the way I did under the Lappas years. I don’t want to take for granted that JW is an upstanding, moral human being. I believe he truly cares for these kids in and out of the classroom. However, when it comes to W’s and L’s, I think it is because his X’s and O’s are severely ineffective.

The difference in Nova and St Johns is that they are on the way up and we are on the way down. Just passing at an inflection point.

you have got to trust the guy in charge. If you tell someone that you need to try coaching differently, then that coach will not be an effective coach. I saw it this season with my teams. If 21-12 isnt a respectable season, with all due respect I think you should be a Duke fan, because most teams would kill for 21-12. He has a .670 winning percentage in his tenure, what more do you really want, you know? Winning 20 plus games 7 years in a row, and hes all of a sudden not effective. 7 straight NCAA tourney appearances. The man knows how to coach, and though I dont agree with a lot of what he did this season, I support the hell out of him. I respect the hell out of him, and if my career leads to me being a quarter of the coach he is, I would consider that damn good!!

Jim, You won’t be able to complain about Jay playing two small guards at the same time next year because there won’t be two on the team. While Johnson is a point guard, he is 6’3″. I’m remain petrified, however, that Jay may ask Maalik to dribble for 30 seconds and then take every shot under desperation circumstances next year!

Why do you think Yarou “will get there” if he isn’t ever given the ball? He took 3 shots against GM and two were offensive rebounds. He can’t get better without given a chance to fail. What we knew going into the game was that not having a balance offense and using our bigs was not going to work, yet we did it again. I am NOT saying Jay has to go. He has been great for Nova. I am saying he has to change, whether that means getting a different X and O assistant or just through self examination.

V…For Victory!!

Did the players get their tournament trophy for participation?

Mprams, That “aside from not running one single play for Mouph” is too important to give Jay a pass on his gameplan. That should have been priority #1 in the game plan and Mouph took 3 shots. He wasn’t given a chance to dominate the game inside and thus you are now blaming the players for missing shots, etc in a close game that never should have been close. I’m not disagreeing with your criticism of the players; I just believe the loss is at Jay’s door.

Rick,

As I said above, I also fear something like this could happen next year. If it does, I won’t be watching because I will lose my mind to watch this again next year.

Bigrob, I respect what both you and Eg say. You both have an important perspective. However, I think you have to consider the talent that Jay has in deciding if the record is “good enough.” The other BE coaches thought Jay should finish second this year with the talent and experience we had. We finished 10th. We started both the last 2 seasons in the top 10 and finished out of the top 25 because we underperformed. Shouldn’t a coach be held accountable for underperforming two years in a row? Next year should be easier for Jay because expectations will be much lower.

I agree with you.

I just watched Attitude of a Champion. I suggest everyone watches it to re-focus themselves.

Remember how happy most of us were to see Reggie Redding’s minutes go to Cheek and company? Forget having Scottie even, this team could’ve benefited so much from a Reggie Redding.

Having someone capable of passing, dribbling, defending and rebounding, we needed a player like that badly. We had a team of specialists, no one that had multiple tools.

Fisher and Stokes were great Villanova players, important pieces of the 2009 squad. Fisher in fact was more than a piece, he was the 6th man of the year in the Big East. I kept saying I was happy to see them go, but I’m actually not when I calm down to think about it. I’m just happy to see this season go…

Pena on the other hand, see ya later. A career of awful FT shooting (remember that LVille game a few years ago?), and GMU now. That first play to Pena in this game where he was lightly fouled and he doesn’t dunk it point-blank range, lays it up, and misses. Then hits just 1-2 FTs. Then blows the game again late. He never had a role, or never embraced one. Never seemed to have a natural position. Started games early in his Soph year, then barely ever saw the court towards the end. Just a total enigma. He should’ve showed some serious senior leadership and went after every rebound. Bye Bye Tone.

Unless Jay has an epiphany over the Summer, we can count on it being even worse next season. Can you imagine if when they announce Jay as head coach next season at the Pavilion he actually gets booed? There are enough angry people on here that I think it is possible.

Give me a break. Their record this year and last were jokes. The only reason they have 20 wins is because they play so many cupcakes in the early part of the schedule. The point that you are missing is the total meltdown this season and last with this season being even worse than last year. The fact of the matter is that when the going gets tough, Jay is coming up very small. But the even more disturbing part of this is how he has dug in his heels with the burn offense and the 6″ point guards taking the vast majority of the shots. Watch the tournament and tell me what you see. Balance and talented big guys. Ball movement where everyone is involved. The 21 wins is a sham. Who cares if they can beat Monmouth and Lafayette?

Please tell us what to be optimistic about “Guest.”

bigrob……at least 5 wins came against very weak teams….if a tougher pre-season schedule, we could have been like Michigan State.

Cunningham is a pro……in many ways

and I think Fred Hill major in recruiting the Foye, Ray, Sumpter class.

That sir was well said.

GMU had a better T-E-A-M!

Maybe Jay should think about cutting back on his appearances???

Jay has hired mprams to compose a new fight song…..gimme a J, gimme an A……gimme a Y…why because we love you…..

Who recruited these overrated guys?

Every expert on TV said that JW should concentrate on developing the posts. If he follows their advice VU Ball will be able to play any body in the world.

maybe he should hire all the TV experts….I’d go with Morning Joe

Good one. I guess?

I immediately thought back to that Louisville game when Pena stepped to the line yesterday and knew he had zero chance of making either FT this time, too. No guts whatsoever.

I wonder if C Webb bought that Rolex Steve Fisher is wearing? Let’s go Temple..for Big Five’s sake! and cheesesteaks

Good Post. Kind of says it all.

I just re-watched the end of the JM game. I have never before complained about the refs, but Wayns on his last drive hacked, tripped and otherwise brutalized. I am not saying we did not deserve to loose the game, but that was truly an atrocious “no call” at a critical point.

I have read all the posts and I have some observations concerning leadership. You can talk all you want to about player leadership, but when you get to the bottom line the buck stops with the coach and his staff. Jay Wright has provided leadership to many teams for years, but the old saying “different strokes for different folks” holds. I suspect this bunch needed to be smacked with a 2×4, not to hurt them, to get their attention, and that probably is not Jay’s style. If that’s the case I bet a Bobby Knight type would have had better luck with this group, not because of X’s & O’s, but just because he had gotten their attention. Remember Rollie’s trick of sitting the starters…. that got attention. Jay’s public persona would lead one to believe he would never go off on a player the way he has, at times, on referees, that might have gotten attention; just my observations from afar.

Great post. I too can’t understand the Pena deal. JW turned Pena into the teflon forward.

Same thoughts went through my mind….

3 likes and hoo-rah!!

That sums up our entire appearances in BET & NCAA in the last 2 weeks.

Nelly, don’t be sooo nervous….unless Bob Knight is comin at you with a 2×4

Isn’t that the class that put Villanova on NCAA Probation for Jay cutting corners?

Temple did its school proud…..if Pitt loses tonight, we should foget about upgrading football and have all sports join CAA….and btw, we struck Libya.

hello….long distance?

Don’t know what “guest” has to provide but I suppose we could be optimistic about the Coreys & Pena all leaving and turning over the program to a novice wide-eyed group. Fresh page in more ways than one providing Jay takes advantage of it and changes his strategy. He’s got 2 full seasons to work with these same players to make a run in 2013 and he used up his mulligans so a sense of urgency should intervene.

People can argue about the degree of blame (jay or the players) but there is no denying that a losing fog took over this team in recent weeks as they found every way possible to lose games. You make your own luck in sports and this team made nothing but trouble for itself whether it was worrying about “refs calls” or just the wrong player on the foul line as Jay was moaning about yesterday. None of that ever matters if you just go out and play quality basketball and take the other team out of it’s rhythm. It’s been a long time since we did that to anyone.

Surprisingly the comments on this morning’s Philly Daily News article that I posted are more supportive of Jay than I expected (maybe even more so than here). I think these two comments bring some insight

1. “To put this in perspective. Villanova is a 9 seed who lost, on the last possession, to a 8 seed which finished 1st in their conference, the CAA. People on this site are crying for Jay’s head for such a terrible loss. Georgetown is a 6th seed and lost by 18 points to VCU (11 seed) which finished 4th in the aforementioned CAA. In the Washington Post, there were no comments calling for the coach to be fired. In fact, there were no comments at all in the lead article. So are the Philadelphia fans overreacting, or do they need to just get a life?”

2. “Before everyone goes hatin’ on Jay…at least he didn’t turn his back on Nova when the big money and the NBA came calling-as others have done. He stuck with the program. So he’s has two down years-and maybe next year’s class won’t be as talented or polished as the last two. Let them be kids while they still can. As for Jay-hopefully he’ll bounce back. When you see video of college coaches going ballistic on their students, throwing chairs ala Bobby Knight, punching or kicking them like the Holy Family coach-Jay is one classy guy light years ahead of them.”

MPrams likey

Fire Jamie Dixon! He should have told Nasir Robinson not to foul a guy with 0.8 seconds left! Terrible coaching!

Talk about collapses. GT has had its share (probably not the the extent of ours, for about 3 straight years). And look at Pitt losing to Butler. I wonder if Pitt will be asking for Dixon to be fired.

I do wonder about Capel at OK. 2 years ago they were in the E8 with Blake Griffin, and today is unemployed. Maybe we can get him to assist.

What was he thinking? Dixon probably told him to foul, right? Although, maybe Dixon should not have had is team line up at the foul line. The Pitt fans are going to ask for his head on a tray tonight!!!!

Sheldon Mack got bailed out by Robinson. He made a stupid foul as well.

Thanks for pasting those comments on this blog wildcat07, and the following is not directed at you. But again I ask who on this site is really, I mean really, saying JW should be fired or is “hatin’ on Jay?” I can’t speak for the other blogs, but c’mon already.

Saying the guy had a bad coaching year is fair — its based on his and the team’s basketball performance and it certainly is not personal.

People with a pro-Jay at all costs agenda continue to exaggerate the negative comments, at least on this blog, to try to insulate Jay from any criticism whatsoever.

Deny, deny, deny and make strong counteraccusations.

honey badger no likey at all.

wouldn,t want to be on a pitt blog right now!

HB…I do get a sense that some are asking for his head….but I must say, with Pitt going down, and GT again doing a disappearing act, for some odd reason its easing the blow to a disgusting season. Personally, I still support JW, but I do get a feel that there is some over-negativity. The DC media isn’t going after JTIII, even though he may deserve the heat. And look at Dixon. His teams don’t perform nearly to expectations in the postseason.
Your right, JW should not be void of any criticism. The next 12 months will be pressure-filled for him, and if I were him, I probably would be having a lot of sleepless nights thinking about how to get this program back on track.
I’ll say it now. If we are an aggressive, passionate bubble team in 2012, I’d be satisfied.

All th e2011 players have signed. If the decommit they must sit a year. Why do you want Cheek to stay?>> he is the most disappointing of the group

Pitt lost, hope you saw the game

and we saw VCU play in dayton and they are pretty good. Former Dayton assistant at the helm

we often wonder why coaches pull players from the foul line…now we know

Comment on Pitt board: “This is worse then Scottie Reynolds.”

Certainties?
1) Not guaranteed. Next year’s team has far lower expectations so 21 wins & 9 League wins would be an accomplishment hailed as Outstanding but until you know all the other variables (strength of BE, emergence of players, whether Jay has his epiphany etc) nothing is written in stone yet. 15 wins is a given with our OOC crap so we need to figure out the other 5 or 6 games to pull out.

2) Must happen…and I think he tipped us off by saying if they were Pro coaches they’d all be fired for their performance this season. I suspect at least one Asst is gone very soon.

3) Hunting season for 2013 bigs begins now and we have up to 5 scholarships to shop that year. Guards and small forwards are not a problem in the coming years so they are low priority needs.
How do all of these teams get long athletic PF and offensively gifted centers while Villanova is putting out a dimwit who is a few mos shy of 25th birthday.??
Jay needs to be bold and publicly renounce his program’s “Guard U” moniker. Pick out an Austin Colbert or Nerlens Noel and tell him he is the #1 recruit for Villanova in 2013 and haunt his every move.
———————————————————————-

Possibilities??
1) NOT LIKELY AT ALL. The 2011 class has already signed LOI’s so they burn a year as redshirt if they try to go to another college and Johnson/Yacoubou aren’t crawling off to Prep school when they know Fisher/Stokes just left minutes for them as freshman. Hilliard and Kennedy are safe bets because they are drooling to put on the Villanova uniform next Fall.

2) Pinkston won’t transfer and lose eligibilty…the window closed on that in January when he stayed around in the area and made this his redshirt season.
Wayns can’t transfer and sit out a season when he needs the Payday ASAP for his family.
Armwood/Cheek = I think they stay but I wouldn’t be stunned if one left..it’s now or never for them to go use those last two years somewhere else. The Jay Wright “anderson” speech is coming next week to them as they look back on the 1st half of their Nova’ careers.

3) Next year will be tough challenge all around, but WE WILL be in the 2013 Tournament and we will have a seed above 6th.
2014 tournament chances might depend on whether we have any bigs besides kennedy??

The Archy/Goodman 2012 class is currently a top 5 recruiting class but it will drop because we don’t have any more scholarships but they are two players who have performed tremendously on the court including Savon who outplayed his OLDER Big East bound teammates (Christmas/Gilbert). The 2009 group was based on a bunch of “potential” tags that are still unrealized.

Pitt lost. The big east 2011 may go down as having the most talented but dumbest players in the whole country.

I think there is a really small minority here who have made some “get rid of Jay” comments, but I guess I just don’t take those seriously because they are in such small numbers and come from fringe posters who weren’t really here most of the year.

And is the Philly media really going after Jay? If it is, then the DC media is going after Thompson along the same lines. Trust me, all the local coverage is about GMU making another run and JTIII’s Hoyas going out for the third time in four years since their 2007 Final Four against a double digit seed. Both paper and TV.

And you want to read some brutal blog posts? Pretty toxic around here (DC) right now.

I agree with your outlook for next season — I would be pleased with the same.

that top 10 ranking was too high! That was when JayVaughn Pinkston was going to play. That ranking was when every one was healthy. That ranking was too high, they were never that good a team this season! As far as Jay not changing it up at all, I have to disagree, he never used a burn style offense before. He shouldnt have started that this year either, but as a coach I understand where he came from. When guys were injured, or they were in big foul trouble you want to slow the game down to protect your players, and not make them defend as long, or run as much, I wouldnt do it the same way, but I understand why he did. He is a good coach, hes better than what they had before, and hes better than the alternative!

The Big East sure isn’t having a good showing so far in the tournament. Are they really that much more talented then the other conferences? It seems like since the Big East teams are on all the time during the season, that most people think they are the most talented players. Luckily, with Pitt losing that most people will totally forget about Nova.

What’s worse, the Villanova collapses of 2010 and 2011 or Pitt? I feel bad for that team. Robinson will be remembered as Pitt’s Bill Buckner.

1) Not sure what the 9 losing to a 8 seed discussion has to do with Jay having a terrible SEASON on the bench. It’s not one game, it was weeks of the same crap over and over and over and over again. PRETENDING that fans are ‘overreacting” to one game is strawman’s defense of the poor coaching job that even Jay has now realized was unproductive. GMU, VCU and even the Georgetown Coach all had better SEASONS on the bench than Jay Wright.

2) Jay is a grown man and he makes decisions for his himself & his family. All the the rest is nonsensical whipped topping. We all hope Jay bounces back for the sake of the program. Jay hopes he bounces back for the sake of his CAREER as a well compensated Basketball Coach.
These are young ADULTS (or not so young like PENA) who come to get a free education and be a part of the Villanova Basketball Program and all that means to them.

Your distortion of the Holy Family situation is all I need to know about you as a soft, give the boys all a trophy and a head pat kind of person. If you really think that is how Jay should coach, then you just assured us he will be doing something else than Coaching basketball anywhere in a few years.

What do you all think Mo Sutton is doing right now?

Just spent a long time reading as many comments as I could. They got to be to repetitive for me to continue. I think what has to be asked of everyone who posts is if you have ever played at the college level or been part of a college coaching staff. Once JVP was suspended, we didn’t really have an impact freshman. Bell, impressed in spurts and really has a great game and physical build that should be showcased in the next few years. My point is that it takes a long time for guys to come in and contribute; as we’ve seen with the great recruiting class from two years ago, some guys progress as different rates. It’s especially hard for bigs to come in and make the transition. Just be happy none of our recruits turned out like Wally Judge as KSU or Renardo Sidney at MSU… complete busts. And please, stop calling for Jay Wrights head. I know his resume isn’t as impressive, but I don’t see people calling for Tom Izzo’s head. What about Ben Howland out at UCLA who had a real down year last year. People this was a DOWN YEAR and this team still made the tournament! You could almost say the season was doomed from the begining of last year’s tournament. I was a big fan of Stokes, Fisher, and Pena and I thank them for their four years. But now this is a new team. No one is left from the Final Four team and it becomes a team that should be led by Wyans, Yarou, and Cheek. The last thing Nova needs it to lose Jay and not be able to replace him with some special. No top guy is going to leave a top program to come here and all the special mid-major guys love their mid-majors. Next year will be a good one, its a changing of the guard and a chance to start over. Lastly, all I hear about Yarou are good things and Wyans has been a Villanova kid since his sophomore year of HS. These are the new Dante and Dwyane, just watch… good things are on the horizon.

except they graduate practically their entire team this year…they’ll be rebuilding next year as well.

The greatest College Championship of any sport was completed at the Wells Fargo Center tonight. Tickets were sold out over 2 mos ago for every session of the 3-day NCAA Wrestling Championships.

http://www.ncaa.com/championships/wrestling/d1
http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcaonline/CompetitionResultNCAA.aspx
Champ Finals 125 Matt McDonough Iowa L Robles, Anthony Arizona State DEC 1 – 7
Champ Finals 133 Jordan Oliver Oklahoma State W Hochstrasser, Andrew Boise State DEC 8 – 4
Champ Finals 141 Borislav Novachkov Cal Poly L Russell, Kellen Michigan DEC 2 – 3
Champ Finals 149 Frank Molinaro Penn State L Dake, Kyle Cornell DEC 1 – 8
Champ Finals 157 David Taylor Penn State L Jenkins, Bubba Arizona State FALL 4:16
Champ Finals 165 Tyler Caldwell Oklahoma L Burroughs, Jordan Nebraska MD 3 – 11
Champ Finals 174 Nick Amuchastegui Stanford L Reader, Jonathan Iowa State DEC 3 – 10
Champ Finals 184 Quentin Wright Penn State W Hamlin, Robert Lehigh DEC 5 – 2
Champ Finals 197 Dustin Kilgore Kent State W Foster, Clayton Oklahoma State FALL (4:56)
Champ Finals 285 Zachery Rey Lehigh W Flores, Ryan American DEC 2 – 1 No

BIG Pennsylvania day….PSU wins TEAM trophy with 1 Champion + 2 runner-ups + 2 Third places..
Lehigh has 1 Champion + 1 runner-up.
(133lb champ Oliver is from EASTON, PA)

Anthony Robles of Arizona State just won the 125lb National Championship capping an undefeated season. He is an amazing Wrestler and athlete if you haven’t seen his very unique style.
http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/676855/bs37.jpg

I kind of agree with you to an extent. I think JW realized our identity as a guard oriented offense wasn’t going to work with Stokes and Fisher all banged up, so he tried to switch mid-season to a bigger lineup, and that didn’t work either. I don’t think we were “burning” against GMU at the end…I think the guys saw what was happening again and instead of stepping up to change the result they choked. I don’t think this team was as good as we all thought they were, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone is making them out to be now either. Shit happens. They had another collapse. They were just an above average team this year, which is bad compared to what we’ve grown to expect from this program thanks to JW. Everyone hates how it ended and wants to blame someone, but they’re all to blame. I think JW put them in a position to win this game, but the players didn’t perform at the end and we lost- more missed FT’s and a horrible last shot by our best shooter Stokes. JW will continue recruiting really good guys and they will be back in the tourney for years to come as long as he is at Nova. And we will all play MMQB and demand heads to roll after every loss…out of love of course.

You must have an empty head. And I’m sure you weren’t excited and singing Jay’s praises when we were in the Final 4 and the Elite 8 and the Sweet 16′s…or did you “see this coming miles away” like Nostradomus? Let me guess, it was his assistants that won us all those games? Because everyone knows that it’s really the assistant coach that leads a program to national prominence. I’ll take Jay and all he brings- good and bad. His bad is sooo much better than most people’s best. This is the most disappointing season I can remember, but that’s only because of the expectations that we have developed because of his success. Of course, you already knew we sucked, so you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Not that I’m calling for Jay’s head (yet). But I’m seeing this guy at Butler go deep in the tourney two years in a row.

Imagine offering him a chance to coach in the Big East.

Philly fans overreact??? NEVER! I think the frustration and disappointment has gotten the better of Nova Nation at this point, and hopefully when everyone comes down from their bender they will realize that Jay is the reason our program is where it’s at. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. Anyone who thinks the AD will have a “sitdown” with Jay like a principal bringing a kid who got into trouble into his office, or better yet fire Jay and bring in someone better is even more delusional than the NC Staters who think Rick Barnes will leave Texas or Sean Miller will leave Arizona for a team that hasn’t been relevant for years…which is what Nova was before Jay!

While I sympathize with the thrust of the many comments here, this site is becoming depressing. Too much negativity. This is a great basketball program, and the school needs our support.

When we played UCONN they had 3 Freshman, 1 Sophomore, and 1 Junior on the floor!!!
They had nowhere near the credentials of our 5 on the floor!!
I wonder why the posts were so repetitive?? Any idea??

I’m not here to show you my credentials nor is any other fan on VUhoops,if you want a WebSite for
College players and coaches,I suggest you start one,I would be only to happy to meet you there!!!

Pointing out other Programs that had off years,brilliant!! Makes us feel great!!

You are in total denial, that VU had not 1 but 2 EPIC COLLAPSES and that is documented for the BB
world to see!! ESPN,every pundit,every analyst,every BB Web Site in the USA,including PHILA.
talk radio is talking about VU and the inexplicable collapses of the last 2 years!!

You have not made 1 valid BB point,but insist on preaching and lecturing on not only how people
should think and express themselves but how they should feel!!

My personal favorite is wait until next year!! Where the hell have you been??

The most Hilarious is being a college player or college coach!!

NOT one word on the coaching staff and their experience and a possible upgrade or restructuring!!

My pleasure,PREACHER!!
GOD BLESS and enjoy the off season!!

“If I were a Pro coach, I would probably be fired for this”.

At least someone realizes that 2 EPIC COLLAPSES in 2 years should have consequences of some
kind!! Maybe getting JW some help by restructuring the ASST. Coaches!!

Still pissed off thethe way our season ended, informed at least one person I would gladly throw him over the balcony onto Sunset Blvd. if he mentioned our season-ending loss one more time.

Yes, support is needed, but this reminds me of watching a stock taking a nosedive and wondering where is the bottom?? Early exits in the Tourney by Pitt & Louisville didn’t make me feel any better.

So great, what to do now, root of UConn/ND??

Losing sucks.

what’s worse…..being a Pitt alum….or making fundraising calls for Nova? My phone has gone silent since around 4:30p eastern last Friday. Go Butler!!! and let’s all get together on at least this – WILL SOMEONE PLEASE BEAT DUKE!

I’m calling right now and donating $5 but restricting my donation to the hiring of Phil Jackson as assistant coach and guru next season.

thanx to all at vu hoops. love this site. thanx to all who make this truely thought provoking. somewhere in the collective wisdom lies the answers. we all want vu to succeed. mixing kids into a highly competitive “for profit” business make for many conflicts. as alums & supporters alike, we want to see our program represented in the best light.victory is only one form. it is the end result of cohesion. how we play, says more to me than the result. somewhere we lost that intensity. not playing as a team is a recipe for disaster. miles to go before we sleep.

kyle anderson is in the 2012 class and nova is one of his teams on his list and he already said he is staying close to home, and hes from Nj

Do we even make the NCAA’s next year, I don’t think we will make it.

Butler coach. Young and did you see his demeanor when his player fouled with less than two seconds. Perfectly calm made a rebounding substitution and probably told his team not to worry.

The guy is beyond impressive if he every gets to a big name school, he could be the next Coach K.

BYU coach obviously doing with coacking and intelligence over athletic ability. He lost his best big man and is still around. He does have the “Jimmer” and that kid can flat out play. He is the Coreys and Nardi and rolled up into a nice complete package. Still all the kids seem to know their assignments and run sweet plays that allow even the athletically challenged to finish.

And Kyle & his dad have serious interest for nearby Rutgers & Coach Mike Rice where his teammate Myles Mack is going. Anderson & Mack were teammates at Paterson Catholic & NJ PLAYAZ AAU before moving over to St Anthony’s together. They are great duo that compliment each other’s skills.

Does Villanova have a chance?
Possibly, if Jay can articulate how he will use a unique talent like Kyle Jr.
Can you imagine a 6’9 forward with more assists than either Harold Pressley (300) or Mark Plansky (291) had ?
Well, don’t dwell too hard until Kyle and his Dad cut his huge list down later this summer.
And let’s hope Savon Goodman can influence Kyle Sr & Jr. now that he is on their AAU team…and not the other way around…ugh

Now that is a great Post and I’ll go $10!!

I don’t see any reason that next year’s team can’t be better, and more successful, than this year’s team. I look around the Big East right now and don’t see a favorite heading into next season:

‘Cuse loses Jackson and likely Joseph
Pitt loses Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown, and McGhee
Uconn loses Walker
Notre Dames loses Hansborough and Abromaitis
Georgetown loses Wright and Freeman
Louisville loses Knowles
Cincy loses Gates
St. Johns is completely reloading.

A lot is going to depend on the developement of Cheek and Armwood on the offense end — they HAVE to be willing to create their own shot and be involved in the offense. I’m expecting huge strides from Wayns and Mouph. Call me the eternal optimist, but I’m predicting we finish in the Top 5 in the Big East next year.

Villanova Women’s XC will get a 3-peat!

yes i read that savon is joining his AAU team.. ryan savon kyle and either amile or omar that would be crazy recuriting class

I don’t think the posters here realize the lack of talent Jay had this year. Look at how players develop on other teams, including past teams at Nova. To blame Jay only underscores the stupidy of most of his critics. He had no other choice but let 2-3 guards do all the shooting. Nobody else showed up this year.

It’s amazing we won as many games as we did. We can’t play like other teams because we lack shooters and ball handlers, we miss open layups, get dunks blocked, and fumble easy passes. Blaming the coach is wrong. The players have a responsibility to improve too. For example, look at the bodies on the Pitt players. They’re all strong and fit. You don’t see Suttons and skinny Armwoods on that team.

Seeing Cunningham develop along with Anderson proves that the problem is not Jay Wright. The problem is also not the guys who put points on the board, but the guys who didn’t. We needed a Curtis Sumpter threat this year and a center with some scoring capability. But without it, you might think we should go 4 guards and run, but we couldn’t do that because we only had 2 guys on the whole team with adequate dribbling ability for transition basketball. Remember, last year we had 4, so we often scored 90 points in games.

We will get worse before we get better, but if the incoming group can play better than our over-rated ’09 class, the program should eventually fall back on track.

Is there really enough information to determine that yet?
6 scholarship players return and 5 new ones are added. It’s a pretty intensive turnover of roster.

Other than Pitino voting them 2nd in the Coaches poll last summer, who saw the St John’s emergence? Or that Notre Dame would be so good in the post-Harangody season?

Jay Wright will be back and he has a sense of urgency to straighten out the ship and I still assume we will see a change on his staff in his reaction to this season.
As opinionated Nova fans, the best approach comes from the President who was in office during our only NCAA Championship…”Trust but Verify.”

Fools….College basketball is not like the pros where talent and star power ultimately win out.

Watch a Bill Carmody’s Northwestern TEAM or Chris Moody’s Richmond TEAM play or Brad Steven Butler’s TEAM play or Shaka Smart’s VCU TEAM play and you will understand that the college coach is perhaps the most important person on the teams bench.

(how does Northwestern take Ohio State to overtime and lose a 1 point nail bitter..I guarantee you it is not with talent)

Nobody showed up for us because the strategic plan did not let them.

The burn was a big mistake because it was not run effectively….i did not see one attempt for a back door cut the whole time we ran it….what did Jay do in practice when he put this scheme into effect…spread the floor and let Ways and Fish go one on one…that is what I saw.

Nova has had the talent the last two years and has underperformed and that is the bottom line

Lets stop with the Dwayne Anderson hero worship….good player who had a very productive senior year. He rode the bench for 3 years because he could not buy into playing defense.

shutup badger

& also remember JAMES BELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im just gonna spit out some points on my mind:

-Get BIG men, not tall kids that are skinny

-Get those senior clowns off our team

-Unless Jay promises Wayns he can dribble for 39 min every game, HE IS GOING PRO

-James Bell is the Future

-Ty Johnson and Co. better get working hard, cuz they are up for a tough test

-Can anyone teach Mouph how to play basketball??? He has no idea how to play!!!!!!!

-Get some new coaches

-Is Dallas O. on scholarship? I hope not

-Even Russell Wooten’s fire couldnt help this team (Russ was the BEST senior this year by far)

-Get some kids and coaches with balls (Get rid of white basketball nerd midgets, get some real vets)

-Sutton and Armwood are not going anywhere in bball!

-Scottie (i miss u)

-Mr. 105, please leave as fast as you can. And drop Pena off a the local retirement home and Stokes at the local preschool.

-One last thing, honey badger is the worst thing to happen to Villanova basketball!

He should be either in a weight room or in an italian restaurant.

We didn’t lose just one game, we lost six in a row. Please!!!

St. Johns lost an important player for the tournament and their program is moving skyward. They should feel like pigs in shit and we should feel well like shit.

Military family influence. It goes a long way…

Is this Jay’s agent?
Because even Jay isn’t trying to deflect his obvious responsibility in this mess as much as you are. Jay knows where the blame lies.
ay selected the players for the program. He coached the talent up or down. He called the offensive and defensive schemes. When you buy all the groceries and cook the meal, you are responible for how it tastes. And Nova Nation is keeled over throwing up along with dripping diarhea.

Since you clearly consider Jay to be an incompetent recruiter in your negative comments about the team’s talent, Who do you blame for that inadequacy?

And who’s fault is it if Jay Wright woke up in November and suddenly realized we had only two ballhandlers with “adequate dribbling ability” for transition basketball? (even though it was one of the 10 most heralded backcourts in the country going into the season)

Did GMU have better talent?
How about USF? Or Rutgers? Or how we struggled to win in OT at Depaul? Or Bell coming off the bench to save our asses at Seton Hall?
Were you so convinced that St John’s or Georgetown or even UConn had more talented players than Villanova this season?

Jay and his staff always had a CHOICE.
He reached for the wrong holy grail this season.
He chose… poorly. http://content9.flixster.com/rtmovie/32/19/32195_gal.jpg

Wow, those are some great comments — you get a strong like from me on the last one. I believe I also am accountable for the pathetic state of the program. Smart of you to call me out like that. Oh, and one last thing, the more you profess your dislike for me, the more warm I feel inside knowing that you actually care deeply for the honey badger.

Stevie that was a great post. I agree it is the coach in the college game. He blames inadequate players. Who recruited the players? The head of the Math Department at Nova? We do not play like the teams mentioned as you are right they play as a TEAM.

I do feel the Big East has created a problem. I truly believe 18 games in a year with the competition wears teams down by the end. Teams limp to the postseason. By the way Kemba Walker has had more injuries than Corey Fisher and more serious ones and he made no excuses.

Jay was the one to decide not to use all 13 Scholarships on recruits. That is why Ouanu & Wooten get to use them as walk-ons. Now that changes after next season when all 13 scholarships in 2012-13 season are scheduled to be spent on recruited players that were ranked 3 stars or higher.

Without a honey badger around, VUhoops gets over-run with snakes & rats. Both lions and leopards are known to have attacked and killed honey badgers.
So a strong Wildcat should be able to keep a honey badger at bay…lol.
http://ts2.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=677597033325&id=bf7ad5b9910c61f41fd18ed8d7b54b0b

Hey Jimmerdribble…..gotta go with the Jimmer

These kids are top conditioned atheletes that can play day and night (UCONN 5 days in a row at BE).

If you are saying they are worn down mentally and can not get up for the NCAA’s then the BE really has a problem.

I do not think Fish made any excuses and I think he played well considering the situation the coaching staff put him in.

As long as you are making UCONN comparisons….why is that Jeremy Lamb had a better season than Cheek….similar skill set and positions

I wish that I could agree with the both of you. I hate to be pessimistic but when I read Jay’s comments about the season I can’t find a way to get optimistic. It sounds to me like he is brushing the season off as a lot of bad luck. I don’t hear any admission on his part that he should have done anything any different. As I said in another comment, with the returnees we have coming back and the fact that freshman in Jay’s system are rarely counted on for major contributions, how can we expect anything other than the burn offense next year with Wayns taking 25 shots per game.

If Jay were to step up and admit his own failures it would show some sense of accountability and the fact that he realizes it has to be different next year. I honestly believe we are going to see a full season of the burn again next year. There hasn’t been one comment by Jay where he puts any of the blame for the collapse on that idiotic offensive scheme.

If this team is as challenged offensively as they apparently are, how about doing something to get some easier baskets. When was the last time one of our guys finished a fast break with a dunk on the other end. It isn’t part of our “regular stuff” as Jay would say. WTF! I don’t think I have seen any other team in the tournament not have at least one basket via a fast break. We haven’t had one in several games.

It wasn’t the player or the injuries. It was Jay’s approach that doomed this season and will doom next season as well. Unless he admits his failure and commits to change it up.

People have a short memory:

Fisher and Stokes were important contributors to the Final 4 team.

Fisher was BE 6th man, no small accomplishment. I think he was better suited in his role with Scottie than as the #1 go-to guy and team leader. That is no disrespect to him. Each person has his own skill set.

Stokes was great at catch n shoot. He helped to create space for the PGs to penetrate a huge part of the Nova offense. He usually had good performances in big games. The second half vs GM was an exception. Unfortunately he was not comfortable making a move to the basket, even though he was not a bad mid-range shooter. Maybe his injuries made that more difficult.

I think this group, though talented, did not have someone who was a natural leader. Then the two best candidates fought injuries during the last month or two.

Pena shot 50% from the field this year, not because he made his layups and dunks but because he hit his 17 footers. Developing that shot at such a high percentage is no small accomplishment for a guy who for three years was asked to play out of position–he’s a natural 4, not a 5. The spacing which his shooting helped to create was helpful to the team.

I agree about Scottie. He was a great college combo guard and a clutch player. He was under-appreciated by some but not by those who selected the All-Americans.

Too many people forget the many years when we would have been delighted to have been in the 8/9 game.

Hopefully next year’s group will have more of the gutsy, mentally tough, hungry, determined players we had been accustomed to–Foye, Ray, Lowry, Anderson, Scottie, Cunningham, etc.

Who recruited these inadequate players? Who hired and manages the strength and conditioning coach?

Why does Jay get a get out of jail free card?

Very well said Barney. I agree with you totally.

Sutton and Armwood are beasts. They tore it up this year. Let’s hope neither of them transfer otherwise we will be totally screwed next year. However, I think Sutton and Armwood need to lose some more weight in the off-season that way they can run the floor a little better. Sutton almost seems like he is “too coordinated” when he has the ball and Armwood’s jump shot is straight nasty. I’m expecting these two guys to contend for Big East Player of the Year in 2013!!!!!

Because he earned one by turning an NIT staple of a program to a Top 25 fixture.

I agree totally with you, this team was talented, but really in need of someone that made all of their qualities stand out. I was watching some highlights w/ scottie playing w/ the same guys. JW used the same offense but they played it quicker. I distribution of the ball was quicker, and the reaction by scottie as a pt guard was quicker on how the play developed. Fish was a great at taking scottie’s initial drive into the paint by creating a little more havoc causing the defenders to get disorganized and then either took the ball in for a drive or kick it out to the other three players allowing for an easier bucket. Scottie was the reason they could utilize the skills they had.

If i had a guess, wayns will be the next scottie as he while at times is not under control seems to have good basketball iq. Similar in a way to how scottie was as a freshman. He’ll learn to react quicker to defenses and create a little better I think cheek will develop into a stronger player by next year and mouph will learn to hit a layup.

While this season was a disappointment, it could have been a lot worse. We made the tournament and despite the slump at the end of the season we were still somewhat relevant (not many teams are still ranked after 4 or 5 straight losses – it took an entire month of losing for us to drop out of the top 25). And, next year I’m sure we will be pre-season ranked in the top 25. I can still say i’m happy with the direction of the program and unlike many other schools a championship run somewhere in the near future is not a crazy idea or expectation.

I like your analysis. This senior class never embraced a leadership role on or off the court and the team suffered. Jay is the leader of the program, but great teams have great leaders on the court as well, and we didn’t have that this year. Jay never used the burn until this year, so I have no reason to think he will continue to use it next year. He used it to try to shorten the games when there were injuries. That obviously didn’t end with good results, and he should be blamed for using that strategy. That being said, he has good recruits coming in and everyone should be excited to turn the page on this season. Jay’s a smart dude, and still a relatively young coach and learning along the way, so I’m holding out hope that he will get it together for next season. Next year’s team will be young with no seniors, so a lot of their success will depend on the rising juniors developing into the players they were projected to become.

If Armwood transfers we won’t win a game next year.

Sutton and Armwood are our best basketball players. Did you not watch them play this year? What drugs are you smoking?

Jay will be almost forced to modify his offensive scheme next year. Jay’s current scheme relies on perimeter players who can 1) create their own shots, 2) knock down open shots, and 3) distribute — and next year’s cast of characters doesn’t necessarily fit that mold. He will have to run plays for Mouph and he’ll have to run a lineup out there at times that has more big bodies (Mouph, JVP, Kennedy, Sutton, Armwood) than ball handlers. The good news is he’s got a lot of time to figure out how to get it done. Is it November yet???

This team needed guys to effectively play the 2 and 3 spots, did not have either. Two point guards and Stokes only effective from 3 range – guy playing the 3 has to be effective from 3 point range and a factor inside as well. We need a 6’7″ swingman to play the three and penetrate, that will make inside guys better, and a true 2 guard. Bell or Cheek could be the 2 guard, don’t know who can fill the role at 3.

if wayns somehow went to the nba next year, he would be in contention for worst 3 point shooting guard in the league. 27% from the college line… and it was around 20% for a lot of the year. gross

From what was said in the preseason, JVP was being groomed to play the 3.

Not necessary. Wayns will take 30 shots per game ala Jimmer. Dribble drive baby.

Your ability to look past his shortcomings is remarkable.

With three returning seniors with vast experience, THIS was the year to go deep. Instead, we got deep sixed.

There is not one dependable scorer coming back. The sophomore class has miles to go before they’re even decent. Freshman can be counted on for nothing. Now we’ll have more front court players, and, seemingly no idea how to scheme to get them shots. No pre-season top 25, lower tier of Big East next year for sure. Not a great future from where I sit. At least not when I watch the teams that are still playing.

C’mon Stevie V, Nervous Nelly and the other 7 who liked Stevie V’s post. Sure, everyone has the right to disagree with Jay Wright’s game strategy, but the tone of a lot of the critical comments hardly shows the “utmost respect” for the coach. I think anonymous was just trying to give us an outsider’s subjective view, and in my opinion he made some valid points. He was a hell of a lot more positive about our program than a lot of us have been… personally, I appreciated his comments.

Jay was ready to suit him up, but they couldn’t find a big enough suit.

That is the hope, JVP at the 3, maybe Johson/Bell/Cheek at the 2.

JW, 17yrs as a head coach + many more as an asst. coach!! (learning along the way).

Hope for next season,that’s what we said last year!!

Burn used due to injuries? Jay said we were 100% going into the NCAA Tournament!!

Why the preposition at the end of the sentence?

IT could not have been a lot worse!!
The direction of the program is in free fall over the last 2 yrs.
JW has a major challenge in front of him and we can only hope he recognizes the problems.
JW’s comments have been very contradictory and we can only wait and see the direction JW takes the
program!!

Rick, I thought the same thing when I read Jay’s comments in Sunday’s Inquirer article. He said I don’t need to evaluate anything differently than any other year. That is a man in denial. If he thinks he doesn’t need to change anything, then next year could be longer and more painful than it need be. What is worse, talented big men may ultimately refuse to even consider Nova, and I will have a hard time blaming them.

you should be using ” Tongue in Dom Cheek” as a handle…….

Get rid of “white basketball nerd midgets” — WTF? Doesn’t anyone vet these comments?

I’m watching OSU desrtoy Mason. Mason didn’t belong in this game. What a frikkin joke. I’m sorry Bit no Way Nova folds to this OSU team like mason has, they are running with their tale tucked between their legs. Flat out disgusting. I hope you guys enjoyed the way we our offense worked the last month this year because its ovbious stubborn Wright will not change his ways. Only a true moron would continue to play the way he instructedhis players to play. Never one time did we look good running his amazing offense he drew up. He doesn’t need any assistants he needs a new brain. Give the guy help if you want but he won’t take any advice that’s ovbious.

sorry mr. chaminade, was watching my country go to war….again.

so honey badger…..it was you all along….and I thought it had to do with global warming or Pizzi’s pizza.

Cut it out Bailey. Stop changing your name and be yourself.

I will call you the eternal optimist.

if Armwood develops a left under cut to go with his right jab……golden Jerry…

I just turned on the same OSU vs GM game, my thought was just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Just shows how bad we played down to our opponents during the year. That starts with the coach.

Could we have done better against Osu its a shame we will never know. It would have been a good measure for Mouph’s development.

Next Year
Pinkston and Kennedy will help with the offensive rebounding with a putback here and there. Mouph will not be double teamed as often thanks to Pinkston. Both P & K are really sophmores so maybe we catch a break and they are ahead of a true freshman. Downside: we haven’t had to go into a season with so many question marks at the guard position for a very long time.

In this instance we should not complain that we are guard u. That is a position we are supposed to be able to teach and coach up.

Please! That’s so tired already!!

thats all our assistant coaching staff is
Urgo and Co.

I said they are not going anywhere in bball
which means, their careers are going nowhere playing basketball
meaning, they suck

Kennedy is gonna beat out everyone but Mouph (Lets hope Mouph learns to play)

Comment #311
Keep the angst going!!
…think of GMU dunk at the end of our LOSS…..Villanova was emasculated in front of the world.
Jay Wright sat naked in his birthday suit of defeat…THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!!

Whoever posts the 400th comment gest to defecate on Jay Wright’s front lawn so his wife makes him clean it up. lol

You need to get a life, man, so many of your comments are irrational rants, personal attacks or just sick.

is Joey Rod a free agent? can we trade Mo for him?

@Spot ck – it def could have been a lot worse. When i got to nova in 02 an NIT win would have been great. We made it to the NCAAs and were ranked in the 25 for 90% of the season….def could have been worse — would u like it if we followed the Indiana mold (a school that has a pretty good basketball pedigree and now has become irrelevant???)?

I think we’re still relevant, and will def be next year.

Agreed that JVP & then Goodman the following year are both 6’6 players very capable of playing the 3 in attacking STRONG to the hoop and playing above the rim. Neither are great perimeter shooters but they both can shoot mid-range jumpers with consistency. They will score points and get to the line and they will both shake some rims for Villanova in their careers. On defense, JVP will cover 4′s & 5′s inside while Savon is quick enough to cover guards.

I am more worried that Jay will continue his insane totem pole promotion of upper classmen and have some underwhelming schlep like Cheek blocking the more talented underclassmen in the
next 2 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ArBreEaYw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2SB69eE6EE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=istEc5LGKes&NR=1

You just need an enema.
Lighten up Francis before you pop a major artery.

“Jay never used the burn until this year, so I have no reason to think he will continue to use it next year.”

I agree. He did not have much depth this year, esp in the back court. I think next year will be somewhat like last year. There will be one guy who is the primary go-to on offense. They will have much depth at SG and C. I expect them to use an up tempo game.

There has not been much discussion on the minutes that the seniors played this year in comparison to previous years. In previous years, seniors played around 30 min per game. This year Fisher and Stokes often played around 35min. Pena often played over 30 min. They played 36, 36 and 32 respectively in the G Mason game. The type of defense they used against G Mason must have added to the fatigue. Maybe that is another reason they were not as effective late in the game.

Just the response I would have expected and clearly confirms my judgments of you as correct. My guess is you were never an athlete, especially at the college level (to answer in advance I did letter in 2 sports in college and also played club Rugby for 7 years). Your comments are rarely if ever on target, I don’t even read yours anymore. Show some class, man, if you are a Villanova alum I am embarrassed.

Pinkston & Kennedy will both be turning 20 next year. They aren’t regular freshman as you point out. Over 500lbs of matured beef injected into the roster with those two players.
The NEPSAC Class A Leagues are regarded as the highest level of school-related basketball short of Jr College or College. Kennedy who says he is now 6’10 262lbs started on a 31-3 team at that level where he averaged a double/double.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbh9qVweRII
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168390_152768558114695_124628940928657_311215_5481918_n.jpg

Amen, brother.

The team he transfers to won’t win for two years.

And your guess would be so far off mark you fail to have any credibility whatsoever.
You are just some scared loser that has added zero to this site so why would anyone care what you think. Your only embarassment is the shit stain in your pants that remains since your youth.
If you don’t want to read my comments or wise cracks, then by all means go on about your useless life. You clearly have absolutely nothing to bring to the table except trying to figure out what new name to post under next month when you crawl back here again to throw stones.

you post excellent blog but thrr reality of this year,s team is that they were never as good as we hoped they were but not as bad as they finished.we never had a post presence, our bigs have soft hands, though mouph shows promise. pena played out of position all 4 years, at least he tried to develop a 15 footer. fisher and wayns are point guards neither is a true 2 guard. that led to conflicts it was pretty evident on the court. corey stokes great set up shooter but a lot of times we forgot he was on the court. cheeks and bell show flashes of talent but neither got enough minutes to develop. yet early in season we won though not always convincingly. some where between providence and rutgers we lost our confidence and mojo. we never got it back. jay went to the burn offense but that only works if you have a lot of pure shooters and ball handlers like notre dame. the point i am making the players were not of reynolds lowry, foye, ray, nardi caliber or even cunningham. at best our stars will be playing in the d league. it,s tough because we have expected so much from our current players but in fairness to them they have been playing to their capabilities. jay just played the best hand he had. though better coaching at ends of games could have been better. still we were only out of 2 games notre dame and providence the rest we were in it to the end even with the injuries. i wish the seniors good luck and thank them for their body of work. from someone who has watched villanova since 1962 class of 68. there are good memories and some lean years but always nova. we will be back count on it

rand in my 45 years of villanova basketball. we were always the class of all the basket ball leagues we played in. what i am seeing is some low level blogs attacking fellow nova bloggers its un called for we all want the same thing. villanova to be succesful. back off your fellow bloggers and please get off the jay rant he is the best face for our university. his successes far out weigh any failure as seen in some eyes

Jay was using a version of the burn even during the early cupcake part of the schedule. I have season tickets and went to 90% of those games and there were a few times during some of those bad games when I didn’t understand why they were running the clock down and then having Fisher and/or Wayns take on the entire other team. It just wasn’t called the burn yet because ND hadn’t given it a name yet and we didn’t notice it because the team was still winning. But the concept was there from game one this season. Long before anyone got hurt.

The bottom line is that Jay loves the slow down offense and he loves putting the offense in the hands of his point guards. If you think that is going to change next season you are in for a big surprise. Because it will be more of the same.

Another article from the Daily News today. This one puts the last two years in perspective

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/118337874.html

Hey Jim – Misdirected response, man. I just found this site a couple days ago and have only posted twice…once to tell Barney Rubble to class up his rants a bit and stop with the personal attacks against Jay Wright, and next to respond to his ridiculous attack on me. I agree that Jay Wright is the best thing to ever hit Villanova basketball on a large scale…never posted a Jay rant, Barney Rubble seems to regularly through his posts that I read this weekend, take a look. I only counseled BR to show some class and stay away from the sick stuff, like “defecate on Jay Wright’s lawn for his wife to clean up” or something of that sort. I am on board with all you said!

Jim ….I really like most of your posts but i have to disagree with you on several counts:

The theme of your post was …”Jay played the best hand he had” and you backed up your opinion with the following:

1. WE NEVER HAD A POST PRESENCE.

You do not need Wilt, Moses or Kareem to create a post presence or for that matter to score in the post. Buzz Williams, Shaka Smart, Chris Moody and Bill Carmody are just several coaches that create a post presence with much less talent than us.
The key is the all realized what they have and developed an offense that fit its talent.

2. PENA PLAYED OUT OF POSITION FOR 4 YEARS

Pena is a 4 that should have been playing with his back to the basket…picking up garbage baskets, rebounding and screening for Yarou…..He was moved to the 3 to make room for Armwood which was an admitted big mistake. It essentially made Pena another jump shooter which we certainly DID NOT NEED.

3. STOKES WAS A GREAT SPOT UP SHOOTER THAT WE FORGOT WAS ON THE COURT.

If this is true then why did he not get the ball….The coach draws up the plays.

4. LOST CONFIDENCE BETWEEN PROVIDENCE AND RU.

That was a long time ago the coaching staff must gets its players back in gear…..we lost to RU on a 4 point play…the coach had a say in that with his no foul strategy.

5. BURN ONLY WORKS WITH PURE SHOOTERS AND BALL HANDLERS

It this is true and Jay knows the capabilities of his players why then did he use it..

Jay did NOT play his best hand……HE HAD A LOT OF TRUMP CARDS THAT WERE NEVER PLAYED.

Oops, ND’s out too. Looks like we have to root for UConn/Marquette!

Marquette is the new Villanova – making the sweet 16 as an 11 seed without the big name players. They just play hard and play together.

Watched VCU undress Purdue last night and had PU picked to go all the way! So much for my pool. My only point is that VCU wasn’t on anyones radar and barely made the tourney, but they are a well coached team and really play heads up team ball, which seems to be the key. The teams that are advancing have good point guards and work the ball around for the open look or the easy lay in, and everybody gets involved. Our Cats did none of this toward the end and were pretty easy to game plan against. BTW, does anyone here agree with Sir Charles Barclay that the Big East turned into the BIG LEAST?

I know I’m posting another “perspective” article but I thought you’d like to see what has been going on at the other end of the state after Pitt’s loss to Butler. Seems there’s a lot of pressure on Dixon as well.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11080/1133515-87.stm

There is a quote from Jim Calhoun which summarizes best the pressure of expectations based on what Jay has brought to the Main Line

“As you build that monster, the monster has to be fed.”

The whole Big East took a giant dump in the tourney this year. I’m not sure what this means yet, but I’m sure there are 8 other blogs asking themselves the same questions we are right now. At this point everyone here is just talking in circles…and I guess this is part of the healing process after having your heart ripped out. Blame Jay if you want, blame the players, blame bad luck…in reality it’s probably a little bit of everything. The best positive I see from this is that the rising juniors should be very hungry next year to get to where their predecesors have gone. I’m sure they don’t want to be the class that fails to get past the first weekend, let alone blows the NCAA tourney streak. And I’m sure the freshmen will come in hungry knowing that minutes will be there for the taking. Say what you will about the seniors, but I never saw a fire in their eyes that you could see with classes past. Let’s hope this team gets that fire back next year and plays more like the older teams that we all talk about.

Hey knucklehead, I was making fun of the number of angst filled posts made in this thread which has exceeded 300 as I jokingly waved the flame to reach 400. The only other VUhoops post-game thread that I recall this entire season that was remotely similar was the USF loss a few weeks ago and that was around 300 posts full of angst. Unbunch your panties, this is a blog of opinons by college basketball fans not great American Literature.
And if you weren’t such a late to table Nova fan, you would know that Jay Wright has complained in his self-deprecating manner about not being the boss in his own house where his wife always makes him clean up the doggy poop in the yard as his daily chore. Hence, the facetious reward offered for the 400th poster within this thread. A prize you clearly are looking to attain with your repetitive off-topic additions here. I will, however, invoke a new rule requiring that 400th post to actually be about College Basketball which eliminates you up to this point.

Just got my acceptance today–not feeling that pumped, though, after how this season turned out…

Son, the world needs ditch-diggers too.
….and that is what St Joe’s is for .
Paint you face blue and walk out in public. You just got a golden ticket in your Wonka bar.

And remember there is a younger “Ryan” arriving on campus in 2012 who will lead them to the promised land.

Haha I’m sure you could convince me, Barney, if I gave you half a chance…

My parents (class of ’78) are friends with the Arcidiaconos, so we went over to their house and I met the kid a few years ago–it was funny then to see his name resurface as a big-time VU recruit. Hope he really pans out.

The BE was greatly overrated this year and we suffer from a heavy East Coast Bias. Just not a lot of great players in this league. Parity rained and many good teams but nothing more

Savon Goodman can not hit any jumper with consistency right now. Hopefully he develops a shot

It was probably overrated in the coverage, but compared to other conferences they still have more solid teams. It is going to be hard to find great teams going forward I think. So many kids are playing hoops now and so many schools get some national exposure. You look at a lot of the smaller schools that go in there year and they are getting players and athletes they had no shot at getting even 10 years ago.

It was hard that 2 of the BE teams got knocked out by other BE teams too. The conference is just too big and 18 games with a conference tourney is too much. I know that cutting it back to 16 doesn’t sound like a lot but it is 1 less Sat/Monday horrible schedule turn around that the teams would have to do.

Down here on tobacco road they are absolutely giddy about the failure of the mighty big east this year…You can’t argue with idiots but the reality is, and I think most intelligent people called it, the BE wasn’t very top heavy this year. There were no dominant teams. It was however stacked top to bottom with NCAA teams…when we were sliding, it sure would have been nice to have a couple games in there against Wake, UVA, GT, NCState etc…If you’ll recall, the BE WAS dominant back in 2009 with 5 E8 teams and 2 F4 teams. Nova went 13-5 that year…personally, I think this year was much tougher top to bottom.

Yeah, that’s the answer, let’s get worse players…that will turn this ship around! idiot.