So where does that put Villanova?

Prior to the trip to Europe, Jay Wright had commented that his “top-6″ guys were the five starters he used in Amsterdam and JayVaughn Pinkston. He has also stated a belief that JayVaughn can play any position from 1 through 5. We can question whether that last suggestion is actually true — I for one don’t want to see Pinkston defending a 7-foot center — but it stands to reason that Jay Wright believes in his redshirt freshman.

In a perfect world, Pinkston would be continuing to work on his perimeter game and ball-handling to progress along the way to becoming an NBA guard. The world is imperfect, however, and Jay Wright’s options are limited. Pinkston knows how to play  power forward and has the body and athleticism that should allow him to do so (at least as well as Randy Foye and Allan Ray did, and hopefully better).

If Jay isn’t happy with Pinkston’s ability to match-up with some of the bigger power forwards out there, he has two other options: he can use Maurice Sutton in that role as he did a few times last season, or he can turn to the freshman, Markus Kennedy. Both have their pro’s and con’s. Sutton is a tall shot-blocker who has made a few big plays in a career where he has otherwise struggled to handle bulkier players. Kennedy is a bulky center who is capable of playing power forward and is known for his passing ability in the post.

Kennedy will also back-up Yarou this season, and it is perhaps unlikely that he will do that and play significant minutes at the 4. We also don’t quite know how he will adjust to the speed of the game in the Big East, and we won’t get an answer to that until January.

So it appears, JayVaughn, that it is your time to shine.

Ty Johnson or Darrun Hilliard could both easily serve as the “sixth man” coming off the bench now that Pinkston is likely moving into the starting line-up. Kennedy and Sutton will have to provide some solid minutes to spell the front line. Ash Yacoubou will also be looking to find his place in the mix for the ‘Cats this season.

The loss of Isaiah Armwood is a loss of depth, but how much? Will the ‘Cats be able to play an uptempo game without him? Will Jay Wright, worried about tired legs, again ask his point guard to run the “burn”?

The Burn offense is the worst possible outcome of this loss, but with 10 scholarship players on the roster, that might not be necessary. Jay Wright used the Burn last season, partially because the combination of injuries (Bell) and suspensions (Pinkston) left him with a very short bench.  In 2010-11, the ‘Cats had what was essentially a 7-man rotation in most games, with James Bell’s return allowing them to go a little bit deeper. Bell had some strong performances against the New Jersey Big East entries, but never really earned more than a few minutes here and there otherwise — for the most part, Jay Wright stuck with his starters, and slowed them down.

A quick look at the box scores suggests that the Burn is not a foregone conclusion this season, however. As last season went along, it seems as if the bench became artificially shorter as Jay Wright became more and more comfortable with using certain sets of starters. While Mo Sutton averaged 10+ minutes per game over the season, he broke into double-digit minuted in very few games late in the year. Effectively, the ‘Cats were keeping the starters in for more and more of the games — and slowing the pace down to compensate.

Will the same happen this season? For the sake of hoops-viewing eyeballs, easily offended by the ugliness of the Burn, we should hope not.

We will hopefully answer these questions sooner rather than later. Make no mistake, however, the loss of an experienced and athletic player like Isaiah Armwood is not to this program’s benefit. Jay Wright will re-shuffle and hopefully it will all work out.

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Projected Depth

1. Wayns
2. Cheek
3. Bell
4. Pinkston
5. Yarou
6. Johnson – Guard
7. Kennedy – Forward/Center
8. Hilliard – Guard
9. Sutton – Forward
10. Yacoubou – Guard
11. Ouano – Guard
12. McMahon – Guard

UPDATE (1:01pm): Jeff Goodman, who reportedly has a Bat-Phone to Jay Wright’s office, wrote today, “Don’t be surprised to see James Bell get a bulk of his minutes at the power forward spot.” Goodman’s article suggests that it is based on conversation with Jay Wright, but the Bell news didn’t come with a quote — so we may have to wait and see.

While we expected to see the sophomore play small forward this season for the ‘Cats as well as guard, but according to Villanova basketball SID, Mike Sheridan, Bell did spend some time at the 4 in Europe. That said, it would seem to me that Pinkston’s 260-pound frame is better suited to handling life in the paint.

Goodman goes on to surmise that the Maryland native could end up at Virginia, George Washington, Maryland, Iowa, or Texas Tech. New York Daily News basketball commentator, Dick “Hoops” Weiss believes that GW is the junior’s most likely landing spot, but UVa reportedly contacted the newly-available big man today. Armwood told the Baltimore Sun that he would pick a new school in the next couple of weeks.

According to Goodman, Wright and Armwood talked “at the end of the trip to France and the Netherlands and the two, days later, came to an agreement that it would be best for Armwood to go elsewhere.” In the 3 games at the EuroJam, Armwood started and averaged about 15 minutes per game and scored 2 points and 1.7rebounds.

In 61 career games at Villanova, Armwood averaged 2.4 points per game and 2.7 rebounds and 8 starts.

“I love Villanova – the school and the team – but I want to find a program that fits my style of play better,” Armwood told Villanova.com.

“Isaiah is a great young man,” according to head coach Jay Wright. “His hard work and commitment to the values of our program made him a leader of our team. We’ll miss him but the most important thing is his happiness and we support him in his quest to find a new home.”

As many Villanova fans are aware, Head Coach Jay Wright had a strong inclination to red-shirt Armwood during his freshman year of 2009-10, but alleged pressure from Armwood’s family nixed that. Additionally the introduction of freshman big man Markus Kennedy and versatile JayVaughn Pinkston could possibly see a reduced role for ‘Zeek in the 2011-12 season.

Though Jay Wright had initially intended to use Pinkston primarily at the Small Forward position as well as at guard, the coach has stated previously that he believes his redshirt freshman can play Power Forward as well, making him the likely favorite to take Armwood’s place as the starter this season. Pinkston is also a player who has worked hard to develop his dribble and perimeter game and will likely try to showcase that development. Markus Kennedy and Maurice Sutton should also see some time at the 4.

This move decreases the depth and height of the Villanova rotation, a factor that may have contributed to the decision to utilize the “burn” offense last season.

Video by Sean Donovan and Andrew Keefe.

Courtesy of Sean Donovan

…and to play a little bit of SeanDon Highlight Reel catch-up:

Kyle Lowry:

Isaiah Armwood:

We posted a feature on Isaiah on June 30.

Jay Wright: “We’ve brought in two big men who could have an impact immediately, including 6-foot-7 forward Isaiah Armwood. “Those guys have the chance to really help us. Isaiah has great length and athleticism.”

ESPN.com: Ranked #41 Overall; #13 PF “Armwood is physically thin (old schoolers should think of Stacey Augman), but very active around the basket and in transition. He has great length along with quick hops that make him an effective finisher on the break and a good shot blocker on the defensive end. He is an athlete with good lateral speed that can defend multiple positions. He gets after on the offensive glass and had a couple of spectacular plays at the rim on put backs. In both the half court and in transition he can put the ball on the floor and get it to the basket or dish it to a teammate. He is a difficult match-up for the slower less athletic power forwards when they play him at that spot as he can use his dribble and make a 15 foot jumper. He is improving from behind the arc, but is not enough of a threat to keep teams from backing off of him when he catches it and squares up. Strength training will be a big component of his success in his time at Villanova.”

Final Poll Results

The 6’8″ forward from Maryland came on to the scene during his sophomore year at Montrose Christian in Rockville, MD. In the summer of 2007 he became a known quantity in the recruiting world due to an immense upside based on his athletic ability.

During his junior season at Montrose, he battled a knee injury that has since corrected and healed itself.

At Villanova, Armwood will need to bulk up and focus on some academic issues, but in time will play the 4 in Jay Wright’s brand of basketball. His athleticism is quick to see watching the agile player on the floor. Through the High School tournament circuit, Armwood was always able to provide showtime and entertainment with his high-flying dunks- one of which was ESPN’s Play of the Day back in April.

Finishing up his high school career, Armwood was selected to participate in the Senior Showcase in Orlando and the Reebok All-America Game. He was rated $61 by Rivals and #81 by Scout in their final rankings for the Class of 2009

Isaiah selected Villanova over Georgetown, Syracuse, Ohio State, and Texas. He gave his verbal to become a Wildcat on July 1, 2008 and signed his National Letter of Intent in the November signing period.

• #9 Mouphtaou Yarou
• #22 Dominic Cheek
• #26 Maalik Wayns
• #81 Isaiah Armwood

That’s two 5-Stars, and two 4-Stars (and Maalik is one spot away from being a 5-Star).

Thanks to Spain Fan for the tip!

• #10 Mouphtaou Yarou
• #26 Maalik Wayns
• #30 Dominic Cheek
• #61 Isaiah Armwood

That’s three 4-Star guys and 1 Top 10 5-Star.

Looking at other schools North Carolina has one 5* and four 4*. Georgia Tech has one 5*, three 4*, and one 3*. Right now, Kentucky has two 5*, one 4* and is making a play for some other Top 10 guys.

Villanova’s Recruiting Class comes in at #2 behind … North Carolina. Here are the players’ final rankings.

• Mouphtaou Yarou #19
• Dominic Cheek #20
• Maalik Wayns #23
• Isaiah Armwood #41

• Last week Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns participated in the McDonald’s All American game. Cheek ended up with 15 points. Maalik had 5 points and 7 assists.
• Mouphtaou Yarou, Wayns, and Cheek were selected as Parade Magazine All-Americans.
• Yarou and Cheek were selected to the Jordan Brand All-American Game. That game will be held at Madison Square Garden on April 18. It will be aired on ESPN2. Tipoff is at 8p ET. If you want to go to the game, tickets start at $10.
• Isaiah Armwood and Mouph participated in the Capital Classic yesterday. Armwood has 11 points in 16 minutes, Mouph had 20 points (on 9-9 FG, 2-2 FT) in 16 minutes en route to claiming the MVP award.
• Armwood‘s dunk in the Capital Classic Dunk Contest was the #1 play on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
• Armwood will be playing in the Reebok All American Game on April 18th.