Villanova Hoops

"LISTEN, HERE'S THE THING: IF YOU CAN'T SPOT THE SUCKER, IN YOUR FIRST 5 MINUTES AT THE TABLE, THEN YOU ARE THE SUCKER." -ROUNDERS

"WEAKNESS OF ATTITUDE BECOMES WEAKNESS OF CHARACTER." -ALBERT EINSTEIN

I watch in absolute fascination every time Villanova is on a TV. They are incredibly good. They play such a clean and fun style of hoop. Their guys play with a huge amount of confidence, and it shows in every facet of the game. They attack and lean on you for 40 minutes. They got 7-8 guys, and they all play hard as hell. They know their roles and they get a better feel for how to play them every game. And at 18-1, 8-0 in the Big East, they are quietly moving along on a path to Indy for a second straight Final Four appearance. Their unique ability to create matchup problems, like we saw last year and in the past make them a tough out in any tournament. Say what you want about Jay Wright, but from where I am sitting, there isn't many coaches walking around that possess his unique ability to build a team and design a style of play that maximizes his guy's strengths and hides their weaknesses. He gets plenty of steam for his snappy suits, but not enough for his innovative approach to dominating Big East hoops.

The best guy on the team, as many of you can attest is Scottie Reynolds. I probably enjoy watching him play more than anyone in college hoops, maybe even more than John Wall. He's just one of those players that plays in such an interesting way that it makes guys who have played the game at high levels envy him. He has an unbelievable ability to ALWAYS play at his own pace. There is never anything hurried about the way he plays. He's not lightning quick, but he's always a step and a half ahead of defenders. He doesn't have a quick release, but he always gets any shot he wants. He always makes the right pass on time, on target. He's unbelievable when he fills the lane on a brake. He carefully gambles on defense and disrupts offenses, whether they are in man to man or the variety of zone pressures they use. He's just cool. And most importantly, HE'S A BIG GAME PLAYER. That's the best way to describe him. He does whatever he wants. He plays at the pace of two old friends getting together for a couple beers, and no one can seem to stay in front of him. I think he's far and away the Big East Player of the Year at this point, and should get some consideration of NCAA POY.