Villanova bests La Salle

Villanova 70
La Salle 59
(box score)

#18 Villanova: 10-1 (0-0 BE, 0-0 B5)
La Salle: 4-4 (0-0 A10)

Next game: vs. Navy, 22 Dec. at the Pavilion.

Villanova moved to 2-1 on the week and 3-0 in the Philadelphia Big 5 with a win at La Salle. The Wildcats looked decent but not overpowering in the win, and it seems like the 3-spot drop in the latest AP rankings places Villanova correctly in the lower end of the top 20 at #18.

The Wildcats relied on hot outside shooting from its guards to neutralize the disadvantage of Dante Cunningham's foul trouble, which left Villanova's best big man on the bench for much of the contest.

Villanova jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half, but played the Explorers to a virtual draw in the second period to win by just 11. A hall mark of a good top-15 team would have been to put away La Salle decisively, but that did not happen, and it perhaps means that Villanova has some work to do if it wants to rise in the rankings again.

See the player grades below (Starting with Scottie Reynolds) for special comments on the Villanova backcourt players.

Next up for the 'Cats is a Pavilion date with Navy, traditionally a cupcake game. Though Navy is at 8-2 on the season, KenPom rates the Wildcats' chances of victory at 97 percent.

On to the player grades. "READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis.

• Antonio Pena (S, 34 min)

  Pena received a huge number of minutes due to post-mate Dante Cunningham's foul issues. He shot poorly, scoring 5 on 1-6 shooting, but did dish out 6 assists. He pulled in 6 rebounds and had 1 block. He admirably did not turn the ball over once in his 36 minutes. Pena has a good basketball IQ and his shooting will come around soon enough.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 30 min)

  Reynolds has been struggling on offense lately, but seemed to find a bit of a scoring groove on Sunday night. Scottie shot 5-12 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc to score 13. His assist total was down, at 2, but he only committed 2 turnovers. Reynolds was 0-2 from the foul line, which is unacceptable both for the misses and for the low number of attempts. I disagree wholeheartedly with Coach Wright's decision to move Reynolds to the point in the starting lineup. After two and half seasons, it's clear (to me at least) that Reynolds is much more effective when he is able to work off the ball, and when he has another small guard to help him with presses and traps up and down the court. The point is not that Reynolds shouldn't play the point; in fact he is a good distributor. The real idea here is that Reynolds will have to shoulder much of the Wildcat scoring load and play lots of minutes per game, so why further exhaust him by making him the only ballhandler on offense? In addition, with Scottie starting at the 1 and Stokes at the 2, Stokes plays more like a 2.5 or a 3, leaving Reynolds forced to guard the opponents' quickest guard. The result is that Reynolds has to run ragged on defense and then is continually harassed on offense with press and trap breaking, running the offense, and getting himself looks. This is too much for even a good player like Scottie. With another one-guard in there (Fisher), it leaves Reynolds free to initiate the offense off the pass in the half-court. This allows him to immediately take a good shot or find a good pass, rather than making the first pass he can as he would if he were the point. In my opinion, Fisher needs to be out there with Reynolds most of the time, mistakes or not.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Corey Stokes (S, 29 min)

  Stokes led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points on excellent 6-10 shooting, including 4-7 from the three. In my opinion, Stokes should be seeing many more minutes. Why he was benched for the second half of the St. Joe's game for the thoroughly ineffective Shane Clark is a mystery to me. Against the Explorers, Stokes put up excellent numbers with few mistakes. In addition to scoring 18, Stokes added 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, and 0 turnovers. Playing Stokes for 29 minutes is a start, but 29 should be near the minimum for Stokes. The coaching staff needs to develop Stokes in two ways: 1. Get him more time! He is a scoring machine, and the Wildcats aren't exactly a high-powered offensive team without him. 2. Improve his ballhandling ability. Stokes simply cannot put it on the floor. The good news is that this is a teachable skill. Dribble drills, 1-on-2 ballhandling in practice, and an emphasis on the dribble-drive are all ways that the staff could develop the McDonald's All-American.
  Grade: A




• Corey Fisher (26 min)

  To me, Fisher is the key player for the Wildcats' fate this year. After losing Malcolm Grant, Villanova knew it would only have two ballhandling guards for the season. If Fisher cannot play effectively, the Wildcats are doomed against any team with a pressure defense, or any team that likes to run. God help the 'Cats against Rick Pitino if they only have one option at the one-guard. That said, Fisher needs to be out there, period. If he can't put in 30+ minutes against the Explorers, how can he be relied upon for Marquette and Louisville? My guess is that Fisher can be relied on. He was a major talent in high school, and shows flashes of brilliance at Villanova. In my opinion, Jay has Fisher on too short a leash. If Fisher cannot shoot, dish, and handle with the confidence that he won't be yanked at this first mistake, he will be tentative, and the worst thing a point guard can be is tentative. Against La Salle, Fisher scored 8 on 4-9 shooting, but missed his only three-point attempt. Fisher was a huge shooter in high school, so there is no reason he cannot find that touch again, In fact, to effectively run the "take-em" offense Wright employs, Fisher needs to be respected at the perimeter. Kyle Lowry got away with taking very few three-point shots, but Kyle Lowry was Kyle Lowry. Lowry also was the team's best three-point shooter in terms of percentage in the few times he did shoot the three. Fisher is not blessed with Lowry's world-class speed and ridiculous athleticism, but he is fast and should be able to score on the perimeter and on penetration. Fisher passed for 6 assists against La Salle, and had only 1 turnover. He needs to get to the line more (0-0 Sunday), and try to make more plays off steals.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Dante Cunningham (S, 24 min)

  Cunningham's foul trouble severely cramped his effectiveness, but he wasn't having the best of games before that, either. Cunningham shot 4-8 from the field to score 9 points. He made only 1 of his 4 free-throw attempts, however. He excelled on defense, notching 4 steals and 4 blocks against the overmatched Explorers. He added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers.
  Grade: B-




• Dwayne Anderson (S, 21 min)

  Anderson is back in the starting lineup, which I disagree with. Dwayne is the ultimate energy-boosting sixth man, so why not use him in that capacity? I am not advocating a reduction in Anderson's minutes; I just want to free Scottie Reynolds from handling the ball in the starting lineup. Anderson plays smart basketball but struggled a bit against La Salle. He shot 1-4 -- 0-2 from the three-- to score 2 points.
  Grade: C-
  
  
  

• Reggie Redding (17 min)

  Redding played an efficient game, shooting 3-4 from the field and 1-1 from behind the arc. He added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover. Redding is at his best when he is playing smart basketball, in a supportive role, taking his open looks and making good decisions. He was able to do that tonight. The trouble for the 'Cats begins when Villanova has to rely on Redding to create his own offense.
  Grade: B+
  
  
  

• Shane Clark (17 min)

  Clark played fairly well on Sunday. He led the team in rebounds, with 7, and shot 3-4 from the field. Best of all, he did not attempt any contested three-pointers, and committed no turnovers.
  Grade: B
  
  
  

• Incomplete grades: Frank Tchuisi (1 min).
  
  
  
• Did not play: Jason Colenda (CD), Maurice Sutton (CD - RS?), Russell Wooten (CD).