New SeanDon video hits airwaves!

[Let's Go Nova is on summer break, but we will continue to update for important breaking news.]

At this point, the one-man Villanova video vanguard known cryptically as SeanDon needs no introduction.

He also needs no second, supporting paragraph.

His latest video, available below in the traditional embedded YouTube player, focuses on Villanova's Scottie Reynolds, he of the late-game NCAA tournament heroics this spring.

Watch it.



The video is SeanDon's first work since his excellent 2008 Philadelphia Phillies "Shoot to Thrill" highlight piece.

I give that video a solid A, but no A+, because it gives insufficient credit to the most magical moment of the 2008 -- or ANY -- World Series, Taylor Swift's national anthem in Game 3.

Reynolds withdraws from NBA draft

[Let's Go Nova is on summer break, but we will continue to update for important breaking news.]


Scottie Reynolds has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and will return to Villanova for his senior season, according to a press release from campus today.

Last season, Reynolds led Villanova to its first Final Four since 1985, and then decided to test the draft waters in April. After working out for about half-a-dozen NBA teams, Reynolds decided to withdraw from the pro draft.

"The best decision for me is to return to Villanova for my senior year," said Reynolds. "I'd like to thank everyone who put their time into helping me get better during these NBA workouts. I especially want to thank my teammates and coaches here for all of their support. I felt like I learned a great deal from this process."

Villanova head coach Jay Wright praised Reynolds and his decision-making process.

"Scottie took a very mature and intelligent approach to this process," said Wright. "He prepared himself thoroughly for each workout and absorbed everything he could from them. This was a tremendous learning experience for him and now he is focused on becoming a great senior leader in our program. He has great respect for the tradition here and I know he'll embrace this role."

Villanova basketball, of course, will resume this fall.

Reynolds declares for NBA draft

Scottie Reynolds will enter his name to this year's NBA draft, according to a press release from Villanova University.

Reynolds, a junior guard and arguably the Wildcats' most valuable player, does not plan to hire an agent, and thus his departure from the team is not yet certain.

Reynolds will be able to attend draft workouts and gauge where he might be selected if he decides to remain in the NBA draft, which will be held in New York on June 25.

"Scottie and I have decided that it would be smart for him to experience NBA workouts at this time," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright.

Wright also said that Reynolds will complete all his spring semester classes to ensure NCAA compliance if Reynolds decides to return to Villanova for his senior year.

If Reynolds remains in the draft, Villanova will lose four starters from its 2009 Final Four team: Reynolds, Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson, and Shane Clark.

According to NBADraft.net, Dante Cunningham is expected to be selected in the early second round of the draft, which usually means a player will be fighting for a spot on the team roster.

NBADraft.nets's mock draft has not been updated after Reynolds's announcement, but it seems likely that Reynolds, if he is drafted, would fall somewhere after Cunningham.

Villanova returns point guard Corey Fisher and shooting guards Reggie Redding and Corey Stokes for next season. In the frontcourt, forward Antonio will be back. Joining the Wildcats will be four freshmen: point guard Maalik Wayns, shooting guard Dom Cheek, small forward Isaiah Armwood, and power forward Mouph Yarou. Duke transfer Taylor King, another small forward, also joins the team after sitting out one year, as does redshirt freshman forward Maurice Sutton.

Personally, I expect Reynolds to be back for his senior season. I do not see him going anywhere near the first-round and its guaranteed salaries.

Whether or not Reynolds returns will have a major impact on the Wildcats' pre-season and early-year rankings; though a Reynolds departure would ease some of the logjam in the backcourt for the younger players.

Fisher, Cunningham, Wright win Big East honors

All of the Big East Conference awards have now been announced, and Villanova did very well for itself, earning some nice accolades across a variety of categories.

Villanova backup point guard Corey Fisher won the Big East's 6th Man award, which goes to the player who makes the greatest positive impact off the bench.

This site has been saying for a long, long time that Fisher should get more minutes, and this award seems to validate that position. Unless the player is a 6th-man specialist like Manu Ginobili, winning the 6th man award probably means the player should be starting!

Still, it's a nice honor for Fisher, whose improvement this year has brought Villanova much success.

Speaking of improvement, Villanova's senior forward Dante Cunningham was named the conference's Most-Improved Player on the year. Cunningham has stepped up his scoring output this season after playing a more limited offensive role his first three years.

Villanova's head coach Jay Wright earned Big East Coach of the Year honors. Although it is hard to see how Marquette's Buzz Williams did not win this award, Wright's COY honors are a nice acknowledgment of the team's success this year after a somewhat slow start.

Villanova opened the conference play by losing two of its first three games, but the season really picked up after the Wildcats were able to beat then #3 Pittsburgh in the last college basketball game ever at the Spectrum. Villanova now sits poised to earn a top-4 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Wright's selection as coach of the year is not something I necessarily agree with, given the questionable substitution and end-game strategy decisions made this year, but it is still nice for Villanova to take home the award. Wright and Villanova last won Big East COY in 2005-2006, when Villanova earned a #1 seed in the NCAA torunament.

Dante Cunningham was also named to the All-Big-East second-team, and junior guard Scottie Reynolds earned a Big East Honorable Mention.

'Nova clinches double bye with Prov. win

Providence 80
Villanova 97
(box score)

Providence: 18-12 (8-10 BE)
#11 Villanova: 25-6 (13-5 BE)

Villanova flexed its offensive muscles on Thursday night as the Wildcats exploded for 97 points to defeat Providence in the year's final game at the Pavilion.

With the win, Villanova secured an all-important top-four finish in the Big East, and the two days of byes that go along with it. The Wildcats will now be seeded all the way into the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday.

Villanova also maintains its position as a potential top-3 seed in the NCAA tournament, which is crucial if the Wildcats would like to play the first two rounds in their home-away-from-home at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

It was an excellent offensive game for the Wildcats, who scored 57 points in the second half and shot well overall. Scottie Reynolds, Dwayne Anderson, and Corey Fisher all played outstanding games for Villanova, and the 'Cats looked unstoppable when all their weapons were blazing.

Providence finishes the regular season with an 18-12 record, which normally might not earn a team an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament. The Friars, however, are 10-8 in the country's best conference, and boast a premium win over then-#1 Pittsburgh.

Conventional bracketology wisdom suggests that Providence would have been a lock with a win over Villanova, but will now need to win one at Madison Square Garden to have a good chance on Selection Sunday.

Congratulations to reader "bosshoghazzard" for most closely predicting the final score.

Villanova now has a full week off to prepare for its post-season. After a grueling Big East season, I am sure the rest will be welcome.

According to the official bracket (PDF), Villanova will next take the court on Thursday at 2 p.m. In practice, however, the game always starts later than that, closer to 2:30.

Villanova will face the winner of the #5 vs. #12/#13 game, which will most likely be Marquette.


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

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 36 min)

  Reynolds continued his scorching shooting ways tonight, shooting an excellent 9-13 from the field. He also put in an outstanding performance from the three, hitting 5-9, or the equivalent of shooting 83% from the two. He did miss both his free throw attempts, which is a bit troubling, since his free throw shooting seems to be dropping off a bit lately. Reynolds added 4 steals, 4 assists, and just 2 turnovers. Let's hope Scottie can continue his hot streak through the entire month of March.
  Grade: A




• Dante Cunningham (S, 36 min)

  Positives tonight were 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The negatives, however, were substantial. Cunningham shot a dismal 8-17 to get those 19 points, including several missed jumpers that he probably should have passed on altogether. He missed 4 of his 7 free throw attempts, as well. Cunningham also led the team in turnovers, with 5, committing a whopping 71.4 percent of the team's turnovers despite playing 18 percent of the team's minutes. If you haven't surmised this already, I really hate turnovers, especially by forwards. Perhaps worst of all, however, was Cunningham's defense, which was uncharacteristically soft tonight. Cunningham allowed at least three uncontested lay-ups or dunks. All in all, the positives save this grade from the dreaded "F," but it was nonetheless one of the worst games for Cunningham of the season.
  Grade: D




• Reggie Redding (S, 31 min)

  Redding was Mr. Pass tonight, dishing out 11 of the Wildcats' 26 assists. Those assists definitely earned him 31 minutes, but Redding's normal reason for playing so much, defense, was lacking tonight. Redding was responsible much of the night for covering Weyinmi Efejuku, who lit up the Wildcats for 29 points. Redding was not fast enough to stay near Efejuku at all, which could bode ill for the Wildcats against teams with similar star players. Aside from his excellent passing night, Redding had little other statistical impact. He shot 1-3 to score 2 points, and added 0 turnovers, steals, or blocks. He grabbed 2 rebounds. Those 11 assists go a long way to make up for a terrible night defensively, but it still was not much better than average for Reggie.
  Grade: C+





• Corey Fisher (27 min)

  Twenty-seven minutes are more like it for Fisher, unquestionably the team's most potent sparkplug. I'd prefer his minutes get up to the mid-thirties, but I guess it's one step at a time for Wright. Fisher shot 3-9 from the field, including 1-3 from the three, to go with his excellent 6-6 performance from the foul line. He handled the ball perfectly, dishing out 6 assists while committing 0 turnovers. His defense was outstanding, and he grabbed 4 steals. He was quick enough to stay with anyone on the perimeter, as well. It was a nearly perfect game for Fisher aside from the slightly reduced scoring output of 13. Fisher showed tonight he could have an excellent impact on the game even while not making many baskets, and this should finally (hopefully?) earn Fisher some more minutes in the post-season.
  Grade: A-
  
  

• Corey Stokes (21 min)

  Stokes was a major force in this game. He continued his hot shooting from the three, hitting 3-5. He also used his good height and strength to grab 4 rebounds and 1 block. He played decent defense, and added 1 steal. I think 21 minutes tonight was a big under-utilization of Stokes. Imagine how hard it will be for Villanova's opponents to contain the Wildcats with all four of Stokes, Fisher, Reynolds, and Cunningham firing on all cylinders. In order for this to happen, Stokes has got to get the minutes to heat up and stay effective.
  Grade: B+
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 20 min)

  Clark was not at all effective on offense (1-5 shooting, no foul attempts, no assists), but was a little better on the defensive end. Clark had 2 steals and 5 rebounds in his 20 minutes. I'd like to see 10 of his minutes go immediately to Stokes, but you have to admire Clark's hustle.
  Grade: C
  
  
  

• Dwayne Anderson (S, 17 min)

  Anderson, troubled by early fouls, still managed to score 19 points in 17 minutes, which is excellent. And he shot very well, 7-11, 3-5, and 2-2. Anderson, who had missed his 12 prior three-pointers before the game, is the ultimate streak shooter, and it's great to see him take those shots when he is hot. He also added 7 rebounds in just 17 minutes: compare that to Cunningham's 8 in 36. Anderson also added 3 assists, 1 block, and 4 steals in a phenomenal effort, playing half the game. If we extrapolate what his line would have looked like with 35 minutes, we get 39 points, 14 rebounds, 8 steals, 2 blocks, and 6 assists! Of course, it would have been difficult for him to maintain that pace, but what a game for Anderson despite the fouls.
  Grade: A





• Antonio Pena (9 min)

  Just 9 minutes, but a bit of a resurgence for Antonio Pena. He shot a good 2-4, showing intelligent awareness and spacing on the offensive end. He also was a perfect 2-2 from the foul line. He added 1 rebound, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in his very limited time.
  Grade: B





• Incomplete grades: Frank Tchuisi (1 min), Jason Colenda (1 min), Russell Wooten (1 min).



• Did not play: Maurice Sutton (RS).

Villanova handles Notre Dame

Villanova 77
Notre Dame 60
(box score)

#11 Villanova: 24-6 (12-5 BE)
Notre Dame: 16-13 (7-10 BE)


Villanova broke away in the second half on Monday night to soundly put away a Notre Dame team fighting for its post-season life.

The Wildcats used an offense firing on all cylinders to scorch the Irish for 45 second-period points on the way to an easy win, despite a score knotted at 32 at the half.

I actually agreed with Jay Wright's rotation for much of the game. It was good to see Fisher and Reynolds out there together for good stretches, and I like how the team clicked offensively with two Coreys and Reynolds as threats. The only real problem I had tonight was Wright's continued under-utlization of Stokes, who could be a major weapon if he played more than one-third of the game.

All in all, though, it was a well coached game by Wright, who seems to have rebounded from his disaster against Georgetown last Saturday. Let's hope he can keep it up against tougher competition in the post-season.

With the win, Villanova keeps its chances of a double bye in the Big East tournament alive. The Wildcats now need to beat Providence and have Marquette lose to Pittsburgh to earn the #4 seed and the two days off that go with it.

More important, Villanova kept itself in a plausible position to receive a #3 seed in the NCAA tournament, which would likely place the Wildcats in Philadelphia for the first weekend, a tremendous advantage.

Looking at the current state of the top-15, it looks like Villanova will have to defeat Providence on Thursday and then win at least one game in Madison Square Garden to stay in the 3-seed conversation.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, all but sealed its fate in the NIT on Monday, barring a McNamarian run in the Big East Tournament.

The Irish find themselves behind 10 teams in the conference with better resumes: Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Villanova, West Virginia, Syracuse, Georgetown, Providence, and Cincinnati. All but the last three of these teams should be in the field at this point.

Although the argument could be made that all of remaining three serious Big East bubble teams deserve to get into the NCAA tournament, my guess is that just two will make it, and I give the advantage to Georgetown and Providence, pending each team's final few games.

Congratulations to an anonymous reader for most closely predicting the game's final score.

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

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 39 min)

  Before the game, I was telling one of my friends that Scottie Reynolds should shoot more threes, because that is how he heats up on his epic scoring efforts. Looks like Reynolds got the memo on that one. Reynolds scorched the nets at the Joyce Center, scoring 23 pints on excellent 8-12 shooting, including a fantastic 6-7 from the three. And it's good to see him playing 39 of 40 minutes with no major signs of fatigue. It didn't hurt that Corey Fisher was around for 20 minutes to handle point duties for Reynolds, either. I would like to see Reynolds play the two-guard for 30+ minutes in Villanova's post-season. Reynolds finished the game with good numbers across the board: 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. It was one of the best overall performances by a Villanova guard I have ever seen. Complete, mistake-free, excellent all around.
  Grade: A




• Reggie Redding (S, 38 min)

  Redding played well against Notre Dame, but was it 38-minutes well? I guess it worked out. He was quietly efficient on the offense, shooting 3-5, including 1-1 for three, to score 7 points. Redding added 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 2 turnovers to his well-rounded effort. He looked good on the defensive end after giving up some key plays against Georgetown.
  Grade: B




• Dante Cunningham (S, 35 min)

  Cunningham shot 8-18 tonight, which is not a bad night for a shooting guard, but should be embarrassing for a power-forward. I don't know why the conventional wisdom seems to be that Cunningham's work in the offseason paid off in the form of a new, ultra-reliable jump-shot, because to me it looks like the same old shot. Except that this year, Cunningham takes a lot more of them. I lost count of how many jumpers he missed during the game: thankfully the play-by-play in the box score remembers. Cunningham was 6-16 on jump-shots. Let that number stew around in your head for a while, and remember you are considering a once-efficient power forward, and not John Starks in the NBA Finals. Cunningham was 8-18 overall, so that means he was 2-2 on non-jump shots. Now, the official box score has a very loose definition of a jumper, so it categorizes some paint shots as jump-shots, but I can assure you that Cunningham made more from the inside and missed more from the outside. Can you imagine how much better it would have been for Villanova if Cunningham didn't miss 10 jumpers? Having Cunningham shoot low-percentage shots from outside the key is a double whammy for the 'Cats: not only are they bad shots, but it leaves Cunningham, the team's best rebounder, out of place for any chance at a carom. Wouldn't you rather 10 more shots for Stokes from the outside, with Cunningham underneath for the rebound, instead? I would, too. Against the Irish, Cunningham finished with 8 rebounds. He added 1 turnover, and 0 blocks, assists, or steals.
  Grade: B-




• Dwayne Anderson (S, 24 min)

  Anderson just could not find his shot. As the ultimate streak shooter, he has got to recognize when he is on and when he is not. Against the Irish, he was most certainly off. The nadir of Anderson's night was a missed wide-open 2-pt jumper from the baseline that was a complete air-ball. Things were going so well for Villanova, though, that a few seconds later, after an offensive rebound, Anderson was dunking it in anyway. But shooting 2-9, including 0-4 from the three, could hurt the team, especially when most of those shots weren't even close. Anderson played well otherwise, notching 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Playing 24 minutes seems about right for Anderson, too. Just stop missing so many shots!
  Grade: C+




• Corey Fisher (20 min)

  Sure, Fisher was 0-5 from the field, but the shots he took were good, high-percentage shots. A player can only be judged on his decisions, and not his results. Fisher also passed the ball very well, dishing 3 assists in half a game, and he would have had more had some of his pass-recipients finished easy looks. He also had 1 block, 1 steal, and zero turnovers. So what if he scored just 2 points? Fisher played well. He was plagued by foul trouble against Notre Dame, which is why he played just 20 minutes. I am convinced he would have seen another 10 minutes despite his cold shooting if fouls were not an issue.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 18 min)

  Clark turned it on in the second half, playing his trademark cleanup game of put-backs and efficient shots. And thank goodness. This is Clark's bread-and-butter, and let's hope he can keep it up. He sat in the first half with two quick fouls, and honestly, the offense looked pretty good without him. But there is no denying the value he brought in the second half with his hustle game, and there is always a place for that on the court. Clark shot a good 5-7 from the field, but only managed 1 rebound in 18 minutes. He had 0 assists, turnovers, steals, or blocks, and was 2-3 from the foul line. One thing Jay Wright needs to be careful of is leaving Clark, who misses nearly half his free throws, on the court at the end of close games where fouling becomes a factor.
  Grade: B
  
  

• Corey Stokes (13 min)

  Ugh, why only 13 minutes for Stokes, who is by far the team's best shooter. Did you know that Stokes is shooting 44 percent from the three? That's too high a percentage! That means he needs to take more threes! I really don't know why Stokes was only allotted 13 minutes tonight; it just seems Wright keeps him on a very short leash, often yanking him out of the game after a few possessions. What I do know is that to beat teams that will put up more resistance than a fading Notre Dame, Villanova will need another scoring thread to complement Reynolds, Fisher, and Cunningham. Stokes is definitely that guy. He was pretty quiet against the Irish, scoring just 3 points on one really nice shot. During a possession at the end of the first half, Stokes freed himself to rotate to the top of the key, caught the ball in stride, and drained a gorgeous shot. I wish he would launch a few more of those in increased minutes.
  Grade: B-
  
  

• Antonio Pena (13 min)

  During the game broadcast, announcer Jay Bilas echoed a joke from this space a few games ago about Pena on a milk carton. Well, it looks like Pena is back, albeit in a slightly diminished role. Pena shot a decent 2-4 from the field and 2-2 from the foul line for 6 total points. He had 3 boards, and no assists, turnovers, steals, or blocks.
  Grade: B-





• Incomplete grades: Frank Tchuisi (0+ min), Jason Colenda (0+ min).



• Did not play: Russell Wooten (CD), Maurice Sutton (RS).