Nov. 23, 2001

Check out the game notes for the men's basketball game against the Dayton Flyers on Saturday, Nov. 24. Villanova enters the contest 1-0 after defeating Grambling St. in the season opener. Click on the .pdf link for a complete version of the game notes.

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Wright Stuff
Yes, you are going to grow weary of the headlines. "Wright Stuff", "Wright On", et. al.

The plays on the last name of the head coach and one of the Wildcats' leading upperclassmen are simply too easy to resist at this point.

Indeed, from Villanova's vantage point, Wednesday was very much about two Wrights making sure it did not go wrong for the Wildcats. Despite a pesky Grambling attack that kept the Tigers within two points at half, the efforts of junior forward Ricky Wright went a long way towards helping the 'Cats pull away to an 82-68 win in their season opener on Thanksgiving eve.

"We are a work in progress," said head coach Jay Wright following his first win as head coach at Villanova. "We have work to do. We are going to try to take it a day at a time and try to get better after this game. It was good in the second half to see our guys, possession by possession, be more solid than the opponent and not try to build the lead all at once."

The win evened Jay Wright's career record in debuts at 1-1. His first collegiate game as a head coach at Hosftra in 1994 was a 104-97 loss to New Hampshire.

On the Glass
It was a trend that began during the Wildcats' summer tour of Italy and has continued through the opening bell of the regular season.

Solid efforts on the backboard have been a signature of the very early returns in the Jay Wright era at Villanova.

In five games during August in Italy the Wildcats outrebounded their opponents by an average of 40-19 per game. Villanova then outrebounded both of its exhibition foes by a convincing margin and was at it again on Wednesday, coming down with 34 rebounds to Grambling's 23.

Ricky Wright led the way with 13, which tied his career high set last year against Pennsylvania. Ricky Wright collected six offensive rebounds and Villanova had 10 as a team.

"Ricky was aggressive on the glass and played what we call 'Villanova Basketball,'" said Jay Wright. "To me, free throws are a reward for hard work and the fact Ricky shot 18 of them tells you how hard he was working."

Senior center Brooks Sales contributed seven rebounds while sophomore point guard Derrick Snowden added four.

Injury Update
A pair of Wildcats suited up on Wednesday but did not see action due to injury and illness.

Sophomore forward Andreas Bloch has been nursing a severely sprained ankle for the last week and did not see action. The sophomore from Germany played a total of 17 minutes in two preseason games prior to the injury.

Freshman forward Chris Charles was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat on Tuesday in tests performed at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He is scheduled to undergo further testing next week.

Both Bloch and Charles are listed as doubtful for the Dayton game.

First Game Jitters

It was the initial game of a new season with a new coaching staff and Ricky Wright says the freshness of it all did play a role in the 'Cats tentative start to the game on Wednesday.

"Everything is new," stated Ricky Wright. "In the first few minutes of the game everyone was just trying to get the first game jitters out. Once we got through that we were fine."

A Boost From Buchanan
It's a new role to be sure. Since Jan.9, 2000, -midway through his freshman season - guard Gary Buchanan was a regular feature in the Villanova starting lineup. From that start at Pennsylvania until the season opener, Buchanan had started 53 of 54 games. The only time he did not here his name called with the starters in that stretch was in the final regular season home game of his freshman year, when he gave way to senior T.J. Caouette on Senior Night against the Providence Friars.

But Buchanan did not start the opener against Grambling and isn't projected to do so against Dayton. Jay Wright has explained that the issue is less about the native of St. Louis, Mo., than it is Villanova's lack of experienced backcourt depth. Buchanan is Villanova's backup point guard in addition to his regular duties as a wing man and Jay Wright fears early foul trouble that could cost him both starter Derrick Snowden and Buchanan.

Of course, Buchanan was plagued by two quick fouls he picked up after coming off the bench in the win over Grambling. He scored only two points in the first half.

The second half, however, was another story. Buchanan's potent offensive game ignited and played a large role in Villanova's win. He ended the night with 20 points and was perfect (3-of-3) from beyond the 3-point arc.

"With Gary offensively, nothing is going to surprise me," stated Jay Wright. "I think he is an extremely talented offensive player. People that have watched Gary Buchanan were not surprised by what he did tonight. We need him to play that way every night, defend every night, rebound and play hard."

"Once I got into a rhythm I felt comfortable," Buchanan said. "I was playing too tentative. I wasn't shooting the ball or looking for my shot. I just needed to get into the flow."

Buchanan did do something unusual for him, though, on Wednesday, when he missed a free throw. He was 3-of-4 at the line. That's a very solid figure for most shooters but something of a letdown for the reigning NCAA free throw champion and a man who hit 73 in a row at one point last season to establish a new NCAA Division I record for consecutive made free throws.

Sully Stuff
After a sophomore season in which he only played 192 total minutes (and only 14 in the last eight games), junior forward Andrew Sullivan is now an integral part of the rotation.

Sullivan spent most of his night chasing the hot-shooting Paul Haynes of Grambling (29 points). He played 28 minutes and probably would have seen more action if he didn't pick up his fourth foul midway through the second half.

But the native of London did chip in with 10 points, including an impressive 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. That's a new career high for free throws made in a game and for points in game for Sullivan.

"Andrew is someone we are counting on to be aggressive defensively and on the glass," stated Jay Wright. "We need him to be a terrific defender and rebounder for us."

Introducing Mr. Austin

With Villanova's other notable newcomer, Chris Charles, sidelined with an irregular heartbeat, rookie Marcus Austin saw the first action of his career on Wednesday night.

He began with authority, slamming home a dunk in the first half. Alas, he was also whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. Austin, a native of Irvington, N.J., played three minutes.

Also making their Villanova debuts were walk-on guards Tom Grace and Lou Ruskey.

Free Throw Proficiency
If Wednesday night's game wasn't always an artistic display, there was one area where the two teams were smooth. The free throw accuracy for both clubs was exceptional. Grambling converted 13 of 14 from the line, a percentage of .929.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were 28-of-33 at the stripe, an .848 number. And that included the aforementioned miss from Buchanan. Sullivan and Ricky Wright, Villanova's starting forwards, were a combined 22-of-26 (.846) from the line. Despite boasting a pair of 90 percent plus free throw shooters (Buchanan and Reggie Bryant) in 2000-01, Villanova shot .680 from the line last winter.

Villanova also prospered from beyond the arc.

Derrick Snowden, Buchanan and Reggie Bryant were a combined 6-of-8 from deep (.750). Last year Villanova finished 12th in the Big East in 3-point shooting at .319.

Notebook: Dayton is 2-0 on the season ... It defeated Mid-American Conference clubs Toledo (69-50) and Central Michigan (81-65) at home ... Four starters scored in double figures for the Flyers in the win over the Chippewas, including forward Brooks Hall (15 points) and guard Ramod Marshall (14 points) ... Four starters average in double figures for the Flyers, led by Hall and Marshall at 14.0 ppg ... Said head coach Oliver Purnell about Villanova: "We're looking forward to the challenge. We've got some experienced guys on the team and feel confident going in." ... Purnell is 122-99 at Dayton, with 45 of those wins coming in the past two seasons ... His overall coaching record is 213-174 ... The Flyers finished at 21-13 last season, 9-7 in the Atlantic 10 ... Dayton reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament before being eliminated.