Sept. 20, 2002
Each Friday during the school year, VU director of media relations Mike Sheridan takes you inside the Villanova Men's Basketball program with notes, quotes and anecdotes from the Wildcats.
VILLANOVA, Pa. - It was a concept that instantly appealed to Villanova guard Derrick Snowden, as it most assuredly would any eager college athlete.
One year ago Snowden found himself virtually alone on the Villanova depth chart at college basketball's most critical position, point guard. The graduation of Jermaine Medley had left new Wildcats head coach Jay Wright with three scholarship guards on the roster. Snowden was the only one of the three with any sort of experience at point guard.
It was readily apparent that Snow was the Show for the 'Cats at lead guard in 2001-02.
Snowden took the assignment seriously. As soon as the new coaching staff arrived in April 2001, Snowden immersed himself in the nuances of Wright's system.
Just four short months later it appeared that the Wildcats might have something of an overnight sensation on their hands. This native of Baltimore shined on the Wildcats August 2001 tour of Italy, leading the team in minutes played and points per game (15.3 ppg). As he headed towards the regular season, it seemed clear that Snowden's time had come.
And then the reality of his circumstance - new system, heavy workload, inexperience - hit home.
Snowden struggled mightily to open the campaign. In the season's first three games against Grambling, Dayton and La Salle Snowden shot 8-of-33 (24 percent) from the field and committed 13 turnovers.
Perhaps the most revealing statistic, though, was the column listing Snowden's minutes played. He notched 118 minutes in those first three games, an average of 39.9 per game, a huge increase from his freshman year when he had shared duties with the departed Jermaine Medley. It was a trend that would continue through much of 2001-02. Save for a few bouts of foul trouble -Snowden fouled out of five games - the 6-0 guard was seldom off the floor, piling up 1062 minutes (33.3 per game).
Snowden learned to deal with the heavy workload. He bounced back from his sluggish start to finish with a 10.4 scoring average and emerged as a valuable offensive and defensive weapon for the 'Cats as they rode to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
Yet, six months removed from it and with help on the way, Snowden understands that what may have appeared to be athletic nirvana - unlimited playing time - has its downside at this level of college basketball.
"I think the fact that we now have Randy (Foye) and Allan (Ray) here will be a big thing for me," says Snowden, now a junior. "There were times in games last year when I had to conserve my energy and try to lay low so that I would have something at the end. Now we have Randy and Allan here and that's going to be a huge help to our team. The faster they learn and get to know things, the better off we'll be.
"The good thing with them here too is that we can change the lineup. I might play the two spot some and there might be times when there are three guards on the floor, with two of us and Gary (Buchanan). We're just going to have a lot more things to throw at teams and that's going to benefit everybody."
The enhanced backcourt could have something else going for it as well in Snowden's view.
"Even though we might not have wanted to admit it," Snowden states, "a lot of our turnovers were caused by fatigue. I didn't really think we threw that many bad passes. At times I just think we might not have been expecting certain passes.
"What's funny is that in all these (pickup game) runs we've had this summer, there really haven't been many turnovers. In the previous two summers that wasn't the case. You could tell the turnovers were still going to be a problem. This year we haven't really talked about it at all."
Improvement in that area would certainly boost Villanova's chances for success in 2002-03. The Wildcats have set new school records for turnovers in each of the past two seasons.
As the man who has spent much of the time at the wheel of the offense in those two seasons, Snowden understands some associate him with that issue. But he raises an interesting prospect in identifying a possible cause.
Consider Snowden's most memorable meltdown of 2001-02. On Jan. 6 at Notre Dame, Villanova built a 14-point lead over the Fighting Irish in the first 30 minutes. Notre Dame then turned up the pressure and Snowden committed a series of turnovers that allowed the Irish to catch the 'Cats. Of his seven turnovers that afternoon, five came late in a game where he had spent 38 minutes chasing Irish freshman point guard Chris Thomas.
And, it should also be noted, Snowden persevered to make the two biggest plays of the contest: a game-winning shot in the lane and a defensive stop on Thomas as the clock wound down. Villanova took home a 74-72 victory as Snowden finished with 17 points.
"Derrick was thrust into a difficult circumstance and I thought handled it as well as anyone could have expected," says Wright. "He never was a point guard in high school and we threw a lot of stuff at him. By the end of the year I think he saw how he could put his mark on that position."
The learning curve in adjusting to a new system may have contributed to Snowden's uneven play through the early portion of the schedule too. It's the biggest change between year one in this system and year two.
"Last year, especially in the early part of the season, everything for me on the court was a thinking process," Snowden states. "Now it comes much more naturally.
"The biggest area of improvement in my game has been my maturity. In the past there were times when I would get really frustrated. But I've learned that there are going to be ups and downs and, as a captain, you have to stay solid."
Snowden and his fellow returning starters have been especially cognizant of their role as mentors to the crop of incoming freshmen that includes Foye, Ray, Jason Fraser, Curtis Sumpter, Mike Claxton and Baker Dunleavy. And Snowden isn't fretting that much of the preseason talk has focused on Villanova's fresh faces.
"We haven't had a lot of hype around here since I've been here," Snowden says. "There are a lot of people interested in these guys and I think it's great for all of us. When people watch them play, they're going to be watching us too."...
The sounds of saws and hammers can be heard in the hallway outside Villanova's Pavilion locker rooms these days. Work is underway to enhance the Wildcats lounge that adjoins the locker room. The showers in the locker room are being replaced and the lounge refurbished. In addition, new venting will improve the heating in all four locker rooms, including both men's and women's basketball.
The repairs are expected to be completed in time for the exhibition opener on Nov. 6 ...
On Thursday former St. John's coach Fran Fraschilla was at St. Mary's Gym to watch the coaching staff put the Wildcats through individual workouts. Fraschilla, who last coached at New Mexico, will work this season as a color analyst on Westwood One radio broadcasts as well as ESPN Regional telecasts.
