Feb. 14, 2003

Each week 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 is the kind of intangible item whose value cannot be easily measured. There is no simple numerical formula to calculate the importance of interacting with the news media.

Yet the give and take between Villanova men's basketball players and the journalists who cover the program is a vital part of the learning experience on the Main Line.

"We want the public to get to know our guys," said head coach Jay Wright. "And it's also important for our guys to experience what it's like to be interviewed and quoted."

The tradition is hardly a new one. Throughout its basketball history, Wildcat athletes have been available and accountable. Even after tough losses.

Sometimes, though, all doesn't go as planned. Interviews are, by their nature, spontaneous events and occasionally words don't flow exactly as the speaker intended. That's true of interview subjects who have been at it for decades as well as those who are still fairly new to the process.

No Wildcat has been interviewed more over the past four seasons than senior guard Gary Buchanan. Through the wins and losses, Buchanan has always been willing to share his thoughts with members of the media. It is why he has always been a popular figure with the beat writers who cover Villanova on a regular basis.

Yet even veterans have missteps.

During the post-game press conference following a 52-50 loss to St. John's on Feb. 11 at the First Union Center, the senior from St. Louis joined teammate Allan Ray and head coach Jay Wright on the podium. In his remarks Wright stated he was a bit concerned about his team's sense of urgency at this point of the campaign. Buchanan was then asked if he shared his coach's concern about time running out on the regular season.

"It doesn't concern me," he said. "I know the personalities on this team. We'll get up for Saturday's game. It's for first place in the Big East."

To those present, the words were not damning. Buchanan's intent to those listening seemed clear - he wasn't concerned about his team having the proper mindset for the clash with Connecticut.

Others, however, read those same words in the next morning's paper and gulped hard. Some interpreted his meaning to reflect a lack of concern about the 'Cats fortunes.

None of those people are affiliated with the Villanova basketball team. Buchanan's words were never an issue. But in retrospect, the senior can understand how people on the outside may have gotten the wrong impression.

"When I was saying it doesn't concern me, I wasn't implying that the team doesn't have a sense of urgency," Buchanan explained before the start of a recent practice. "Believe me, we do, especially Rick (Wright), Sully (Andrew Sullivan), and myself. We know better than anyone how painful it is to get close to your goal only to come up a little short.

"My point was that we shouldn't be concerned about what the perception of the media or people on the outside is. We have to keep working toward our goals one game at a time and can't get caught up in that.

"We know this team is a very good team. Right now, we're not playing to a level that everyone, us included, wants us to play at. We are the ones who have to work to change that."

Buchanan can appreciate the rising anxiety level of the Nova Nation.

"There is some pressure," said Buchanan. "We know that this senior class is one of the only ones in school history that hasn't played in an NCAA Tournament game. We certainly don't want that to be what people say about us after we're gone.

"But as a player you can't get caught up in that. You have to concentrate on the things you need to do every game and believe that you are going to win. As seniors, we have to make sure we give everything we have in however many games we have left.

"The way the seniors are thinking right now is that one of the most important things we have to do is to help the young guys along. This is a program on the rise and Rick, Sully and I want to be able to say that we helped get these guys on the right track, even if we aren't here to enjoy all the success that is going to come."

In his final campaign Buchanan has enjoyed his share of ups and downs. His 16.1 ppg average leads the Wildcats and his 29 points helped fell No. 9 Michigan State in the Great Alaska Shootout. There were also back-to-back 27 point outbursts against Rutgers and Boston College in January.

There have been low points, however, too. Much of his preseason practice time was lost to a pair of knee injuries and a thumb fracture. At Dayton and Memphis, there were critical turnovers in the final minute when Villanova had the opportunity to come up with major road victories.

Lately there have been three losses in four games after a five game winning streak had lifted the Wildcats to the top of the Big East's East Division.

"Right now we are struggling on offense and if you had told me that before the season, I would have not believed it because we have so many talented offensive players," Buchanan stated. "Before that, we weren't playing the kind of defense we need to play.

"As a team, everyone is still confident and thinks that we can get where we want to go. Even though we are 13-9, we still have faith in ourselves. We've won big road games this year and we know we can do it. Now we have to do that and protect our home court."

Buchanan is now in eighth place on the all-time Villanova scoring list. He has scored 1,720 points. On Feb. 25 he and his classmates will make their regular season Pavilion farewell against Miami. As to what it might take to reach the NCAA Tournament, Buchanan offered a smile. "I'm not sure what we need to do other than win," he said. "I'm not a tournament committee chairman person or someone like that. We just have to go out and get it done.

"This team has great talent offensively and defensively. We shouldn't even be in this position. Things happen for a reason, though, and I still believe we have a lot of good basketball left in us."

As for future interviews, consider this week's chapter a life lesson learned.

"Next time," he said, "I'll take a little more time to explain my point."