Nov. 19, 2004

The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears each week beginning in the fall and continues through the basketball season.

Following a Pavilion practice session this week, a former colleague of Jay Wright's was sharing his observations with the Villanova head coach. At one point, the guest made reference to a foreign player.

Wright was puzzled. It took him a second to realize that the coach had mistaken redshirt sophomore forward Baker Dunleavy for a player from another country.

"You know why that was, don't you?" Wright asked Dunleavy in recounting the tale for him several days later. "It was because of your hair."

Dunleavy, blessed with a quick wit, didn't miss a beat.

"At least," he replied, "he thought I could play."

When Villanova fans take their Pavilion seats on Tuesday evening for the regular season opener against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, they will note the long locks that Dunleavy sported last week are gone. The product of Portland's Jesuit High School now looks much like the athlete who has been a part of the Wildcats' program for the past two years.

Yet the outward appearance belies a new reality. Dunleavy has made strides with his game that, coupled with injuries that have cut into the `Cats roster depth, offer him an opportunity to contribute in ways he has not previously at the collegiate level.

In the exhibition contest against Philadelphia University, Dunleavy logged 11 minutes in a reserve role. Over the course of the entire 2003-04 campaign, he saw only 23 minutes of action.

"I have worked on a lot of things that I hope can help me contribute in game situations this season," states Dunleavy, who spent his childhood in Milwaukee and Portland as his father, Mike Dunleavy Sr., worked as a National Basketball Association head coach. "I tried to develop my ballhandling, shooting, and defensive skills."

At 6-6, Dunleavy takes a cerebral approach to the game. What he may lack in athletic gifts, he aims to overcome with preparation.

"Our coaches do a great job of putting together scouting reports for us," says Dunleavy. "I really try to pay close attention to those. But the real basis for the preparation is what we do in practice. Every possession of practice can help you learn something that will be of value in a game."

Of course, Dunleavy comes by his penchant for preparation naturally. Mike Dunleavy Sr. carved a long NBA career as a shooting guard without imposing athletic gifts. He is now in his second season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

"A lot of people shy away from the coach's son label," states Baker Dunleavy. "I embrace it. I've been taught by someone with a great knowledge of the game. That's been an advantage for me."

No amount of conversation, though, was sufficient preparation for the transition to the college game. Baker Dunleavy closely followed from afar as his brother Mike Dunleavy Jr. crafted an All-American career at Duke. Yet the actual process of stepping into the arena was something fresh to him.

"College basketball was an entirely new experience," he says. "The speed of the game and the intensity at this level are so much higher than they were for me in high school."

Dunleavy entered Villanova with the understanding that any bid for minutes would not come about quickly. He arrived with Randy Foye, Jason Fraser, Allan Ray, and Curtis Sumpter, the most ballyhooed recruiting class in recent memory. What's more, the Wildcats' roster also included a host of veterans, many of them perimeter athletes.

During the 2002-03 campaign, Dunleavy was a spectator on game nights. As a redshirt he dressed knowing he would not be called upon, although he practiced each day.

"It was a good learning period," he says. "But it was also tough. It was easy to lose focus and you really had to concentrate so that you contributed something each day in practice."

When he began the 2003-04 campaign the odd confluence on injury and telephone access code suspensions gave Dunleavy a chance to earn playing time at the start of the year. He played briefly against Temple but then was unable to contribute much in a wild 114-103 win over Redlands. When the roster returned to full strength, Dunleavy saw limited game action.

As he discovered at the Redlands, there is a great leap from practice to game speed.

"Even though you are sometimes on the same court you play on every day," he notes, "it is totally different."

This time around, Dunleavy feels he is ready to help in games as well as practice. Although he did not score against Philadelphia, he looked far more comfortable on the floor than he has at any previous point in his Villanova career.

"Just the opportunity to have a bigger role than I've had before is exciting," Dunleavy states. "I feel like I've paid some dues and we have as a team. I hope I can earn more minutes and contribute."

With Jason Fraser slowly returning to practice and Kyle Lowry sidelined indefinitely, Dunleavy now has that chance.

"I couldn't ask for a better situation than I've had here at Villanova," says Dunleavy. "It's a very friendly environment here. I have made great friends here, some of whom are on the team and others who aren't. Everybody on campus is here to support you as a student.

"If I have a personal basketball goal this year, it would be to contribute in some way to winning games. Whether it's for two minutes or 20 minutes doesn't matter. There are a lot of little things you can do to impact a game and those are the things I am focused on right now."

That's a message that reads well in any language.