Nov. 24, 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. This week it arrives a few days early to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday.
There are more than five hours before tipoff of the Villanova season opener against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Pavilion is empty save for the handful of Wildcats who have gathered on the court in advance of the game-day walk-through.
One of them is sophomore forward Will Sheridan.
As he walks near the scorer's table Sheridan is overheard telling teammate Ross Condon about one vision he has for that evening's game.
"You know what I want to do?" he asks Condon at the table. "I want to dive over the table and into the stands chasing after a loose ball."
Sheridan then proceeds to demonstrate in slow motion how he sees the play unfolding. He lunges over the table and pantomimes a dive for a basketball that is headed into the stands.
"That would get Coach (Jay) Wright fired up," he said with a chuckle before heading out to the court.
Fast forward about six hours. It is now the second half and Sheridan is out on the wing applying ball pressure with teammate Curtis Sumpter. The basketball is deflected and heading over the line. Sheridan is soon in mid-air, replicating the dive he had pantomimed at that afternoon's workout, only this time over press row instead of the scorer's table.
In this case, Sheridan could not prevent the ball from going out of bounds. But the sellout crowd of 6,500 appreciated the effort as did the Villanova bench ...
Following the game-day walk through, which is designed to review some basic scouting information and allow the athletes to loosen up while getting a feel for the environment, the Wildcats proceed directly to the pre-game meal. This is a customary gathering that features pasta, steak, fruits and vegetables and will serve as the final meal before the players take the court.
From 1976-2004, Rev. Bernard Lazor, O.S.A., served as team chaplain beforehis retirement from the assignment prior to the 2004-05 campaign. In that role he would open the meal by reading a short passage from the Bible and offering the group some thoughts to reflect on when he finished. Rev. Rob Hagan, O.S.A., a Villanova Associate Athletics Director, has succeeded Lazor and the duties now fall to him.
His theme today is where to turn for help.
"When you are out on the floor you turn to your coaches for help," he says. "If you have an injury you turn to (trainer) Jeff Pierce and the doctors. If you need help in school, you turn to academic advisors or tutors.
"God is there for all of us when we need help too. He is there to nourish and guide us. You can always turn to Him."
When Hagan's remarks are complete, the `Cats quietly eat their meals. In the room with them is a television camera crew, recording the meal for an upcoming edition of "Inside Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright", which airs locally on Comcast Sports Net and also on the YES network.
Wright brings the camera over to Jason Fraser, seated off to the side. His left knee is connected to a machine to help stimulate his recovery from surgery last month to remove loose cartilage. Pierce is seated nearby.
"This has been their life for the past couple of years," Wright says, nodding in the direction of the Villanova junior and head trainer. "Jeff has spent more time with Jason than he has with his wife."
The good news, though, is that Fraser is ready to return to the court in the contest against UMBC. He will do so sooner than most anticipated.
When the contest begins, Villanova wastes little time taking control. On its first possession sophomore Mike Nardi feeds Curtis Sumpter for a dunk that ignites the crowd. A pair of Allan Ray 3-point field goals stake the Wildcats to a 10-0 lead, forcing new UMBC coach Randy Monroe to signal for timeout.
By half's end Villanova owns a 41-16 lead. The Wildcats then cruise to a 66-41 win.
"This game was a good start for us," said Wright afterwards. "I liked our defensive intensity. That's something we really wanted to try and work on. We rebounded the ball well.
"We had a very consistent defensive effort, which is something we have got to establish. To do well in the Big East you have to be able to cover up some poor offensive possessions with some good defensive possessions. That's what we did tonight."
"It feels really good," added junior guard Randy Foye. "We jumped on the other team early. It was a good step for us to come out and be able to play hard for long periods of time during the game."
Among the contributors was 6-9 senior forward Marcus Austin. The native of Irvington, N.J., missed all but one game of the 2003-04 campaign with a broken bone in his left foot. After two surgeries, he was back and contributed five points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 14 minutes.
"People sometimes forget that in his junior year of high school, Marcus was a very good basketball player," notes associate head coach Fred Hill. "As a senior at St. Patrick's he contracted mononucleosis and I'm not sure he was ever the same after that. But he has worked himself into great shape this year after the injuries and is doing a good job for us."
"Marcus did a really good job tonight," stated Wright. "He really sparked us in the first half. There was a sequence in the first half where our starters were doing a good job but they got a little tired. Marcus came in and really pumped us up defensively. He got some rebounds and some deflections and wound up being our leading rebounder in 14 minutes. That's a pretty good effort."
Fraser is the final person to speak with the media. His arrival is delayed 30 minutes as he receives treatment in the training room. Still dressed in his full uniform he enters walking without a limp. In the second half he received a blow to his right hamstring but wasn't concerned.
"I'm fine," he says.
That's always good news to those who follow Villanova basketball...
The first "Talking Villanova Basketball With Jay Wright" radio program is set for Weds., Dec. 1 at the Great American Pub in Conshohocken, Pa. Among the scheduled guests is New York Daily News columnist Dick "Hoops" Weiss. In addition to the usual college basketball conversation, Weiss will discuss the 20th anniversary DVD of the 1985 NCAA championship team. Weiss, who covered that squad for the Philadelphia Daily News, is one of the writers of the script for the DVD and has been involved in every step of the production process.
ESPN and CBS analyst Bill Raftery serves as narrator of the DVD, which includes interviews with many of the principals who made that improbable push to the NCAA championship.
The DVD will premiere on Jan. 14 and be on sale at all Villanova home games following its release, including the Jan. 15 matchup with Georgetown. More information on how to obtain copies of the DVD will be available in the coming weeks here at villanova.com.
