Dec. 3, 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 we visit with Curtis Sumpter.
Curtis Sumpter is grateful that he got some extra time at the Thanksgiving holiday with his family. Following the Nov. 23 Villanova victory over the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Sumpter joined his Wildcat teammates for a short breakfast meeting the next day. The group then dispersed for the holiday and didn't return to campus until Saturday night for practice.
The break was restful and relaxing in no small part because of a scheduling quirk that left Villanova idle for 11 days, until the Big Five Classic matchup with Temple on Dec 4.
"It was nice," states Sumpter, "but I'm really eager to get going again. Eleven days is a long layoff in college basketball."
In that single regular season outing, Sumpter was productive, matching his scoring average of 2003-04 with 14 points. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., also added six rebounds in 32 minutes.
Yet Sumpter knows the 2003-04 campaign is about more than statistics. As a junior, he has taken on a new role as evidenced by word that he has been named a team captain along with classmates Randy Foye and Allan Ray.
"Being a captain means that Randy, Allan and I have to initiate everything," Sumpter says. "On defense, we have to be the ones to set the tone by getting stops. We have to get the rebounds and do all the little things that are important.
"We have our coaches on the sidelines and they do a great job. But as juniors we have to be coaches on the floor. We have to understand situations and what we need to do as a team."
This past August, Sumpter was part of one of the ultimate team basketball experiences. He was one of 12 collegiate players to represent the United States at the World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Tournament in Nova Scotia, Canada.From mid-July forward, Sumpter received a four-week basketball tutorial that offered many intangible benefits.
"It was a great experience for me," says Sumpter. "I was honored to be selected to go to the trials because they only take 24 players. I just think about some of the great players who have played on that team before and it's quite a thrill."
The prospect of trying out for the club was first raised to Sumpter during the 2003-04 regular season. Following a February victory over Virginia Tech in which Sumpter produced workmanlike numbers (11 points and nine rebounds), Wright mentioned that a representative of USA Basketball had said that Sumpter might be a candidate for an invitation to the Trials in July.
"They said they liked the way I played defense," he recalls.
Though excited, Sumpter was also cautious. He understood that kind words spoken in the middle of February didn't guarantee him a berth. But then, sure enough, following the conclusion of the spring semester, the 6-7 forward from Bishop Loughlin High School received official paperwork inviting him to participate.
When Sumpter reached the New Jersey Nets practice facility, he found himself on the court with some of the most prominent names in college basketball. Athletes like Wake Forest's Chris Paul and North Carolina's Sean May were on the same list he was. Over the course of the next three days, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff from USA Basketball evaluated each of the participants and made several cuts to bring the roster down to the 12 who would make the trip to Halifax for the event.
"Curtis was a guy who really grew on the coaching staff," says Sean Ford, a Villanova graduate and former student manager of the basketball team who now serves as a USA Basketball executive. "He has a great attitude and his versatility, especially on the defensive end, was something the coaches really came to appreciate."
One member of the Villanova basketball family knew firsthand what USA Basketball Trials were like. Assistant coach Ed Pinckney had been through them as a Villanova player in the early 1980s. Pinckney's advice to Sumpter was simple.
"I told Curt that everyone there would have offensive skills, as he does," Pinckney recalled. "But the way he could stand out was on defense."
By all accounts, Sumpter did just that. Yet two days before the team was to leave for Nova Scotia, Sampson informed Sumpter that he would be among the last two cuts made. Sumpter gathered his gear and headed down the New Jersey Turnpike to Villanova.
"That's not an easy thing," Pinckney says. "To be basically the last guy cut for a junior national team is tough. But Curt handled it well."
The next day Sumpter returned to life's ordinary tasks. He was at the barber shop for a haircut when his cell phone rang. It was Wright, who informed him that he had been asked to return to East Rutherford, N.J. One of the 12 players chosen had been injured and there was a chance he would be unavailable for the tournament. No promises were made, but Sumpter willingly hopped into the car and headed north again.
"When I came back to the gym I could see the look on the other guys' faces," Sumpter states. "You could see they were thinking, `Oh, man, Curtis is back. That means somebody else is going to get cut.' You could see guys were kind of nervous."
By the next morning the matter was resolved. Injury created an open roster space and Sumpter was the one selected to fill it. Although his game minutes were limited, USA Basketball officials raved about Sumpter's attitude and willingness to contribute in whatever way he could as the club rolled to the first junior gold medal earned by the U.S. since 1996.
"It was a great experience," he says now. "We faced great competition and came together as a team. It was fun to play with those guys and an honor to represent your country."
The gold medal itself now occupies a treasured place on his shelf of basketball awards. But the rewards extend far beyond that.
"After something like that, I just think your confidence level grows," says Pinckney. "We've seen that already in practice and as we get into the season, I think everyone else will notice it too."...
On Thursday afternoon a special visitor stopped by the Villanova practice. Howard Porter, the linchpin of the 1971 Wildcat squad that reached the NCAA Tournament Final, watched practice and then spoke to the team afterwards. Porter is in town from his home in Minneapolis and plans to attend Saturday's Philadelphia Big Five Classic doubleheader, including the Villanova vs. Temple duel.
