Oct. 14, 2005
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears each week beginning in the fall and continues through the basketball regular season. This week we touch on a trio of topics as the program sets to begin the official start of practice on Oct. 14.
On a languid summer morning in August of 2004, a group of elementary school students gathered in the Pavilion Press Room. The group was attending a local sports broadcasting camp and was visiting the Pavilion to hear the insights of Villanova assistant coach - and former Miami Heat color analyst - Ed Pinckney.
The students were in the midst of a question and answer session with Pinckney when his cell phone went off. An urgent matter required his immediate attention and, after apologizing profusely, Pinckney made a hasty exit. He would return later but in the interim a group of 50 or so students was left idle.
With the campus virtually empty - the start of the fall semester was more than a week away - there were few available pinch-hitter prospects available on short notice. It was at this point that a Villanova official spotted Marcus Austin heading to the Wildcats locker room after a treatment session in the Training Room. Austin was asked to speak to the group.
For the next 60 minutes on a stage where the basketball court sits in winter, Austin patiently answered every question the students had. Each of the students conducted a one-on-one interview with him. Some of the inquiries were insightful. Others could have come only from the minds of grade school children. Through each one, Austin smiled and answered politely.
By the time Pinckney returned, the students barely noticed. When the session ended, the group's moderators were profuse in their praise of Austin. They later forwarded thank you notes to the native of Irvington, N.J.
Unfortunately, those kind of warm Pavilion moments were not plentiful in Austin's four plus years on campus. Injuries plagued him throughout his stint as a Wildcat and the final one, a torn rotator cuff, this week ended his Villanova career. Austin is scheduled to undergo surgery later this month to repair the damage and, with a lengthy recovery period confronting him, has elected to forego his final season of athletic eligibility.
Austin completed his undergraduate degree in May.
The initial injury was incurred during a session of open gym in late July. As Austin attempted to block a shot, the 6-9 forward felt pain. An MRI revealed that he had suffered a tear in his right rotator cuff.
"I tried to rehab it as best I could," says Austin, who elected to postpone surgery in the hopes that physical therapy could help him strengthen the injury to the point where he would be able to contribute in 2005-06. "But the doctors told me that I could re-injure it at any time."
There were no easy choices here. Recovery from surgery of this kind typically lasts six months. Austin had already been granted a medical redshirt for the 2003-04 campaign due to foot surgery that limited him to one appearance in the regular season. If he chose to put off surgery, he risked further damage to the shoulder and could have negatively impacted his opportunities to play professionally overseas in 2006-07.
"I was already leaning towards surgery and this just makes the most sense right now," he says. "I just decided it would be best for me to have the surgery now and get started on my rehab."
Austin will not be in uniform in 2005-06 but he remains very much behind the Wildcats.
"I wish the team well," he says. "We accomplished a lot last season and I'm rooting for them to accomplish even more this season.
"I'll miss the guys. But you will see me around. I plan to be there to show my support."...
Curtis Sumpter knows well the reality of dealing with a long recovery period. He spent the summer rehabilitating the knee injured in the 2005 NCAA Tournament victory over Florida.
But he received a nice boost when word came down that he was one of 50 collegians on the pre-season Wooden Award list for the national player of the year.
"My mother told me about it," Sumpter says. "It really helped lift my spirits.
"You go through a lot of ups and downs when you rehab an injury. It's tough at times. I was here all summer and you sometimes wonder if people outside have forgotten about you. When I heard that, it reminded me that people hadn't forgotten about me. I was happy about it."
After the long journey following surgery to repair a torn ACL last April, Sumpter is eager to rejoin his teammates for practice this weekend. Yet he doesn't want to jeopardize the gains made by moving too rapidly.
"We're taking it one step at a time," he says. "I'm excited about the season but I've talked with both Coach Wright and (trainer) Jeff (Pierce) and we're going to take it easy. (The knee) is getting stronger and there's no need to rush things. There's still a month before we play games. It's going to be gradual, gradual, gradual."...
The first opportunity the public has to see the 2005-06 Wildcats in action takes place on Friday, Oct. 21. "Hoops Mania" will introduce the team to the Villanova community. Doors are open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free. The event will be held in the Pavilion for the first time since 1999 and features the annual Blue vs. White scrimmage along with a host of other fun diversions.
"I can remember the feeling I had at my first one," Sumpter says. "You go to some of these events on recruiting visits and they seem nice. But when it's for you and your teammates, it's really special. I still remember how excited we all were as freshmen coming in. It was a great night.
"All of them that I have been a part of have been great. This year we'll be in the Pavilion so we'll have even more people. It's our last year, so I'm hoping it will be the best one ever."
"I've always wanted to have this in the Pavilion so I'm very excited," adds senior Allan Ray. "Everyone is talking about the season and Hoops Mania on campus so hopefully we'll have a great turnout. I'm looking forward to a great night."
