Sept. 1, 2006
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears each Friday from September through February and monthly from April through in August. On the first day of September we return to the weekly format with the first of five portraits of Villanova Men's Basketball newcomers. This week: Antonio Pena.
Given where their skills have taken them, it is often difficult for those observing them as elite Division I athletes today to conjure up a vision of something other than a prodigy. Yet, more often than you might think, the first steps taken by young basketball players aren't the stuff of highlight reels.
Indeed, among recent Wildcats, both Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser started their basketball journeys not as standouts, but as tentative youths who seldom were the first choice of their coaches or peers.
Villanova freshman forward Antonio Pena knows the feeling. Before becoming an elite player coveted by the likes of Villanova, St. John's, Louisville, and Texas, he was, by his own admission, an unfinished product. His interest level was high, however, and at age 10 he spent hours with his uncle, John Pena, in his native Brooklyn, N.Y.
"My uncle used to be a coach," says Pena. "I would watch his teams all the time. It really got me interested in basketball."
However, it was not simply a matter of flipping a switch to stardom.
"Not at first," Pena states. "It took me time to develop my game."
Two elements, though, worked in Pena's favor. Through his uncle, he was exposed to fundamentals at an early age and a love for the game blossomed. He enjoyed the sport enough to put in the time and did so in a borough with a tradition of producing high-caliber basketball talent. And there was also a push from fate - in his early teens, a growth spurt gave Pena height that could not be overlooked. Today he stands 6-6 or so, pending official measurements prior to the start of the 2006-07 campaign.
"As I grew, a lot of people would ask if I played basketball," he recalls. "I thought about it and decided it didn't make sense to waste my height."
By the time he reached age 15, Pena began to attract attention. It didn't hurt that he was enrolled at Lincoln High School, one of the more noted New York City prep hoops powers. College coaches, many of whom were on hand to assess the skill of wunderkind guard Sebastian Telfair - now a teammate of Allan Ray's with the Boston Celtics - began to keep track of Pena.
"Playing with Sebastian was great," Pena says. "All you had to do was run the floor and he would find you."
With interest in him peaking, Pena elected to leave his native borough in the fall of 2004-05 for prep school. He selected St. Thomas More in Connecticut, which offers a program with both strong academic and basketball programs. And while it took some time to adjust, Pena soon settled in.
"Prep school was a great experience for me," he states. "It helped me grow as a person and learn to be dependent on myself. It's not the same as college but it definitely helps you prepare.
"The first few months were hard. You miss your family and friends at home. But you learn to adjust."
Soon he had begun to make new friends. One of those was a basketball teammate from the Washington, D.C. area, Dwayne Anderson. The two worked well on the court together in coach Jere Quinn's system and hit it off away from the gym too.
"Dwayne is one of my best friends," he says. "We spent a lot of time together that season and it's fun to be with him again at Villanova."
Anderson joined the Wildcats last fall while Pena remained at St. Thomas More to complete his prep career. The two communicated regularly but by that point Pena had already concluded that Villanova was the place for him as well.
"The coaching staff here really made an impression on me," he states. "They began recruiting me and were very loyal through the whole process. They didn't just tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. They were honest with me and that's something I always appreciated."
As the 2005-06 season played out, Pena stayed tuned in to the `Cats through his contact with Anderson and the staff.
"Dwayne and I talked all the time," he states. "He told me about the time demands you have in college and some of the challenges you face as a student-athlete."
Fate tossed an unexpected bonus into the mix as well for Pena. When Curtis Sumpter suffered his second knee injury on Oct. 19, 2005, forcing him to miss the season and return as a redshirt in 2006-07, it meant that Pena would get to play with a fellow Brooklyn native he had long admired.
"He was one of my favorite players to watch when I was younger and he was in high school (Bishop Loughlin)," says Pena. "Now I have a chance to play with him and learn from him. It's something I am really excited about."
Since the semester began last week, Pena has been acclimating himself to campus. He is paying close attention to upperclassmen Sumpter, Mike Nardi, and Will Sheridan and absorbing all he can during individual instruction sessions and open gym. Asked how he would describe his game to those who have yet to see him play in person, his answer is simple.
"I think of myself as a player," he says, "I just work hard to do whatever it takes to win."
No muss, no fuss.
Although the 2006-07 Wildcats may have five new faces - classmates Casiem Drummond, Andrew Ott, Reggie Redding and Scottie Reynolds are also new to the squad - the internal dynamics seem as solid as ever. The group remains close, as Pena has quickly discovered.
"We all get along and do things together," he says. "And that really helps as you come into a new situation."
Like all of his mates, Pena is peering ahead slightly.
"I'm definitely looking forward to the start of practice," he says.
On that date (Oct. 14), Pena can begin to show his coaching staff and the Nova Nation that he is no longer a tentative youth tagging along to watch his uncle's team play, but a newcomer with a chance to contribute in the Big East.
Or, put another way, that he is, in fact, very much a player.
