Oct. 17, 2008
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears weekly during the fall into the basketball season and periodically from May through August. In this week's installment, we visit with walk-on Russell Wooten, who was officially added to the roster this week.
From his earliest days, Russell Wooten understood that playing basketball wasn't always about getting shots or minutes. His father Wayne Wooten had played four seasons of varsity basketball at Northern Kentucky University and one of the earliest lessons the younger Wooten remembers picking up from his father was a dedication to the total team that went beyond the stat line.
"He was 6-4 and actually played center in college," notes the younger Wooten. "It was Division II but he was still undersized. It didn't stop him from competing, though, and that's something I took from him."
That trait - and a good measure of patience - helped Wooten earn a place on the Villanova men's basketball squad this week. In his third year at Villanova, Wooten will wear No. 23 when the Wildcats suit up for their exhibition opener on Nov. 6 against legendary `Cat coach Rollie Massimino and Northwood at the Wachovia Spectrum at 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 6.
"It's very exciting," he says. "Now it's my responsibility to be ready and do all I can to help this team, on and off the court."
Clearly, Wooten has earned a place on the official roster - he's quietly been a dedicated and steady presence around the program for two years. One of his gifs is a maturity that goes well beyond his 20 years. Even as his parents wondered when he might get his opportunity to don the blue and white, Russell Wooten continued to emphasize that he was willing to help in whatever role was available.
"I was the one talking to my parents about being patient," he says with a smile.
So what are that particulars of the Russell Wooten story?
Wooten was born in San Diego and makes his home in nearby Chula Vista, Cal. As a high school player he helped St. Augustine win 59 of the 64 games it played in his junior and senior seasons. And there is no small measure of irony in the fact that, like his father, he was an undersized center.
Fortunately, his father's lessons remained fresh in his mind.
"One of the things he always emphasized was developing all of your fundamentals," recalls the younger Wooten. "Even if you weren't a big guy, he thought you should work on your post moves. I was undersized in high school so that's where my Dad's lessons came in handy.
"We played good defense so that allowed me to be tough, rebound and kick out to our guys on the fast break. I enjoyed it when we would fast break and just wear our opponents out. That's my kind of style."
Despite the success, Wooten was realistic in assessing his future. While he loved the game, he understood the likelihood was that there would be no Division I scholarship offers waiting for him.
"Because of my role in high school, I wasn't' going to get an athletic scholarship," he explains. "I wanted to make sure I went to a good academic school while keeping basketball in the back of my mind. It had to be a good academic school and then if I had the chance to walk on or help the team in any way, I would like to do that."
During a trip with St. Augustine's to play in Malvern, Pa., he was introduced to Villanova. When he returned home, he began paying close attention to the Wildcats. The notion of travelling far from home was appealing in its own way and the more he watched, the more he liked the idea of coming to the Main Line for college.
"I started reading about Jay Wright and watching his team on TV," he says. "I liked the way he kept his composure on the sidelines and he was always dressed nice."
Wooten fired off a polite email to Wright as well as a handful of other college head coaches whose universities seemed like good fits to him. Only one responded.
"Coach was the only one who emailed back," he says.
No promises were made other than to stay in touch. Wooten wasn't looking for basketball assurances, though. Education was the issue and he decided to enroll at Villanova.
"I wanted to go away from home to be more self-sufficient," he says. "Villanova is a great academic school. Worst case, I walk out of here with a good degree even if I never play basketball."
When he arrived in the fall of 2006 he made contact with current associate head coach Patrick Chambers. Within a matter of weeks, he met assistant coach Jason Donnelly in Nevin Field House and the two struck up a conversation. Wooten began playing pickup basketball with the Wildcats and frequently would watch practice and then shoot jumpers by himself afterwards. He came to know the players and coaches and all around the program were struck by his sincerity and attitude - often the last person to wish the `Cats good luck before they pulled out of the Pavilion parking lot for a road trip was Wooten.
Never was there a sense that Wooten felt he was owed something.
"The guys were great," he says of his teammates. "They always made me feel welcome."
Although he easily could have boarded an airplane for a visit to Southern California once the spring semester concluded in May, he enrolled instead in summer school classes and played pickup ball every day with the Wildcats. By the time the fall rolled around, the coaching staff was eager to add his selfless energy to the daily practice menu.
Wooten is fully cognizant of his role on a Wildcat unit that returns all of its major pieces from the group that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last March. The chances are good that any hoop rewards will come at practice.
"My responsibilities are to know what's going on with everything we do at practice," he says. "I want to help my teammates with anything I can, on or off the court. And I want to be the best player I can be. Even though I'm not playing, I need to have the mentality that I'll be ready if a chance does come. I have to keep working.
"I flew all the way out here from California and I don't want to waste any time lying around. The fact I am walking on to this team is a gracious gift on their part. It's not something I deserve. It's not something I should rightfully have."
Those words seem to indicate that Villanova's emphasis on attitude haven't been lost on the newest Wildcat.
