Oct. 31, 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 catch up with junior guard Reggie Redding as the month of November and the start of the new basketball season draws near.
The hour is near 10:15 a.m. but already it has been a hectic morning for Philadelphia native Reggie Redding. He left his campus apartment a little before 6:30 a.m. so that he could make his way to the Davis Center locker room and then into the Pavilion for a 7 a.m. practice session. After a practice of a shade under two hours followed by a quick bite of breakfast, Redding sat waiting patiently for his turn before the camera in a shoot for the upcoming season of the "Inside Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright" television show.
As he watched Frank Tchuisi take his turn in front of the camera - all 14 Wildcats were filmed - Redding took a few moments to talk about his first two seasons at Villanova.
"I'm definitely more comfortable in this system than I've ever been," he says. "There's no comparison between this and where I was in my freshman year."
It doesn't seem all that long ago that Redding was one of the Wildcats' new faces who entered Villanova just as the group that delivered a Final Eight appearance to the Main Line in 2006 departed. Though his class' profile did not match the one it stepped into - the class of Randy Foye, Jason Fraser, Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter was perhaps the most touted in school history to that point - it arrived with credentials of its own.
As a local product, Redding seemed a perfect fit for Villanova. He was an accomplished scorer playing for coach Speedy Morris at St. Joseph's Prep with 1,568 career points and brought with him the kind of basketball instincts that all good programs require. When he dropped in a bushel of points in a pre-season scrimmage that was open to the public, it seemed his transition to college basketball might be instantaneous.
At the time, Redding probably thought that prospect a very real one. In retrospect, though, he now acknowledges that he faced a steep learning curve.
Like most freshmen, Redding fretted about items like points. The emphasis here, however, was on playing hard at all times and defense. It took some time before Redding adapted to the demands of his new program.
"When you're in high school your team needs you to score, so you probably pay more attention to that," he says. "It's different at this level. Every player is as big and strong as you are. You have to play hard every possession and defend or you're going to have a tough time."
Through the first half of his freshman season, Redding saw only limited action. Then, on Jan. 17, he entered the rotation in a 102-87 win. There was no burst of points but Redding's savvy, defensive tenacity and intangibles helped the `Cats kick start a BIG EAST season that had begun with a 1-3 start. He would remain in the rotation for the balance of the campaign, even earning the starting assignment in the NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky in place of Mike Nardi, who was nursing an injury.
That foreshadowed what was to come in 2007-08. Redding enjoyed some productive scoring games during the early stages of the season, particularly as Villanova picked up important triumphs over Central Florida (14 points) and George Mason (11 points) in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., over the Thanksgiving weekend. But mostly he filled the role of a versatile handyman, contributing in areas that weren't always noticed in the boxscore.
Perhaps the most measurable number reflecting Redding's value is the fact he started 18 games over the course of the 2007-08 campaign.
At season's end, he sat down with head coach Jay Wright and the two talked about where Redding could improve his game moving forward.
"The biggest thing I took from that meeting was the confidence Coach has in me," he stated. "I wouldn't say I played up to my potential in my first two years. Hopefully, the experience I have gained will help me become the best player I can be."
Redding's minutes - 722 last year, an average of 20.6 per game - underscore the trust the coaching staff has in his skills. Another important number to take into consideration is his assist to turnover ratio. With 59 assists and 32 turnovers, it was among the best of all Wildcat regulars.
Another plus is his work ethic. Redding was a daily presence at the Davis Center, often working with out fellow Philadelphia Shane Clark over the course of the summer. The two took turns rebounding as the other lofted jump shot after jump shot.
Now, like the rest of his teammates, Redding feels ready to resume the journey that ended last March 28 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Detroit's Ford Field.
"I think we're all excited to get going," says Redding with an eye towards next week's exhibition game against Northwood on Thursday at the Wachovia Spectrum (7:00 p.m.). "It's tough in these first few weeks of pre-season. We're kind of beating on one another all the time. It will be nice to play other guys and become one team again."
