As part of the 100^th season of Villanova Basketball (#NovaMBB100), the Nova Notebook this season will occasionally check in with Wildcats legends.
 
After nearly 30 minutes of conversation reminiscing about a connection to Villanova that dates back nearly 60 years, Bernie Schaffer is asked about his life today, 53 years after graduation from college.
 
"I tell people all the time," he says, five years removed from a successful career in financial management. "If you have your health, retirement is grossly underrated."
 
 All these years after earning his Villanova degree, Schaffer is still closely connected to the Wildcats. After earning an undergraduate degree in 1966, Schaffer served three years in the Army during the Vietnam War and then settled in the Delaware Valley, where he has remained in the years since. That's allowed him to keep close tabs on a program he began following not long after his family relocated to the area in the late 1950s.
 
 "Villanova means so much to me," he says, "because it did so much for me."
 
Growing up in Western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, Schaffer's early sports focus was on baseball. He was introduced to the hardwood game at St. Gabriel's in the eighth grade but opportunities for growth were limited – the school didn't have its own gym, so games and practices were scheduled irregularly.
 
In 1958, Schaffer's family relocated to the Philadelphia area. He enrolled at Haverford Junior High School as a ninth grader, where the coach was Ray Edelman, who would go on to become a top aide to Dick Harter at Penn, Oregon and Penn State.
 
 "He was regarded as one of the best X and O coaches in the business," recalls Schaffer. "I was pretty athletic but raw. He worked me hard though, and I got better."
 
A pair of broken ankles – one left, one right – limited Schaffer's basketball development as he moved through Haverford High School. When it came time to consider colleges, the 6-5 forward had one interested school – Lafayette.
 
 "My coach, Steve Junger, had played at Temple and was a great high school coach," states Schaffer. "He asked me where I wanted to go to college. I told him Villanova or Temple. He called (Villanova coach) Jack Kraft and (Temple coach) Harry Litwack for me. Coach Kraft offered me a scholarship without ever having seen me play."
 
When Schaffer made the short trek from his Bryn Mawr home to campus, he found in the Field House a squad teeming with talent. In Kraft's first season as head coach (1961-62), the Wildcats had won 21 games behind the play of senior forward Hubie White.
 
 "Hubie White might be my favorite Villanova player to watch of all time," says Schaffer with the conviction of one who has watched every modern Wildcats star. "He was electrifying."
 
 The cupboard behind White was hardly bare. While Schaffer and classmates Bill Melchionni and Richie Moore played freshman basketball, the Wildcats featured a lineup that included the likes of Wali Jones, Jim Washington, and George Leftwich.
 
When his varsity career began in 1963-64, Kraft found Schaffer's size and knack for rebounding a valuable asset.
 
 "We basically played three out, two in," recalls Schaffer. "I often found myself alongside Wash as one of the two forwards. Our guards were Wali, George and Billy Melchionni and Richie Moore. I was surrounded by phenomenal players."
 
 His debut came in a game at Princeton. He entered as the first substitute with a simple task – to guard All-American Bill Bradley.
 
 "That was quite an introduction to college basketball," he says of a game Villanova won 72-59.
 
 In fact, the Wildcats won often during the next three seasons, to the tune of a 65-20 mark. Villanova was a consensus Top 10 team in Schaffer's sophomore and junior campaigns. Yet those 'Cats played just three NCAA Tournament games – all in 1964, when Villanova was eliminated by Duke in its second game of the tourney before downing Princeton in the consolation round.
 
But if ever an era needed an asterisk attached to it, this is the one.
 
 The 1964-65 edition, led by Washington and Melchionni, posted a 23-5 record and was ranked in the Top 10 throughout the campaign. It received an NCAA Tournament invitation but declined, instead accepting an offer from the National Invitation Tournament. It's a move that seems unfathomable today but at the time was perfectly reasonable. In fact, Marquette would make a similar decision a few years later.
 
Schaffer shed some light on the rationale.
 
 "The NCAA Tournament only took 24 teams at that time and the NIT was still very prestigious," he recalls. "The NCAA wanted to send us to the Midwest instead of keeping us in the East, which was unheard of then. We would have been playing a powerhouse on its home court.
 
"(Athletic Director) Art Mahan and Jack looked at that and thought the NIT looked like a better choice. We would be the No. 1 seed and a lot more of our fans would get to see us in New York City than they would if we went west."
 
The move nearly produced the Wildcats' first NIT crown (that would have to wait until 1994). The Wildcats reached the final against St. John's, a team it had defeated 52-43 in February at the Field House. But with Melchionni battling a flu virus and unable to carry his usual heavy load, St. John's prevailed 55-51.
 
"Billy was a scoring machine for us," Schaffer says. "If Billy hadn't gotten the flu, we felt things would have been different."
 
Entering their senior year (1965-66) Schaffer and Melchionni were in a spot much like the one Phil Booth and Eric Paschall found themselves in during 2018-19. They were the two experienced hands hoping to help bridge the gap between eras of Villanova Basketball.
 
The Wildcats began the year winning just five of 14 contests as the group searched to forge an identity with just two starters back. Yet they persevered. A 70-69 win at Memphis State marked a turning point. Villanova finished the season on a 13-2 burst, earning another NIT bid in the process. A measure of redemption was earned in the opening round at the old Madison Square Garden with a 63-61 win over St. John's. The Wildcats would finish third in the '66 event with Melchionni earning Most Valuable Player honors.
 
"That was such a rewarding season," he says. "We had a hard time early, but we just kept improving."
 
The less experienced players they helped guide – Pete Coleman, Joe Crews, and Frank Gillen - would ultimately help usher in a fresh chapter of success under Kraft that included such standouts as Johnny Jones, Fran O'Hanlon and Howard Porter.
 
Schaffer has helped keep an eye on that bridge even while raising a family and building his own career in the decades since. He's a popular regular at the program's alumni events and can often be found chatting with former mates Coleman, Melchionni and Joe Turk.
 
During the basketball season, you'll usually find him in his seats at the Finneran Pavilion and Wells Fargo Center, keeping close tabs on this generation of 'Cats. He's already got plans to be in Columbus when the Wildcats meet Ohio State on Nov. 13.
 
"I'm really looking forward to watching these young guys develop," he says of 2019-20.
 
As it should be.
 
After all, he's one of the many talented athletes who helped construct the platform today's Wildcats now stand on.