Villanova basketball is looking very up this year. Not that it’s ever been really down lately. When they grab at at large NCAA Tourament berth this year, it will be their ninth in the last ten years. Nova could very likely be a #1 seed as they’re favorites to win the Big East, and they have an RPI of 4. There was very poor attendance tonight to see the #6 team in college basketball, your Villanova Wildcats, to see them demolish DePaul 87-62.
But that’s a reflection of DePaul, not Villanova basketball.
This Villanova basketball team could very easily shoot their way into the national title game. Then again Villanova could just as easily be a 2nd round out if they’re cold. This unit is small, going three guards in their starting lineup, and often playing a swingman at the four. Essentially, that means they’re running four guards at a time out there, which gives them a a lot of great ball-handling, but also makes them extremely 3-ball dependent.
They’re extremely fun and exciting to watch, but here’s the oddity about this group.
Villanova has no true future NBA talent. Not in 2014 or 2015, and forecasting beyond that is nearly impossible. Yet there were three NBA scouts here at DePaul tonight taking in the game. Nova is looking like a Final Four team despite the fact that they have zero potential NBA Draft picks. Leading scorers James Bell and JayVaughn Pinkston are priority free agents at best. We know the scouts weren’t there to see anyone on DePaul. Even if Cleveland Melvin were still with the team, he’s not going to be drafted.
Villanova’s success comes from great ball movement. They’re very reminiscent of the 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini: guard centric, guard heavy, great passers, and they beat you by moving it around in their half-court set and freeing open the shooter.
“I think it came from making extra passes,” said Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright explaining his team’s success tonight. “We passed up good shots and got great shots and that’s something the good teams do. We’re getting better at it and we did it really well tonight.”
Very reminiscent of the Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head Illinois Fighting Illini.
“When a team gets down and they have to press you a little bit, it makes it easier to open the floor like that and make extra passes,” Wright continued.
“They made the extra and then sometimes the next extra pass to make a wide open three, and they knocked ’em down, the only chance you have is if they miss them,” said DePaul Coach Oliver Purnell.
“They get so many wide open looks because of their unselfishness.”
Jay Wright led Villanova basketball to the Final Four in 2009. He’s also brought the program to four sweet sixteens. A lot of people will be putting Villanova basketball down in their bracket.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)