2008 Villanova Wild Cats Preview

October 25, 2008

Head coach Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats finished the 2007-2008 season with 20-12 overall record and an even 9-9 record against fellow Big East Conference opponents. 

The Big East, arguably the best conference in the country, usually gets the most at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament out of all the Division I conferences. 

Villanova was a beneficiary of that last season as they were the eighth and final team in the Big East Conference to get an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.  Awarded with a number-12 seed, the Wildcats took advantage of their berth to the “Big Dance” with an upset victory of the number-five seeded Clemson Tigers in the first round and then a second-round win over the upset-minded number-13 seed Siena.  In the Sweet 16 round, the Wildcats finally fell to eventual national champion, Kansas.

So coming off a Sweet 16 trip in the NCAA Tournament and the return of all of Villanova’s key players, there is a lot of optimism surrounding Jay Wright’s squad.

Leading the way for the Wildcats once again this season is guard Scottie Reynolds, who is coming off a season in which he averaged 15.9 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest.  Reynolds is capable of scoring 20 or 30 points on any given night with his great shooting and slashing abilities.  So he will be a big factor in determining Villanova’s success this season.

Joining Reynolds in the backcourt will be sophomore guard Corey Fisher.  Last season, Fisher averaged 9.1 points-per-game and 2.7 assists-per-game and he will be counted on to support Reynolds this season.  Another guard that will be looked upon to contribute is sophomore Corey Stokes.  As it got deeper into the 2007-2008 season, Stokes began blossoming into a big three-point threat. His breakout game came against nationally-ranked Connecticut, when he scored 18 points off the bench, including four three-pointers.  Overall, Stokes averaged 6.4 points-per-game on only 18 minutes per game, but his increasingly improved play last year will certainly increase his role on this Villanova team this year.

Junior guard Reggie Redding, who started 18 games last year as a sophomore, will also be expected to contribute in the backcourt this season.  In the 2007-2008 campaign, Redding averaged 4.6 points-per-game in just over 20 minutes per game.

Up front, the Wildcats bring back second-leading scorer, forward Dante Cunningham.  In addition to his 10.4 points-per-game average, Cunningham led the team in rebounding with 6.5 boards-per-game.  Also returning is 6’7” forward Shane Clark, who can play down low as well as away from the basket.  Last year, Clark averaged 7.1 points-per-game and 4.3 rebounds-per-game.

Coach Wright also will depend on forwards Dwayne Anderson and Antonio Pena to provide frontcourt help.  Last season, Anderson averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds-per-game while Pena averaged 6.9 points and 4.3 rebounds-per-contest.

Coach Wright made only one significant addition to this Villanova Wildcats squad this year with 6’11” freshman center Maurice Sutton.  At Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Sutton averaged 18 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots-per-game as a senior.

The Wildcats’ 2008-2009 non-conference schedule includes games against the four other Big 5 teams in Philadelphia with games at Penn and La Salle and home games against Temple and Saint Joseph’s.  In addition, Villanova is participating in the “Jimmy V Classic” in early December and will take on Big-12 Conference powerhouse, Texas, who has been placed in the Top 10 in many pre-season rankings.

Playing in the Big East provides plenty of competition for Jay Wright’s Wildcats.  Teams like Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Marquette are all expected to be nationally-ranked during the 2008-2009 season.  Villanova is also on that list of Big East squads with high expectations, but they will need to play up to their potential and get contributions from many different players in order to compete with these other great programs.