PROGRAM PROFILE

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY WILDCATS

2005-2006 Team Roster from Official Team Site: ROSTER.

The Villanova Coaching Staff: VU Staff.

Home Court: The Pavilion: On-Campus Home. Villanova also plays many home Big East games at the Wachovia Center.

OVERVIEW: This is what everyone around the Villanova program has been waiting for since Jay Wright took over for Steve Lappas after the conclusion of the 2000-2001 season. The 43 year old Wright came to Villanova after taking Hofstra to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001 and led Villanova back to the NCAA tournament in his 4th season with a 24-8 record. The season ended in the Sweet 16 with a close lose to the eventual national champion North Carolina. After three straight NIT appearances, the 2004-2005 season was a definite breakthrough year for Wright and his Villanova program.
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With the success of last season, expectations are now running very high along the Main Line of Philadelphia. The Wildcats return everyone from their successful 2004-2005 club and welcome 4 new recruits to give Coach Wright a full compliment of players to choose from. One of the problems in Wright’s first three seasons were a lack of depth and injuries. The injury bug remained last year as Kyle Lowry, Mike Nardi, Jason Fraser and Curtis Sumpter all missed games because of injury and the concern for this year will be on the health of both Fraser and Sumpter once again as they are very big keys to how much success this consensus top 10 preseason team will achieve.

IT’S A GUARDS GAME: As much as we will key on their front line, it is the backcourt that makes this team go and when Sumpter went down in the NCAA tournament, Coach Wright turned to a 4-guard line-up and it very nearly pulled off a shocker against North Carolina. These guards will again be the engine that makes the Wildcats go and they really do look a lot like the Illinois team that got to last year’s championship final and they could even be better if Sumpter and Fraser can be close to 100% for an entire season. College basketball has definitely evolved into a guard’s game and nobody will have as talented of a group to choose from as Jay Wright with Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry, Allan Ray and Randy Foye. Ray, Foye, Sumpter and Fraser were all part of Wright’s heralded first recruiting class to Villanova and the expectations for their final season have been building higher and higher since the mid-point of last season and are ready to explode.

RETURNEES: As I said, they return EVERYONE! Even Marcus Austin is returning as a graduate student to be part of what is expected to be THE year at Villanova. The most often used starting line-up last season was Mike Nardi at the PG, Allan Ray and Randy Foye at the wings and Curtis Sumpter and Will Sheridan in the frontcourt. Jason Fraser was used in a reserve role to limit the stress on his knees and was able to finish 2nd in the Big East in blocked shots. He also had a 25 pt 13 rebound game against Providence and came up huge against Florida in the NCAA 2nd round tournament game with 21 points and 15 rebounds. IF he can stay healthy (Fraser has undergone 7 surgeries in 30 months), the Wildcats have a luxury that few teams will have and with their backcourt pressure defense in the half court, having that presence in the frontcourt to block shots and snap outlet passes to the guards plays perfectly into their style. Another player coming off the bench that could start for nearly anyone else is Kyle Lowry. Lowry is a Philadelphia native that missed much of the early season workouts due to a knee injury that many thought could keep him out for the season. Lowry displayed that toughness and added instant energy when inserted to the game and played without any fear, a tremendous trait for a freshmen. Lowry had his national coming out part against North Carolina with 18 pts and 7 rebounds. Is a perfect compliment to the other three Nova guards. Nardi, Ray and Foye are each very deadly 3-pt shooters and thrive in a 3-guard set. Each is able to put the ball on the floor with a dribble drive that draws help defense and can pass back out to another guard for an open 3-pt shot and they each can bury them with great accuracy. Ray and Foye are high-level all-league players and Nardi is a solid ball handler. Curtis Sumpter and Will Sheridan round out the starting five for the Wildcats. Sumpter is a tough match-up for most forwards in the Big East with his ability to play inside and outside. When he is hitting from the perimeter he is nearly impossible to guard for most big forwards in the Big East because he can put the ball on the floor and go past you. He teams with Sheridan inside who provides a defense presence that showed improvements offensively throughout the season last year. Marcus Austin is a skilled power forward that provides some depth and Chris Charles is a seldom used 7-footer that also provides depth up front.

INCOMING: Coach Wright has always been known as a very good recruiter and he brings in a very solid group of four newcomers into the mix. The most anticipated newcomer is probably Dante Cunningham who was the Metro Player of the Year in DC last year and is a 6’7 combo-forward that could be the perfect back-up to Curtis Sumpter. Dwayne Anderson is a 6’6 swingman that adds another element of shooting to the deadly arsenal of 3-pt shooters the Wildcats have in their stable and Bilal Benn is a big guard that can add some defense and ball handling to the mix. Benn and Kyle Lowry played high school basketball together in Philadelphia. Another prep school player that joins the Wildcats is 6’9 Frank Tchuisi from St Benedict’s of New Jersey. Each of these 4 players will be expected to add depth in the program and should see some action during the season, but with the amount of talent returning, it is a good year to get their feet wet.



LOSSES: Everyone is back and ready to enjoy the ride!

SCHEDULE: Villanova is a team in demand and people want to see them against the top of the Big East and that has led them to one of the league’s toughest slates. They have one of the top 4 schedules in the conference as they mirror Connecticut, Louisville and Syracuse. They do not play Pittsburgh or Providence this season. They also have to travel to Cincinnati and Notre Dame and they host West Virginia and Georgetown among the other contenders. This schedule will have them ready for the challenges that will lie ahead in the NCAA tournament and Villanova has the depth to make it through in fine fashion.

OUTLOOK: It is probably unfair to pin a Final Four or Bust label on any team and there are so many potential pitfalls a team could face, but, after seeing Illinois go wire to wire as a final four contender, you have to like the chances for Villanova to be something similar in 2005-2006. They have the guards and now they have depth at guard. With Sumpter and Fraser upfront and players like Sheridan and the freshmen Cunningham, they also have enough front court depth top get by. This is a team with their ability to defend on the perimeter that will be very tough come tournament time and if they can get through the season healthy, should be right in the thick of things come March. A top 2 Big East team and Final Four contender is definitely what we are looking at.