BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: VILLANOVA

April 29, 2010

Verbal Commitment Alert: Markus Kennedy, 6'9 PF/C of Living Faith Christian Academy (NJ)

Fresh off a Final Four appearance, the Villanov recruiting train keeps on rolling along with a verbal commitment from the class of 2010 in Markus Kennedy. Kennedy Makes Decision (ZagsBlog) after visiting with 'Nova head coach Jay Wright and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins in the last week.


Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

Seniors: Scottie Reynolds (G), Reggie Redding (G)
Juniors: Corey Stokes (G), Corey Fisher (PG), Antonio Pena (F)
Sophomores: Maurice Sutton (C/BF)*, Taylor King (WF)**
Freshmen: Maalik Wayns (PG), Isaiah Armwood (F), Mouphtau Yarou (C/BF), Dominic Cheek (SG)
2010 Commitments: James Bell (SG), Markus Kennedy (PF/C)

* Maurice Sutton is expected to redshirt in the 2008-2009 season which would place him as part of the 2009-2010 freshmen if that holds true.

** Taylor King is sitting out the 2008-2009 season as a transfer. He will have three years of eligibiity beginning with the 2009-2010 season.



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Villanov adds some beef with an early verbal commitment from the class of 2010 when Markus Kennedy pulled the trigger and selected the Wildcats over West Virginia last night. Kennedy, a 6'9, 250-lb BF/C who attended powerhouse St. Patrick's as a sophomore before transferring to Living Faith for his junior season. Kennedy has a big body that with a dedicated strength and conditioning program can turn into a monster on the blocks as he is already very skilled offensively. He can score in the post with a variety of moves and each time out he seems to be improving his ability to face-up and knock down shots away from the ball. Imrpoved conditioning will help him defensivly and on the boards. With Villanova looking to push the basketball, Kennedy will be forced to be in shape and help him reach his excellent potential.

Kennedy is already the second commit for 'Nova in the class of 2010. While Jay Wright and Villanova were in the process of closing a blockbuster class in 2009, they got a head start in the class of 2010 with the early verbal commitment from James Bell. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard, who attends the Monteverde Academy in Florida, chose Villanova over interest from Florida, Clemson, Miami and West Virginia, according to ZagsBlog.com.

Before playing at Monteverde, Bell played at the Arlington Country Day School where he averaged 13 points and 9 rebounds a contest. Bell has performed on the AAU circuit with the strong Team Stat program out of the sunshine state that also recently produced USF guard Dominique Jones. Bell is a native of New Jersey, which, along with 'Nova's excellent graduation rate under Jay Wright, played a key role in his decision. Bell is an athletic guard on the wing.

Jay Wright is now left with two open scholarships for the class of 2010 as the AAU season begins to heat up. Maryland wing Will Barton has been on the 'Nova radar for some time and the Wildcats are also looking closely at his younger brother, Antonio. It was expected that 'Nova would be seriously in the hunt for St. Patrick star guard Kyrie Irving, but the presence of Wayns entrenched as the future point guard has led Irving to look more at other schools. Delaware big man Malcolm Gilbert is on the radar as well.

The cherry on top of the highly touted 2009 recruiting class that could have the Wildcats as a favorite in the NCAA basketball betting pools come next March was delivered just prior to Christmas when Dominic Cheek chose the Wildcats. He joins Maalik Wayns (PG), Isaiah Armwood (F) and Mouphtau Yarou (C/BF) in a recruiting class that moves, not only to the top of the Big East classes for 2009, but at or near the very top of all the classes nationally for the class.

Cheek was highly coveted by programs across the land and had narrowed his choices to the Wildcats, Kansas, Memphis, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. In the end, the two teams that had separated themselves from the rest were his ling-time leader Villanova and the defending national champs, Kansas. In the end, the long, developed relationship that Cheek and the 'Nova staff have won out over the rest.

Cheek is a dynamic scorer with great range and under-appreciated athleticism. He has the size (6'5) to get his shot off over the majority of perimeter players in the college game. Coming from the powerful St. Anthony's program, Cheek is no stranger to tough competition and big games. He will be a great addition for the Wildcats in the Big East and his ability to knock down the three-ball will play very well in the system of Jay Wright.

In addition to the relationship with the VU staff, Cheek had also become very close to fellow 2009 'Nova commitment Maalik Wayns. Cheek and Wayns were teammates this summer on the USA National 18-U team and have become quick friends. Wayns is a typical tough Philly-bred point guard that handles and distributes the ball with the best of the class. He is not afraid to venture into the paint and will hit tough shots when needed. Expect to see Wayns and Cheek develop tremendous chemistry on the court with Wayns finding Cheek often for scores.

With Big East rivals such as Georgetown and Pitt also trying to woo Mouphtau Yarou to their programs, Jay Wright was the winner of the sweepstakes for the 6-foot-10, 250 pound African import late this summer

Just prior to Yarou's commitment, the NBE Basketball Report was lucky enough to talk with Anthony Lewis, the head man of the Cecil Kirk AAU program, who coached Yarou on the AAU circuit to close out the AAU season. Unlike many African imports, Lewis tells us that Yarou is quite advanced in his skill set and is more polished than one would expect, particularly in the paint. He is very agile and can stick the face-up jumper. Above all, Yarou is a "high quality kid," according to Lewis.

The NBE Basketball Report also viewed Yarou late in the summer at the Reebok Summer Classic East and the Nike Main Event where he backed up Lewis' descriptions of his play. His excellent athletic ability makes him an excellent shot blocker and intimidating presence in the paint as well as a very good rebounder. He also showed solid moves inside as well as the ability to hit the 15-foot jumper and the ability to finish strong.

Anthony Lewis also informed the NBE Basketball Report that is it most likely going to be Montrose Christian this year for Yarou. Previous, he was attending Massanutten (VA) Military Academy during his short time in the United States (only been here for six months or so, according to Lewis).

Earlier last summer, Jay Wright took another step to completing a huge class of 2009 as when forward Isaiah Armwood, who plays at the aforementioned Montrose Christian, committed to 'Nova. Armwood has long been considered Villanova's to lose and he made the call for the Wildcats.

Armwood is a 6'8, 195 lb combo forward who is an intriguing prospect because he has length and athletic ability that few 6'8 players in the class can bring. His skill set seems to be ready to explode with the ability to go beyond the arc and take a big forward to the perimeter. Against a smaller forward, Armwood can take them inside. He has the potential to remind Wildcat fans of Curtis Sumpter with the inside/out match-up problems he can cause opponents.

Armwood averaged about 13 points and 10 rebounds last season for Montrose Christian and coach Stu Vetter. He missed much of the 2nd half of the season with a sprained MCL in his knee. Prior to entering the Big East, he will have to add some weight and strength to battle in the Big East.

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From West Africa to the City of Brotherly Love

Mouphtau Yarou impresses at Primetime Shootout, next stop 'Nova


By Matt Whitfield

Villanova has perhaps the brightest outlook of any team in the Big East conference. Currently sitting at 11-4 this season with talented underclassmen such as Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher leading the charge of late, next year’s squad will add highly touted Duke transfer Taylor King as well as a recruiting class rated in everyone’s top five of incoming classes. It would not be a shock to many if Villanova didn’t make a serious tournament run next year.

Headlining the recruiting class is soft spoken, 6-9 big man from Montrose Christian in Mouphatau Yarou. Yarou, who does not play like your typical 6’9 player, recently came to the United States from Benin, West Africa. After his team’s victory over Shabazz in the 2009 Primetime Shootout, Yarou caught up with NBE and discussed the future and what it’s like for him now living in America.

Yarou committed to Jay Wright’s program and signed a letter of intent back in November, but that didn’t come without the nudging of Montrose teammate and fellow ‘Nova signee Isaiah Armwood, who influenced his decision to sign with the Philadelphia-area program. Yarou was said to have offers from other big time programs including Connecticut, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and St. John’s. In the end, however, Yarou choose Villanova because he felt it was the total package, mixing both good academics and basketball. Yarou says he’s hasn’t talked to his other fellow recruits except for his teammate; however, he says he has communicated with future teammates Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. Yarou, who has shown to be a tremendous rebounding machine, told NBE he feels he can bring more defense and rebounds to next year’s squad.

For all the hype and fanfare Yarou just arrived in the United States a little over a year ago in January of 2008. He is still adjusting telling NBE, “It’s really hard because everything is new for me. The language, because I speak French in my country, and the weather, the food, everything is different.”

While he enjoys American food saying his favorite dish is pasta and shrimp, he says the basketball couldn’t be any more different in the two countries. Yarou stated to NBE that, “here it is more physical,” and that, “[basketball] here is better than Africa.”

Despite being in the country for such a short period, Yarou speaks English fairly well and speaks the international language of basketball even better showing people he is not a timid big man on the court. Yarou, who led his team with 21 points, countless rebounds, and earned MVP honors in the win over Shabazz, told NBE he would like to be more comfortable on offense and improve his defense. For a player who calls Kevin Garnett his favorite NBA player, and is as tenacious as he is on the court, Yarou should hold his own next year, and eventually be a force to be reckoned with as he adjusts to the American game and grows into his large frame.

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: VILLANOVA

December 12, 2008

Verbal Commitment Alert: Dominic Cheek, 6'5 (SG) of St. Anthony's in Jersey City (NJ)


Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

Seniors: Scottie Reynolds (G), Reggie Redding (G)
Juniors: Corey Stokes (G), Corey Fisher (PG), Antonio Pena (F)
Sophomores: Maurice Sutton (C/BF)*, Taylor King (WF)**
Freshmen: Maalik Wayns (PG), Isaiah Armwood (F), Mouphtau Yarou (C/BF), Dominic Cheek (SG)
2010 Commitments: James Bell (SG)

* Maurice Sutton is expected to redshirt in the 2008-2009 season which would place him as part of the 2009-2010 freshmen if that holds true.

** Taylor King is sitting out the 2008-2009 season as a transfer. He will have three years of eligibiity beginning with the 2009-2010 season.

The recruiting saga of Dominic Cheek will officially come to a close this evening at 6 PM. However, one of the worst kept secrets has been let out of the bag publicly as ZagsBlog.com is reporting that Cheek is Headed to the Big East and will announce this evening for Villanova, multiple sources close to the situation have informed ZagsBlog.



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The cherry on top of the touted recruiting class assembled by Jay Wright that he coveted has been delivered as Dominic Cheek has chosen the Wildcats. He joins Maalik Wayns (PG), Isaiah Armwood (F) and Mouphtau Yarou (C/BF) in a recruiting class that moves, not only to the top of the Big East classes for 2009, but at or near the very top of all the classes nationally for the class.

Cheek was highly coveted by programs across the land and had narrowed his choices to the Wildcats, Kansas, Memphis, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. In the end, the two teams that had separated themselves from the rest were his ling-time leader Villanova and the defending national champs, Kansas. In the end, the long, developed relationship that Cheek and the 'Nova staff have won out over the rest.

Cheek is a dynamic scorer with great range and under-appreciated athleticism. He has the size (6'5) to get his shot off over the majority of perimeter players in the college game. Coming from the powerful St. Anthony's program, Cheek is no stranger to tough competition and big games. He will be a great addition for the Wildcats in the Big East and his ability to knock down the three-ball will play very well in the system of Jay Wright.

In addition to the relationship with the VU staff, Cheek had also become very close to fellow 2009 'Nova commitment Maalik Wayns. Cheek and Wayns were teammates this summer on the USA National 18-U team and have become quick friends. Wayns is a typical tough Philly-bred point guard that handles and distributes the ball with the best of the class. He is not afraid to venture into the paint and will hit tough shots when needed. Expect to see Wayns and Cheek develop tremendous chemistry on the court with Wayns finding Cheek often for scores.

With Big East rivals such as Georgetown and Pitt also trying to woo Mouphtau Yarou to their programs, Jay Wright was the winner of the sweepstakes for the 6-foot-10, 250 pound African import late this summer

Just prior to Yarou's commitment, the NBE Basketball Report was lucky enough to talk with Anthony Lewis, the head man of the Cecil Kirk AAU program, who coached Yarou on the AAU circuit to close out the AAU season. Unlike many African imports, Lewis tells us that Yarou is quite advanced in his skill set and is more polished than one would expect, particularly in the paint. He is very agile and can stick the face-up jumper. Above all, Yarou is a "high quality kid," according to Lewis.

The NBE Basketball Report also viewed Yarou late in the summer at the Reebok Summer Classic East and the Nike Main Event where he backed up Lewis' descriptions of his play. His excellent athletic ability makes him an excellent shot blocker and intimidating presence in the paint as well as a very good rebounder. He also showed solid moves inside as well as the ability to hit the 15-foot jumper and the ability to finish strong.

Anthony Lewis also informed the NBE Basketball Report that is it most likely going to be Montrose Christian this year for Yarou. Previous, he was attending Massanutten (VA) Military Academy during his short time in the United States (only been here for six months or so, according to Lewis).

Earlier this summer, Jay Wright took another step to completing a huge class of 2009 as when forward Isaiah Armwood, who plays at the aforementioned Montrose Christian, committed to 'Nova. Armwood has long been considered Villanova's to lose and he made the call for the Wildcats.

Armwood is a 6'8, 195 lb combo forward who is an intriguing prospect because he has length and athletic ability that few 6'8 players in the class can bring. His skill set seems to be ready to explode with the ability to go beyond the arc and take a big forward to the perimeter. Against a smaller forward, Armwood can take them inside. He has the potential to remind Wildcat fans of Curtis Sumpter with the inside/out match-up problems he can cause opponents.

Armwood averaged about 13 points and 10 rebounds last season for Montrose Christian and coach Stu Vetter. He missed much of the 2nd half of the season with a sprained MCL in his knee. Prior to entering the Big East, he will have to add some weight and strength to battle in the Big East.


While Jay Wright and Villanova were in the process of closing a blockbuster class in 2009, they got a head start in the class of 2010 with the early verbal commitment from James Bell. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard, who will attend Monteverde Academy in Florida this coming season, chose Villanova over Florida, Clemson, Miami and West Virginia, according to ZagsBlog.com.

Last year at the Arlington Country Day School, Bell averaged 13 points and 9 rebounds a contest and has performed on the AAU circuit with the strong Team Stat program out of the sunshine state that also recently produced USF guard Dominique Jones. Bell is a native of New Jersey, which, along with 'Nova's excellent graduation rate under Jay Wright, played a key role in his decision. Bell is an athletic guard on the wing.

Even with the loaded class of 2009 in the fold, the recent transfer of Casseim Drummond from the program has left Jay Wright with two scholarships to play with this spring. They also have two seniors on the 2009-2010 roster, and with the commitment of Bell, means three slots are also open for 2010 if they do not add anyone else for 2009. Expect Villanova to continue to be in the mix for more top players up and down the east coast. One thing is certain, Jay Wright has certainly increased the college basketball odds of his Wildcats breaking through and challenging for a Final Four in the near future with his recruiting efforts in the class of 2009. 'Nova fans will have a lot to cheer about very soon!

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JAMEER NELSON, KYLE LOWRY...MAALIK WAYNS?

by Matt Whitfield



Watching Maalik Wayns play is not like watching any ordinary high school basketball player. For all of 17 years old Wayns already has the size, toughness, and on on-court awareness to be a star point guard in college. Wayns is committed to Villanova and, according to Rivals.com, is the fourth best point guard and 25th best player overall in the class of 2009. High School recruiting guru Bob Gibbons said he believes Wayans can be as good as New Orleans Hornets PG Chris Paul and right now compares him to North Carolina’s outstanding PG Ty Lawson.

Wayns currently attends Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. The same school made famous by one-time Parade High School Basketball Player of the year Eddie Griffin. Griffin was a supremely talented, yet troubled, basketball player who sadly had his life and career cut short when he was killed in a car-train accident. When asked about playing in the Eddie Griffin Classic in honor of the former Roman Catholic Alum Wayns said,” I’m honored; he’s probably the greatest player ever to come out of Roman Catholic. I’ll do anything to honor my school [or] honor my city.” Wayns did indeed. Besides putting on a stellar performance in helping lead Team Philadelphia to the sweep, he showed his respect to Griffin by being the only hoopster to play in the event three years straight.

Besides being a top prospect, many recruiting analysts, as well a current and former NBA players, see Wayns as the next great PG to grace Philadelphia. As a top prep product Wayns had other offers to stay in Philadelphia with Temple, St. Joseph’s, and LaSalle. According to Wayns, who always planned on playing basketball in Philadelphia, he chose Villanova because of, “the family atmosphere of the program and the guard orientated program [which] was a right style of a fit for my type of game.”

Only time will tell if Maalik Wayns can follow the footsteps of Kyle Lowry or Jammer Nelson. For now, despite his basketball prowess, Wayns is still just another high school senior who enjoys watching Baron Davis and hanging out with his friends in his spare time. Next year is another story as Wayns will be vying for playing time at Villanova, a team that will be loaded again in the backcourt with Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Corey Stokes. Will Wayns play? No one knows for sure, but no one just gets crowned for nothing.

One ting is for certain, Bet On Villanova staying amongst the top of the Big East with backcourt talent like that year in and year out.

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ARMWOOD PRIMED FOR MONTROSE & VILLANOVA

By Ron Bailey

November 12, 2008 – Baltimore, aka Charm City, has long supplied talented basketball players to the Big East, with the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Donte Greene and Michael Lloyd (Syracuse); David Wingate, Reggie Williams, Kevin Braswell along with DaJuan Summers (Georgetown); plus Bootsy Thornton (St. John’s) and Kevin Norris (Miami when the school was in the conference) immediately coming to mind. The port city has been good to America’s premier hoops conference.

In 2009 another B’More baller enters the league, none other than 6-foot-8 forward Isaiah Armwood. A prototypical run and jump frontcourt man, Armwood, who weighs a svelte 185 pounds, is probably one of the best players in his class of filling fast break lanes and finishing, routinely putting it down on opponent’s heads.


That’s an ability he his displayed for years, and a skill that will make him one of the most exciting players to hit the Big East when he enrolls at Villanova next year. For the record, the Wildcats bested other league schools Louisville and Syracuse, along with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s University of Maryland for his services.

To his credit, Isaiah is not content with simply relying on his high flying antics, as he recognizes what he needs to improve upon: strength, ball handling, and perimeter shooting. Those factors will certainly increase his college basketball odds of contributing early for the Wildcats.

“We do a lot of things in terms of working on our skills” at Montrose Christian School (MD), where Isaiah stars, revealed the Charm City product. “I’ve been doing ball handling and shooting drills, plus lifting weights. My handling and my shooting have improved.”

“I think he’s going to have an excellent season this year,” said Montrose’s coach, Stu Vetter, of his expectation for Armwood’s final campaign. “We’re going to play him inside and outside”: This includes having Isaiah face up from three point land and at times giving several dribbles before pulling up, as well as operating on his beloved baseline. Expect Armwood, who has recovered from a springtime knee injury to continue rebounding and blocking shots. Of course running the floor is a foundation of his game.

Going forward playing inside and out will be good for Isaiah and Villanova, a place he deemed “a great fit for me”, one allowing him to “play both forward positions.” Based upon his continued work, Armwood also believes “I have a good chance at starting my freshman year.”

Could Armwood be the next Baltimore standout to do damage in the Big East? If he continues to improve upon his weak points frankly yes. It’s all up to him, and based upon this preseason, Isaiah is pointed in that direction.


Ron Bailey is the Publisher of i95ballerz.com and frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report.

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VILLANOVA NEWS & NOTES

September 30, 2008



Jay Wright had an opening on his staff since associate head coach Brett Gunning accepted a job on the Houston Rockets’ staff. Wright Completes Villanova Staff (Philly Daily News) by promoting Pat Chambers to associate head coach, Jason Donnelly to assistant coach, Keith Urgo to manager of basketball operations and hires Kyle Neptune as video coordinator.

Jay Wright has been working on the class of 2009 for some time and his efforts have been paying off with an elite trio of verbal commitments from Maalik Wayns, Isaiah Armwood and Mouphtau Yarou. Wright is now looking to cap off the class with a bang and Dominic Cheek and Terrell Vinson are two of the possibilities for their two open scholarships which will greatly increase the College Basketball Odds of the Wildcats advancing deep into the postseason in the future.


Villanova had an in-home visit with Cheek on September 23rd and he will visit the campus on an official visit this fall. He has already made an unofficial visit to Villanova back in August (among other previous trips to the Main Line).

The recent increase in highly recruited players choosing schools outside the traditional high-major conferences has sparked a lot of conversation recently. Several Big East schools felt the punch when Aaric Murray recently spurned offers and serious interest from schools such as West Virginia, Villanova, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and others and choose LaSalle of the Atlantic 10. Although many are shaking their heads, Aaric Murray’s Decision Makes Sense (Philadelphia Inquirer) to the one person it matters to the most, Aaric Murray.

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VILLANOVA 2007-2008 SNAPSHOT

May 11, 2007


Head Coach: Jay Wright
2006-2007 Record: 22-11 (9-7 Big East) NCAA 1st Round


Returning Players:
Shane Clark, Junior (Forward)
Dwayne Anderson, Junior (Guard/Forward)
Dante Cunningham, Junior (Forward)
Frank Tchuisi, Junior (Forward/Center)
Scottie Reynolds, Sophomore (Guard)
Reggie Redding, Sophomore (Guard)
Casseim Drummon, Sophomore (Center)
Antonio Pena, Freshman (Forward)
Andrew Ott, Freshman (Center)

Incoming Players:
Corey Stokes (Guard)
Corey Fisher (Point Guard)
Malcolm Grant (Guard)

Transferred Out:
Bilal Benn

Graduated Players:
Curtis Sumpter (Forward)
Mike Nardi (Guard)
Will Sheridan (Forward)

Open Items/Issues:
It has been a quiet spring at Villanova. There was less than a week's worth of suspense in the Scottie Reynolds/NBA story. Reynolds made it clear quickly he would return for his sophomore season. The only other news has surface that seldom-used guard Bilal Benn has decided to transfer to Niagara for his final two seasons of eligibility.


Summary:
By his own admission, Jay Wright expects the 2007-2008 season to be a 'transition' year for Villanova. Don't feel too sorry for the Wildcat coach who returns the 2006-2007 Big East Freshman of the Year, Scottie Reynolds, and welcomes a couple high school All-Americans in Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes to the Main Line campus in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats will be a bit young next season as they are without a senior on their roster and will have to replace three long-time starters in Mike Nardi, Curtis Sumpter and Will Sheridan. The trio supplied nearly half of the Wildcats scoring output last season. Only Syracuse, DePaul, St. John's and South Florida were impacted more by graduation in terms of last season's scoring output. Obviously, we know Scottie Reynolds can score, but nobody else on the roster has shown the ability to be a consistent scoring threat, which is likely to put a lot of offensive expectations on the incoming freshman. Shane Clark has some scoring tools and redshirt freshman Antonio Pena is another combo forward (Villanova is a team full of combo forwards and guards, it seems) that could be a new source of offense and he could evolve in a Sumpter-type player.

The other area we will question Villanova on is their post defense and rebounding. Dante Cunningham is one player whi will embrace both roles, yet he is far from a true post-player. Casseim Drummond did not play a lot as a freshman, but showed some promise in the pain and if he can show a lot of improvement as a sophomore that would be a huge lift to Villanova's ability to match up with more teams in the conference.

Sophomores Scottie Reynolds and Reggie Redding will team with freshmen Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Malcolm Grant to give Villanova a deep and exciting backcourt. Their youth will cause some ups and downs, but they will have a three guard line-up that will match-up with anyone's in the conference and don't count out the occassion 4-guard look either. Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham are now juniors, so they will be asked to become leaders on this team and much is expected of Antonio Pena in the future. With 12 scholarship players, none of them seniors, it might be a little while before Jay Wright is able to add some post help, so this Villanova team is going to go as far as their young guards can take them. Connecticut showed last year that it can be a dicey situation depending on so many younger players, so hopefully a couple juniors will step-up for the Wildcats next season.

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