Kick back and enjoy this old gem I extricated from the depths of the VUSports archives:
I had the good fortune to attend the last of the Wildcat's pre-Italian Trip practices this morning at the Jake Nevin Fieldhouse (AKA the JakeDome). Strolling in at 9:30, I caught the tail-end of some running/defense drills and was thinking "yikes ... 1.5 hours of drills and I'll be going nuts".
Luckily, things quickly moved to some full court and some half court work featuring "game situation" scrimmages with the current Wildcat squad facing Villanova all-timers Doug West, Alvin Williams and Jay Lawson as well as Jonathan Haynes, James Bryson, Johnny Holley and B.J. Johnson (B.J. will play on this year's team as well).
Incoming Freshmen Chris Charles (who will wear #15) and Marcus Austin (#44) were in attendance but unable to participate.
The first thing that stands out at a Jay Wright practice is the intensity level - suffice it to say the intensity at Jay's practices "go up to 11".
Random Good Signs:
- Jay Wright pays great attention to detail - he maintains the same level of intensity that he demands from his players. After two trips down the floor he would often stop the action and proceed to tell 3 or 4 players specific things they were doing wrong, what the impact was and how and why it needed to be corrected.
- Andreas Bloch is being asked to practice at both the 3 and the 4 spot ... when Andreas was out of position offensively, Jay advised him where he was supposed to be and why, respectfully told Andreas that the team couldn't afford to stop practices to instruct him on where he should be and then added that learning both the 3 and the 4 would allow Andreas to play more minutes. It was a well spent minute of instruction - the exchange was respectful, the message hit home and it was obvious Jay wasn't trying to embarrass anyone.
- Ricky Wright hustles incredibly in practice ... after missing a shot, Wright sulked briefly and then got back in the flow of play ... Jay stopped the proceedings and huddled the squad together (including the former Cats). He started the conversation with "Ricky you are working your ass off out there, working your ass off" - then Jay questioned why any of the players had a reason to sulk after missing a shot. Cleverly, he pointed out to the guys that "everyone wants to be in your shoes - even Doug West and Alvin Williams want to (be in your shoes) - you have no worries no responsibilities in life". He showed the players the Villanova on the jersey, mentioned the pride it represents and basically said you have no reason to sulk and not sprint back into the play - missed shots are part of the game - slumping over and sulking doesn't put you in a position to do anything but get beat on the next play.
- Jay himself wiped sweat off the floor - and there was plenty of it with guys taking charges, Derrick Snowden diving and sliding 10 feet to save loose balls, and the former Cats playing with defensive intensity.
- Reggie Bryant missed a baseline three after running his man under the net off a screen. Jay took the time to point out to Reggie that he missed the shot because he didn't sprint to the spot. He explained that Reggie missed the shot because he had to turn and square to shoot the ball (giving the time for the defense to close on him). Jay pointed out that if Reggie had sprinted and faced the basket before receiving the shot that he would have EARNED a clean look.
In general, Jay preaches the importance of things that are often overlooked - hustle and conditioning. With hustle and conditioning you can deny the opposition's best scorer the ball, you can get open looks, you can create 5 second calls and confusion on defense, you can be in the right spot on the floor to be effective, etc. These things were not emphasized at all last season - this is a welcomed change in philosophy.
Guys who look improved:
Bryant, Gary Buchanan, Johnson, Snowden, Andrew Sullivan, Jair Veldhuis and Wright.
Guys who look the same:
Bloch and Brooks Sales
Notes on the Alum:
- Doug West is in awesome physical shape - hard to believe he won't make an NBA roster.
- Alvin Williams made some super mid-range shots - his talents are well worth the gazillion dollars the Raptors will pay him. Though he admitted Michael Bradley has offensive game, he politely noted that the "NBA is a different game".
CatFan, UncleBill57 and OldT were also in attendance.
Langhorne Basketball @LanghorneBBall 
