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Being #1

First of all, congratulations to every single member of the TEAM, coaching staff and everyone that has any association with the Villanova Basketball Program. This is a tremendous accomplishment and you make the entire Villanova community proud.

Yes, this is a BIG DEAL. it has never happened before in a regular season poll. It means that a consensus of experts in both polls has determined that this TEAM at this point in time deserves to be the top team in America. There are 351 teams playing Division 1 men's basketball and this week our team has earned the honor of being the nation's best. It is February and 23 games have been played. It is no fluke. It has been accomplished despite three losses, which allows for debate but actually acknowledges the quality of our competition and the hurdles already overcome. We are not #1 because we are 23-0 against mediocrity but the pollsters are "stuck" with our undefeated record. This is RESPECT, EXPOSURE and IMPORTANT for recruiting now and in the near future.

This is the culmination (yet unfinished work remains) of work for a special senior class. This started in January 2013 when out of nowhere a struggling team beat top five rated Louisville and Syracuse in back to back games and became the national story of that week. Two premature exits from the NCAA tournament has both tempered some of the accomplishment and makes the ultimate result at the end of this season more pressure filled. This guarantees nothing in March Madness and may even turn up the pressure a notch but this week it is time to rejoice.

Villanova has accomplished this without sacrificing its ideals. This is a TEAM of STUDENT ATHLETES, required to go to real classes (And show up all the time on time). This is not a bunch of defacto mercenaries masquerading as college students. Many teams have taller, more athletic players at more positions but they have not (up to this point in the season) showed up to play at a near 100% effort level night in and night out, while sacrificing individual glory for the TEAM. What Jay Wright has put together in response to the "dog days of 2012" is nothing short of miraculous. He has selected Villanova kids and blended them together to... for at least a week reached the pinnacle of college basketball.

Other than that incredible journey in March/April 1, 1985 Villanova basketball has never been in a better overall position. The Porter years were special, the Pinone/Pinckney era was great, The Kittles era soared to special heights but never got over the national hump, the 2005/06 group were special and were the early the foundation for this... as was that 2009 Final Four team.

For this group this is something that has been built and sustained since January 2013 and it keeps growing. Hopefully this will be the year that these special players breakthrough in the NCAAs. Maybe it will be next year or the year after that. The EXPOSURE this brings certainly increases the odds on the recruiting trail. Will it give Lonnie Walker the last nudge to commit? Will the two NG boys see that Villanova not Syracuse is the place to be? Will Cam Reddish stay home or Sticks Smith forego the ACC? Being #1 increases those odds. Hey, the consolation prize is that even when this team loses we will be the national story of that day too....

These are the glory days of Villanova basketball. The present is great, the future looks bright but for at least one week (hopefully several more) let's enjoy the accomplishment and not worry about March or talking heads that want to cut us down. I trust that Jay will keep the team's heads on straight (and if not, it will be another opportunity to learn and grow). All I can say that is that I started rooting for the Cats in 1973 and NEVER before on a February 8 have I been more proud.

Enjoy the ride but savior the honor!

Donte-medical redshirt?

On this and other forums there have been questions about Donte's status. Since he's been without the walking boot for weeks but still in street clothes on the bench I was wondering about VU requesting a medical redshirt for him. Here's a couple of paragraphs about the requirements and he seems to fit, particularly since he played in only 8 games:

Basic Qualifications
To qualify for a medical redshirt, a basketball player must sustain an “incapacitating injury or illness.” The injury or illness does not have to be related to basketball, but must take place after the first day of classes in the athlete’s senior year of high school. To gain a medical redshirt for a specific season, the athlete’s illness or injury must occur before the first game of the second half of the team’s schedule. If the team plays an odd number of games, the exact midseason contest is considered part of the second half. For example, if a basketball team plays 25 games, the injury or illness must occur before the start of the team’s 13th game. Games played in postseason tournaments, such as a conference tournament or the NCAA or NIT tournaments, count among the team’s total games played.

Games Played
To gain a medical redshirt, the athlete cannot compete in more than 30 percent of her team’s games within a season, not counting contests officially designated as scrimmages or exhibition games. When such computations are made, fractions are rounded up. For example, if a team plays 27 games, the exact 30 percent mark is 8.1. For the purposes of medical redshirt eligibility, therefore, the player may compete in nine games and still be eligible for a medical redshirt.

Booth

He hasn't looked quite as explosive as last season. He was icing his knee at the end of the game. My guess is Phil is playing at less than 100% for the good of the team. Also pure speculation: it is an issue that will only fully heal in the offseason. He looks hobbled.

Folks might want to keep that in mind when they critique his play.
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Creighton lands Top 50 2017 Guard

I know on this board obviously people care most about Villanova's recruiting, but I think it is important to post things like this on here to show people that the Big East's recruiting is still going strong. If people hear of any other commitments around the Big East, I for one would appreciate it if you share them on here. I hope that is cool with everybody.

Anyway, this kid looks like the real deal and he had some VERY big time offers. I think it is HUGE he decided to pick Creighton and play in the Big East. Link below.....

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/193326/mitchell-ballock

Say what you want about the New Big East....

It has been FANTASTIC for Villanova! We dominate the league and are in the top 10 regularly now for the past 3 years and now are #1 for the first time is school history in the regular season. This post has nothing to do whether or not our league is good, that's almost besides the point. The league has certainly been good for 'Nova. We are not getting punished by the pollsters for being in a weaker conference (than the old BE).

Jay become an elite coach just as the league changed (he was always very good) and got worse from it's old version and guys like JT3 couldn't step it up to challenge Jay. There really aren't many other good coaches who can step it up to challenge him, so I don't see this stopping. I suppose Mack is a good one, but who else? Cooley, I suppose. Certainly no Pitino's or Calhoun's or Boeheim's. It's just been a perfect storm for Jay and the team we love!
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