Nice piece on Hilliard

http://www.slamonline.com/nba/darrun-hilliard/#7Gc7xRMC2r1R0r0R.97

DH with 23 in last D league game...brought up as 10th man to Pistons. Van Gundy wants a little improvement on defensive end,but feels he's about ready to get some minutes with the Pistons soon.

THIS KID TAKES MORE SHIT AFTER A LOSS THAN ANY OTHER PLAYER I KNOW OVER FOUR YEARS........DANNY IS THE BEST BIG IN COACH WRIGHS TENURE......HE IS SELFLESS.......THE EPITOME OF AN U NSELFISH BASKETBALL PLAYER.......HE IS A GREAT PASSER....NOT GOOD....GREAT OUT OF THE POST AREA.....BY FAR THE BEST WE EVER HAD......DANNY HAS GOTTEN BETTER AND BETTER EVERY YEAR,,,,,,,,,I ATTRIBUTE THIS TO HOW HARD.....DANNY HAS WORKED......BAKER DUNLEVY AND OTHERS HAVE DEVOTED COUNTLESS HOURS DEVLOPING HIS SKILLS. AND DANNY HAS NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM HARD WORK.......PEOPLE FORGET, DANNY IS A FOUR YEAR STARTER.......IN A YEAR....WHERE HE HAS ALOT AT STAKE IN TERMS OF NBA....POTENTIAL. MONEY........HE IS MORE UNSELFISH THAN EVER.....IF ANYTHING, HE OVERPASSESS AT TIMES TO WIDE OPEN THREE POINT SHOOTERS.....HE ALSO HAS GAINED MATURITY ON THE BENCH, AND IS A TRUE LEADER.......STATS DONT TELL THE TRUE STORY OF OCHEFU....PEOPLE TAKE HIM FOR GRANTED BECAUSE HE IS SIX FOOT ELEVEN....BUT CHECK OUT THE TOTAL WINS HE CONTRIBUTED TO AT THE END OF HIS CAREER....PERFECT..HE IS NOT......FRUSTRATING AT TIMES.....FOR SURE......JUST LIKE ALL VERY GOOD BIGS............BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY.....HIS FOUR YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL GO DOWN AS.......THE BEST BIG IN THIS ERA......IN MY VIEW...

ESPN released their first BPI today and we are #7. BEEFER will answer any questions regarding how it is calculated.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bpi

From this moment, we beat UVA. My last post until the game ends or a month passes. We match up well and we win.too much over-reaction to a loss. Everyone wins. Nova wins, we're happy. I take a month off, everyone is happy.

I have reserved a table with a view. There will be dinner, dancing, and an after dinner drink. Nova is taking UVA to poundtown. Take the points and believe. If we lose, Merry Christmas to all....even BEEFER.

the on-going discussion regarding how Villanova lives and dies by the 3 and takes such a high percentage of 3s that it inevitably results in March disappointment prompted me to pull the 3-point shooting stats in the NCAA Tournament for the Jay Wright era.

Villanova is 14-10 in the NCAA Tournament under Jay Wright.

I was surprised to learn that the combined 3PFG % over those 24 games was .300 .... it actually comes to .2996 but with the round off - you get a nice, even 30% shooting from beyond the arc. Which of course is below the .333 you have to shoot in order to get the same bang for the buck as you do shooting .500 from 2PFG range.

In the 24 NCAA Tournament games, 37.2% of all Wildcat FG attempts have been from three-point range.

Most 3PFG attempts in a game - 31 against UConn (2014 Loss)
Least 3PFG attempts in a game - 11 against Florida (2005 Win)

Most makes - 11 (UConn in 2014 and Lafayette in 2015)
Least makes - 3 (FL in 2005 (W) and Kansas ('08, L)

Villanova shot .345 at Wells Fargo Center in NCAA play
Villanova shot .290 in all other arenas combined in NCAA play

Villanova shot 50% from three in Tampa/St. Pete during the first two rounds of the 2008 NCAAs (Clemson & Siena wins). 26-13.

If you remove those two games and the Wells Fargo games from the equation then you have Villanova going 8-10 in the other 18 NCAA Tournament games while shooting 111-401 (.277) from three-point range.

Villanova has won all four NCAA games in which it shot over .370 from three-point range (.538, .500, .474, and .462) (Clemson, Lafayette, Arizona, Siena).

Amazingly, Villanova is 6-1 in NCAA games under Jay Wright when shooting between .200 and .300 from three-point range (losing only to UNC in 2005 while beating New Mex, Robert Morris, Florida, Duke, and BC (.211 in that game).

Villanova is 1-4 in NCAA games under Jay Wright when shooting below .200 from three-point range (yes, amazingly they won one of those (and yes, it has happened in 20.8% of the overall games) Results: beat Milwaukee (.174) and lost to UNC ('09 & '13), Kansas and Florida (.174). The two .174 games were both 4-23 performances.

Villanova is 3-5 in games when shooting between .300 and .368 from three. Beat American, UCLA and Pitt and lost to St. Mary's, UConn, KY, NC St, and George Mason.

Interestingly, the NC State 3-point percentage was the 9th best mark in the 24 games. It tied for 5th highest game in terms of percentage of FGs shot from behind the 3-pt line. The 45.9% threes taken tied with the loss to UNC in 2005. I don't recall anyone complaining the Cats took too many threes nor missed too many threes in that one even though 8-29 was the result compared to 9-29 against NC State. The phantom travel call against A-Ray was the easy scapegoat and took the focus away from quality of shots.

There were two games where the Cats took >60% of FG attempts from beyond the arc - the Lafayette win last year (.629) and the UConn loss the year before (.608). Those happened to be the two games with the most makes - 11. 11-22 against Leopards and 11-31 against Huskies.

Overall, Villanova is 4-4 in NCAA Tournament games in which the Cats took >40% of their FG attempts from three-point range and 5-5 in games above the "average" percentage of shots taken from 3 in all 24 games.

Villanova is 4-2 in NCAA Tournament games in which they took <30% of their shots from deep - beating Clemson, Duke, Siena and Florida and losing to Kansas and St. Mary's.

The Cats are 5-5 in games taking less than 35% of shots from three-point range.

'Nova is 5-0 when taking between 35 and 38% of shots from three-point range (that looks to be the sweet-spot).

I don't see any strong correlation between taking a high or low percentage of shots from beyond the arc and winning or losing NCAA Tournament games.
Shooting REALLY POORLY or REALLY WELL does seem to have a direct correlation to Winning and Losing - but, interestingly, Villanova is 7-5 in NCAA games when shooting BELOW .290 from beyond the arc and also 7-5 when above .290.

The only game when Villanova shot exactly .300 was against Pitt - the win to get to the Final Four.

If there is some other slice of this data that would interest you - let me know.

The tickets have moved to safe hands.

Got my 1st look at Karim last night after hearing so much about him. Supposedly just came to America about 15 months ago. Was excited to get a chance to catch him. Usually when you think of African imports, they are runners and jumpers with little to no basketball skill. Defense usually miles ahead of the offense. Well that is not Karim. You could tell during warmups he is not a high riser. Was shooting 3s and looked decent for a big freshman.

On to the game. Figured he would be matched up with Bruce Moore but he guarded his bulkier 6-5 teammate instead. 2nd possession, he tries to help and Bruce dunks all over him. A small guard drove on him also. You can tell right away, he is not a rim protector. You can also tell he is not 6-9 right now either. Looks to be right around Bruce Moore's size (6-7ish)

Karim has tremendous post moves and offensive skill set, especially for a freshman. He is all left right now but has a really nice jump hook. He struggles if he has to spin right. Has nice form on the short jumper he has. What I really liked about him is he likes to post up and is good at it for a freshman. What immediately stands out is his passing ability. They run the flex a lot so he gets the ball at top the key a lot coming off a down screen. made several exceptional passes to cutting teammates, including a great feed over top of a defender fronting his teammate. I would be shocked if there are many better big man passers in his class(or others for that matter) Karim runs the floor well and has great endurance. I think he played the entire game?

He is a player I would hope we jump on immediately!!! Tremendous offensive potential. Built like Fraser but plays more like MOUPH. The big questions are will he grow. I think he is a HM shoe in if he can get to 6-9. I do think he has the offensive potential to be a 4 man. Will he grow? If he is 14 or 15 like most freshman then probably. But, is he really 20? Don't know that answer. He will be a name we hear about going forward for sure.

They play NG next week. Looking forward to patsox's thoughts on Karim

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/12/14/villanova-wildcats-three-point-shooting-jay-wright

Interesting article which I think puts the 3pt woes in proper perspective.

I think tonight proves he should not be a starter

Other options are much better , Booth or Bridges

Jay will however probably start him next game

CoDB Sports New Reporter for CoP'ers

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ts-writer-phil-pepe-dead-80-article-1.2464862

My seats are located low in Section WD. (Across from 'Nova bench - in line with FT line)
Please email if interested.

IS A GREAT DAY...........MAYBE ST JOHNS WINS THE BIG EAST....WHY NOT....YAWKIEE ,A HUGE DIFFERENCE MAKER.........THAT ITALIAN POINT GUARD......COULD BE ONE OF THE NATIONS BEST FROSH.....IM HEARING...A STUD.....JONNIES ARE 7-3. SOME THINK, IF THEY HAD ALL THEIR TROOPS TO BEGIN THE SEASON...., THEY WOULD BE 9-1..............WHILE IM AT IT...........GOOD RIDDANCE TO THAT...NOSE PICKIN....RULE BREAKIN......BABY CRYING.....BUTT SCRATCHING........ACADEMIC FRAUD.........COACH FROM SYRACUSE..........HALL OF SHAME......

Eagles/Bills this Sunday. Shady coming in hot with some quotes already.

Matthew Fairburn ‏@MatthewFairburn 36m36 minutes ago
LeSean McCoy on Chip Kelly wanting to shake his hand: "He can't shake shit."

Matthew Fairburn ‏@MatthewFairburn 35m35 minutes ago
Why didn't LeSean McCoy take Chip Kelly's calls? "He can't say shit."

Matthew Fairburn ‏@MatthewFairburn 33m33 minutes ago
LeSean McCoy on Chip Kelly: "We don't have anything to talk about." Said he and Chip never had a great relationship as friends.

St Vincent Pallotti home of freshman big Karim Coulibaly vs Nova target Noah Locke and the McDonogh Eagles.

Depending on how I am feeling after, I might give in and motorboat this broad I met last week

Sleep

Class of 2017


1 - DeAndre Ayton
2 - Wendell Carter
3 - Trevon Duvall
4 - Mohammed Bamba
8 - DJ Harvey
12 - Hamidou Diallo
15 - Nick Richards
27 - Quade Green
35 - Lonnie Walker
39 - Jordan Tucker
41 - David Beatty. ?
47 - Jermaine Samuels
62 - Dhamir Cosby Roundtree !
63 - Kodye Pugh
66 - Myles Douglas
68 - Isiah Washington
83 - Andre Rafus
87 - Sid Wilson
118 - Daron Russell

Gonzaga and Roman Catholic in tomorrow's champeenship game.

http://www.hoopseen.com/index.php/news/headlines/item/3971-gonzaga-dc-classic-keith-williams-shines

5th year players
1 - Omari Spellman. Villanova
2 - Rawle Alkins
4 - Wenyell Gabriel. Kentucky
8 - Eddie Ekiyor. Xavier
9 - Myles Powell. Seton Hall
10 - Seedee Keita. South Carolina
11 - Kasoum Yawke - Will enroll at St. John's 2nd semester
14 - Wolfgang Navogratz
23 - Kevin Marfo. George Washington

Class of 2016
1 - Josh Jackson
2 - Harry Giles Duke
3 - Thon Maker
6 - Mustapha Herron. Auburn
16 - Markelle Fultz. Washington
17 - Kevin Huerter (WOW). Maryland
23 - Payton Pritchard. Oregon
24 - VJ King. Louisville
26 - Temple Gibbs. Notre Dame
30 - Tyus Battle. Syracuse
32 - Juwan Durham. Uconn
63 - Tony Carr. Penn State
67 - Javin DeLaurier. Duke
79 - Seventh Woods. UNC
88 - Lamar Stevens. Penn State
89 - Jagan Mosely. Georgetown
95 - Unique McLean. Umass
109 - Bryce Aiken Harvard
114 - Nick Rakocevic.
122 - Corey Manigault. Pittsburgh
133 - Nysier Brooks. Cincinnati

arch and Brunson together in the same backcourt? Is this a Nardi Scottie situation where it just never seemed quite right? Lots of theories going around on why we just don't look nearly as crisp as a year ago. Jenkins starting, Ochefu too soft, lack of size. Thoughts?

Paul Touhey di Delco Time just twitted
Kris Jenkins will not start, minor disciplinary issue by Villanova coach Jay Wright. Phil Booth will start in his place

Section EC row 22, directly behind VU bench. $30 face value. Can mail it to you or I can easily do Paypal/online exchange now that the season ticket is officially mine.

Email ak3883 at gmail if interested.

Thanks to the magic of Synergy sports, I looked at all the half-court threes that Villanova took against Oklahoma. I wanted to see if we were missing shots because of Oklahoma's length, because we weren't driving at all, or because we just had a cold shooting night. We were 3-30 on 3s in the half-court.

1. Brunson off 1 dribble. Ochefu set a screen to give Brunson some space, but OU defender got a hand up. MISS.

2. Ochefu got the ball in post. Dished it to Arch, quick pass to Jenkins, quick pass to Brunson. Wide open shot from the corner. MISS

3. Brunson pass along the perimeter to Jenkins. OU defender got a contest. Quick shot. MISS

4. Ochefu dished to Jenkins who swung to Arch. OU defender got a hand up, but Arch had some space. MISS.

5. Booth took a couple dribbles and jacked up a 3. Bad shot, well guarded. MISS (maybe even blocked)

6. Passed around perimeter to Hart in corner. OU defender was there, but it was a relatively clean look for Hart. MISS.

7. Jenkins drive and kick to open Bridges in corner. MISS.

8. Passed around perimeter after steal to Jenkins. Contested by defense early in shot clock. MISS.

9. Right after No. 8, Bridges got the offensive rebound, kicked to open Brunson. Contested late, but still open. MISS.

10. Booth cross-court pass over defense to open Hart. MAKE.

11. Booth drive and kick to open Hart. Late contest by lunging OU defender. MISS.

12. Arch pass to wide open Booth in corner with no OU player near him. MISS.

13. Hart tried to drive, was stopped by defense. Passed it back to Arch who was running the perimeter and shot it a bit off-balance. MISS.

14. End of 1st half, Arch quickly dribbled up court, dumped it to Jenkins who quickly heaved a long 3. Rushed to get it off before the end of the half. MISS.

15. Hart drove, kicked out to Bridges, swung to Booth in corner. Open shot. MISS.

16. Arch started to drive, thought better of it, passed to Booth. He jab stepped once before launching a pretty deep 3. Defender did a good job to get a hand up. MISS.

17. Off in-bounds pass. Brunson passed it to wide open Hart in the corner. He hesitated a second before he launched an open 3 with a late contest by OU. MISS.

18. Arch drive and kick to wide open Booth with no defenders near him. MAKE.

19. Ochefu had ball in post. Dribbled all the way out behind 3-point line. Swung to wide open Arch with no one guarding him. MISS.

20. Booth drove, kicked to wide open Hart. Late OU contest. MISS.

21. Arch drive, kick to wide open Bridges. No one near him. MISS.

22. Quick passing around perimeter. Bridges took one dribble towards the lane, kicked to wide open Arch, uncontested. MAKE.

23. Hart drove, kicked to Booth, swung to Arch, he drove in, kicked it back to open Booth. Late OU contest. MISS.

24. Arch drove, handed it to Bridges, who was cutting to the rim. Bridges swung it to wide open Hart. Uncontested. MISS.

25. Brunson drove baseline, passed to Arch in corner, swung to Jenkins. Late OU contest. MISS.

26. From this point on, it was an 18-point deficit with under 4 left, so this is officially garbage time…Brunson dribbles a few times, jacks up a 3 with a good contest by OU. MISS.

27. Brunson perimeter pass to Jenkins who was coming off screen. Decent contest, but mostly open. MISS.

28. Hart drive and kick to wide open DiVincenzo. MISS.

29. Booth took the ball up halfcourt, Oklahoma OU on him, so he took an open 3 off the dribble. MISS.

30. Booth cross-court pass to Brunson in the corner. Brunson rushed his shot, but he was pretty open with a late contest. MISS.

The majority of the shots were open. Oklahoma did a good job of closing out on shooters to at least get a late hand up in the shooter's face, but many of the shots were wide open. I counted 12 wide open shots and 3 bad shots that were guarded really well with no chance of going in. The majority of the rest were shots we got off good passing to free up an open shot, with Oklahoma's defense ranging from "very good close-out" to "flying Wildcat/Sooner."

Excluding the shot at the end of the 1st half, which was rushed to get a quick shot off...
Wide open: 12 (3-12)
Mostly open: 7 (0-7)
Mostly guarded: 7 (0-7)
Completely guarded: 3 (0-3)

We had 12 wide open shots and made only 3 of them. There were many other shots that were open enough, many coming off the drive-and-kick or a drive-and-kick followed by an extra pass. We missed all of those.

Only 3 of the 29 shots I saw (excluding end of half) were truly bad shots that should have never been taken.

I would say 15-16 of the 29 came after getting the ball inside via Ochefu touches (not that many) or by drives. Several others were open shots coming off either the dribble or by perimeter/out-of-bounds passes.

While the reason was disciplinary, Booth certainly responded with an excellent game as a starter. KJ started out missing 2 3s even though he came off the bench. Hopefully he'll get on track soon.
Bridges also had an excellent performance, actually logging more minutes then KJ.
First time this year that the Cats looked focused and in sync from the tip onward. Very inspired looking effort. It was similar to the cohesion exhibited by the 2014/2015 team. Active, unselfish, and lightning quick ball movement.
Ochefu 22 minutes, Reynolds 18. Glad to see Reynolds get time. We need him to contribute, and he will as he gets more comfortable. Floor time will allow him to find his comfort zone. I love Ochefu developing the confidence to attack the basket off the bounce. He's done it effectively against OU and Lasalle now.
Nice bounceback. Let's keep it going.