I had the opportunity to attend today's media day and brief open practice session at the Pavilion. Here's a few quotes from players and some observations of the practice.
Spellman on where he's at and his approach to the season: "Just want to get better, you know. Put myself in the best possible position to be successful, I think I did that in coming to Villanova. Now it's like what do you do after? Every step of life you face adversity, so, it's all about how you handle it. I'm just trying to be positive and do the best I can with what I have."
Omari was visibly disappointed to not be answering questions about playing in the upcoming season. I thought his answer demonstrated great maturity and presented a good outlook on a rough situation. I think this could end up having a positive impact on his career in the long run. That being said, he looked like an absolute beast during the 20 minutes or so of practice we were able to observe. He looked right at home in the post, but was also comfortably and consistently knocking down 17-footers and was physically imposing. It's a shame he can't play this year, but boy will it be nice when he does get on the court.
Brunson on replacing Arch, particularly from an intangible standpoint: "I think I learned from a great leader, Arch has done a great job of teaching me the ways, kind of showing me what coach wants from his point guard. Credit to Arch and credit to the coaching staff for teaching me and prepping me and now I just gotta be ready to go out there and lead the team."
I truly got the sense that Jalen understood that he was playing with a special player in Arch and paid close attention to how Arch approached the game and how he handled himself on the court. One of the first things I noticed during practice was how vocal Jalen was being and taking it upon himself to direct his teammates and get them in the right spots.
Booth on replacing Arch: "He brought a lot of things to this team that were unseen, a lot of intangibles, a lot of great things on the court, a lot of leadership, very smart player, very intelligent, so just making the right plays, making the right decisions, knowing the situations, knowing who's on the floor, knowing personnel, a lot of things that he did that we both (Booth and Brunson) gotta take over."
Booth on the trip to Spain: "A great team trip, a great bonding trip, just playing over there and experiencing overseas, it was a very fun trip. We liked it a lot. We played pretty well over there, of course we were a little rusty, but it was a great trip."
A few other observations from practice:
-Bridges' long-range shot was looking smooth and he was knocking it down consistently.
-The communication between the players was incredible. This shouldn't come as a surprise, especially after seeing how they played so in sync during the tournament last year, but to be able to hear it so clearly in a relatively quiet environment was impressive.
-Dunleavy started practice while Wright was finishing up with the media and they worked on some cuts and jump shots. As soon as Jay jumped in everything shifted to defense. Again, not surprising, but something you love to see.
Spellman on where he's at and his approach to the season: "Just want to get better, you know. Put myself in the best possible position to be successful, I think I did that in coming to Villanova. Now it's like what do you do after? Every step of life you face adversity, so, it's all about how you handle it. I'm just trying to be positive and do the best I can with what I have."
Omari was visibly disappointed to not be answering questions about playing in the upcoming season. I thought his answer demonstrated great maturity and presented a good outlook on a rough situation. I think this could end up having a positive impact on his career in the long run. That being said, he looked like an absolute beast during the 20 minutes or so of practice we were able to observe. He looked right at home in the post, but was also comfortably and consistently knocking down 17-footers and was physically imposing. It's a shame he can't play this year, but boy will it be nice when he does get on the court.
Brunson on replacing Arch, particularly from an intangible standpoint: "I think I learned from a great leader, Arch has done a great job of teaching me the ways, kind of showing me what coach wants from his point guard. Credit to Arch and credit to the coaching staff for teaching me and prepping me and now I just gotta be ready to go out there and lead the team."
I truly got the sense that Jalen understood that he was playing with a special player in Arch and paid close attention to how Arch approached the game and how he handled himself on the court. One of the first things I noticed during practice was how vocal Jalen was being and taking it upon himself to direct his teammates and get them in the right spots.
Booth on replacing Arch: "He brought a lot of things to this team that were unseen, a lot of intangibles, a lot of great things on the court, a lot of leadership, very smart player, very intelligent, so just making the right plays, making the right decisions, knowing the situations, knowing who's on the floor, knowing personnel, a lot of things that he did that we both (Booth and Brunson) gotta take over."
Booth on the trip to Spain: "A great team trip, a great bonding trip, just playing over there and experiencing overseas, it was a very fun trip. We liked it a lot. We played pretty well over there, of course we were a little rusty, but it was a great trip."
A few other observations from practice:
-Bridges' long-range shot was looking smooth and he was knocking it down consistently.
-The communication between the players was incredible. This shouldn't come as a surprise, especially after seeing how they played so in sync during the tournament last year, but to be able to hear it so clearly in a relatively quiet environment was impressive.
-Dunleavy started practice while Wright was finishing up with the media and they worked on some cuts and jump shots. As soon as Jay jumped in everything shifted to defense. Again, not surprising, but something you love to see.
