Last April’s 14-point loss to North Carolina in the national semifinals not 30 minutes old, Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright said of this season, “I don’t think I would ever plan on being back (to the Final Four), but we’re going to work hard at it.”
So far, so great. The Wildcats are 18-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big East heading into Wednesday’s visit from Notre Dame, and they ranked No. 3 in the newest Associated Press poll.
“They are tremendous,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said two weeks ago after Villanova erased a 17-point deficit on its way to a 92-84 road victory against his Cardinals.
“I don’t think there is any finer coach than Jay Wright. His kids play hard, and I love to watch them on film.”
Said St. John’s player D.J. Kennedy after Saturday’s 81-71 loss to the Wildcats at Madison Square Garden: “That is a great defensive team. There were a lot of shots we normally make, but they didn’t let us shoot that well from the field.”
The No. 1 reason for these performances also wears jersey No. 1: senior guard Scottie Reynolds.
“He is definitely in the category for Big East player of the year,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said of the 6-foot-2 Reynolds. “He’s tough. He thinks every shot is going to go in. He plays at great speed.”
And he’s averaging nearly 19 points a game despite playing less than 30 minutes a night.
“Scottie can’t be contained,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said after the Hoyas lost 82-77 to Villanova a little more than a week ago. “He’s been doing it for four years now. When they need a basket, it ends up in his hands and good things happen.”
Pitino witnessed such brilliance firsthand when Reynolds hit 9 of 10 shots from the floor in scoring 36 points against the Cardinals, including both a huge 3-pointer and a driving layup in the final three minutes.
But the Georgetown game may have best defined Reynolds not only as a talent but also as a leader. With the ‘Nova lead down to one after a 15-point halftime cushion, he made the biggest play of the game not on a shot but with an offensive rebound.
“The play of the game,” Wright said. “But that’s what great players do.”
Added Reynolds, who was late to a game against Pitt his sophomore year because he was attending church: “I’m not saying I’m great, but you see great players come up with the big play, do whatever it takes — an offensive rebound, a dive on the floor, taking a charge. It doesn’t have to be a shot all the time.”
The bigger problem for Villanova opponents is that Reynolds is not alone in his versatility. Seven Wildcats average at least 8.6 points a game, and no one averages more than his 29 minutes a night. ‘Nova uses 6-5 guards Reggie Redding and Corey Stokes to outrebound opponents by seven a game, hits 75 percent of its free throws and nearly 47 percent of its field-goal tries.
“All of them are good with the ball in their hands,” Georgetown center Greg Monroe said. “Everybody can get the break off the dribble, and it’s kind of hard to contain them with so many options.”
Said Drexel coach Bruiser Flint after losing to ‘Nova in December: “They do a great job of running down rebounds, and they can turn you over and get baskets like that. That’s how they beat you.”
But no one can beat you like Reynolds, who’s been a star since his freshman year, when he scored 40 on UConn.
“He’s brought us to another level,” Villanova forward Taylor King said last week. “That’s why he’s our leader.”
Thirty years ago on their way to the 1980 national championship in Indianapolis, Louisville players adopted the slogan: “The ‘Ville goin’ to the ‘Nap.”
If Reynolds can keep a different Vill’ on its current level, it may very well win its own Final Four going to that same ‘Nap come April.