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Tampa, Fla. — Villanova coach Jay Wright has been in this situation before, and he will face it again when the Wildcats take on Kansas University in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
As head coach of the U.S. men's basketball team for the Pan American Games last summer, Wright watched many of the best college players in the country. Unfortunately, he could not keep them all. His Villanova team has been burned before by players who didn't make the cut for the U.S. squad.
The Jayhawks (33-3), the top seeds in the Midwest, have two such guards, Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins, who were let go after the trials.
"I don't cut them; I'm just the coach," Wright said Sunday after Villanova advanced to the Sweet 16 with an 84-72 victory over Siena. "The committee does it.
"These two guards (Chalmers and Collins) are so good. We just had so many players. They're going to come after us, I fear."
Last month, Wright and the Wildcats lost a regular-season game to Marquette. The Golden Eagles had two players, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews, who were cut at the Pan Am Games trials.
"The two kids at Marquette were busting my chops about it," he said. "They said, 'We're going to get you, Coach, when we come back.' And they did. They kicked us."
To earn the right to go to Detroit's Ford Field for Friday's game, the Jayhawks posted easy victories in the first two rounds in Omaha, Neb. They defeated Portland State, 85-61, and UNLV, 75-56. Chalmers led the team with 17 points in the second-round victory.
Four Kansas players average in double figures, led by sophomore forward Darrell Arthur at 13.1 ppg. and junior guard Brandon Rush at 13.0. Chalmers averages 12.6 points and a team-leading 4.5 assists.
The Jayhawks, winners of nine straight, are scoring 81.4 points per game, own an average winning margin of 20 points, and shoot 50.8 percent from the field.
"It's so different when you're watching them as a fan than when you're preparing for them," Wright said. "Watching them on TV, they look awesome. I love how they play.
"We're playing a No. 1 seed. What can I say? We know how good they are."
Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds was at the Pan Am Games trials with Chalmers and Collins. He called the Jayhawks "one of the elite teams in the country."
"They had a great season," he said. "They have some great inside players and good guards. They're well-balanced, and they get out and run. It's going to be a fun game."
The game will mark the Wildcats' first matchup against Kansas since January 2005, when they posted an 83-62 victory at the Wachovia Center.
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Comments
jayhawker_97 (anonymous) says…
ouch. that 83-62 loss still stinks. let's get our revenge done - make it worse for them. this Nova team should be similar to UNLV team, but quicker. KU has height advantage with muscle. hopefully, we will be rebounding better, and i'm hoping to see some swats along with that.
Wright seems shivering right now. KU will make this one a nightmare becomes reality for Nova.
can't wait to see what coach Self & staff have in minds for taking care of another El Gato. hopefully, another
pleasant surprise.
go Jayhawks!!
pajhawk (anonymous) says…
If I were an opposing coach, I would HATE to have to play KU right now with Mario and Sherron having EXTRA motivation. Wright just "coached" the team? Are you telling me he had NO say in who played on that team? My adrenaline is pumping right now just waiting for Friday night.
rock chalk!!!
tailg8prty (anonymous) says…
I'm hoping motivation to move on to the Elite 8 will bring out the best in those two guys. Worrying about whether or not coach Wright chose them should be a nonfactor. If it helps then great but if it distracts then thats a problem.
Hopefully this game will have a better flow to it than the UNLV game. I was frustrated with the Rebels dribble penetration. I never felt the game was in doubt I guess I Just assumed that with our size advantage over them we would be able to really exploit them.
As far as rebounding, we really need to crash the glass when our guards penetrate. It seems like there is only one guy under the basket when a shot goes up for KU. Alot of that has to do with the post player setting picks from outside the arc. I'm excited!! I can't wait for Friday!! go jayhawks
kushaw (Chris Shaw) says…
Not to bring up bad memories or anything, but today at 2:00 est they are showing on ESPN classic the 1991 final between Duke and Kansas! Ughhhhh! It would be cool to watch though!
KU (anonymous) says…
I think we need to play smaller against Villanova. I wouldn't mind seeing only 1 big on the floor for most of the game. But that would mean Rod would need to be healthy. If we have a weakness it's the fact that we don't have enough 6'5-6'7 wings. In our regular rotation, our bigs are big and our smalls are small other than Brandon. Villanova has a wealth of athletic 6'5 guys that could cause us trouble.
justanotherfan (anonymous) says…
There may be a reason that Coach Self showed the four guard lineup against UNLV. That was, if I remember correctly, the first time that we have EVER seen that type of lineup from Self for any stretch of time.
Now Villanova has to prepare not only for the regular KU look (two bigs, three guards), but also for the potential of four guards or the opposite... three bigs.
Let me explain. Since Chalmers, Robinson and Collins are all essentially point guards, you can play any two of them with a bigs lineup of Arthur plus a combination of Kaun, Aldrich or Jackson. Arthur has to be on the floor with that type of group because he is the only big we have capable of staying with a small out away from the basket for an extended stretch. This group could also go zone (2-3) with our smalls hawking the ball and our bigs neutralizing any penetration. Now, I doubt that we will see a three big lineup for any length of time because it would screw up our rotation, but it is something that could at least be contemplated. I have seen a few elite high school and junior college teams have success with similar personnel. It makes for a nice mismatch if you can handle the quicker personnel on the defensive end.
I think we will likely see more 4 guard lineup, though, especially if Rod is over the bug. We essentially have 6 guys that we can rotate in a 4 guard set if Rod can go - Brandon, Mario, Russ, Sherron, Rod and either Case or Reed, whichever one is doing the better job. Obviously, our main 4 would get the lion's share of those minutes, but we have enough people to rotate, plus we can play our regular lineup, too.
A lot of that will be dependent on how 'Nova plays the post. Do they double on the pass like UNLV did? Do they play behind like a lot of teams have and double on the catch? Do they zone it? Do they man up and play a rover in the middle? Obviously, if they do what UNLV did, the four guard lineup is the way to go because it prevents them from running off our perimeter shooters. If they zone, we can go three bigs and just let DBlock run the baseline since he has a nice touch from about 15 in on the baseline. If they play straight up, we can keep our regular rotation and go high low over their smaller guys. Since they lack a big time shot blocker, we should definitely continue to attack the rim against them. We may be able to generate a lot of fouls from helpside defenders coming over late, as well as open looks for three.
vmwskywalk (anonymous) says…
If you didn't get to watch Villanova over the weekend, these guys are prone to turnovers. Gotta love that!
melrank (anonymous) says…
justanother - I hope we see lots of Reed, Case, and Rod because that means we're blowing them out of the gym.
mightyjoyung (anonymous) says…
I hope they don't have one of those Georgetown games from '85
jmorgan54 (anonymous) says…
Villanova could definitely be a hassle, but the Wisconsin team, to me, is the real worry. They look very good, and are also on a roll. I like our chances, and it could be a great weekend.