Philadelphia ? Basketball didn’t seem important to members of Villanova University’s men’s team and traveling party the night of Jan. 11.
They had the scare of their lives two hours after a victory over Providence when the team’s charter plane shook violently for 10 minutes after takeoff in Rhode Island.
One of the instruments responsible for helping the plane elevate failed.
“We all thought we were going down. That is the most honest answer I can give you,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “There were no other thoughts. They told us how to prepare for a crash landing. They never once said, ‘We’ll be OK.”‘
Somehow, the pilot landed the charter on an icy runway filled with flashing lights from fire trucks and emergency vehicles.
“Afterward, we all felt we got a second chance,” Wright said.
The Wildcats flew home later that day and also had some frazzled nerves on a charter flight following a 67-66 loss Wednesday to unbeaten Boston College.
“It was another snowy night, just like Providence,” Wright said. “I asked the pilot to talk to the team. The (Chicago) Bulls (who had played at Boston) were de-icing at the same time. I said, ‘The Bulls are doing it. They say it’s OK (to fly). We’ve got to do it, too.'”
Wright stressed not to worry.
“Sure, there was some trepidation,” he said. “It’s fear we all have to overcome. We all have to travel in college basketball.”
About the only good thing that happened on that trip to Rhode Island was the game. ‘Nova topped Providence, 83-78, in overtime, on a night 6-foot-10 junior center Jason Fraser broke the navicular bone in his shooting hand.
Villanova will meet Kansas University at 11 a.m. today at the Wachovia Center without Fraser.
However, junior Curtis Sumpter, who scored 18 points in the Jayhawks’ 86-79 victory over the Wildcats on Jan. 2, 2004, at Allen Fieldhouse, has returned.
Sumpter, a 6-7 forward from Brooklyn, N.Y., was expected to miss three to six weeks after spraining his right knee at practice Jan. 6.
He missed just two games. Sumpter scored 17 points with seven rebounds in 34 minutes of ‘Nova’s 66-64 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 15, then he had six points in Wednesday’s one-point loss at B.C.
“He played 17 minutes (because of foul problems). I told him it’s good. It gave him another day’s rest,” Wright said of Sumpter, who averages 16.1 points and 8.3 boards.
“Curtis gave us fits last year,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They’ve got good guards who all played great against us last year.”
Indeed, Allan Ray had 22 points, Mike Nardi 16 and Randy Foye 11 last season in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Jay has a good team. They beat West Virginia by 38 when they (Mountaineers) were in the top 25,” Self said. “They are loaded from a talent standpoint.”
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Niang misses trip: KU junior Moulaye Niang, who has the flu, did not make the trip. The rest of the team arrived in Philadelphia during the late afternoon Friday and practiced.
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NBA arena beckons: KU senior Keith Langford is looking forward to the trip to Villanova and the game in the home of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I think it’s good. We get to get out of town,” he said. “A lot of guys have not been to Philadelphia before. We get to play in an NBA arena. It’s good to experience different things.”
Senior Aaron Miles added: “It’s a chance for us to play a different conference in the middle of the season. Early on you might not see the best of them. Now we’ll see the best of Villanova.”
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