VILLANOVA, Pa. – Four years ago, much of the talk about Villanova was about players who were a year away from being on campus. Then-new head coach Jay Wright assembled a terrific collection of talent in the early signing period with four players from the New York area, where he had just spent seven seasons as the head coach at Hofstra. There were many who saw greatness ahead with the group, at least as long as they all remained in school (the caveat there because all four were widely regarded as elite prospects in the class).
Senior year for all four is approaching, and the expectations are as high as they were when it was known that they would be coming to the Main Line. The Wildcats have the talent and experience to be a national title contender in 2005-06, but there’s another thing they have that might be the biggest reason they belong in this discussion: character.
In sports, the importance of character, much like team chemistry, is often debated. Casual fans miss its importance because it doesn’t show up in the box score and can’t be quantified. Players and coaches can miss it because it can’t be described in the same way as a player’s physical traits, such as “great shooter”, “very athletic” or “not very mobile inside”. But make no mistake about it: character, much like team chemistry, is a real key to a team and its performance.
So where does this come in with Villanova? Simple: the current group of seniors has had no choice but to develop the character they have just to carry on, let alone have the success they have had. Since they arrived on campus, they have been through a phone access code incident and the suspensions that came with it, numerous injuries to teammates and themselves, and a near-death experience while trying to fly home after an emotional road win. People often speak of a team being “battle-tested” when they’ve been through a difficult schedule during a season, but this group of players is perhaps as battle-tested as any that college basketball has ever seen.
“We’ve been through so much, and I think that’s why we’re so tight and close together as a team,” said guard Allan Ray, the team’s leading scorer last season at 16.2 points per game. “We’re like a family because of all we’ve been through.”
“I guess that’s what makes us unique, having a lot of different obstacles,” said guard Randy Foye, who also played for Wright on Team USA in the World University Games in Turkey during the month of August.
Curtis Sumpter, who will bounce back this season from a torn ACL suffered in the NCAA Tournament, noted the normalcy for this team in dealing with adversity.
“If something else happens this year – another obstacle in our path – we won’t even look at it twice,” said the senior forward, the team’s third-leading scorer and leading rebounder last season. “It probably won’t feel right if nothing goes wrong,” he added with a laugh.
Jason Fraser, regarded by many as the top prospect of the group coming out of high school, is perhaps as battle-tested as anyone. He has not been able to consistently practice the past two seasons due to constant injuries, and underwent surgery on both knees and his right hand in May, bringing the total of surgeries in his career to seven. Instead of practicing, he has spent a great deal of time working with assistant coach Ed Pinckney, which he describes as “a great learning experience.” When able, he has been a key member of the frontcourt, but most of all he shows no outward sign of frustration from it all.
“It’s been a long road, but one greatly appreciated,” he says of the past three years.
For that matter, long-time buddy Sumpter cited Fraser as a key in his rehabilitation.
“Without Jason, it probably would have been really tough for me to handle the situation,” he reflects. “Looking at him go through everything he’s been through the last few years – he’s been through a lot worse. I can’t sit back and get down on myself, because if he can get through it and still have a smile on his face, I know I can do the same thing. He’s been my inspiration, I really look up to him and admire him.”
While many instances of adversity that this team has been through are relatively minor in the grand scheme of life, one night last January topped it all. On January 11, the Wildcats rode big games from Ray (27 points) and Fraser (25 points, 13 rebounds) to an 83-78 overtime win at Providence without the injured Sumpter. It was an emotional win for the team, but they could not enjoy it for very long. As the team prepared to fly home, an important instrument in their chartered plane malfunctioned, which caused the plane to shake. To a man, everyone recalls feeling like they were going to die. The plane was able to make an emergency landing, and they flew home the following afternoon.
“When we got back to Philadelphia and we talked about it, we just said, we got a second chance here – we got a second chance in life, forget about basketball,” Wright said. “It just made every guy grow up – I think every guy became a little more mature, a little more focused on what’s important in life, and I think it had a cumulative effect on our team.”
Wright has seen this group through all of this. The charismatic coach has led them from a 15-16 mark in 2002-03 to last season’s 24-8 record and the first NCAA Tournament appearance of his tenure. After the near-death experience on the plane in Providence, they had a temporary setback with two straight losses, then lost just two games the rest of the regular season. They were very close to making the Elite Eight, losing a 67-66 contest to eventual national champion North Carolina in the regional semifinal.
The loss to North Carolina has been best remembered for the controversial travel call on a drive to the basket by Ray in the final minute, but it could be instructive in thinking of what to expect from the team this season – and it’s not the fact that they should be expected to go further simply because most of the team’s key players return. The Wildcats played the game without Sumpter, who tore the ACL in his left knee just a week earlier in their first-round win over Florida. Despite his absence, the Wildcats had chances to win the game, and they clearly believed they could win the game over a powerful Tar Heels team. It was just another obstacle for this group.
“I think these guys have been through so much – normally, losing a player of Curtis’ status would be devastating,” Wright said.
While Fraser and Sumpter have been working their way back from injuries, Wright has had a chance to recharge during the offseason. He was head coach of Team USA in the World University Games in August, leading them to the gold medal. Describing the time there as “a great experience professionally and personally,” he could focus on coaching and had a solid group of players that he described as being very business-like during the trip.
“It was a 28-day commitment, and you’re just coaching basketball – no recruiting, no alumni, no academics, just coaching basketball, with great players,” he reflected.
Now the focus turns to the 2005-06 season, where expectations are high for the Wildcats. Besides the aforementioned seniors, junior point guard Mike Nardi returns along with classmate Will Sheridan, while sophomore Kyle Lowry will also be a key contributor. They also have redshirt seniors Marcus Austin and Chris Charles in the frontcourt and a freshman class that has some talent but can be brought along at a pace with the veterans. At one point, it looked like Fraser would be a redshirt candidate, but his rehab has proceeded so well that he’s ahead of schedule and he says he will play.
There will be plenty of challenges just on the schedule, starting with the powerful Big East. The Wildcats will play Connecticut, Syracuse and Louisville twice, with a trip to Cincinnati in the mix as well. Non-conference games include Oklahoma at home and trips to Austin to play Texas, and they also travel to Lewisburg to take on a Bucknell team that no one can sleep on. The Bison will be among the best mid-majors this season as they return all but one player from last season’s team that beat Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, so that game doesn’t figure to be a walk for Villanova.
Wright is certainly happy to have an experienced group to go through this schedule with, and it’s one that will leave a lasting mark on the program.
“Villanova fans have seen a lot of great classes. For our staff, this class is going to always be special to us, no matter what they do this year,” Wright said. “They really helped us establish what we wanted to do here: re-establish the tradition here at Villanova.”
Wright’s much-heralded first recruiting class on the Main Line is about to enter the final season, ready to deliver on the promise the class had coming in. It was expected that the Wildcats would be on their way to becoming a national power starting with this group, and that has happened as they have the talent, experience, and most importantly, the character, to be seen as a national title contender. There were some unexpected events along the way, as Fraser explains, but the result thus far is what was expected and a desirable one.
“The journey to get there might not have been scripted the way it went, but we surely appreciate it, and if I could I’d do it all over again.”
