BOSTON – If you’re a basketball fan, there’s something really neat about Saturday night’s East Regional final between Villanova and Pittsburgh. No, it’s not that it’s a matchup of Big East teams that know each other well.
At stake is a trip to the Final Four. For Pittsburgh, it would be their first since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams. For Villanova, it would be their first since their magical run in 1985 that culminated with a national championship. But the historical notes aren’t the story.
One of these teams will get to the Final Four. Regardless of who wins, a team will be going to the premier event in college basketball with a team that’s not exactly overflowing with McDonald’s All-Americans. These two teams aren’t loaded with players that had big-time reputations coming into college, even though most had pretty good ones. Many players were thought to be good, but not the kind of players you make Final Four runs with as your best players.
Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes were McDonald’s All-Americans, while Pittsburgh doesn’t have one on its roster. Duke transfer Taylor King was one as well, but he’s not eligible this year. The only other Wildcat who had anything close to a big-time reputation entering college is Corey Fisher. Among the current Panthers, only DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields had anything remotely resembling such a reputation.
The truth is, look up and down each roster, and you find players whose reputations were good, but not elite, as well as players who have blossomed in college. You also get the sense that for both teams, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts.
On Pittsburgh, senior forward Tyrell Biggs was highly regarded, while freshmen Ashton Gibbs and Travon Woodall were known more as winners than elite talents as both played in winning programs at Seton Hall Prep and St. Anthony’s, respectively. Gilbert Brown was a top 100 player by some scouting services, but wasn’t a big name. Philadelphia-area natives Nasir Robinson and Brad Wanamaker simply fit the way this team plays, as does Gary McGhee, a beefy post player who didn’t make too many top 100 lists. Jermaine Dixon’s big claim to fame is older brother Juan, who won a national championship at Maryland, although he did have a stellar two-year junior college career before coming to Pittsburgh.
The best story with the Panthers, as players go, is Sam Young. Twice selected as a first team All-Big East player, the native of Clinton, MD was seen as an undersized center in high school and as such, thought of as a mid-major prospect at best by most since he stands 6’6″. Back then, about the only thing most thought he could do in the Big East is play the role of deep reserve. But he’s a great example of a player who fits the way the team plays growing into a better player.
Look over Villanova’s roster, and plenty of their best players besides the aforementioned ones are similar. Shane Clark, Antonio Pena and Reggie Redding all came in with good reputations, but none were likely close calls for the McDonald’s All-American team. Redding was the all-time leading scorer at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, but has been more of a defensive star on the Main Line.
As with the Panthers, a trip to the vicinity of the nation’s capital is where the best development story is found. Dante Cunningham wasn’t exactly labeled the next big stud to come out of the Beltway, nor was Dwayne Anderson. But take those two off this team, and the Wildcats are undoubtedly not playing for a trip to the Final Four. Cunningham was a key reserve as a freshman in large part because they lacked bodies up front, but has developed steadily over his career into the team’s best player this year. Anderson was a bit player throughout his career, but has emerged as a key player for this team and not just in an intangible sense.
When asked about the senior starters on each team, Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon noticed the symmetry. “That’s interesting, both teams with three seniors, three prominent seniors, all three starting,” said Dixon. That’s not all there is; both teams and coaches expressed a great deal of respect for how the other team plays.
That shouldn’t be surprising since both teams have a great symmetry in their talent levels, and that’s probably the best thing about this regional final. Those who watch it will see two teams full of players who had to work, scrap and battle to get to where they are. One of them will do it enough for a trip to college basketball’s promised land, the Final Four.
