Preview Villanova 2014-15

[Bill Marsh]

Let's start a thread previewing the 2014-15 season for each team. I'm starting with Villanova because they're the team to beat. Dark means team leader in this category.

Significant Players Gone from 2013-14:

James Bell, F (6-6), 30 mpg [14.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.3 spg, .815 FT%]
Tony Chennault, G (6-2) 14 mpg [2.7 ppg, 1.8 apg]

Significant Players Returning from 2013-14:

Darrun Hilliard, Sr, G (6-6) 29 mpg [14.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, .414 3P%]
Ryan Arcidiacono, Jr, G (6-3) 31 mpg [9.9 ppg, 3.5 apg]
Daniel Ochefu, Jr, C (6-11) 22 mpg [5.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.5 bpg, .594 fg%]
JayVaughan Pinkston, Sr, F (6-7) 27 mpg [14.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg]
Josh Hart, So, G-F (6-5) 21 mpg [7.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.9 apg]
Kris Jenkins, So, F (6-6) 12 mpg [4.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg]
Dylan Ennis, Jr, G (6-2) 16 mpg [5.1 ppg, 1.6 apg]

Significant Recruits for 2014-15:

Mikal Bridges 4*, SF (6-6)
Phil Booth 4*, SG (6-4)

Villanova reloads with two 4* recruits to replace the graduated seniors Bell and Chennault. Bridges will probably compete with Hart and Ennis for Bell's minutes. In addition to those returning from last year who saw a lot of minutes, I'm guessing that 6-8 sophomore Darryl Reynolds may be counted on more this year to provide depth inside. Given that they return 4 starters from the regular season champs, they would appear to be the team to beat.

Any thoughts from Villanova fans?

[billyjack]

VU is going to be great this year. Definitely the team to beat.

Villanova OOC Schedule:
exh.: vs Nyack College.
Nov 16-20: Legends Classic home games.
Nov 24-25: Legends Classic (Michigan, VCU, Oregon).
Dec 9th: Jimmy V Classic.
Dec 20th: vs Syracuse.
also, dates TBD:
vs Delaware.
vs St Joe's.
vs Temple.
vs Monmouth.
at La Salle.
at Penn.

[TheHall]

Anyway Nova will be on a mission given how last season ended. I'm also looking for big things from Kris Jenkins this year. I think he has less game than JVP but a higher BBall IQ (no knock on JVP) & maybe a higher ceiling IMO.

[SJHooper]

This season I think will be all about Villanova and Georgetown. Nova returns most of their top 10 team last year and adds some good recruits. They will be fine and finish nowhere other than 1st or 2nd. I can see G'Town doing much better than last year. They bring in a ton of new talent and return some very good talent. They started off terribly, but got going at the end of the season. I just can't see G'Town being bad 2 seasons in a row and missing the tourney again.

What scares me is that only Nova and G'Town will be our nationally prominent teams. SJ not making the tournament seems to be a yearly guarantee at this point and always underachieves, Creighton lost everyone, PC lost Cotton and Fortune aka everyone, Marquette lost their top notch coach and lost recruits because of it, Butler lost Stevens last year and looked overwhelmed without him, Seton Hall brings in lots of talent on paper, but will they translate to real success? Rarely do very young teams start competing right away. SJ's class in 2012 is the perfect example...top 10 class, sub .500 record the first year. DePaul is...DePaul. The Mets of the Big East. And Xavier lost their best player to the draft.

I think best case scenario is that G'Town and Nova are in the top 15, Xavier squeaks in the tourney somehow and SJ is on the bubble.

Worst case: only Nova and G'Town are ranked or make tourney.

[BEX]

X has a lot of talent coming in. We have lacked shooters and now we have a bunch of good ones. Stainbrook will get his and will be a matchup problem for some teams. Reynolds needs to break out and show us he can be a premier player in this League a la Henton. Dee Davis is a decent floor general but needs to get better and I think he will be up to the challenge. Losing Semaj may be a benefit for him since he doesn't have to look for him all the time. Bluiett looks too good to stay on the bench. Think he will adjust fine and start soon. Then there's a talented bunch of frosh who will be battling each other for minutes. I think at least one of them (besides Bluiett) will step up and add significant minutes. We will play 10-11 guys and try to wear you down with speed and agility. Remy Abell (IU transfer) will add depth and experience. I'm not worried at all about the offense. If we move the ball, it will eventually lead to a good shot by a good shooter. Will depend on how fast the defense picks up on Mack's system which has been tough for them to do in past years. But when they finally get it right, it's a thing of beauty. If we keep all these kids next year, get ready to roll.

[R to the OB]

This season I think will be all about Villanova and Georgetown. Nova returns most of their top 10 team last year and adds some good recruits. They will be fine and finish nowhere other than 1st or 2nd. I can see G'Town doing much better than last year. They bring in a ton of new talent and return some very good talent. They started off terribly, but got going at the end of the season. I just can't see G'Town being bad 2 seasons in a row and missing the tourney again.

What scares me is that only Nova and G'Town will be our nationally prominent teams. SJ not making the tournament seems to be a yearly guarantee at this point and always underachieves, Creighton lost everyone, PC lost Cotton and Fortune aka everyone, Marquette lost their top notch coach and lost recruits because of it, Butler lost Stevens last year and looked overwhelmed without him, Seton Hall brings in lots of talent on paper, but will they translate to real success? Rarely do very young teams start competing right away. SJ's class in 2012 is the perfect example...top 10 class, sub .500 record the first year. DePaul is...DePaul. The Mets of the Big East. And Xavier lost their best player to the draft.

I think best case scenario is that G'Town and Nova are in the top 15, Xavier squeaks in the tourney somehow and SJ is on the bubble.

Worst case: only Nova and G'Town are ranked or make tourney.

Sky is always falling with you, isn't it SJHooper? I'm surprised FS1 hasn't folded yet... The NBE should have signed with ESPN... The Catholic 7 should have never left to form the New Big East. If the sky was falling, why hasn't it hit the ground yet? Why did the Big East and Big Ten agree to the Gavitt Tipoff? Why did the Big East continue to excel at recruiting? Why this if the sky was falling?

But I digress to the OP's topic...
I think Villanova is by far and away the top team in the conference, but by no means should we crown them without a game played. That said, I have high expectations for Nova next year and I hope that they will represent the Big East well come tournament time.

[GumbyDamnit!]

As a Nova fan I am very optimistic about our chances to finish at the top of the league and hopefully do some damage in the tourney next year. This core of players have all logged a lot of minutes together in the program. They know what JW wants, play unselfishly, and can all score and defend. They've got a lot of weapons, with their 4 returning starters each probably being in the top 3 of the league at their respective positions. Thats a pretty good base of talent and experience across the board. JVP, Hilliard and Arch will all gets theirs. The wild card is Ochefu. If he takes another step forward I would expect Nova to be in the Top 20 all season long, no problem.

[SJHooper]

This season I think will be all about Villanova and Georgetown. Nova returns most of their top 10 team last year and adds some good recruits. They will be fine and finish nowhere other than 1st or 2nd. I can see G'Town doing much better than last year. They bring in a ton of new talent and return some very good talent. They started off terribly, but got going at the end of the season. I just can't see G'Town being bad 2 seasons in a row and missing the tourney again.

What scares me is that only Nova and G'Town will be our nationally prominent teams. SJ not making the tournament seems to be a yearly guarantee at this point and always underachieves, Creighton lost everyone, PC lost Cotton and Fortune aka everyone, Marquette lost their top notch coach and lost recruits because of it, Butler lost Stevens last year and looked overwhelmed without him, Seton Hall brings in lots of talent on paper, but will they translate to real success? Rarely do very young teams start competing right away. SJ's class in 2012 is the perfect example...top 10 class, sub .500 record the first year. DePaul is...DePaul. The Mets of the Big East. And Xavier lost their best player to the draft.

I think best case scenario is that G'Town and Nova are in the top 15, Xavier squeaks in the tourney somehow and SJ is on the bubble.

Worst case: only Nova and G'Town are ranked or make tourney.

Sky is always falling with you, isn't it SJHooper? I'm surprised FS1 hasn't folded yet... The NBE should have signed with ESPN... The Catholic 7 should have never left to form the New Big East. If the sky was falling, why hasn't it hit the ground yet? Why did the Big East and Big Ten agree to the Gavitt Tipoff? Why did the Big East continue to excel at recruiting? Why this if the sky was falling?

But I digress to the OP's topic...
I think Villanova is by far and away the top team in the conference, but by no means should we crown them without a game played. That said, I have high expectations for Nova next year and I hope that they will represent the Big East well come tournament time.

There are different kinds of people: blind optimists (everything is always great even when it's not), pessimists (everything is always terrible), and realists (fact oriented and honest). I am in the realist camp. Of course I hope SJU somehow finally puts it together and plays like a well-oiled machine entering the top 25 and making a tourney run. Of course I hope Creighton can show they are not just about McDermott. Of course I hope PC can fill the void of Cotton. Of course I hope losing Semaj won't affect Xavier too badly. Of course I hope Butler somehow finds its magic from the late 00's. Of course I hope Seton Hall's recruits pan out.

There is nothing wrong with being honest. The facts are that the conference lost a ton of good, experienced players including the POY. The facts are that Marquette, G'Town, Butler, SJU greatly disappointed this year. The facts are that SJU almost seems allergic to the NCAA's. The facts are that there is only 1 bonafide ranked top 25 team we can say with any confidence (Nova). Yes the conference did a good job recruiting but SJU seems to be failing in that area lately especially if Briscoe and Diallo don't sign which is likely given the competition.

Bottom line is there are way more question marks than periods. Nova is the name brand top 25 nationally ranked school. After that, roll the dice. So it's insincere to act like everything is going great. It's just wrong. Here's to hoping we have lots of pleasant surprises i.e. big OOC wins like SJU over Duke or Cuse, etc.

[TheHall]

]
There are different kinds of people: blind optimists (everything is always great even when it's not), pessimists (everything is always terrible), and realists (fact oriented and honest). I am in the realist camp. Of course I hope SJU somehow finally puts it together and plays like a well-oiled machine entering the top 25 and making a tourney run. Of course I hope Creighton can show they are not just about McDermott. Of course I hope PC can fill the void of Cotton. Of course I hope losing Semaj won't affect Xavier too badly. Of course I hope Butler somehow finds its magic from the late 00's. Of course I hope Seton Hall's recruits pan out.

There is nothing wrong with being honest. The facts are that the conference lost a ton of good, experienced players including the POY. The facts are that Marquette, G'Town, Butler, SJU greatly disappointed this year. The facts are that SJU almost seems allergic to the NCAA's. The facts are that there is only 1 bonafide ranked top 25 team we can say with any confidence (Nova). Yes the conference did a good job recruiting but SJU seems to be failing in that area lately especially if Briscoe and Diallo don't sign which is likely given the competition.

Bottom line is there are way more question marks than periods. Nova is the name brand top 25 nationally ranked school. After that, roll the dice. So it's insincere to act like everything is going great. It's just wrong. Here's to hoping we have lots of pleasant surprises i.e. big OOC wins like SJU over Duke or Cuse, etc.

I'm baffled by your usage of the word "we" in this context and btw despite you anointing yourself a realist I'm pretty sure at HLOH you'll continue to be regarded as a pessimist.

[BEhomer]

I expect a repeat of last season. they are an experienced and well disciplined team that will rack up wins during regular season.

however, they lack elite talent to carry them in the post season.