Villanova Scouting Report

[HuskyHawk]

You’ve never seen anyone come close to getting away with what he did? Do you live under a rock? Shaq built a Hall of Fame career doing that. If you do it right, it’s a perfectly legitimate move. TBH, I too hate that move, but I’ve learned because I’ve seen it done so many times.

A smart coach like Jay Wright understood what’s legal and coached his players how to do that legally - especially his guards. Jalen Brunson did it all the time when he was at Villanova. Jay reversed the normal offensive scheme. He developed his bigs into 3 point shooters, pulled them out to the perimeter, and then posted his guards up. That scheme among others took his teams to 2 national championships.

I have no idea how anyone who understands basketball could dislike Colin Gillespie. He was a fierce competitor and one of the headiest players I’ve ever seen. Totally clutch. I always wished that my team could have a Colin Gillespie on it.

Wait, you're comparing a 7' 290 pound center from a different era to a point guard?

Colin was a hell of a player, but he was an offensive foul machine when posting smaller guards (like Cole) and they just let him do it because he was the BEPOY. UConn just saw more of it; he didn't post bigger guards often. He would repeatedly throw his off hand shoulder into the defender's chest. That's a foul. Shaq didn't do that. He would have hurt people. Like Sanogo, Shaq used his butt and just kept backing up.

 

[superjohn]

Wait, you're comparing a 7' 290 pound center from a different era to a point guard?

Colin was a hell of a player, but he was an offensive foul machine when posting smaller guards (like Cole) and they just let him do it because he was the BEPOY. UConn just saw more of it; he didn't post bigger guards often. He would repeatedly throw his off hand shoulder into the defender's chest. That's a foul. Shaq didn't do that. He would have hurt people. Like Sanogo, Shaq used his butt and just kept backing up.

Great players tend to know how to manipulate calls/refs, Kemba and Bazz would do the head snapback anytime there was minimal contact and they would usually be rewarded. Sometimes they would just fall down when in a bind with a player near them without any contact and they would get the call.

 

[The Yakk]

Great players tend to know how to manipulate calls/refs, Kemba and Bazz would do the head snapback anytime there was minimal contact and they would usually be rewarded. Sometimes they would just fall down when in a bind with a player near them without any contact and they would get the call.

Lol I actually think Kemba invented the bobblehead reaction, now everyone does it.

Love him.

 

[The Yakk]

Wait, you're comparing a 7' 290 pound center from a different era to a point guard?

Colin was a hell of a player, but he was an offensive foul machine when posting smaller guards (like Cole) and they just let him do it because he was the BEPOY. UConn just saw more of it; he didn't post bigger guards often. He would repeatedly throw his off hand shoulder into the defender's chest. That's a foul. Shaq didn't do that. He would have hurt people. Like Sanogo, Shaq used his butt and just kept backing up.

All true about Gillespie.

He also used to regularly drill 3-pointers in clutch spots at the end of the shot clock that felt like a punch in the stomach. It was all part of the package.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Great players tend to know how to manipulate calls/refs, Kemba and Bazz would do the head snapback anytime there was minimal contact and they would usually be rewarded. Sometimes they would just fall down when in a bind with a player near them without any contact and they would get the call.

Of course. And just like the NBA, there's a star's whistle in the college game too. Kemba, Bazz, Gillespie all benefitted. Bazz didn't get those calls as a sophomore. I think Hopkins gets a really friendly whistle (as we saw when he fell down untouched). Sanogo gets away with a little bit. Wilson gets a star's whistle at KU. Always been that way.

 

[mauconnfan]

They don’t get the edge from the stripes. As you point out, a number of Villanova players and have done it over the years. It’s one of their signature plays. Perfectly legal.

Oh they get the edge don’t even go there. Daniels wouldn’t last half without the edge they get I promise.

 

[Umami Zen]

Of course. And just like the NBA, there's a star's whistle in the college game too. Kemba, Bazz, Gillespie all benefitted. Bazz didn't get those calls as a sophomore. I think Hopkins gets a really friendly whistle (as we saw when he fell down untouched). Sanogo gets away with a little bit. Wilson gets a star's whistle at KU. Always been that way.

Its rare where Sanogo isn't getting hammered on most of his low post moves.. BE refs won't call that stuff

 

[gtcam]

Not a Colin G fan at all but as I recall in the 10+ years he played at Nova, I didn’t see him push off with his off arm or hand - always the shoulder. I’m no ref but have to think that was more permissible than not. These refs are the issue posts are getting old.
Refs in every NCAA league/division suck and a good friend of mine who is a very successful D2 coach has explained to me what a majority of coaches he knows claim to be the reason but I will not reveal it here. It would open up a huge can of worms.
UConn has to cut down on the lazy fouls which comprise a minimum of 75% of what is called on them game after game.
Play intelligent basketball and the UConn talent will prevail.

 

[Billy Jack]

Gillespie also used a forearm shove to create space before every shot he took and was allowed to do so. Why are you on this forum defending Gillespie? On another thread you defended PC's home-court favoritism by refs. Obviously you're not a UConn fan, whom are you a fan of?

I’m not the kind of fan who ignores reality. Colin Gillespie was a great college player. Trashing him is just stupid.

I presented data to show that the claims about ref favoritism toward PC is nonsense. A real fan takes an honest look at his team. Whining about the refs is unproductive and biased. Being honest about the fact that this team is weak in defensive fundamentals because too many of the players play defense with their hands and get called for it by the refs, and they don pay enough attention to defensive positioning. Our team is one of the most foul prone teams in the country. That’s simply a fact. That’s the fault of the players and the coaches, not the refs.

 

[Billy Jack]

Not a Colin G fan at all but as I recall in the 10+ years he played at Nova, I didn’t see him push off with his off arm or hand - always the shoulder. I’m no ref but have to think that was more permissible than not. These refs are the issue posts are getting old.
Refs in every NCAA league/division suck and a good friend of mine who is a very successful D2 coach has explained to me what a majority of coaches he knows claim to be the reason but I will not reveal it here. It would open up a huge can of worms.
UConn has to cut down on the lazy fouls which comprise a minimum of 75% of what is called on them game after game.
Play intelligent basketball and the UConn talent will prevail.

You can’t come on here and say that you have inside knowledge of why refs suck and then not tell us. Come on. Please open up the vault.open up that can of worms. I’m begging you. Inquiring minds want to know.

I must add that saying the refs suck and saying that they play favorites are two different things.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I’m not the kind of fan who ignores reality. Colin Gillespie was a great college player. Trashing him is just stupid.

I presented data to show that the claims about ref favoritism toward PC is nonsense. A real fan takes an honest look at his team. Whining about the refs is unproductive and biased. Being honest about the fact that this team is weak in defensive fundamentals because too many of the players play defense with their hands and get called for it by the refs, and they don pay enough attention to defensive positioning. Our team is one of the most foul prone teams in the country. That’s simply a fact. That’s the fault of the players and the coaches, not the refs.

Nobody trashed him. Amazing player. Suggesting he didn't get calls shows you live in an imaginary dream world. Again, your data is useless. Nobody is talking about whether UConn fouls with their hands too much, especially during the losing streak when our guys were behind drivers on ball screens. It's simply that PC body fouls people all game long and that doesn't get called. So that stats are irrelevant to that point. Indeed they show that PC doesn't get called for all the fouls they so obviously commit. UConn commits far too many ticky tac, inconsequential touch fouls, and they all get called. PC commits hard, consequential body fouls, and those don't get called.

 

[gsmooth]

Updated report!

Villanova: 16-14
9-9 since we’ve last played them
2-5 without Whitmore; 14-9 with Whitmore
10-10 without Moore; 6-4 with Moore
6-1 in their last 7 (Ws over DePaul, SH 2x, Butler, Xavier, Creighton)
Kenpom Rating: 56th (53rd last time we’ve played)​

Offensive Efficiency: 34th (15th last time we played them)

Big East Rankings: 6th in Efficiency

• 1st in 3PA/FGA (45.3%)
  • 8th in 33.0 3p%
• 1st in 83.2 FT%
• 1st in Time spent per possession (19.5 seconds)
• 3rd in FTA/FGA (30.4%)
• 4th in 53.6 2p%
• 4th in steal prevention
• 10th in offensive rebounding rate
• 10th in block prevention
• 11th in A/FGM (44.2%)

Defensive Efficiency: 95th (123rd last time we played them)

Big East Rankings: 5th in Efficiency

• 2nd in defensive rebounding rate
• 4th in quickest opponent possession rate (17.1 seconds/possession)
• 4th in 32.5 opp. 3p%
• 5th in steal rate
• 6th in FTA/FGA prevention (29.4%)
• 7th in 51.0 opp. 2p%
• 9th in A/FGM prevention (58.7%)
• LAST in
  • 78.2 Opp. ft%
  • 39.4% 3PA/FGA
  • Block rate

Top Performers over the Last 30 Games:

Eric Dixon: 16.0p, 6.5r, 1.2 3PM, 50.7 fg%, 79.3 ft%
Caleb Daniels: 14.9p, 4.4r, 2.5a, 2.3 3PM, 85.3 ft%
Cam Whitmore: 12.6p, 5.1r, 1.4s, 1.4 3PM, 46.9 fg%
Justin Moore: 12.1p, 3.2r, 2.7a, 1.6 3PM

Obviously, the biggest change between this game and last game is Justin Moore’s return and Cam Whitmore in full rhythm after his 23 minutes against UConn last matchup was a career high.

With Moore back, Arcidiacono has been relegated back to mistake-preventing, team-first supporting guard who helps move the ball beautifully around the perimeter (he’s actually ranked the team’s most efficient offensive player, despite modest numbers).

In his junior season, Eric Dixon has been an offensive star, but is analytically (according to Evanmiya.com) the team’s least efficient regular defender while Cam Whitmore and Mark Armstrong are the team’s best defenders.

Similar to the last game, I expect another big game from Hawkins, however, I’d expect Karaban (15 points last matchup) to have a hard assignment against a fully healthy Whitmore. Sanogo’s performance in the last matchup (7 points, 4 personal fouls) feels like a fluke too…if he remains out of foul trouble, he should be able to carve up Sanogo in the post and if he’s doubled, a strong shooter like Karaban and/or Hawkins should be open on kick outs.

From what I remember AJax was on Whitmore a lot and his D was too much for Whitmore. Whitmore is better now, though. I wonder who to put AJax on, Whitmore or Justin Moore?

The main thing on D will be for UConn's guards to be disciplined on not leave their feet on the upfakes. Also, contrary to what many people think, Nova can be defended by helping out in post on their guards, it just has to be at random times so the guards posted up don't get in a rythmn of passing out to the 3 point shooters. When this happens all players on D need to be connected on a string even more than usual and recover to the perimeter. You know who does this well? Providence and Marquette. They don't let Nova methodically back down players in the post with their guards. After Marquette gave up 44 pts in one half to Nova, they made adjustments and limited them to 22 points at Finneran.

On offense, I have a feeling Nova will clog the paint trying to deny entry passes to the post to Sanogo with double teams. With UConn's adjustment with Sanogo facing up at the foul line UConn should be even more effective. In the first game Nova basically said, "we can't take away everything. We will take away the paint with extra defenders and you can shoot open 3s." Unfortunately, UConn only 9/30 on 3s. If some of their in and outs misses were made 3s, that game would have been more decisive.

 

[Umami Zen]

For some reason..Dixon seems to perform well vs Adama.. Will be one of the key matchups tonite

 

[dennismenace]

I was delighted that the Wells Fargo crowd was terrible . Place was like a mausoleum. Now that we are again a big draw on the road we have the privilege of playing there instead of their home court of Finneran arena. Another benefit of returning to being a top level program. Did anyone see any cheerleaders or a Villanova student section last night?

 

[uconnfan68]

I was delighted that the Wells Fargo crowd was terrible . Place was like a mausoleum. Now that we are again a big draw on the road we have the privilege of playing there instead of their home court of Finneran arena. Another benefit of returning to being a top level program. Did anyone see any cheerleaders or a Villanova student section last night?

They showed the cheerleaders on camera after every return from commercial.