Villanova's Wright and his players feeling positive

NEW YORK - The 2009-10 Villanova basketball season that had proceeded with so much promise, peaking with a 20-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking at the start of February, ended with an unlikely thud in a loss to unheralded St. Mary's in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

While the fans of 'Nova Nation were devastated, coach Jay Wright and his staff thought that the Wildcats spent much of the year overachieving. The painful finish for a No. 2 tournament seed got the attention of his young players, and the lessons are being applied now with the impending start of a new season.

"I don't think we as a team feel as bad about last season as everybody else does," Wright, entering his 10th season on the Main Line, said Wednesday during the Big East Conference media day at Madison Square Garden.

"Going through the 20-1 [start], we knew we were lucky in some games. We knew what our weaknesses were. So we really didn't look at it as being a disappointment. We certainly weren't happy with the way it ended, but it wasn't as drastic as people presented it to be. We understand why people did, and we have no problem with it. We're really positive about the new season. We've taken a lot of positives from last season, more than having a chip on our shoulders."

The Wildcats, who were picked in a vote of conference coaches to finish second behind Pittsburgh, return eight regulars from the team that finished 25-8. Five of them are sophomores, part of Wright's prized freshman class of 2009 that had its ups and downs, especially once the Cats got into Big East play.

"When we used to talk to the freshmen about what was important, they'd look at you like, 'Come on, man, we're winning games,' " Wright said. "Now when you say something to them at practice, they know how this affected us at Pitt or at Syracuse. They pay big-time attention to detail. I'm really impressed with their maturity."

Senior guard Corey Fisher, chosen for the preseason all-Big East team, is one of three captains along with classmates Corey Stokes and Antonio Pena. He said he believes that the young players got the message.

"We've been talking to them on and off the court and let them know we've got to play harder," Fisher said. "Sometimes you'll win some games by just scoring, but if you're playing a game where you don't score, you've got to get stops.

"That's something our young guys are coming in and trying to take pride in, coming in with the mind-set of getting better and learning. I think everybody's got a sense of urgency."

The Wildcats opened practice Friday with nine scholarship players. They lost seniors Scottie Reynolds - who finished as the school's No. 2 all-time leading scorer - and Reggie Redding, and Taylor King left the program.

One of their two freshmen, guard James Bell, is recuperating from surgery to relieve stress fractures in both of his legs. Two walk-ons have joined the team. One of them is Russell Wooten, who is playing in his final year of eligibility while in graduate school.

"If everybody is healthy, it's perfect," Wright said. "The problem is, if somebody gets hurt, it really makes practice difficult, and then in the game, it could get a little iffy.

"With nine guys, nobody sits out, so you don't have to go as long [in practice]. Everybody's in every rep. It's kind of fun as long as everybody stays healthy. So we have to be careful. We're trying to be smart about it."