Kern: Former Wildcats Arcidiacono, Ochefu relive their moment while looking ahead

ALMOST A year has gone by. But the memories remain just as vidid. They always will. That's how it is with moments. Still, time moves on. Lives too.

Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu were two of the five seniors on the Villanova basketball team that cut down national title nets in Houston last April. The others were walk-ons who nonetheless were influential within the locker room. Still, it was Arch - a four-year starter at the point - and D.O. - their underappreciated big man, that the underclassmen looked to first. They led in different ways. But it started with them.

It was Ochefu who called his teammates out in the locker room at halftime of the final game against North Carolina, when they trailed by five. He smiled when asked about it afterward. That was his way. And they of course wound up winning by three on a last-second three by Kris Jenkins that will live on forever. Arch made the pass to him, after using a screen from Ochefu at midcourt to free himself up. But only after Ochefu had taken the time to wipe the floor clean, just in case, during the preceding timeout.

Even now it's a little hard to believe it actually unfolded like that, with all those details. Except that there are all these constant reminders, especially with the Madness rapidly approaching once again.

"It's almost like you can't get away from it," Arcidiacono said with a laugh over the phone from Texas, where he's playing for the Austin Spurs of the NBA's Developmental League. "People recognize me and ask about it, which isn't a bad thing. And if I'm watching TV, I'm always seeing CBS promos for the (NCAA) Tournament. They'll show Tom Brady at the Super Bowl and then Kris. You know (Jim Nantz's call), 'For the championship!'

"I was just chatting with my mom a couple of weeks ago and it came on. I was like, 'Oh my God.' I might see it once every two or three days. They'll have great finishes on (ESPN's) SportsCenter and there it is. Or Fox is using it in their ads. You'll be in an airport and you look up and it's there. Things like that. But it's all fun. It's a great feeling to know you were a part of that. And always will be."

There's just one problem. A minor one, but still worth noting.

"It's Kris's moment, but it's the whole team's moment," Arcidiacono went on. "In the CBS promos you just see Kris letting the ball go. It's not even him making the shot. Then they have us going crazy. It's like a two-second montage. That's just the way they do it. But there I was, trying to be the hard worker getting him the ball and I don't even make the cut . . . No big deal. I'll take it."

You think?

Ochefu carries his share of images as well. He had the biggest smile on his face of anyone. After the game, at the team banquet a week or so later at the Pavilion and at the city hall ceremony where the team was recognized by City Council. It never left his face.

"We'll always have that," he said recently. "I think all the stars kind of aligned. It was just a great ride. That was a defining moment for us. And we gave everybody stories to tell. When we got back to campus, I had so many people telling me how they watched the game. You can't be a Villanova fan and not know what you were doing when that shot went in . . .

"I was at halfcourt. After I set the screen I was just standing there trying to see if the shot was good."

Like the rest of the free world, he found out soon enough that it had found nothing but the history books. After that, things became a bit of a blur. Until he saw it all over again during the NBA's All-Star weekend in New Orleans, on a virtual-reality machine.

"It was cool," said Ochefu, who's appeared in 15 games for the Washington Wizards as an undrafted free agent. "I mean, it was one of those stations in the players hotel. They said come in and try it out. I was trying to stay calm. But I did jump into the trainer's (Jeff Pierce) arms. I don't remember much after that. But as it goes on I'm dancing around.

"What a play. I still get goose bumps."

Ya think?

Now another Jay Wright team is trying to make some more history. The Wildcats (31-3) are a top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years (they were a two the other two). Unlike last year, they are playing without much of a bench because of injuries and eligibility rulings. Arcidiacono and Ochefu remain connected from afar. It's the Villanova way. Whatever happens, they still feel like they're somehow still a part of this. Just in a different way.

"JayVaughn (Pinkston) was there for us last year in Houston," said Arcidiacono. "He meant so much to the program, the guys he played with. He took a lot of pride in that, even though he was no longer on the team. He had something to do with what we were able to accomplish. That's how I look at this group.

"My schedule's crazy, but I try to watch them whenever I can. I still keep in touch with them, let them know I'm with them. We don't really talk about basketball. They know what to do. Why would I want to get in the way? I have to let them be their own person, be their own leaders. I had my time. I'm sure they've had enough of Arch's coaching when I was there. No need to hear my voice again. They probably got sick of that. Let them have their own identity. That's how it's supposed to be. You learn from the past, but what's most important for them is right now. It's another part of their legacy, being the winningest class in (program) history."

Ochefu still has occasional "group chats" online with many of his former teammates, just because. Nobody ever leaves the family.

"I figured they were going to be really good again," he said. "So I'm not surprised that they're doing well. I know they're flying under the radar a little bit, even though we won it last year.

"You have to let them do their thing. But we're still attached to it. If they win again I'll probably ask for a ring."

Or at least maybe a spot in the parade.

The most precious thing about moments is they're indelible. They become frozen/etched in our soul. So imagine what it must be like for those who actually made it happen. The rest of us were mere spectators, which for many was special enough. The Wildcats have something to share with their children and grandkids. Like Tom Brady.

"Every basketball journey is different," said Arcidiacono, who lost in the second round of the Madness as a sophomore and junior. "I never really realized how hard it was to win the tournament. It still doesn't seem real sometimes. A lot of people have different perspectives on it. I wish I could hear all the stories. Everyone has one. I know people who drove 24 hours to be there. It really makes you think you did something special for so many of them.

"Everyone thinks we had such a great time down there. But after the Oklahoma game they were all going out to parties and we were back in our rooms. That's what we had done all year. We were prisoners, on coach Wright time. We couldn't leave the hotel. We couldn't enjoy it. But it worked out all right. All you want is that one chance to win it all. But we had to go through some humbling experiences first. And they were humbling.

"Daniel and I worked really well together. We'd be like good cop, bad cop. He'd flip out on the young kids like Makal (Bridges), then I'd go up to him and say 'You're fine' or something. Whatever. I honestly don't know how to comment on the (senior) leadership (now), since I haven't seen it on a daily basis. But they must be doing something right."

Ya think?

Austin's season ends on April 1. The NCAA title game is April 3. Arcidiacono says if the Wildcats are in the final again he's going to be at the University Phoenix Stadium. Only this time there won't be any pressure on him.

"Wouldn't miss it," he insisted. "I'll fly out, because I'm going to be driving back home after that. It would be unbelievable. I'll definitely get there."

And if these Wildcats should repeat?

"It would make for some nice discussions (on which team was better)," Arcidiacono went on. "Last year was like a perfect storm. Like the Super Bowl this year. Very hard to top. It's almost like nothing could compare to last year's ending. But you never know. It's funny how life works. If I didn't make those two bad passes near the end, it might not have come down to one shot.

"We had a meeting like two days later. Coach said it was one of the worst attitude games. He's like, 'You played Villanova basketball your whole career and in your last game you had your lowest attitude. I don't get it.' Then he started laughing. So I said, 'Sorry coach. At least we won.' "

Nothing can ever change that. In the victorious locker room, Wright urged his guys not to let the moment define them. But at least for the time being it's hard not to.

Nice dilemma to have.

"All you can do is enjoy the ride," Ochefu said. "And now I'm enjoying another one. It's been a good year for that. Winning is always fun.

"You have to move on. But I have some memorabilia in my apartment, and something will pop up on social media. So it's hard to get away from it. I wear my Villanova stuff, I get to talk a little smack . . . It was like a roller coaster for a month or so before it started to slow down. There's a part of you that wishes it could have never ended."

In many ways, it never will.

kernm@phillynews.com

@mikekerndn