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Sam Donnellon: Villanova's Wright, Robert Morris' Rice are neighbors from different worlds

WHEN HE was a Saint Joseph's assistant, Mike Rice lived a few blocks away from Jay Wright. Same neighborhood, really.

WHEN HE was a Saint Joseph's assistant, Mike Rice lived a few blocks away from Jay Wright.

Same neighborhood, really.

Worlds apart, though.

"I'd be weeding and he would come by," Rice, now the coach of Robert Morris University, was saying over the phone yesterday. "That relaxed look, with a cigar in his mouth, going to watch his boys play baseball.

"He'd yell at me, 'What the hell are you doing weeding, Rice? You should be out recruiting.'

"It was always entertaining when he went by."

This is what would happen in the spring, after Wright had made his run with Villanova, after Rice had done his part to push St. Joe's along.

Wright opened up the box of cigars.

Rice opened up the box of tools.

"I had the to-do list put up as soon as the season ended," Rice said.

And Jay?

"You wouldn't see him weeding, mowing or shoveling the snow out of his driveway," Rice said. "I wouldn't say it was the same price line between where Jay lives and where I lived."

Not unlike their teams, which meet in an opening-round NCAA Tournament matinee in Providence, R.I., on Thursday - Villanova as the No. 2 seed, Robert Morris the No. 15. Rice and Wright farm the same Northeast corridor for talent, but they don't share the same fertilizer. Wright sells Big East basketball, prime-time exposure, a chance to still be playing in the final two weekends of the season. Rice sells lower midlevel Division I, pitches a smaller but well-tended garden that has produced three straight Northeast Conference titles and 73 victories since his arrival in 2007.

Rice sells a chance at the dance.

Their rosters reflect this. Several Robert Morris players have been AAU teammates of many Villanova players. Velton Jones, the Colonials' junior guard, played alongside of Villanova's Reggie Redding growing up. He called 'Nova's Maalik Wayns, another play pal, after the pairing was announced.

"I think this will be the first time I've ever played against him," Redding said. "My mom and his sister are best friends. So they're going to be coming to the game together."

'Nova guard Corey Stokes played with Robert Morris guard Gary Wallace when they were both high school juniors in North Jersey. Russell Johnson, Lijah Thompson and Khalif Foster are all from this area.

You might think this would help the Colonials. Rice said it might work in reverse. As a 15th seed last year, Robert Morris drew Michigan State in the first round. "Michigan State was interviewed right after the announcement and Travis Walton didn't even know what a Robert Morris was," Rice said.

The Colonials led the Spartans by two with 3 minutes to go in the first half.

"It's easier to sneak up on someone like that," Rice said.

There will be no sneaking up on 'Nova. Losers of five of their last seven games, they are not likely to take any team lightly now. Listen to them, and Rice is right.

"He's a great shooter; he's a great defender. I can't wait to play against him," Stokes said of Wallace, his former teammate.

"He's like a little bulldog out there," Redding said of Jones. "He's so fast and strong and he attacks the rim so hard. And he competes. That's one thing I've always loved about him. He just competes. He's not going to give up, no matter what."

There's also this: Villanova fell behind by 14 to American in their first-round game of a year ago, trailed Clemson the year before by 18 and struggled to beat Monmouth in 2006.

"They may not think we're the greatest thing since sliced bread," Rice said. "But they know there's some talent there."

Said Wright: "I know they're not going to be intimidated. But I also know our guys are going to have a healthy respect for them. I know Reggie watched them play when we were in New York. And he said, 'They're good.' So if he's telling our team that they're good, that's good. Because our guys will listen to that . . . More than they'll listen to me."

Rice also has Jimmy Martelli, son of Phil and a former St. Joe's assistant, on his staff. "They know us as well as anyone," said Wright.

All of which could make this game more interesting than the seeding suggests. "When your team goes against his team, you at least know one thing," Rice said. "He's going to be better dressed than you."

Ah, yes, same neighborhood.

Worlds apart.

"I have an 'A' suit," Rice said.

You do? Really?

"Well, it's like, 2007 fashion," he said. "So maybe 3 years ago Jay might have thought about wearing it."

Send e-mail to donnels@phillynews.com.

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