IS ON THE TRADE RUMOR TRAIL
As its reward for winning two games in three days and advancing to the NCAA Final Four, Villanova now has to . . . wait.
When the Wildcats take the floor Saturday night for their semifinal against North Carolina, they will have been off from game action for exactly seven days. Their challenge in Detroit will be to regain the energy they showed last week in Boston.
"People say it's a momentum-breaker and things like that," senior Dante Cunningham said yesterday. "But I think this team is just so good at picking back up where we started. Coach has such a good plan in order for us to keep playing, resting our bodies, and allowing us not to wear ourselves down at this point in the year."
The coach, Jay Wright, gave his players Sunday off and had them do some shooting Monday. He intended to work his team hard yesterday, but for less than an hour.
"I think if we handle [the break] properly, it's an advantage because you're physically beaten down by this time of year," he said. "That's why [Monday] we went real light, tried to stay fresh. I think if we're smart about it, it's going to be an advantage."
Even though his team has played 37 games and its first practice of the preseason was almost six months ago, Wright still gets excited about practice.
"Being on the court together, just talk basketball, talk about getting better - we love that," he said. "This group loves that. Our staff loves that with this group. Practice with this group is intense. It's fun. It's rewarding. We can't wait to get to that."
Tale of the tape. Guard Scottie Reynolds, who injured his right thumb against Duke, continues to wear a wrap on the thumb that extends to his right (shooting) hand.
He doesn't like it.
"It's really, really annoying," he said. "I never wear anything on my shooting hand, not even wristbands or anything. Everything goes on [the left] side. It's frustrating, but you have to do it."
On stage. Because they played in Detroit last year in the Sweet 16, Wright and the Wildcats are accustomed to the setup at Ford Field - an elevated court about four feet above the team benches.
The head coach gets to stand on the sideline but has to look - and yell - down to his players and coaches.
"You feel like you're on a Broadway stage and you're not in the play, you're just standing in the middle," Wright said. "It's really strange. I think we'll be more prepared this time."
Coaches have the option of sitting on a stool on the sideline, but Wright would rather stand.
"I don't sit down anyway," he said. "But it's tough not to be able to talk to your team, because I talk to them a lot.
"But you guys were right behind us last year," Wright told reporters, "and some of you got some of the things I said, which I don't really want people to hear."
- Joe Juliano
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