Ennis makes case for starting job in 'Nova exhibition

Villanova coach Jay Wright was the perfect host to his former boss, Rollie Massimino, and members of the Wildcats' 1985 national championship team Tuesday night at the Pavilion until the ball went up for the opening tip against Massimino's Northwood team.

Once that happened, Wright intently studied his 12th-ranked Wildcats and yelled at his players and corrected them just as if it had been a regular-season Big East game.

One of the questions Wright considered through the preseason was who would be his fifth starter. Wright gave that responsibility in the 93-50 exhibition victory to fourth-year junior Dylan Ennis, who contributed 12 points and two steals in 20 minutes.

"He actually didn't tell the team who was starting until the day before the game," Ennis said. "We all play hard. Any one of us can start at any given moment. You see all the guys who come off the bench, they can be subbed in for any one of us. So we never look at it as five starters, we just look at it as those five are starting the game."

The 6-foot-2 Ennis was aggressive with his defense and sharp with his shot, hitting 5 of 8 from the floor and going 2 of 5 from three-point range. His layup ended a 20-3 start for Villanova. The Seahawks, an NAIA Division II team, went 7 minutes, 21 seconds before hitting their first field goal.

Ennis said his attitude as a starter was to "just play hard." As for his shooting, he said he worked hard on it during the summer and the preseason.

"Before the season, you want to make sure that you're comfortable shooting the ball," he said. "The coach always stresses to us, 'catch and shoot.' I get in with the assistant coaches and the [graduate assistants] and make sure I get extra shots up before and after practice."

The Wildcats led by 50-23 at halftime, meaning there probably wasn't much for the Fox Sports 1 production crew to worry about with Wright wearing a microphone on the bench. The lead grew to as high as 45 points in the second half.

Darrun Hillard led Villanova with 20 points in 18 minutes. Daniel Ochefu, who at 6-foot-11 was four inches taller than the tallest Seahawks regular, added 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Sophomores Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins are the other two candidates who could start. Hart struggled with his shot Tuesday, going 1 of 6 from the field, but added five assists, five rebounds, and two steals to his five points in 25 minutes. Jenkins had seven points and two blocked shots in 17 minutes.