These Wildcats have earned their own spot in rafters

They have played in the proverbial shadow of Villanova's history and literally under the banner-lined rafters in the Pavilion.

No more. The moment Scottie Reynolds' soft little miracle of a shot slipped through the net Saturday night, the 2009 Villanova Wildcats earned their own spot among the legends. They are going to the Final Four in Detroit, where they'll play North Carolina on Saturday night.

Late yesterday afternoon, tired from a sleepless and celebratory night in Boston and a return flight delayed by fog, the Wildcats still had no idea what it all meant. They were still on the wild ride, still taking in the applause and absorbing the love and feeling the thrill.

They were rushed on a Krapf's motorcoach from the airport to campus, where several thousand students and alumni had waited more than two hours to welcome them. They looked tired but exuberant, still running on fumes from the previous night's celebration.

Perspective? That will come later, when their own names hang on banners and when they are being invited back to inspire the 2025 and 2029 and 2034 Villanova basketball teams.

"I've seen it so many times," Reynolds said of his instant-classic game-winning shot. "I still don't believe it's me. I don't believe I really did that. It hasn't hit me yet. I'm still on another planet right now. I'm coming back down to Earth. Everybody's calling from [his hometown in Virginia], saying when I'm 40, people are going to be talking about that play."

Reynolds was still holding the basketball he'd tossed so calmly into the hoop the night before. He hadn't surrendered possession of the orange Wilson since leaving the arena in Boston.

"It's something I'd always seen Jordan do," Reynolds said. "When he won that championship, he got the ball. It was his fourth one, I think, and he was just laying on the floor crying. It's something I've always wanted to do."

Reynolds earned the right, and his name prompted the biggest roar from the crowd at the Pavilion. He stood under the banners - Pinckney and Porter, Arizin and Melchionni - and thanked the fans. If it occurred to him that his own banner will hang up there someday, he didn't let on.

Villanova's rock-star head coach, Jay Wright, has done a lot of things right in building this into a Final Four-caliber program. Two of those things are easy to overlook, but they deserve appreciation at a time like this.

Wright has been remarkably at ease with the history. He welcomes Rollie Massimino, coach of the 1985 national champions, and invites the 1971 Final Four team into his pregame locker room. Some coaches would see pressure there. Wright sees tradition. By celebrating the past, he removes it as a burden - on himself or on his players.

The other thing Wright gets is Philadelphia. He grew up in Bucks County, following the pro teams as well as Big Five basketball. During his tenure, Villanova has returned to full and proud participation in the Big Five.

This may not be popular on Hawk Hill, or at Broad and Montgomery, but that makes this Villanova team a Philadelphia team. I was a senior at Temple when Massimino's team stunned Georgetown for the title, and I believe John Chaney would have understood why I cheered at my TV. Reaching the Final Four - especially with wins over storied programs like UCLA and Duke, plus Big East power Pittsburgh - should transcend all local grudges and resentments.

The Wildcats have extended what is turning into a pretty amazing run in Philadelphia sports. A city that went from 1983 to 2008 without a major professional championship should take special note.

The Flyers reached the final four of the NHL last year, winning two playoff rounds before losing in the Eastern Conference finals to Pittsburgh.

The Eagles went to the NFC championship game again in January, also reaching the final four of their sport.

In between, as you may recall, the local baseball team reached its final four, then its final two. The Phillies snapped that championship drought and will be bringing their pixie dust north with them this weekend.

So it was fitting that Jimmy Rollins, the champs' shortstop and spirit guide, sent Wright a congratulatory text message after the win over Pitt.

"J-Roll follows us all the way through," Wright said. "He sends me great texts. I fire up the guys. I share them with the team sometimes."

But Wright also heard from recently dismissed Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie, from Larry Brown, from John Calipari, from a number of former Villanova players, from Sixers president/general manager (and Penn guy) Ed Stefanski.

"It was wild," Wright said. "I enjoyed that as much as anything. I watched the game tape, had a beer, and read the texts from all the ex-players. It was fun."

He is a Final Four coach now, his players the members of a Final Four team. They earned their place in the rafters. Now the fun really begins.