Yesterday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv posted an upbeat assessment of Villanova’s prospects in his article "With Wright at Helm, ‘Nova is Soaring High." Here’s some of the highlights:
"As the Villanova coach heads out to Las Vegas this week to resume recruiting, he knows his team is already projected as a top-five team nationally for the upcoming season.
Wright feels the Villanova buzz so much that he turned down an offer to coach the Philadelphia 76ers, his town’s NBA franchise. "I love Villanova, and it is where I want to be," Wright said.
“Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Reggie Redding, Antonio Pena, they also have to learn how to be go-to guys,” Wright said. “They had the luxury of Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham who were seniors. Those three were our rocks. Those guys now have to be the rocks. That’s going to take a little transition.”
Villanova brings in two big men who could have an impact immediately in 6-foot-7 forward Isaiah Armwood and 6-9 center Mouphtaou Yarou. Yarou, should add a legitimate shot-blocking presence that Villanova has sorely lacked in recent years.
“Those guys have the chance to really help us,” Wright said. “Isaiah’s length and Mouph’s ability to block shots. He’s not just a good athlete; he’s got good timing [and is] going to get shots. So that could really help us defensively. It could also cover for some weaknesses defensively. We’ve never been able to do that.”
“Maurice [Sutton] can block shots, he gives us length,” Wright said. “Taylor King, he’s played big-time games with Duke, so he’s been there. He’s gotta step up and be a more consistent upperclassmen.”
All this talent must be melded together into a unit that can compete night in and night out in the brutal Big East. “There are teams that are stepping up that people aren’t counting on, and they’re good enough to beat anybody, but people aren’t talking about them,” Wright said. “