Who have been the best Villanova players over the past decade? Jon Tannenwald is asking for nominations on his blog, Soft Pretzel Logic.
For me there are two players this decade that are locks to make any such team: Allan Ray and Scottie Reynolds. Both had tremendous four-year careers on the Main Line. The only two players in this decade to score at least 2000 points in their careers (Ray had 2,025 and Scottie scored 2,222).
I tend to think that Randy Foye should also make the team. He had a legendary senior year at Villanova and was a solid player for all four. He fell short of the 2,000-point club with just 1,966 -- but he averaged about 20ppg as a senior. He also had 630 rebounds, 416 assists (12th), and 198 steals (6th).
Curtis Sumpter was another member of a legendary recruiting class at Villanova. Despite missing his senior year with an injury, he came back for a 5th year and lead the team in scoring when Scottie Reynolds was a freshman (17.4ppg). He is 13th all-time in scoring (1,651), 12th all-time in rebounding (794), 26th in steals (111) and 13th in blocks (70).
My fifth nominee has perhaps weakest case of this group -- he was a non-factor as a freshman and didn't really hit the national consciousness until his senior year -- but as one of the hardest-working Villanovans of the decade, Dante Cunningham perhaps deserves the honor as much as anyone. Cunningham scored 1334 points (31st), had 162 steals (12th), and 118 blocks (7th). As a junior he began to emerge from role-player status, averaging 10.4ppg for the first time and pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game in his first season as a starter. As a senior he improved those numbers to 16.1ppg and 7.5 rebounds.
Who are your nominees? Share them here and at Soft Pretzel Logic (he's also taking nominees for the other city schools).