The Week In Review (Updated)

NBA Dreams Do Come True ... Terry Toohey of Delcotimes reports, "Maalik Wayns left Villanova a year early to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. It appears that dream will come true, in his hometown no less. A source confirmed Saturday that Wayns has agreed to a free-agent deal with the 76ers. The deal reportedly is similar to the one Lavoy Allen received after the Sixers took him in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, No. 50 overall, the source said. Allen reportedly received a $60,000 signing bonus and then received the rookie minimum of $473,604 after making the team. Wayns tweeted, "Dreams do come true never let somebody tell you what you can’t be or where u can’t go #tearsofjoy #Amen." Wayns had a good showing for the Orlando Magic in the Orlando Summer League, averaging 11.7 points, 5.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game."

Nova Well Represented ... Dave Zeitlin of CSN Philly.com writes, Villanova women’s track coach Gina Procaccio’s commitment to global recruiting has not only helped Villanova maintain its lofty status as one of this country’s great programs for distance running, it’s also established an impressive tradition on the world stage – one that will continue this month. At the 2012 London Olympics, two Villanova women’s track alums – Sheila Reid and Marina Muncan – will be the latest in a long line of Wildcat Olympians. Villanova’s women’s program has had an Olympic representative in every Summer Games since 1988. And the Villanova men’s program also has a rich tradition, sending runners to every Olympics from 1948 to 1992, winning 10 medals in that span. For Reid, "Her goal is to try to make it to the finals in the women’s 5,000 meters. Muncan will also have the odds stacked against her in the 1500-meter as she makes her Olympic debut."

Villanova.com compiled a daily schedule of events that former Villanova student-athletes are competing in at the London Olympics from July 27-August 12. Excerpted in the table below is the schedule for the next week. All times are Eastern time and some start times are approximate.

'Nova Alum So Far 0-2 for the Olympics ... Lisa Karcic played 12 minutes, failing to score on 0-3 shooting, but grabbing 4 rebounds for her Coatia team, which lost to the U.S. 56-81. Andrew Sullivan started for Great Britain in this afternoon's men's basketball match-up against Russia. Sullivan was plagued by foul trouble and saw only 14 minutes of playing time, scoring 2 points on 1-3 shooting and grabbing one rebound.

Sweet Tweets … Here’s what Jay tweeted this week: "Augusta GA to Orlando and back; a great day of recruiting! Peach Jam is outstanding event - Nike knows how to put on a tourney! Great to see Freddie Hill last week - good look my man, appreciate the assist ! Good luck to my man Markus Kennedy at SMU! Steve Lavin in great health and back at it strong - proud of you! Good Luck to Coach K / Jerry C - coaches and players of USABasketball. Proud of JayVaughn Pinkston - successful people make habits of difficult things! These are changing times in college athletics - be proud of your school and roll with punches. Started this recruiting cycle off in AC Wednesday – great to watch basketball at the Jersey Shore!" [Editor's Note: If you are wondering what Jay meant by his comment thanking Fred Hill for the assist, see VUH reader mprams' post in the next article, "Rebuilding Guard U".]

Jordan and Ennis Shine in AC… Jay did not have to travel far to see two Villanova recruiting targets in action in the Live in AC Tournament in Atlantic City, N.J. Jay certainly was not disappointed in what he saw. Rysheed Jordan stood out in the first day of play. NBC Sports Daniel Martin writes, "Jordan was matched up with another Philadelphia talent, Rondae Jefferson of Team Final, for much of the game Wednesday night and Jordon, who played like he had something to prove, dropped 22 points. He outplayed Jefferson for much of the night, and was more efficient with the basketball, showing an ability to hit from three-point range, and facilitating the offense on the way to a win." Tyler Ennis (brother of Villanova’s Dylan Ennis) shined on day two. Mr. Martin writes, "With coaches from across the country looking on, Ennis picked apart defenses, showing a range of skills that could help him be an impact player at the collegiate level. One Division I coach said, "Give him a suitcase, I’ll take him back with me right now and let him start for my team." The key to Ennis’ game is his poise. He never allows the defense to speed him up or fluster him on the offensive end. Off of the pick and roll, he drops passes right where they need to be, putting his big men in a position to score. He also showed a nice touch within 15 feet, drawing the defense and being able to finish with floaters off the glass."

Dana’s Fab Five … ESPN’s Dana O’Neil includes Ryan Arcidiacono among her five Big East freshman to watch this season. She writes, "Arcidiacono is a true point guard and will be even more critical for the Wildcats now that Maalik Wayns bolted college early. Savvy and skilled on both ends of the floor, Arcidiacono has only question -- his health. He missed much of his senior high school season after undergoing back surgery." The other freshman on Dana’s list are Steven Adams (Pittsburgh), Omar Calhoun (Connecticut), Jerami Grant (Syracuse) and Ricardo Ledo (Providence).

'Nova Fans Cast Their Weary Eyes Toward Ty ... Andy Edwards of City of Basketball Love writes, "Ty Johnson’s role will be greatly expanded for ‘Nova this year. Johnson enters the 2012-13 season as one of the biggest keys to a turnaround for which everyone associated with the school is do desperate. "What I’ve done this summer is just work on everything," Johnson said. "I’m never satisfied. I’m hungry, but always humbled about things. I’m fully healthy now and in attack mode. Just being in attack mode, being there for my teammates, getting out in transition, and mostly just being a leader. I think it’s a different feel for this year coming up," Johnson said. "We’re looking at this year and thinking about how we’re going to build and start over, how we’re going to get back to winning. We’re really hungry for the season to come, but we’re also being humble. We’re just going to come out, play hard, and play how Villanova basketball players do."

Won’t Be The Best of Times Nor the Worst… ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan predicted a best and worst-case scenario for each Big East team. About Villanova, he writes "Best-case scenario: The phrase addition-by-subtraction is a pejorative, and it has never very nice to use, but one can't help but think Villanova could experience that very sensation in 2011-12, now that guard Maalik Wayns has left the school to chase the NBA dream. Replacing him will be Ryan Arcidiacono, the No. 6-ranked point guard in the class of 2012. Some fresh blood handling the ball may be just what the doctor ordered. Worst-case scenario: Or maybe we're blaming Wayns too much for this team's disappointing 2010 and 2011 seasons, and in fact it just isn't very good. If that's the case, expect another season like the last -- occasionally tantalizing but mostly forgettable."

Chennault Key to Season? So says ESPN’sAndy Katz, writing "The last time a displaced player landed on Jay Wright's doorstep, it turned out pretty well. Tony Chennault, who averaged 9.0 points in his sophomore season at Wake, is a much-needed boost for a Villanova team that struggled mightily last season.

Serenity Now! ... Writes ESPN’s Andy Katz, "There's no sugarcoating the rebuilding job Jay Wright has ahead of him at Villanova. "We've got a good core, we're confident in our system," Wright said. "We've got to build it again and prove ourselves again like we did when we came in. We've got to start over. We're not afraid of that. We've got the confidence in our system and our guys. That's where we are and what we're going to do.Villanova will have one of the more inexperienced backcourts in the Big East. "Inexperienced guards are usually difficult challenges," Wright said. The Wildcats will lean on guards James Bell, Ty Johnson, freshman Ryan Arcidiacono and Wake Forest transfer Tony Chennault and forwards Mouphtaou Yarou and JayVaughn Pinkston. If Bell and Johnson play up to their potential and Arcidiacono is a star, then the Wildcats at least have a core to survive."We can be a contender for an NCAA tournament spot," said Wright. "If Bell and Arcidiacono play like experienced players, then we have a chance to be good." The Wildcats will be back. But there needs to be patience. This will likely be another transition year."

Yet Another Point of View ... Rush the Court writes, "The Wildcats made two important changes to their roster this summer - saying goodbye to sophomore center Markus Kennedy and welcoming former Wake Forest point guard Tony Chennault into the fold. Chennault may not become the same type of scorer Wayns was, but he should get every opportunity to start and instantly becomes the most experienced guard on the roster. Wright acknowledges that his team has a lot of work to do before it can again achieve success, but it will likely depend on how quickly freshmen Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu can become impact contributors and whether or not mercurial sophomore Tyrone Johnson can make the leap and become a consistent playmaker. Down the road it will depend on whether Wright can continue to land high-profile recruits. Up until this season, the Wildcats have always held something of a recruiting trump card when it was time to recruit local products. That has changed now that the Owls will become a member of the Big East next season, so the Wildcats’ fans better hope that Wright and his staff have stepped up their efforts on the recruiting trail. ~ Assist to Brian Ewart

Andy Feels Jay's Pain ... Daniel Carp of the Philadelphia Daily News writes, "Things can only get better for Villanova football after a 2-9 finish in 2011. Villanova head coach Andy Talley brims with optimism at the start of a new campaign, confident that last season's wounds have been healed in the simplest way — time. "It's really hard in our league to stay at the highest level year in and year out," Talley said. "As you saw, we slipped last year because all of those great older players left and we had all these young guys that weren't quite ready. Right now, we have a nucleus of older players that can hold these young guys in and young players on the rise. We're bigger, faster and stronger now. It was baptism by fire." The team is still young, but, with 20 starters returning, experience will be less of a concern. Chris Polony will start at quarterback. Polony, a sophomore, was one of three quarterbacks who saw action for the Wildcats last year. Wide receiver Norman White will look to return to form this year after being named first-team all-CAA as a junior. Preseason rankings and awards were released at CAA football media day, with the Wildcats predicted to finish eighth.

Cats on TV ... Joe Juliano reports in Philly.com that Villanova’s football team will appear on television three times during the 2012 season. The Wildcats' season opener against Temple on Aug. 31 at Lincoln Financial Field will be shown on ESPN3. Two more games will be on Comcast SportsNet -- a Sept. 15 matchup against Rhode Island at Villanova Stadium, and a home date on Oct. 27 against Towson.

Help Wanted …Here’s one for all of you closet coaches who think you know the magic elixir to fix all that ails Villanova basketball. Villanova posted this week "an immediate opening for a full-time assistant coach for men’s basketball. Responsibilities include assisting the Head Coach in all aspects of the program including but not limited to on court coaching, scouting opponents, recruiting, game day administration, academic monitoring of student athletes. [Editor's Note: Isn't Malik Allen looking to land a coaching position?]

Smart Jocks ... The BIG EAST Conference announced the 24 teams that have been recognized with 2011-12 Team Academic Excellence Awards for having the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport. Villanova had three teams that received awards for Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, and Women’s Swimming & Diving. DePaul finished with a conference-best five teams Notre Dame and Villanova had three teams receive awards, while Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s and Seton Hall had two each. The award for Men’s Basketball went to Louisville; Rutgers took the prize for Men’s Football. ~Assist to Brian Ewart

Big East Crime Blotter … Aaron Bracy of Philahoops.com writes "On Aug. 6, Temple men’s basketball star, Khalif Wyatt, will walk into a courtroom to face charges of soliciting prostitution and resisting arrest for a June incident in Atlantic City while celebrating his 21st birthday. Wyatt, who earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors while averaging 17.1 points last season, likely is going to face questions about the incident and his character all season – and beyond. "I know the Big 5 teams, when they roll out their banners, I know they’re going to have something for me. But I always like playing on the road, always like hecklers anyway. It should be interesting." Assist to Brian Ewart

NBC Sports reports that Mooke Jones has decided to leave the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team "after being suspended last January for cyber-bullying. A police report revealed that a 20-year-old woman accused Jones of posting unflattering information about her on his Facebook page and of harassing her with text messages.The woman told police that Jones, "hangs out with a lot of ‘shady’ local Syracuse people" and she was afraid Jones might "have them show up at her residence."

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet ... TicketAmerica writes this promotional blurb in their ad hawking Villanova basketball tickets: "The key returning players for the Wildcats include 6-9 sophomore Markus Kennedy ….Villanova also has some quality recruits joining the team including 6-10 Daniel Ochefu, 6-8 Amile Jefferson, 6-6 Savon Goodman and 6-4 Ryan Arcidiacono."

Fisher turning heads at Minnesota Summer League …Former ‘Nova star, Corey Fisher, has made a good showing playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League team. Fisher has played in five games, starting one, averaging 18MPG, 6.4 PPG, shooting 50% from the field and 67% from beyond the arc. He’s averaged 1.6 APG and 1.6 TO.

Threats Against Villanova …NBC Philadelphia reports " The FBI and local police departments are investigating threats against Villanova University students. Radnor Township Police reports a male has made several calls allegedly claiming he was going to harm students on the college campus. Villanova Vice President Ann E. Diebold sent the following email to students, faculty and staff on Monday: "The Radnor Township Police Department has received vague telephone threats concerning the University and that similar calls appear to have been placed by the same individual to other organizations throughout the country. The University has been in on-going contact with law enforcement, which does not believe these calls are credible." Investigators say the phone threats may be coming from a man in California who is known to police for allegedly making similar threats in the past. "

RIP Dean Clay … Fr. Peter wrote in a letter to alumni this week, "It is with sadness that I inform the Villanova community of the passing of Alvin A. Clay '51 VSB, dean emeritus of the Villanova School of Business. Dean Clay passed away yesterday at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, 10 children and 36 grandchildren."