The Week In Review

Jenkins Commitment Breaks ’13 Logjam …The big basketball news this week was Top 100 prospect, Kris Jenkins, committing to Villanova. Jenkins averaged almost 20 points and 18 rebounds as a junior at Gonzaga and was named the 2011-12 Gatorade District of Columbia Boys Basketball player of the year. Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News writes, "Jenkins is nimble, competitive and bullish. Gradually pushing his game further from the basket, he regularly knocks down three-point shots off the catch. He bumps and grinds for rebounds, has good hands and finishes through contact." Evan Williams of BustingBrackets.com writes, "A 6-foot-5, 250-pound steamroller, Jenkins is a unique prospect with a set of tools similar to former Pitt standout DeJuan Blair. With Jenkins, the Wildcats have a formidable nucleus to build upon." ESPN Insider writes, "Jenkins could morph into a Charles Barkley-type; undersized four man who likes to rebound. He's got good feet and hands and isn't afraid of contact. He'll knock down the occasional perimeter shot but his bread and butter is in the paint." Says Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner, "With Kris’ skill set and basketball IQ, he has the ability to play a couple of positions." Maxine Desplan of Fansided150 writes, "Jenkins uses his physicality and motor to make up for his height. He has a college-ready body which will allow him to contribute right away at Villanova. Because of his perimeter skills and shooting stroke, Jenkins will also see major minutes at the small forward position, causing mismatches all over the court." Eric Bossi of Rivals writes, "Because of his strength, Jenkins has the ability to guard taller players at the four and be a matchup problem on the offensive end. Offensively, Jenkins is a dangerous shooter to the three point line and a very clever passer out of the low or high post." Finally, Adam Zangoria of Zagsblog writes, "Kris Jenkins is hoping to bring other talented players with him to Villanova." He quotes Jenkins saying, "Right now, my concentration is to try to get Josh Hart [6-5 SF] and young guys like Ja’Quan Newton [6-3 PG] to commit to Villanova as well."

Freeman and Harrison Twins to Visit Mainline … Adam Zangoria reports "6-4 Findlay Prep shooting guard Allerik Freeman will visit Villanova on Sept. 28. Freeman also plans visits UCLA (Sept. 8), Ohio State (Sept. 15), Duke (Oct. 19) and Kansas sometime in November." As reported here on Wednesday, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, have announced that they will take an official visit to Villanova, but a date has not yet been set.

Owl Fans Were the Ones Hooting... Brian Ewart from VUHoops.com writes, "The game was close in many ways, but not on the scoreboard, as the Wildcats dropped a third-straight opening game at Lincoln Financial Field, 41-10. The 'Cats offense was productive in gaining yards, producing 365 yards of net offense — 3 more yards than their opponent, Temple. They also picked up 18 first downs to Temple's 15 and held the ball for only 30 seconds less than the Owls. Where it counted — on the scoreboard — Villanova fell short. Mark Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds, "It took less than a half of football Friday night for a quarterback controversy to occur for Villanova. Wildcats redshirt freshman John Robertson, who didn't win the job in spring practice, made his case during a solid opening performance that wasn't matched by his team. "We got a nice spark from John and decided to stick with him," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. Talley said he doesn't like going with two quarterbacks, but he wouldn't commit to a starter for the Fordham game. "It is something we have to evaluate this week," Talley said.

Bounce-back Season? Notwithstanding the tough start last night, Villanova football is looking for better things this season following their 2-9 record last year. Mark Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, "A new season brings renewed hopes. With 10 starters back on both offense and defense, Villanova's players feel that improvement is likely and that a postseason berth is realistic." CAA coaches see things differently, predicting the Cats to finish eighth. "And the Wildcats are taking that personally." We have a chip on our shoulder and some real motivation to get after teams every week and show everybody we are better than last year," said sophomore free safety Joe Sarnese."

Conflict of Interests … Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, "On Friday night, Caroline and Katherine Coyer wore cherry Temple jerseys with white No. 10 numbers. From the waist down, they wore Villanova gear. The 'Nova freshmen rooted openly for Temple while watching most of the Mayor's Cup from the Wildcats student section." It’s just such a conflict of interest, I guess," said Caroline, who along with Katherine is a member of the Villanova women's basketball team. "But, obviously family comes first. We want our brother to do well." Their brother is quarterback Chris Coyer, arguably the face of Temple's program."

Mainline Shuffle … Jay Wright announced a reshuffling of his coaching staff this week. "Former Wildcat Curtis Sumpter has returned to the program in the capacity of Student-Athlete Development Assistant. Newly hired Raphael Chillious is now aboard as Assistant Coach. Billy Lange, remains Associate Head Coach. Assistant Coach Jason Donnelly moves into the role of Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Baker Dunleavy, who previously served as Director of Operations and Assistant Strength Coach, is now an Assistant Coach. Arleshia Davidson, who previously served in an administrative role, is the new Director of Basketball Operations. Intern George Halcovage is now Video Coordinator."

What Was Jay Thinking? Here’s a recap of Jay’s tweets this week: "Good to see our guys back on campus – a new year has officially begun! Congrats to Villanova Field Hockey for winning its tourney at Robert Morris this weekend! Great Villanova event tonight [Monday] on campus as our man Fr. Rob Hagan says a Welcome Back Mass for all of Nova’s student-athletes! Loved spending time this morning back where it all began for me in Bucks County ! Beautiful late summer day to be out and about on the Villanova campus! Looks like a great night for Mayors Cup at the Linc – good luck to Nova Football!"

ROBY's Mainline Launch … Former ‘Nova star, Dwayne Anderson brought his new ROBY clothing line to campus this week, including a t-shirt in Nova’s colors (pictured above). Assist to Brian Ewart

No Love for Dante … Theon Dy of Dunking With Wolves, a Minnesota Timberwolves blog, writes, "In the 2012 NBA Off-Season, the Minnesota Timberwolves added two big men into their roster: Center Greg Stiemsma and power forward Dante Cunningham who didn’t have much playing time behind the big men of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Timberwolves still need another big man. With all due respect to Dante Cunningham, he is not that good having him as the first option off the bench for Kevin Love is a problem."

Things Looking Down in Friartown … Rob Dauster of NBCSports writes, " Providence was supposed to have one of the best recruiting classes in the country coming in this season. Unfortunately, things aren’t exactly going at planned. It started with Kris Dunn, who injured his shoulder in July that he was forced to undergo surgery will likely end up keeping him out of the lineup until January. Dunn was a top 25 recruit and considered by many to be the best point guard recruit in the country. Cooley’s other elite recruit, Ricky Ledo, is currently sitting square in the crosshairs of the NCAA. The NCAA is concerned with Ledo’s academic eligibility. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Ian Baker, a three-star point guard recruit that is recovering from an ACL he tore during a pickup game, has decided not to enroll at Providence. Finally, Kiwi Gardner is no longer with the program."

Hail Sczcur … Al Yellon of BleedCubbieBlue writes, "Rosters were announced Wednesday for the Arizona Fall League. Prospects sent to this league generally represent teams' top prospects; many of them wind up playing in the major leagues the following season." Carrie Muskat of MLB.com writes "top prospect Matt Szczur is one of those headed to the Arizona Fall League, which starts Oct. 9. Szczur, 23, a fifth-round pick in 2010, was in the Cubs' Major League Spring Training camp, began the season at Daytona, where he hit .295 in 78 games. At Double-A Tennessee, he was batting .202 in 30 games."