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Catching Up with the 'Cats: Sidelined Edition

For a variety of reasons, a majority of the Villanova alumni in the NBA found themselves on the bench this past week.

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Randy Foye

The former All-American had a solid week these past seven days where he competed against some of the best competition in the Western Conference. While Foye only tallied 9 points against New Orleans, the Nuggets took home the W in a 137-107 obliteration of the Pellies. He followed that up with a vintage stat-stuffing performance against the Memphis Grizzlies, a fringe-playoff team; Randy turned in 21 points, 4 assists, and 9 boards night.

In the past three games, Foye has connected on seven of his fourteen attempts from distance. He now retains sole possession of third place on the Nuggets single-season three-point record with 173 makes. In order to ascend to the top of the mountain, Randy will need to hit 19 long bombs in the remaining five games of the season. If the record is something he values, Foye will certainly have the chance to make history.

As a side note, those looking to see Randy light up the scoreboards in the postseason will have to wait. The Nuggets have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Late Night Notice: Randy turned in a huge 30 point, 15 assist, 5 rebound effort in a win over the Rockets last night. He nailed six of his ten attempts from downtown. Check out the highlights here. Foye now needs only 13 three-pointers to break the record.

Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry's stellar campaign hit the proverbial wall the moment his and Lebron James' knees collided. Forced to miss the last three games with a bruised left kneecap, the momentum Lowry had gathered slipped away at least momentarily.

The Toronto Raptors, however, haven't missed a beat without their star guard. After dropping last Monday's contest against the Miami Heat, Canada's finest offering to the NBA has reeled of three straight wins. Two in particular came against powerhouses of their respective conferences, the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers. With or without Lowry, the Raptors are rolling into the playoffs high on confidence and even higher in the Eastern Conference standings; they will almost certainly find themselves with the home-court advantage in the first round. If the season concluded today, Toronto would square off with John Wall and the Washington Wizards.

And it looks like this success might carry on past just this season. Bleacher Report (Sorry Chris) reported on Friday that Lowry will most likely sign a new contract with the Raptors. According to their CEO Tim Leiweke, "There's a really special bond between [Raptors general manager] Masai Ujiri and Kyle. And there's a special bond...I mean, this town should be in love with this guy. He's been a great story."

It seems like Lowry has found his home for the future and, most importantly, a place where he can thrive.

Dante Cunningham

The situation in Minnesota is just bizarre. Last Thursday, Dante was arrested for domestic violence in his home in Minneapolis. Then, on Sunday, Dante was arrested for a second time on "suspicion of terroristic threats." These actions are far from what Villanova fans saw on and off the court as Cunningham led Villanova to the Final Four in 2009.

In a statement to the media, Cunningham apologized for his actions that "have unintentionally placed his teammates and the organization in a challenging position." He was unable to comment further on the arrests due to the "legal process." I'm waiting to make a definitive judgement on this situation before all the details become clear but, for now, there seems little sense in covering Dante's exploits on the court when his life off of it is in such disarray.

Maalik Wayns

Wayns remains sidelined with an apparent knee injury. He hasn't played in a game for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers since March 21st. Hopefully, the speedy guard is able to make a comeback before the D-League playoffs start.

Maurice Sutton

In one of the few highlights of Villanova pros this past week, Maurice Sutton turned in some impact performances for the Tulsa 66ers. His best night came on Sunday against the Canton charge where he notched 16 points on an efficient 8 of 12 shooting and added 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Sutton has shown the ability to produce when given the opportunity, but until he raises his sporadic success rate, it seems unlikely that an NBA team will be calling.

Thanks for reading everyone! Please share some insight into what do you think about the Dante situation!