How can Villanova Basketball turn Tuesday into a positive?

Happy Thursday Nova Nation! There is nothing in this world like celebrating your daughter’s third birthday to completely evaporate any negative vibes that college basketball may bring into your life. But for those of you who don’t have that kind of distraction, hopefully the news from yesterday can lift your spirits a bit.

Joe Juliano of the Inquirer spoke with Wright who was (thankfully) open on his talks with Quinerly:

The quick summary of the article is this: Quinerly was “emotional about playing time” and made the post in frustration. He immediately took it down and apologized. Wright sat down with him, talked about it, and accepted his apology. He then went on to say Quinerly is a good kid, he’s progressing, he’s working hard, and he’s been a great teammate. He went even further to address transfer rumors, saying he’s not worried about it in Quinerly’s case. “Jahvon wants to play more, but he’s very happy at Villanova.”

There’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m sure you’ll all do a great job of that in the comments below. But I’m going to spend some time looking at how the team can spin the events of Tuesday night into a positive and use it to continue improving this season.

Jahvon Quinerly

This frustration has been building all season. Quinerly has been visibly frustrated with his lack of time on the court and his performance once he did get in. While this wasn’t the best way to put the issue on the table, it probably resulted in a frank and honest discussion between player and coach on the subject. We’re never going to get a straight answer on what was said in that meeting, but hopefully it can help foster a greater trust between Wright and Quinerly. I still believe that Quinerly’s involvement in the rotation will be key to Nova winning another Big East Title, but we’re not really going to know how things have panned out for another few games.

Jay Wright

Wright was going to have to comment on the story this week, if not after Saturday’s game against #1 Kansas. By addressing it immediately he sets the tone in the locker room and has as a teaching point with Quinerly and his teammates, all while sending a strong message to the public. We don’t quit on our guys, we work with them to embrace “Attitude”. This is a prime example of Wright living by his own mantra. He certainly doesn’t have any control over what a 19 year old kid does with their emotions, but he does control how he responds to it. By accepting Quinerly’s apology and continuing to look for the ways to improve his players and his team, Wright’s exhibiting the exact qualities that won him two National Championships.

The Captains

Beyond the Quinerly situation, Villanova did suffer an ugly loss Tuesday night. It’s the kind of loss where almost nothing went well, and the team didn’t play Villanova Basketball. That feeling of losing a game they know they could have won is something the team captains need to capitalize on. It’s now on the team leaders to use the loss to help drive their teammates to want more from this season. They need to demand more of themselves, and they need to be leaders by example on the court. They’ll be tested quickly by a great Kansas team, and no one will be picking the Wildcats to win. But when you have nothing to lose, there’s plenty that can be gained. It’s time for Booth and Paschall to step up.

The Sophomores

At the beginning of the season, Jay Wright said that this team could only go as far as their sophomore class would take them. He said they needed to play like upperclassmen sooner than later, and we’ve seen flashes of that early this season. The Penn game, however, was not their best effort. Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, while he did have a tough matchup, had just 2 rebounds, 2 points, and 3 turnovers. Jermaine Samuels looked good in the little time he was in the game, but his aggressive play cost him. He fouled out before logging even 20 minutes on the court. Gillespie did have a very good game, leading the team with 21 points while shooting 80% from the floor, 75% from deep, and going 10 for 11 from the line. That said, he still had a 1 to 1 assist to turnover ratio and fouled out of the game. This needs to be one of those “never again” games for this group, and they need to start eliminating their execution mistakes.

There isn’t an overnight fix for this team. Sure, beating #1 Kansas would be huge, but even that would probably raise more questions than give fans answers as to this team’s identity. There will still be some tough losses this season, and we still have no idea where they’ll be come March. But what we hope to see now is a team that out-hustles their opponents, that communicates on both ends of the court, and that plays like a team and not just a group of individuals. You know, Villanova Basketball. Even if this team is losing, if they play Villanova Basketball then Tuesday will have been the low point of the season.

In other “news”, hot taeks galore, The Big 5 is Back, and good ol’ Radnor’s at it again. Enjoy!

Jahvon Quinerly

Wright says Quinerly showed frustration over playing time in Instagram post and has apologized | The Inquirer
Quinerly played only five seconds in Villanova's loss Tuesday night to Penn, and posted an Instagram after the game that read "Was my 2nd choice for a reason." Jay Wright said it was "the normal frustration of a young kid that's used to playing a lot."

Penn beats Villanova, casts doubts on Jahvon Quinerly's future | Business Insider
Perhaps even more concerning for Villanova than the team's stunning loss to Penn is the fallout involving five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly.

AUDIO: Jahvon Quinerly's Instagram got interesting after Villanova's latest loss | CBSSports.com
Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander discuss the latest in college basketball -- including possible Big East expansion.

Villanova loses to Penn

Penn upsets Villanova for the first time in 16 years. Here’s how it happened. | NCAA.com
The University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team played ahead of No. 17 Villanova nearly all night on Tuesday at The Palestra, and the Quakers held on at the end to defeat the defending NCAA champion Wildcats, 78-75. The win snapped Villanova’s record 25-game win streak in Philadelphia Big 5 games, which extended back to December 5, 2012.

Penn’s victory over Villanova wasn’t a fluke. It was Steve Donahue’s strategy executed effectively | The Inquirer
A lot went into breaking Villanova’s 25-game Big 5 win streak.

Finally, A Philly Team Beat Villanova | Deadspin
PHILADELPHIA—He was obviously going to miss. Phil Booth had three guys on him when he took the shot, and one of them was 6-foot-8 Penn forward A.J. Brodeur. The shot left Booth’s hands wrong. The arc was too high.

Three takeaways from Penn’s Big 5 win over Villanova | Sporting News
Penn 78, Villanova 75 … but hooboy.

‘No one teaches it like that’: How Steve Donahue transformed Penn basketball and ended Villanova’s vaunted Big 5 winning streak | The Athletic
In his 33rd year of coaching, Steve Donahue has Penn basketball turning heads, most recently on Tuesday after upsetting Villanova, 78-75.

Villanova vs Kansas

Elite basketball teams KU, Villanova have met seven times | The Kansas City Star
Villanova leads the all-time series against Kansas, 4-3. Wildcats coach Jay Wright is 4-2 in games coached against KU’s Bill Self. The two teams meet at 11 a.m., Saturday, in Lawrence.

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self provides update on Udoka Azubuike's ailing right ankle | KUsports.com
There is no change in junior center Udoka Azubuike’s status for this weekend’s 11 a.m. Saturday showdown with Villanova at Allen Fieldhouse, but Kansas basketball coach Bill Self provided an update on the big man’s injured ankle during “Hawk Talk” on Tuesday night.

Villanova Basketball Recruiting

Boys Basketball: Must-see guards for the 2018-19 season | NJ.com
Who are the guards to watch this season?

Boys Basketball: 2018-19 Preseason Top 10 | Shore Sports Network
There is no debate to be had over the No. 1 team at the Shore but the competition beyond the top spot is sure to be heated in 2018-19.

Villanova University

Google's Year in Search 2018 data shows nobody knows where Villanova University is located | PhillyVoice
Voting, the World Cup, and Sylvester Stallone and "Where is Villanova University" have dominated 2018's Google searches, according to the search engine's own data.

Radnor to oppose Villanova's stadium light appeal | mainlinemedianews.com
RADNOR — Residents’ complaints about light pollution from the Villanova University stadium were front and center Monday when the board of commissioners voted 5-2 to send the township solicitor to

College Basketball

Media torn on Quade Green decision to transfer | Cats Pause
Media members reacted to the news that Quade Green would transfer from Kentucky Wednesday.

Why the free throw is the most important shot in college basketball | NCAA.com
There is no more valuable shot in college basketball than the free-throw attempt. That's the inescapable conclusion after we looked at every Division I team’s performance since 2001 (a total of 6,051 individual seasons).

Court Report: Mark Few continues to go after Mark Emmert; figuring out Kentucky's 3-point woes - CBSSports.com
Matt Norlander's weekly account also has news on Big East expansion chatter and A&M-BC's feud