Christmas Gifts for Villanova Basketball

Happy Thursday Nova Nation! Last night the Villanova Wildcats had their annual Christmas Party at the swanky digs of head coach Jay Wright. While my invitation seems to have been lost in the mail yet again, twitter made it look like a fun night for everyone.

Despite not knowing this event was taking place, I’ve done some last minute shopping and put together some great gifts for everyone. However, I am on a budget this year, so some people are going to have to share:

Phil Booth, Collin Gillespie, and Jahvon Quinerly: A Time Share

No, this isn’t a lavish condo in Florida, it’s a more even distribution of minutes between the three Wildcats that run the point guard position. Booth (33.3) and Gillespie (29.8) are logging a large number of minutes, and they’re currently the only ones charged with bringing the ball up the court. Granted, for this to happen Quinerly needs to improve on defense and re-earn the trust of his coach and teammates (both of which are reportedly on the right track). Booth and Gillespie can certainly make things happen with the ball in their hands, but they’re even better off-ball. The team is better when they’re not being shoe horned into point-guard, and Quinerly is the player that can make that happen.

Joe Cremo and Cole Swider: A Screen Door

In their last six games, Cremo and Swider have combined for more than five three point attempts once. In their last game against Kansas, Cremo had zero attempts from deep while Swider missed his only attempt. These two players were heralded as great three-point shooters, but right now they’re not getting the looks. They need some plays drawn up to specifically get them some looks each game. Whether it’s a teammate setting a screen, lathering them with sun screen, or installing a screen door on the court, someone set a pick for these guys!

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Jermaine Samuels, Saddiq Bey: Cinnabon

This one’s a bit of a stretch but stick with me. A cinnabon is a ROLL that you usually PICK at once you OPEN the box. Get it, these guys are always open on the pick and roll! Unfortunately, the ball handlers seem to be allergic to finding them. But the same way I can find a cinnabon in any airport in the country, the guards would find these guys if they had a cinnabon on them. Be right back, I need to go get a cinnabon.

Eric Paschall: Cinnabon

Yeah, I know, I just gave out one of these tasty treats. But this isn’t for Paschall to eat, it’s for him to hold for about 20 minutes. That should make his hands sufficiently sticky enough to hold onto the ball when he’s driving and spinning through the lane. Paschall’s the only player on the team right now averaging 2+ turnovers per game, hopefully this helps with that.

Brandon Slater, Tim Delaney, and the Bench Mob: Binnoculars

Sorry guys, but this isn’t going to be your season. If we’re still pining for rotation guys to get some development minutes, the guys that are out of the current rotation are probably sentenced to the bench this season. At least with a nice pair of binoculars they can watch the game from the end of the bench, and maybe even see into next season when they’ll be able to get some minutes. That last one may only apply to Slater.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

In other “news”, UConn’s almost here, Roy Williams gets extended, and I buy stock in Cinnabon. Enjoy!

Villanova vs UConn

Five takeaways from a strong performance by the UConn men against Drexel | Hartford Courant
Jalen Adams and the UConn men rebounded with an impressive win over Drexel. Now they prep for the defending national champ, Villanova, and American Athletic Conference play. Coach Dan Hurley has admonished them to play "the full 40 minutes."

Dragon tamers | journalinquirer.com
HARTFORD — Part one of the UConn men’s basketball team’s Philly Special was a roaring success.

Villanova Basketball

Talking Villanova Basketball: A conversation with ESPN’s Jay Bilas | PodBean
Jay Wright and Jay Bilas discuss college basketball in 2018-19 and where the sport may be headed in a thought provoking dialogue.

Eric Paschall Scouting Report | Basketball Society
Eric Paschall is an extremely talented big in college ball, but how would he fare in the NBA? Pat McMahon has his scouting report for you.

How the 247Sports Composite five-stars have fared | 247 Sports
The 2018 five-star class, by and large, is taking care of business on the hardwood so far.

From Super Bowl LII to the surreal Markelle Fultz saga, here are the best Philly sports stories of 2018 | The Inquirer
Everyone loves doing best-of lists this time of year. Here’s ours.

Top Philly Sports Stories Of 2018 | CBS Philly
Here are the top 10 Philly sports stories of 2018. Villanova's Championship comes in at #9.

College Basketball

North Carolina's Roy Williams Gets Extension, But Is Still Not Among the Top 25 Highest-Paid Coaches | Forbes
Roy Williams has won three NCAA championships at North Carolina and just received an eight-year extension, yet he's still not even among the Top 25 highest-paid college coaches. Underpaid? Without a doubt.

Furman basketball: Jordan Lyons, Paladins are believing | SI.com
Furman basketball is undefeated and ranked for the first time in program history. How did the Paladins, from a school of only 2,700, get here?

Most Quadrant 1 Wins on NCAA Team Sheets (Dec. 19): Kansas Leads, Buffalo and Indiana Climbing | HERO Sports
Fifty-one college basketball teams have at least one Quadrant 1 win on their NCAA Team Sheet.