Thursday’s Arizin: Love for the NBA ‘Cats (Feb. 18)

Happy Thursday!

Said it before, and I’ll say it again, might be time to rewrite or throw out the whole “Villanova can’t get players to the NBA” narrative. With the recent success of the NBA ‘Cats, it’s nice to see other people feel the love for players we cheered on throughout their time on the Main Line.

The “news”:

Mikal Bridges’ development on offense a big factor in Suns’ success - Bright Side Of The Sun
His defense is often talked about but how helpful has his offense been?

New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart calls out teammates then backs it up | Pelican Debrief
The New Orleans Pelicans have been playing soft and Josh Hart let them know about it. He then went out and backed up his talk on the court.

Kyle Lowry moves to third place on Raptors' all-time rebounding list | Sportsnet.ca
Kyle Lowry added another impressive milestone to his resume by climbing to third place on the Toronto Raptors' all-time rebound list.

Eric Paschall still adjusting to new Warriors role in second NBA season | RSN
Eric Paschall admits he's still adjusting to his new role with the Warriors this season.

Rookie Wire Power Rankings: Saddiq Bey powers his way into the top 5 | Rookie Wire
Rookie Wire takes a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2020-21 season.

Kia Rookie Ladder: Saddiq Bey surges into Top 10; Anthony Edwards climbs to No. 2 | NBA.com
See which rookies are shining the most after the first two months of the 2020-21 season.

Detroit Pistons: Where would Saddiq Bey be drafted now? | Piston Powered
The Detroit Pistons got one of the steals of the draft in Saddiq Bey, but after last night, a lot of contending teams are wondering how they missed out.

Conferences that have sent the most teams to the NCAA tournament | NCAA.com
The Big East set the record for the most teams to earn an NCAA DI men’s basketball tournament bid in a single season when it sent 11 teams to the 2011 tournament.

Who's the top 2020-21 player of the year candidate in every college basketball conference? | ESPN
We're coming down the stretch in college basketball, and these are the players who have stood out in each league.

College basketball rankings: Arkansas rises in Top 25 And 1 as transfers thrive for Eric Musselman's team - CBSSports.com
The Razorbacks' win over Florida on Tuesday night vaulted them into the top 20 of the daily rankings

College basketball teams to buy and sell this week | 247 sports
Buy, sell, or hold?

Women's Soccer: Wildcats Fall to Temple 3-0 - Villanova Athletics
After a first half stalemate, the Owls broke through and scored three goals in the second half.

Baseball: Gordon Graceffo Earns Preseason All-BIG EAST Honors - Villanova Athletics
Junior starting pitcher Gordon Graceffo (Cranford, N.J.) was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team in an announcement by the conference office on Wednesday