Staff Blog
Morning Rounds, December 9th
Villanova, currently the 15th team in the nation,
takes on 6th ranked Texas tonight
in Madison Square Garden.
The opponent and the venue will be a change for the 8-0
Wildcats, who have feasted on opponents from outside major conferences, won every
game by at least 13 points, and hasn’t traveled further than Philadelphia. Texas
should be a challenge in their own right, but the Villanova organization might
be playing for more than just the game.
I hate to take the focus off of a 6 v 12 matchup, but Dominic
Cheek, a five-star high shooting guard from St. Patrick’s N.J. getting
heavily recruited by Villanova, is expected to make his college decision this
week. Cheek plays AAU ball with Roman Catholic PG/Nova commit Maalik
Wayns, went to the same high school as Corey Fisher, and has said that Nova has
“shown him the most love” and “been there since day one,” two very encouraging
signs. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t
in the building tonight, and a big win in a big stage might be enough to push
the SG/SF to the Main Line.
If Cheek does commit it would vault Nova’s class right to
the top of the class rankings, perhaps as high as #1 overall (ESPN has them at
7 without him). It would give them an incoming backcourt of 97-ranked prospects
who have played together and a frontcourt (Isaiah Armwood and Mouphtaou Yarou)
of mid-90s players from the same high school.
If you include 6-7 Duke transfer Taylor King to the mix it’s plausible
that the next year’s Wildcats could fill a top-25 starting lineup only out of
players not on the current roster. Considering
that group would probably join Scottie Reynolds, the Coreys (Fisher and Stokes),
Antonio Pena, and Reggie Redding - all expected to return – next year’s
Villanova team has the potential to be the best, deepest, and most well-rounded we’ve seen for
a long time.
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Team USA |
That’s my boy,” Cheek said of Wayns. “I told him he would be the man, his show,” Wayns said of Cheek.
Three lines on their world:
- Behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart the Carolina Panthers took control of the NFC South
- MLB’s winter meetings are providing new rumors almost hourly
- and the Minnesota T’Wolves’ Randy Whitman is the latest head coach to get the axe
Three lines on ours:
- Tonight, as part of the Jimmy V Classic, Villanova takes on Texas in MSG
- The Phillies are looking away from Jamie Moyer
- and might be facilitating a trade that brings Jake Peavy to Chicago
Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and what everybody is talking about, after the jump
EAGLES
Phil Sheridan is puzzled by this late-season extra gear the Birds seem to have. READ
Rich Hofmann thinks stopping the run is the key to the Eagles’ run game. SKIP
Les Bowen really wants Andy Reid to admit that running the ball works. Surprisingly entertaining. READ
Bob Brookover takes a closer look at the game and points a finger at Winston Justice for missing a block that led to the FG block. SKIP
John Gonzalez has feelings and makes fun of broadcasting. SKIP
Ray Parrillo talks to Andy Reid about the weather, according to Andy the only reason the Birds actually ran the ball. SKIP
Bob Brookover, in his consistently enlightening column, goes beyond the box score to look at how certain Eagles performed. This week Tra Thomas was awesome, Chris Gocong shut down Kevin Boss, and Quinten Mikell stopped the run. READ
Ray Parrillo’s notes look at the Eagles’ playoff chances, the injury report, and who showed up to play. SKIP
John Gonzalez, Phil Sheridan, and Ashley Fox. SKIP
Reuben Frank says Jim Johnson is just as confused by the up-and-down Eagles’ D as you are. READ
Reuben Frank
SIXERS
Phil Jasner on the excitement that is LeBron week. SKIP
Kate Fagan talks with Samuel Dalembert and the ailing Sixers. SKIP
Tom Moore talks with Dalembert about his role with the team. READ
PHILLIES
Jim Salisbury reports on a rumored deal that would bring Mark DeRosa back to Philly (Penn product) for J.A. Happ and Chris Coste as part of a mega-deal. READ
Paul Hagen says it looks like the Phillies are moving on without Moyer. READ
Paul Hagen’s notes focus on Jason Donald’s value and more. SKIP
FLYERS
Both Sam Cardichi and Ed Moran look at the Flyers’ even strength struggles. READ Cardichi, unless you’re a Moran guy. No need to check both.
Cardichi’s notes look at the injury report and more. SKIP
Wayne Fish reports that the Flyers are changing up lines to get Joffrey Lupul back on track. SKIP
TODAY and MORE
*if you can only read one Bill Conlin is pissed about the Roberts and Radano firing. He should be.
Other than that, the big news today is Villanova/Texas, which we have vague hopes of heading up to NYC for but should be around at least for the morning. As always, feel free
to email
with any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.
Wow. I gotta be honest, I had never heard of Cheek, but after Googling and YouTubing him, I think Nova would have a great shot at winning a National Championship next year with him and Wayns, plus everyone else we have now. How awesome would that team be? They could field 2 separate units that would be better than most of the teams in the Big East.