For Steve Spagnuolo, it's never too early to look for leaders. His first minicamp as the St Louis Rams head coach is as good a time to start as any.
"We'll try to identify those leaders on our team, and hopefully, they'll step to the forefront in those tough times that you know you're going to have," Spagnuolo said. "I remember vividly going through it in Philadelphia. I remember Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb at a certain point in the season deciding that, 'Hey guys, we got to pick it up.' They did little things with the other players. Very unseen things, but it made a big difference.
There certainly is a leadership void to be filled with the 2009 Rams. Veterans Torry Holt, Orlando Pace, Corey Chavous and Trent Green have been released.
"I believe that the underlying leaders surface once there's no leadership in front of them," Spagnuolo said. "Hopefully, there's some undiscovered secret leaders on this roster right now."
Over the course of five minicamp practices which span the next three days at Rams Park, Spagnuolo will be looking for leaders.
"You'll look to see which guys jump in front of the lines, which guys are encouraging other people," Spagnuolo said. "When I'm sitting in the back of the meetings, I'm going to be looking for who's taking notes — actually sitting and writing notes. The best players that I've worked with are great note-takers."
During his decade of coaching in the NFL, Spagnuolo has observed that the players who are meticulous in their preparation are the ones who last the longest in the league.
"Because they've figured it out — that it's as much from the chin to the hairline as it is anything that they do with their body," Spagnuolo said.
In trying to foster an atmosphere of togetherness and teamwork, Spagnuolo said leadership has to come from several sources.
"No matter what, it's never going to be about one person," Spagnuolo said. "It's always going to be about the makeup of the whole team. Sometimes I think we all make mistakes when we focus on one position. We know the glory position and the one that's out in the forefront is the quarterback position, but it takes more than just that."
Spagnuolo cited his most recent NFL team, the New York Giants, as a good example of leadership and teamwork combining to do great things.
"We had a great leader in Tom Coughlin; we had a team of people that were heading in the same direction," Spagnuolo said. "It's not one person that creates the losing; it's not one person that creates the winning. It's a team sport. I know it's a cliché, but it's true. I lived it. I believe in it."
For Spagnuolo, that approach is part of his plan to change the culture at Rams Park, a losing culture that has experienced success only five times in the past 32 games. The early results have been encouraging, with renewed enthusiasm.
"It's easy right now," Spagnuolo said. "It's a honeymoon period. It's new. The test will be really a year from now, depending on how the season goes. Will we still be able to feel that way?"
Spagnuolo says he has a better sense of his roster now than he did 2½ months ago when he was hired. But he still has much to learn about the returning players and the newcomers and realizes he won't get complete answers overnight.
"I don't know that I'll feel like we have it completely evaluated until we get through the preseason games and then into a quarter of the season," he said. "That's a ways down the road."
But the process begins with this first minicamp.
4.14.2009
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE SUCCEED?
What makes successful people different,to paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald. "They are different in their attitudes, behaviors, personalities and goals," Chatzky writes.
They are more passionate, more optimistic, more resilient, more visionary, more connected to others, have great confidence, and they are grateful for their good fortune. These are all things anybody can learn.
The bottom line is nothing is going to work unless you truly want it. You have to believe. It's about making your own luck, not taking no for an answer, and paying very close attention to the things you're doing.
They are more passionate, more optimistic, more resilient, more visionary, more connected to others, have great confidence, and they are grateful for their good fortune. These are all things anybody can learn.
The bottom line is nothing is going to work unless you truly want it. You have to believe. It's about making your own luck, not taking no for an answer, and paying very close attention to the things you're doing.
IZZO - DRAWING IT UP
Michigan State shooting guard Durrell Summers scored a big uncontested basket near the end of Saturday night's win over Connecticut in the national semifinal off an in-bound play.
"From the beginning of his career, coach has always been awesome with special teams, as he calls them," said assistant coach Dwayne Stephens. "We break it down like football. It's something we put a lot of time into it.
"I don't think a lot of teams spend a lot of times on special teams. We feel if we can score anywhere from five to 10 points on BLOBS (baseline out-of-bounds plays) and SLOBS (sideline out-of-bounds) it gives us an advantage."
Other special teams plays include the opening tip and defending those areas.
"Coach talks a lot about executing on plays out of timeouts and I think that's something we've done a pretty good job of all season, especially (against UConn)," Summers said. "We executed it to a T, they bit like we thought they would and I was able to get an easy uncontested layup.
"From the beginning of his career, coach has always been awesome with special teams, as he calls them," said assistant coach Dwayne Stephens. "We break it down like football. It's something we put a lot of time into it.
"I don't think a lot of teams spend a lot of times on special teams. We feel if we can score anywhere from five to 10 points on BLOBS (baseline out-of-bounds plays) and SLOBS (sideline out-of-bounds) it gives us an advantage."
Other special teams plays include the opening tip and defending those areas.
"Coach talks a lot about executing on plays out of timeouts and I think that's something we've done a pretty good job of all season, especially (against UConn)," Summers said. "We executed it to a T, they bit like we thought they would and I was able to get an easy uncontested layup.
TY LAWSON
North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson can't swish jump shots in his sleep but he does convert hundreds of shots while America is sleeping.
"My freshman year and last year I wasn't in the gym as much as I should have been," Lawson said. "So now sometimes I shoot at 2 o'clock in the morning. I just have more dedication than I've had in the past. When I first came to college I tried to rely only on my speed and my athletic ability. Coach WIlliams taught me how much more effect I could be if I improved my shooting ability."
Lawson's decision to remain in school instead of entering the NBA draft, coupled with a determination to make himself a better all-around player, has paid off. He enters tonight's national championship game against Michigan State as one of the country's most talked-about players.
"He's the best point guard in the country," Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas said
Through his late-night shooting practices, Lawson has dramatically improved his aim. His overall shooting percentage has climbed to 54% and his three-point shooting efficiency has risen from 36% to 49% in the last year.
Walton said Lawson's strength is as noteworthy as his quickness, and his only thought on stopping him is "you have to make his shots tough, because if he gets an angle he's going to bulldoze in."
Lawson says he's a better all-around player this season.
"I'm more of a leader, and I'm not turning over the ball as much," he said.
Ty Lawson will be presented today with the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard.
"My freshman year and last year I wasn't in the gym as much as I should have been," Lawson said. "So now sometimes I shoot at 2 o'clock in the morning. I just have more dedication than I've had in the past. When I first came to college I tried to rely only on my speed and my athletic ability. Coach WIlliams taught me how much more effect I could be if I improved my shooting ability."
Lawson's decision to remain in school instead of entering the NBA draft, coupled with a determination to make himself a better all-around player, has paid off. He enters tonight's national championship game against Michigan State as one of the country's most talked-about players.
"He's the best point guard in the country," Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas said
Through his late-night shooting practices, Lawson has dramatically improved his aim. His overall shooting percentage has climbed to 54% and his three-point shooting efficiency has risen from 36% to 49% in the last year.
Walton said Lawson's strength is as noteworthy as his quickness, and his only thought on stopping him is "you have to make his shots tough, because if he gets an angle he's going to bulldoze in."
Lawson says he's a better all-around player this season.
"I'm more of a leader, and I'm not turning over the ball as much," he said.
Ty Lawson will be presented today with the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard.
4.13.2009
Univ. of Wisconsin Has A New "Battle Cry"
"WE BEFORE ME! Usually, the teams that win are the teams that stick together."
Mike Conley - Memphis Grizzlies
"The first year at any level is all about learning the game all over again and the speed of the players. It took me awhile to adjust when I was at Ohio St. and especially in the NBA because your playing against the best players in the world."
TRYING TO FIND A LEADER
New Univ. of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly is going through the tough process of finding the leader of his football team for next season.
After losing team leaders Patrick Chung and Nick Reed on defense and Max Unger and Jeremiah Johnson on offense, the Ducks are looking for someone to take over that hard-to-define role of team leader.
"There's a Zen saying that says when leadership is needed, a leader emerges," Kelly said. "But obviously our guys don't take Zen, because nobody's figured that out yet."
Asked if anyone is more vocal this spring, Kelly offered his signature quick response.
"Besides the coaching staff?" he said. "No."
The Ducks have five seniors with appreciable experience but, "sometimes that's hard just for a guy to assume that role," Kelly said.
Possible leaders start, as usual, with the quarterback. Jeremiah Masoli, who earned credibility with his improvement and tough play last season, has made a concerted effort this spring to become a more vocal leader. But Kelly said Masoli has work to do on his own game before he can ride his teammates.
"You can't be a vocal leader if you're not making plays," Kelly said. "He needs to stop yelling at people and start doing things himself, too. He's got to know what he's doing, and right now he's forcing the issue on too many things, and it'll come.
"I think he wants everything too fast. When he starts to do his job, then he can start getting on some other guys."
So where can the Ducks find some leadership?
They have a senior running back, but Blount was suspended this winter for not following team rules. And in football, the leader must first follow.
The eldest receiver is junior Jamere Holland, who said he's ready to lead as "the oldest receiver" on the team, and he has drawn praise from Kelly this spring. Dickson is a personable, NFL-bound senior tight end but one under whom coaches continually try to light a fire.
On defense, the only returning starter on the line is Tukuafu, who at 25 is certainly old enough to be a leader. But he's soft-spoken, as is junior Casey Matthews, the elder statesman among linebackers.
"We need somebody to step up on both sides of the ball," Kelly said. "We've got players that are kind of doing some things by example, but it shouldn't be up to the coaching staff to get these guys to play hard all the time and understand it."
And it's not just about practice effort or keeping teammates out of trouble off the field. It's the ability to make game-changing plays, as the aforementioned four leaders of last season did with regularity. Kelly said those players are often one and the same.
"Who's the guy who's going to step up?" Kelly said. "And it's the same guy who would step up in a game if we had a couple three-and-outs on offense. If we're on defense and we've given up a couple big plays in a row, who's gonna kind of bow his back and stand in there and make a play for us to rally around?"
After losing team leaders Patrick Chung and Nick Reed on defense and Max Unger and Jeremiah Johnson on offense, the Ducks are looking for someone to take over that hard-to-define role of team leader.
"There's a Zen saying that says when leadership is needed, a leader emerges," Kelly said. "But obviously our guys don't take Zen, because nobody's figured that out yet."
Asked if anyone is more vocal this spring, Kelly offered his signature quick response.
"Besides the coaching staff?" he said. "No."
The Ducks have five seniors with appreciable experience but, "sometimes that's hard just for a guy to assume that role," Kelly said.
Possible leaders start, as usual, with the quarterback. Jeremiah Masoli, who earned credibility with his improvement and tough play last season, has made a concerted effort this spring to become a more vocal leader. But Kelly said Masoli has work to do on his own game before he can ride his teammates.
"You can't be a vocal leader if you're not making plays," Kelly said. "He needs to stop yelling at people and start doing things himself, too. He's got to know what he's doing, and right now he's forcing the issue on too many things, and it'll come.
"I think he wants everything too fast. When he starts to do his job, then he can start getting on some other guys."
So where can the Ducks find some leadership?
They have a senior running back, but Blount was suspended this winter for not following team rules. And in football, the leader must first follow.
The eldest receiver is junior Jamere Holland, who said he's ready to lead as "the oldest receiver" on the team, and he has drawn praise from Kelly this spring. Dickson is a personable, NFL-bound senior tight end but one under whom coaches continually try to light a fire.
On defense, the only returning starter on the line is Tukuafu, who at 25 is certainly old enough to be a leader. But he's soft-spoken, as is junior Casey Matthews, the elder statesman among linebackers.
"We need somebody to step up on both sides of the ball," Kelly said. "We've got players that are kind of doing some things by example, but it shouldn't be up to the coaching staff to get these guys to play hard all the time and understand it."
And it's not just about practice effort or keeping teammates out of trouble off the field. It's the ability to make game-changing plays, as the aforementioned four leaders of last season did with regularity. Kelly said those players are often one and the same.
"Who's the guy who's going to step up?" Kelly said. "And it's the same guy who would step up in a game if we had a couple three-and-outs on offense. If we're on defense and we've given up a couple big plays in a row, who's gonna kind of bow his back and stand in there and make a play for us to rally around?"
RON WILSON - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Coach Wilson gives his thoughts on the upcoming offseason...
Even though the players will technically have the next five months off, Wilson wants them to be working harder than ever. He's instituted a new type of fitness testing.
"What I've told our team all along, we've got to start training and driving ourselves to become elite athletes, forget the hockey part," said Wilson. "We're nowhere near an elite team when it comes to your max VO2 (maximum heart rate) and our overall conditioning, which doesn't come from a hockey season. It comes from your work habits that you put yourself through in the summertime and offseason."
"My God, if you haven't made the playoffs in the three of four years, those four or five months that you have you ought to put them to good use."
Even though the players will technically have the next five months off, Wilson wants them to be working harder than ever. He's instituted a new type of fitness testing.
"What I've told our team all along, we've got to start training and driving ourselves to become elite athletes, forget the hockey part," said Wilson. "We're nowhere near an elite team when it comes to your max VO2 (maximum heart rate) and our overall conditioning, which doesn't come from a hockey season. It comes from your work habits that you put yourself through in the summertime and offseason."
"My God, if you haven't made the playoffs in the three of four years, those four or five months that you have you ought to put them to good use."
4.11.2009
TOM BRADY
Tom Brady was not given one snap at quarterback on a winless freshman team at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif.
He was seventh on the depth chart when he enrolled at Michigan and struggled so mightily for playing time that he hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety. He heard 198 other names called before the New England Patriots took a flier on him in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.
"Throughout my football career," Brady says, "i have always has been looking up at other people."
Not anymore.
After an improbable climb to the pinnacle of his profession, he is without equal among current NFL quarterbacks when it comes to winning championships, having surpassed boyhood idol Joe Montana by becoming the first to win three Super Bowl rings before his 28th birthday.
"There is no quarterback I would rather have," Patriots coach Bill Belichick says simply.
How can it be that the two-time Super Bowl MVP reigns supreme after being for so long a passer no one particularly wanted?
If there could be a glimpse into Brady's soul, it would almost surely reveal a raging fire, fueled by all of those coaches and all of those teams that did not think he was quick enough or strong enough or good enough. He will never forget the rejection of his past.
"I would say every day he feels that pain," says his sister, Nancy. "I think that people will never know how much being considered a backup by some of the people that he really respected hurt him."
Says his father, Tom Brady Sr.: "His competitive nature kicks in every time somebody says he can't do something, and as a result he works harder. He's the guy who trains every single day to prove people wrong."
For Brady, 29, unwavering dedication was the only way to crack the lineup and complete an against-all-odds rise to stardom.
To this day, he leads by example. He remains the player to beat when it comes to winning the coveted parking spot given to the most devoted member of the Patriots' offseason program.
"If I'm not up at 6 am or I'm not trying to win the parking spot here," Brady says, "then someone else is going to win it and I'm going to have to drive in every day and see their name up on the wall rather than mine."
"If another team wins the Super Bowl, it's going to be painful to watch those guys celebrate. I'm not going to be happy for them."
Brady's greatest strength is his ability to will his team to victory:
•When New England was tied 17-17 with the heavily favored St. Louis Rams with 1:21 left in Super Bowl XXXVI to close the 2001 season, he hit five of eight passes for 53 yards in a final drive that led to a 20-17 triumph and his first MVP award.
•When the Patriots were tied 29-29 with the Carolina Panthers with 1:08 remaining in Super Bowl XXXVIII, he converted four of five throws for 47 yards to position Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal as part of a dazzling 32-for-48, 354-yard, three-touchdown MVP performance.
•With a 58-20 record and .744 winning percentage entering this season, he joined Roger Staubach (85-29, .746, from 1969-79) and Montana (117-47, .713, from 1979-94) as the only passers in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to win at more than a 70% clip.
Brady has performed his late-game magic so often — he led the Patriots to victory on 21 occasions when they faced a fourth-quarter deficit or were tied through 2005 — that it is virtually expected. "If we have the ball in our hands," veteran offensive tackle Matt Light says, "we always feel we have a chance to win."
A critical juncture in Brady's life came when he was a sophomore at Michigan. He was concerned about his seeming lack of opportunity and was considering transferring. He met with coach Lloyd Carr to discuss whether he had a future with the Wolverines.
Carr responded: "Go out there and do everything you can to control what you can control and quit worrying about how many reps you get or the other quarterbacks get, the skills they have and you don't. Worry about things that you do well because thats all you can control."
Brady uses his intelligence and work ethic to master each week's game plan. His knowledge of defenses allows him to almost immediately recognize whatever look is presented and quickly make whatever adjustments are necessary.
He is fanatical about preparation, so much so that then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis jokingly complained about the quarterback's late-night calls to his hotel room in the days leading to New England's 24-21 decision against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
"I don't want any unknowns. I don't want any guesswork. When I go out onto the field, I want to know exactly what we're going to do versus every defense we could face," he says. "And when I feel like I'm prepared like that in my mind, I feel like it's just execution from there, and if I can go out and execute and that's the stuff I work on, then we're going to do exactly what we set out to do."
There are never loose ends.
"I don't take the field if I'm not prepared," he says. "It's as simple as that."
Brady's glittering 10-1 postseason record stems largely from his ability to limit turnovers when the stakes are highest. He has been picked off only five times in 11 postseason appearances, an interception percentage of 1.36 that is the best in playoff history.
As much as he has accomplished, Brady wants more. He is not content with either his lofty position in the game or his number of championships he has won.
As painful as the journey has been for Brady, as much as each snub gnawed at him, he would not change a thing:
"At the end of the day, you can hold that Super Bowl trophy up and you know you've done everything the right way and you've paid the price. When the situation came up and the pressure was at the highest, you performed your best."
He was seventh on the depth chart when he enrolled at Michigan and struggled so mightily for playing time that he hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety. He heard 198 other names called before the New England Patriots took a flier on him in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.
"Throughout my football career," Brady says, "i have always has been looking up at other people."
Not anymore.
After an improbable climb to the pinnacle of his profession, he is without equal among current NFL quarterbacks when it comes to winning championships, having surpassed boyhood idol Joe Montana by becoming the first to win three Super Bowl rings before his 28th birthday.
"There is no quarterback I would rather have," Patriots coach Bill Belichick says simply.
How can it be that the two-time Super Bowl MVP reigns supreme after being for so long a passer no one particularly wanted?
If there could be a glimpse into Brady's soul, it would almost surely reveal a raging fire, fueled by all of those coaches and all of those teams that did not think he was quick enough or strong enough or good enough. He will never forget the rejection of his past.
"I would say every day he feels that pain," says his sister, Nancy. "I think that people will never know how much being considered a backup by some of the people that he really respected hurt him."
Says his father, Tom Brady Sr.: "His competitive nature kicks in every time somebody says he can't do something, and as a result he works harder. He's the guy who trains every single day to prove people wrong."
For Brady, 29, unwavering dedication was the only way to crack the lineup and complete an against-all-odds rise to stardom.
To this day, he leads by example. He remains the player to beat when it comes to winning the coveted parking spot given to the most devoted member of the Patriots' offseason program.
"If I'm not up at 6 am or I'm not trying to win the parking spot here," Brady says, "then someone else is going to win it and I'm going to have to drive in every day and see their name up on the wall rather than mine."
"If another team wins the Super Bowl, it's going to be painful to watch those guys celebrate. I'm not going to be happy for them."
Brady's greatest strength is his ability to will his team to victory:
•When New England was tied 17-17 with the heavily favored St. Louis Rams with 1:21 left in Super Bowl XXXVI to close the 2001 season, he hit five of eight passes for 53 yards in a final drive that led to a 20-17 triumph and his first MVP award.
•When the Patriots were tied 29-29 with the Carolina Panthers with 1:08 remaining in Super Bowl XXXVIII, he converted four of five throws for 47 yards to position Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal as part of a dazzling 32-for-48, 354-yard, three-touchdown MVP performance.
•With a 58-20 record and .744 winning percentage entering this season, he joined Roger Staubach (85-29, .746, from 1969-79) and Montana (117-47, .713, from 1979-94) as the only passers in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to win at more than a 70% clip.
Brady has performed his late-game magic so often — he led the Patriots to victory on 21 occasions when they faced a fourth-quarter deficit or were tied through 2005 — that it is virtually expected. "If we have the ball in our hands," veteran offensive tackle Matt Light says, "we always feel we have a chance to win."
A critical juncture in Brady's life came when he was a sophomore at Michigan. He was concerned about his seeming lack of opportunity and was considering transferring. He met with coach Lloyd Carr to discuss whether he had a future with the Wolverines.
Carr responded: "Go out there and do everything you can to control what you can control and quit worrying about how many reps you get or the other quarterbacks get, the skills they have and you don't. Worry about things that you do well because thats all you can control."
Brady uses his intelligence and work ethic to master each week's game plan. His knowledge of defenses allows him to almost immediately recognize whatever look is presented and quickly make whatever adjustments are necessary.
He is fanatical about preparation, so much so that then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis jokingly complained about the quarterback's late-night calls to his hotel room in the days leading to New England's 24-21 decision against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
"I don't want any unknowns. I don't want any guesswork. When I go out onto the field, I want to know exactly what we're going to do versus every defense we could face," he says. "And when I feel like I'm prepared like that in my mind, I feel like it's just execution from there, and if I can go out and execute and that's the stuff I work on, then we're going to do exactly what we set out to do."
There are never loose ends.
"I don't take the field if I'm not prepared," he says. "It's as simple as that."
Brady's glittering 10-1 postseason record stems largely from his ability to limit turnovers when the stakes are highest. He has been picked off only five times in 11 postseason appearances, an interception percentage of 1.36 that is the best in playoff history.
As much as he has accomplished, Brady wants more. He is not content with either his lofty position in the game or his number of championships he has won.
As painful as the journey has been for Brady, as much as each snub gnawed at him, he would not change a thing:
"At the end of the day, you can hold that Super Bowl trophy up and you know you've done everything the right way and you've paid the price. When the situation came up and the pressure was at the highest, you performed your best."
4.02.2009
VILLANOVA
Kyle Lowry, now with the Houston Rockets, was just a freshman when Villanova battled North Carolina in the Sweet 16 in 2005.
It was four years ago when Villanova and North Carolina played. In Villanova circles it’s remembered by, “the call.” In the waning seconds the whistle blew and everyone figured a foul was going to be called. Instead the referee signaled travel, negating the made basket, negating a free throw attempt that might have forced overtime, negating a shot at an epic upset.
Four years later the dust has settle for Villanova and they have got their rematch in the Final Four with North Carolina, but the question has to be asked again:
How did this happen?
How did a team with no evident NBA prospects on its roster get to the Final Four.
The answer is in that 2005 game against North Carolina.
"Carolina had a bunch of pros and nobody knew who we were," said Kyle Lowry. "We weren't a national team or anything like that, so no one gave us a chance. But in that game, we really showed our resiliency. We weren't going to back down from the fight and that's the kind of team we decided to be. That's the kind of program Villanova is now."
Sports teams always talk about developing an identity and passing it down.
Villanova has established a predictable persona. Villanova is going to be tough. Theirs a trait passed down like a treasured family heirloom from generation to generation.
Asked to characterize his team's attitude, Scottie Reynolds said, "No excuses."
Former guard Mike Nardi was reached by phone as he was sitting in his beachfront apartment on the Adriatic Sea in Italy, explained Villanova this way, "No matter what you take care of your business. Guys might be sick, injured, maybe you have homework to do, we don't care. You take care of business."
Senior co-captain Dante Cunningham described it, "It doesn't matter what the refs call or what happens in the game, we just play."
Kyle Lowry, now with the Rockets, said, "We don't back down from a fight, doesn't matter what the odds are."
Shane Clark, another current senior shrugged his shoulders, "Everybody is going to have bumps along the way. You can't worry about it."
Randy Foye, who now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves described it simply, "We don't quit."
And so the identity was born in 2005.
After two years, one great recruiting class, two NIT berths and probation to show for it, Jay Wright was on the hot seat.
Villanova started the year slowly.
Then the Wildcats won their final seven games of the regular season to earn a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Wright became an instant hero.
But early into the second-round game against Florida, Curtis Sumpter crumbled to the floor. Sumpter averaged 15 points and 7 boards.
The diagnosis was immediate: a torn ACL. He was done.
"We were building a power team, not this little four-guard team," Wright said. "And then, bam! Curt goes down and we changed everything."
The Wildcats dispatched of Florida 76-65 to roll to the Sweet 16 showdown with North Carolina.
Most people figured good enough.
After all, Lowry wasn't exaggerating. That Tar Heels team sent four first-round picks to the NBA that June. Without Sumpter the Wildcats were basically six deep.
"I vividly remember Jay saying to Mike Nardi and Kyle, the two smallest guys on the team, 'if you get switched off on any big guys, you better not get posted up,'" said Pinckney, then an assistant on the Villanova bench and now with the Timberwolves. "They took that to heart."
From the opening tip, Villanova went at Carolina. Foye drained 11 points in the opening 4:30, delivering the message: GAME ON.
"One thing I've learned, players look at games completely different," said Brett Gunning, then the associate head coach at Villanova and now on the Rockets staff. "Fans are thinking, 'No chance.' As coaches we're thinking, 'Oh my God,' but players are just thinking, 'Let's play.' Do you think Allan Ray was scared? Or Kyle or Randy? No way. They don't see pressure. They see an opportunity."
The Tar Heels trailed 33-29 at the half and with Raymond Felton on the bench already fouled out, would have been in deep trouble had the game gone into OT.
Instead Ray was whistled for the travel, Rashad McCants hit one free throw and Lowry's 3-pointer was too little, too late. Final score 67-66.
"It wasn't a moral victory," Wright said. "We thought we could win, but there was something about everything that we overcame I felt like we had something starting. We didn't just hang with Carolina. We could have beaten them."
It is one thing for that attitude to permeate the team the following year, when Foye, Ray, Fraser and Sumpter were seniors.
It is another for a program a full class removed to continue with the same attitude.
But Cunningham, Clark and Dwayne Anderson were like kids sitting at the knees of wily veterans when they got to Villanova.
They watched players who would go on to NBA paychecks trying to win Attitude Club -- where points are awarded for taking charges, diving for loose balls and making other hustle plays.
They bought in and when Foye, Ray, Fraser and Sumpter graduated and Lowry bolted early for the NBA, the next class passed it on like some attitudinal game of whisper down the lane.
"Coach always would say, 'That's the way Randy did it,' or 'This is how Kyle did it,' and of course it gets old hearing it," Reynolds said. "But at the same time, they earned it. They made us reach to be what they were. They set the bar for everything that we wanted to be and how we wanted to play."
It was four years ago when Villanova and North Carolina played. In Villanova circles it’s remembered by, “the call.” In the waning seconds the whistle blew and everyone figured a foul was going to be called. Instead the referee signaled travel, negating the made basket, negating a free throw attempt that might have forced overtime, negating a shot at an epic upset.
Four years later the dust has settle for Villanova and they have got their rematch in the Final Four with North Carolina, but the question has to be asked again:
How did this happen?
How did a team with no evident NBA prospects on its roster get to the Final Four.
The answer is in that 2005 game against North Carolina.
"Carolina had a bunch of pros and nobody knew who we were," said Kyle Lowry. "We weren't a national team or anything like that, so no one gave us a chance. But in that game, we really showed our resiliency. We weren't going to back down from the fight and that's the kind of team we decided to be. That's the kind of program Villanova is now."
Sports teams always talk about developing an identity and passing it down.
Villanova has established a predictable persona. Villanova is going to be tough. Theirs a trait passed down like a treasured family heirloom from generation to generation.
Asked to characterize his team's attitude, Scottie Reynolds said, "No excuses."
Former guard Mike Nardi was reached by phone as he was sitting in his beachfront apartment on the Adriatic Sea in Italy, explained Villanova this way, "No matter what you take care of your business. Guys might be sick, injured, maybe you have homework to do, we don't care. You take care of business."
Senior co-captain Dante Cunningham described it, "It doesn't matter what the refs call or what happens in the game, we just play."
Kyle Lowry, now with the Rockets, said, "We don't back down from a fight, doesn't matter what the odds are."
Shane Clark, another current senior shrugged his shoulders, "Everybody is going to have bumps along the way. You can't worry about it."
Randy Foye, who now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves described it simply, "We don't quit."
And so the identity was born in 2005.
After two years, one great recruiting class, two NIT berths and probation to show for it, Jay Wright was on the hot seat.
Villanova started the year slowly.
Then the Wildcats won their final seven games of the regular season to earn a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Wright became an instant hero.
But early into the second-round game against Florida, Curtis Sumpter crumbled to the floor. Sumpter averaged 15 points and 7 boards.
The diagnosis was immediate: a torn ACL. He was done.
"We were building a power team, not this little four-guard team," Wright said. "And then, bam! Curt goes down and we changed everything."
The Wildcats dispatched of Florida 76-65 to roll to the Sweet 16 showdown with North Carolina.
Most people figured good enough.
After all, Lowry wasn't exaggerating. That Tar Heels team sent four first-round picks to the NBA that June. Without Sumpter the Wildcats were basically six deep.
"I vividly remember Jay saying to Mike Nardi and Kyle, the two smallest guys on the team, 'if you get switched off on any big guys, you better not get posted up,'" said Pinckney, then an assistant on the Villanova bench and now with the Timberwolves. "They took that to heart."
From the opening tip, Villanova went at Carolina. Foye drained 11 points in the opening 4:30, delivering the message: GAME ON.
"One thing I've learned, players look at games completely different," said Brett Gunning, then the associate head coach at Villanova and now on the Rockets staff. "Fans are thinking, 'No chance.' As coaches we're thinking, 'Oh my God,' but players are just thinking, 'Let's play.' Do you think Allan Ray was scared? Or Kyle or Randy? No way. They don't see pressure. They see an opportunity."
The Tar Heels trailed 33-29 at the half and with Raymond Felton on the bench already fouled out, would have been in deep trouble had the game gone into OT.
Instead Ray was whistled for the travel, Rashad McCants hit one free throw and Lowry's 3-pointer was too little, too late. Final score 67-66.
"It wasn't a moral victory," Wright said. "We thought we could win, but there was something about everything that we overcame I felt like we had something starting. We didn't just hang with Carolina. We could have beaten them."
It is one thing for that attitude to permeate the team the following year, when Foye, Ray, Fraser and Sumpter were seniors.
It is another for a program a full class removed to continue with the same attitude.
But Cunningham, Clark and Dwayne Anderson were like kids sitting at the knees of wily veterans when they got to Villanova.
They watched players who would go on to NBA paychecks trying to win Attitude Club -- where points are awarded for taking charges, diving for loose balls and making other hustle plays.
They bought in and when Foye, Ray, Fraser and Sumpter graduated and Lowry bolted early for the NBA, the next class passed it on like some attitudinal game of whisper down the lane.
"Coach always would say, 'That's the way Randy did it,' or 'This is how Kyle did it,' and of course it gets old hearing it," Reynolds said. "But at the same time, they earned it. They made us reach to be what they were. They set the bar for everything that we wanted to be and how we wanted to play."
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