L'ville's Caracter Ineligible

Lousiville Jr. Forward Derrick Caracter was declared academically ineligble last week. Coach Rick Pitino says that if Caracter wishes to continue to play collegiate ball he'll have to transfer. Pitino believes that Caracter has too many problems to return to Louisville. Caracter was an early entry candidate for the draft, but withdrew his name, and the NBA Draft deadline has passed.

This is huge for 'Nova. Caracter avg. 8 pts and 4 reb for a very balanced L'ville team. Caracter was a tall, athletic, talented forward plagued by issues. He was suspended several times in his 2 seasons.

Maurice Sutton Commits To Villanova

On the last day of the late signing period, 6'10" Maurice Sutton from Largo High School (Upper Marlboro, Md.) committed to Villanova following a weekend visit on the Villanova campus.

Sutton chose Villanova over Seton Hall and Indiana.

...Sutton was definitely one of the top uncommitted players left in the nation, but he's a little bit raw right now...he's very skinny and will probably need a year in the weight room before he makes a significant impact...think Antonio Pena...

...It's good to get a player in this cycle though, especially a big man...

Maurice Sutton Visits

Maurice Sutton, a 6-10 C from Largo HS in MD, visited Villanova this past weekend. He's a three star recruit, expected to be playing more at a high major program than a power program. But he's got good length and apparently has the hands and presence down low to be a solid player. However, his size/strength is going to be the deciding factor on his overall potential. We have not offered him a scholarship yet, but we're competing with LaSalle, Seton Hall, and South Florida. Indiana has offered him a scholarship, but he says he's not interested.

Tyreke Evans Chooses Memphis

Tyreke Evans just chose Memphis over Villanova and Texas at a live press conference carried by ESPNU.

I'm not going to give this too much thought. It's not really been that much of a secret that Evans was going to choose Memphis in the past few days. I think getting away from home and trying to be the next Derek Rose were the main factors.

The funny thing is, he's not going to have that much talent around him next year, and really the only thing that will make Memphis have a good season is the joke of a conference they play in. Oh well.

Dom Cheek, come on down buddy!

Temper Your Expectations

...Judging from the poll on the right hand side of the page, more than half of the site's readers believe that Tyreke Evans is going to sign with Villanova, while mainly the rest believe he will sign with Memphis...

...Just a fair warning...by what's been on the internet right now and talking to a few people who are more knowledgeable on the situation than myself...it might be best for Villanova fans to go into the Evans announcement tomorrow with tempered expectations...

...Not to say that we're totally out of it...because it's never over til it's over...but most signs are pointing down south right now...

...3 p.m. tomorrow can't come soon enough...

Taylor King To Villanova

Taylor King has announced he will be transferring to Villanova following a weekend visit. King had planned visits to Gonzaga and USC but committed to the Wildcats after a great visit.

....There were rumors swirling on campus that he was ours all day on Sunday...apparently he'd been telling everyone he saw out on Saturday night that he was coming here...

The 6'7" King will provide a great boost upon the graduation of Cunningham, Anderson and Clark in 2009-2010. He's a solid outside shooter and has the size to effectively play the 4 in Villanova's offense.

King couldn't be happier about the decision.

"It just couldn't be a better fit for me," King said. "It wasn't about getting it over with. I wanted it. This gives me the best opportunity to start right away. I asked blunt questions, but I wanted everything they offered," said King, who becomes the third McDonald's All-American on Jay Wright's roster. "They laid down their game plan for me and I couldn't resist."

...I'm very excited about this...I wasn't overly impressed with him at Duke, but the kid can shoot the lights out...A potential starting 5 of Reynolds/Fisher/Stokes/King/Pena in 2010 is very, very good...

Malcolm Grant To Miami (Fla.)

Malcolm Grant has decided to transfer to The University of Miami (Fla.) according to a report on FoxSports.com.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Brooklyn native averaged 5.6 points in 12.7 minutes this past season. He had an up-and-down season under Jay Wright, going for 23 points against Rutgers, 22 against Pittsburgh and 18 in a win over LSU.

The sparkplug was known for his tremendous 3 point shooting, but couldn't find time in a crowded backcourt. Naturally, transferring was definitely the right move for Grant, who could be a starter at MANY other schools.

...Good luck to Malcolm...honestly we're all sorry it didn't work out...you single handedly beat LSU for us...it's a shame to see you go...

...Miami is a good program on the rise, and Grant should fit in well there...hopefully we never have to run in to him down the road because I'm already having nightmares about him dropping about 40 in on us...

Weekend News

Apparently, from some talk I've heard, Taylor King was telling a bunch of kids during one of those college frat parties that he'll be seeing everyone again next year in a Nova practice jersey.

Also, Corey Fisher was seen "not thinking Tyreke is coming".

Heard this stuff through the grapevine. Its supposed to be on some recruiting sites blog. This is good and bad news, helps us out, but not next year. King is a great player, former all american, who fits in well in our system. However, not getting Tyreke hurts.

Some Random Stuff

Here's some stuff from around College Hoops that pertain to Villanova:

• Villanova Asst. Coach Brett Gunning has officially taken his name out of the running for the Head Coaching gig at Marist. I think he's probably ready for a HC job somewhere, but I also think he can do a little bit better than Marist.
• Joe Alexander and Donte Greene have both declared for the NBA draft. While it makes sense for Alexander to go while his stock is high, I've got to think that Greene is going to be the next Ricky Davis.
• Taylor King is visiting this weekend, and will be hosted by Corey Stokes. Show him some love if you happen to see him.
• Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has released his "Early Top 25." He has Villanova slotted in at #19, which a bump in store if we land Evans and a slide in store if we don't. I think even without Evans we're at Top 20 team next year. Having him would throw us into the Top 10. Amazingly, he has 9 Big East teams in the Top 30. Next year the conference should be VERY good.
  
• Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham have been named to the All-Big 5 Team. Reynolds made the 1st team and Cunningham made the 2nd team. Good to see Cunningham finally get some recognition.
  

'08-'09 Early top 10

In Luke Winn's day after championship top 10, Villanova came in as actually the 23rd team (and thats without Tyreke). UConn came in 2nd, which is weak, and dependent on Hasheem Thabeet coming back. Also in the Top 10 were WVU and G'Town. ND, Marquette, Syracuse and L'ville were also in the top 30. Once again showing Big East dominance.

(And Chris is nuts thinking UConn would actually get Tyreke, its already been narrowed down to two teams. Kid's obnoxiously biased.)


Added By Chris:

Hey I just listed his 5 finalists...Don't get on me for that...and I'm not the one who voted for UConn...that was probably Keith Pompey...I voted for Memphis...