On The Plate ... 3/28/06

They Stay Where They Lay

Where do I begin?

28-5 overall. 14-2 in the Big East. Regular season Big East co-champions. The most wins in school history in a season. The most conference wins in school history in a season. The school's first ever #1-seed. A second consecutive Sweet 16. The school's first Elite 8 since 1988.

The #1-seeded 'Nova 'Cats lost on Sunday night in Minneapolis to the #3-seeded Florida Gators and, yea, it was crushing. I haven't been right since the game ended and, no, I'm not going to get over the loss until the final buzzer next Monday night. But that doesn't mean I'm ready to bury the 'Cats season. F no. I'm not into funerals. I'm into celebrations. This season, and the players who delivered it, are getting nothing but praise, and thanks, from this dude. In a span of two years, and more significantly this year, this bunch of kids put Villanova basketball back on the map. And frankly, it doesn't get much better than that. Sure, a Final Four is awesome. And cutting down the nets is obviously the dream. But to consistently have a shot to get to the Four or climb that ladder with those scissors, you need to be on the map. Squarely on the map. And, homeboys and homegirls, let me tell you something…Jay Wright and his group of seniors have rung the bell, and folks are listening...big-time ball is back on the Mainline.

Don't believe me? Check it. The #1 guard in the NYC public high school league committed (as a junior) to 'Nova after finding out that the #1 point guard in the NYC Catholic high school league had committed to 'Nova (as a junior). When asked why they chose 'Nova, they were quoted as saying, "we want to be the next Allan Ray and Randy Foye." Still don't think folks are listening? Still don't think Jay and his NYC metro area senior class - Randy, Allan, Curt and Fraser - have started something here? Believe it.

Regarding the Florida game, if you're looking for a column that breaks down the minutia, go somewhere else. There are plenty of jackasses spewing about the 'Cats shooting 25%, Joakim Noah and Al Horford's size, and the effect of the BC game on the 'Cats legs. Honestly, I can't handle poring over it again. I've done enough poring to kill a man. Namely, myself. Poring is no longer an option. I will say this though…I think 'Nova is a better team than the Gators, hands down. And if they played 2 out of 3, I think the 'Cats would be advancing. But they weren't on Sunday and they're not playing 2 out of 3. That's just how the GD Dance works…you have to be better than your opponent on 6 nights over a 3-week thrill ride. And unfortunately for 'Nova Nation, that's the truth. It cuts deep when being better isn't in the cards one of those nights. But that's hoops. That's the beauty of hoops. Any given night. It's like Jay says, "Shoot 'em up, sleep in the streets." I don't really know what that means but I think it is appropriate here.

At the beginning of the year, I would have gladly traded a pinky and a ring finger to someone if they offered me a 28-5 'Nova season with a trip to the 8. Especially, after Sumpter went down with his knee injury. Hell, I was giddy on December 3 when the 'Cats lit up the Sooners on national TV and Vitale was calling the game. I lost my gourd when 'Nova traveled to Freedom Hall for their Big East opener and stomped out Pitino and his Cardinals. I nearly had to be hospitalized 4 times during the 10-day run between January 8 - 17 when the 'Cats fell apart late against WVU at the Pavilion, won a cardiac game at the RAC in OT, shot 27% from the floor in Austin, TX on CBS and only lost by 3, and came back from down 11 in the first half to the Hall to win. Murdering Syracuse on Jan 21 at the Wachovia Center was a heart-warming experience. Winning by 3 at South Florida was a heart-wrenching experience. Kyle's tip-in over the Irish four days later? Nothing short of glorious. I really enjoyed welcoming Mr. Pitino back to Big East country on January 30. Yes, Rick, this is a packed Wachovia Center, and yes, Rick, you are going home with another L. We probably should have lost the Marquette game, but Allan's 3 with just under two minutes to go wouldn't let that happen.

Spotting St. Joe's a 12-point halftime lead? No sweat. We'll simply outscore them by 25 in the second half. Ouch, my Hawk hurts. My brain hurt after the DePaul game. Nothing hurt after the 'Cats beat #1 UConn in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a hoops game in the state of Pennsylvania on February 13. Words don't do the emotions justice. I'll remember that game forever. I won't remember a second of the Georgetown game because I didn't see a second of it. I'm still pissed at the state of South Carolina about this. But we won, so I coped. In Cincy on February 23, "screen and slip to the goal" Part 1 to Dante was half excruciating, half glorious and half futuristic. Three days later, in Storrs, the Huskies won Round 2 of The Battle for the Big Feast. The Huskies turned it on with 10 minutes to go and the 'Cats, who at that point had taken the lead for a moment, went home with a 14-point L. Touche, Huskies. The 'Cats needed that grounding to level their heads. Watching Randy, Allan and Fraser run down the stairs in the middle of the student section for the last time before mugging the Johnnies on Senior Day was special, and a bit sad. Crushing the 'Cuse on Gerry McNamara day, aka the Orange's Senior Day, was special, and a lot happy. Paying back Rutgers for that squeaker at the RAC in the quarterfinals of the Big East tourney at MSG was gratifying. Everything about the Pitt game, obviously including Allan's eye injury, was horrifying.

I'll never forget the electricity in the Wachovia Center for the Big Dance first round game against Monmouth. And I'll never forget the anxiety on the streets after the 'Cats unimpressive 13-point win as a #1-seed. I'm assuming the result of the second round game against 'Zona flipped the switch on the anxiety on the streets. ('Anxiety on the Streets' would be a great name for an album, wouldn't it?) In what I think was one of the best games of the tournament, both teams put on tremendous performance. Punch after punch, neither team backed down. Kyle versus Mustafa Shakur for old-school Philly point guard bragging rights? Awesome. The seniors carrying the load? Awesome. Foye's 24. Ray's 25 including four free throws to seal the game. The fact that Lute Olson said that that was the best his kids can play, but 'Nova was better? Awesome. Advancing to a second straight Sweet 16? Awesome. Squarely on the map.

I remember being "throw up in your mouth" nervous for the BC game. BC scared me. But when the game tipped, I was pretty relaxed. And even when the 'Cats fell down by 16, I remained relaxed. I knew the 'Cats hadn't begun to play. And I knew that when shots started to go down, we'd close the gap quickly and be OK. Which we did and were. Nevertheless, from about the 10-minute mark of the second half, my hands were visibly shaking. And when Randy's driving runner went down to put the 'Cats up 3 with 48 ticks to go I can honestly say I was in a state of euphoric shock. The senior guard from Newark would not let 'Nova lose. (For the record, just writing about this makes me nutty.) But Jared Dudley's game-tying triple questioned all of that. He wanted to make sure Randy wouldn't let us lose. He wanted to abruptly end my euphoric shock. He wanted to see if the 'Cats could go another 5 minutes. He wanted to know if the "little team that could" could go another round in the Dance. And America wanted to know too. Had the 'Cats magic run out? In the end, it hadn't. Randy, Willie, Dudley and Craig Smith were the only players to score in OT. And Willie scored first and scored last…"screen and slip to the goal" Part 2. After Smith made the bucket to go ahead, I couldn't watch. Not because I didn't want to, but because my vision was so blurred by anxiety. I was blind. Blind from being so freaked out. I felt like Rocky in the beginning of Rocky V when he is sitting in the shower in Moscow after fighting Drago. Simply put, a GD mess.

And then it happened…Willie set the screen…Ray cut off the pick…Foye popped out…Willie slipped to the bucket…Kyle put the ball on the money…and Willie finished. And just like that, I was running up and down Pennsylvania Avenue screaming at the top of my lungs. In hindsight I honestly think people thought I was either retarded or had escaped the GW hospital. I got some bizarre looks. It probably didn't help that I was screaming "F yes!" at the top of my lungs. But whatever, the 'Cats won, and a kid was happy. Everybody relax.

I'm not sure my lunacy does any justice to my Dad's lunacy from 21 years ago when he busted open the front door so he could run around the front yard yelling "we won it" like a GD madman after the 'Cats beat the Hoyas for all the money. In '85, the 'Cats were champs. In '06, the 'Cats were headed to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1988. Clearly not the same thing. But hey, it's a start. And I'll take it.

So there it is. Just one crazy kid's short-handed take on an absolutely unbelievable season filled with layers upon layers of gloriousness. How many recent 'Nova seasons can we say that about? How many recent seasons have been worth remembering the minutia of each game? Last year was undoubtedly a gem. But this year was the f'ing Hope Diamond. This group was beyond special. They possessed a unique combination of heart, toughness and pizzazz that doesn't come along often. This team made people smile. It made people proud.

Randy told Jay after the loss to Florida, "Thanks for the ride." Sadly, the ride is over. I don't want it to be. No one wants it to be. But it is. All rides end at some point. And eventually, pages will be turned to the next chapter. But before they are, remember what was written on these current pages. The words are loud and clear…'Nova is back squarely on the map. And depending on how you look at it, that's like saying the bigger ride is just starting now.

That's why this season doesn't get buried with the rest. This season stays where it lays…in the Villanova record books and in the hearts and minds of any Cat who ever hollered "Let's go Nova!"

Thank you, Seniors. It's been an unbelievable joy.