Jay Wright can be a pain in the ass!

[Xuperman]

I was thinking that a few teams in conference had a bona fIde chance of denying Nova any form of league championship this year. Maybe a combination of 2/3 teams can. BUT based on the look out of the gate....not likely.

Coach Wright is the finest Head Coach in the country. He seems to never get out coached, regardless of competition or situation. While the usual group of blue blood HC's snap up the vast amount of 5 star talent each year and toss them in the ol' revolving door, Mr. Wright doesn't seem to waste alot of time recruiting these guys UNLESS they fit his system from a mental standpoint. Not many "one and done" guys for Jay, unlike the guys that clutter up the rosters of the usual suspects.

The opposition yesterday offered no real resistance as expected, but what happened statistically is certainly a harbinger. The volume and percentage from distance was simply off the chart and all too familiar.

Man, Is Slator going to explode and proceed to assassinate competition out of a secret 3 point quill? Will Justin Moore entrench himself at the top of the league in scoring and emerge as the POY favorite come 2022? Will the mystery of Bryan Antoine be solved and another star is born?

The bench may be a bit thin and there doesn't seem to be enough post presence to not scuffle some in a brutal NonCon and BEast play, but the masterful execution conducted by GQJ will find a way.....scissors meet nets is usually how it ends!

[GumbyDamnit!]

Yeah, we can pump the brakes a bit, considering the competition. Saying that, we have seen this script before. His greatest skill as a coach is development and fundamentals. People move on, he plugs in the next guy and just keeps rolling along. Don’t weep for our lack of high end recruits. Just about every kid on the roster—with the exception of our Italian PG trio—are 4 star players. They just stick around, get better and step up. We usually win because we have a lot of old guys on the floor. This year is no exception.

We’ll see if the bigs hold up but Gillespie, Moore and Samuels are all just so consistently good. Put any 2 next to those 3 and I like our chances. If Slater continues to play like Saddiq Bey, we’ll be really tough to beat.

One game. Everyone will get better or just healthy. UConn looked awful toug last night as well. Should be a fun go.

[gtmoBlue]

I was thinking that a few teams in conference had a bona fIde chance of denying Nova any form of league championship this year. Maybe a combination of 2/3 teams can. BUT based on the look out of the gate....not likely.

Whoa Xuper(Duper)man. It is much too early - 1 game - to be rescinding opinions. Youse thought the Radnorites would win a squeaker? Nova is still Nova and will win the majority of their contests. However, they have 4 major matchups that will offer better indications of what the conference season holds for them. 4 games away from the sweet confines of the Finneran, which will tell heavily whom it is that we're dealing in with, regarding the Wildcats. It's way too early to begin folding our tents as fans. Gonna be a great season.

My Jays started 2Frosh for the 1st time since the 1990's. The other 3 were seniors. Exciting times on the Hilltop.

[Xuperman]

Well THIS "let it fly" Bluejay squad is certainly not expected to challenge the Wildcats for the regular season championship. However, as we well know, the BE tourney crown is an entire different story.

I do think that there are several BEast rosters capable of denying them any part of the regular season championship. My hope is that GQJ doesn't commandeer his way this year, toward adding ANYMORE conference hardware for his already packed showcase. This conference is starving for some consistent balance, because the optics, from a national perspective, is not a good one when it's Nova overkill!

I put the line at....say EVEN ODDS the Cats to win 1 ring.......2-1 to not win either title....4-1 to win both.

[Xudash]

gtmo - - I watched about 20 minutes of the Nova game. It was a clinic. And it was Game One. They've come out of the gate with the engine fully tuned.

Xavier, against a better-coached team, albeit missing Freemantle and Stanley, looked like a Ford Pinto that was about to be rear ended by a pick-up truck. The talent is there. They are in a strong and positive culture. The guidance software (Travis) is unfortunately highly questionable at this point.

Yes, it's one game. Yes, the competition is about to step up. BUT, in the present moment, the optics are the optics. Villanova has found itself in a very special, and frankly rather rare place: a strong program with tradition that brought a guy in who has proven himself over time and who chooses to stay put. The roots grow deeper. The culture grows stronger. The varnish is layered on over and over. He's built this thing into a top program. One of the many luxuries of that is the fact that he always has tenured leadership on the floor who help the newbies along. They know how to navigate a season.

We all have a long way to go. I'm sure we're all ecstatic to have the season back. We'll see how it plays out, but it isn't too early to confirm pre-season thoughts about how things will end up, based upon what we witnessed last night.

[Xuperman]

Excellent post Dash!

Other than the Philly circle of fans here....for the rest of the us...it is painfully obvious that the current dynamic of this conference NEEDS PARITY!

[kayako]

I thought SJU and UCONN were the 2 teams that can trouble Nova, and they both looked good last night. If they can manage 2-2 or better against those 2, I think Nova cruises to another 1st place regular season finish.

[Xuperman]

I thought SJU and UCONN were the 2 teams that can trouble Nova, and they both looked good last night. If they can manage 2-2 or better against those 2, I think Nova cruises to another 1st place regular season finish.

Yeah, those two are going win their share of rock fights against ALL of the predicted top teams in conference.

As far as Villanova goes, there appears to be an opportunity to expose them defensively in the post. It looks like they could have trouble scoring there as well, ESPECIALLY vs UConn, Providence and Seton Hall. Even X and Creighton may have a significant edge down low. I personally don't see how they will have an answer for guys like Big Nate and Sanogo, but if anyone can effectively cover up a possible weakness like this, it is GQJ!

[gtmoBlue]

Dear BE Hq, Val & Stu:

Prez H here, from 2500 California Plaza (Hilltop).

We have decided to extend our Caribbean vacation until May 2022. Go ahead and just mail all trophies-banners and the like to GQ Jay and the Radnorites NOW, saving millions in travél/hotels and the like. Why bother with competition when consensus says it’s a foregone conclusion that Nova wins hands down.

Email me whenever the BE decides to re-engage in competitive sports.

Respectfully
Prez H.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Dear BE Hq, Val & Stu:

Prez H here, from 2500 California Plaza (Hilltop).

We have decided to extend our Caribbean vacation until May 2022. Go ahead and just mail all trophies-banners and the like to GQ Jay and the Radnorites NOW, saving millions in travél/hotels and the like. Why bother with competition when consensus says it’s a foregone conclusion that Nova wins hands down.

Email me whenever the BE decides to re-engage in competitive sports.

Respectfully
Prez H.

Gtmo's personal BE season journey regarding the Cats:

Denial - Preseason
Anger - Early Nov.
Bargaining - Start of conference games
Depression - January 1st
Acceptance - Feb. 1st

We've got a ways to go until he comes around...