Joe Juliano covers the Villanova Wildcats for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

You can find his work at:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/

After losing to 95-86 to Villanova last year at the Verizon Center, the University of Maryland will again face the Wildcats (Currently ranked 7th Nationally) this Saturday in Philadelphia.

Baltimore Sports and Life thanks Mr. Juliano for taking the time to give some insight on the Villanova roster.

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Last year the Wildcats were 25-8 overall, and 13-4 in the Big East as they earned #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. By any measure that was another successful season for the Villanova program. However, after returning 9 players from a Final Four team the year prior, I imagine the 2nd round upset loss to St. Mary’s was a disappointment. This year Villanova has started 14-1 overall, and 3-0 in Conference play. Do you get the sense the team is playing with a chip on their shoulder?”

Joe Juliano: “I don’t know if you can call it a chip on their shoulder. It doesn’t appear as if the returning seniors – Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Antonio Pena – had any problem turning the page to this season. Obviously Villanova has learned from its mistakes of last season. For example, its defense has played much better on a consistent basis, while last year’s team just seemd to be satisfied in outscoring people. Jay Wright also likes the fact that the three seniors, plus a fifth-year senior (Russell Wooten) who is in graduate school but was part of the Final Four team, have shown tremendous leadership around the younger players. So the seniors’ focus is that, it’s their team, let’s try to make it the best season we can have. So far, so good.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “In Villanova’s rotation are two former MD targets – Isiah Armwood, and Mouphtaou Yarou who both attended Montrose Christian. How have these two players progressed? Will Yarou get the defensive assignment against MD’s Jordan Williams?”

Joe Juliano: “Yarou is a work in progress. This is only his fourth year of organized basketball and has endured his share of ups and downs. He played a terrific game Wednesday night against Louisville with 18 points and 11 rebounds. That followed a forgettable night at South Florida (0 points, 1 rebound) and a so-so game against Cincinnati. Yarou is a good learner and a good listener, and Wright stays on him with advice and encouragement. I would think he’ll be mached up with Williams since they are of similar size. But Villanova fans have to be patient with Yarou. He’s not there yet but he is taking small steps to be an elite center in a year or two. Armwood is the first big man off the bench for Villanova. His offense isn’t fully formed yet but he makes it up with hustle at the defensive end and under the boards. He grabbed seven rebounds in only 10 minutes against Louisville and has more rebounds on the season (45) than points (31), which is just the way Wright likes it.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Corey Fisher has gone from the Big East’s 6th man of the year as a Sophomore, to a Junior starter, to now a Senior leader. I note that his 3 point attempts have increased from 2.9 last year to 4.1 currently, while his percentage made has dropped from 39.6% to 29%. With the departure of Reynolds, is Fisher forcing shots? One thing he looks to be excelling at is getting to line, with 6 games of at-least 8 FT attempts.”

Joe Juliano: “Through his career at Villanova, Fisher has been a reluctant shooter. As a sophomore, he deferred to the seniors on ‘Nova’s Final Four team and last season he deferred to Scottie Reynolds who finished his career as the No. 2 scorer in school history. Wright has yelled begged and cajoled and Fisher is now taking more shots. He got off to a slow start from the perimeter but his shooting has picked up recently. In his last four games, he has gone 22 of 44 from the field (50 percent) and 7 of 14 (again 50 percent) from three-point range. And as you said, he does a great job of getting to the line, possessing an excellent pump fake that defenses unfailingly fall for. The back-court of Fisher and Maalik Wayns gives Villanova a terrific ball-handling tandem that average s better than 11 assists per game.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Senior Forward Antonio Pena (6’8, 235 lbs) is averaging 9.8 ppg, and over 7 rebounds per game. For the season, he has eight games with over 8 boards. With Villanova’s propensity from shooting from the outside, how integral is Pena’s work on the glass? How do you rate him defensively?”

Joe Juliano: “Pena’s rebounding is very important but you can’t overlook how he has improved offensively, especially shooting the mid-range jump shot, either on a pick and roll or getting a pass on the perimeter after Fisher or Wayns has driven into the lane and attracted defenders. He is shooting about 57% from the field. He is a very good passer. Defensively, he knows all the nuances of Villanova’s defense – their desire to press, trap and switch off screens on the perimeter. Getting back to the rebound question, he needs to be more consistent there – he has pulled down only four in each of the Wildcats’ last two games.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “With an increase in minutes Senior Corey Stokes has seen his production spike. The 6’5 220 lb Guard is averaging a team-leading 16.6 ppg, including 46.2% from 3, and 93% from the foul-line; it appears the former McDonald’s All-American is playing at an all Big-East Conference level. Is there any thing about his game that you believe needs to improve?”

Joe Juliano: “Indeed, Stokes is playing at a very high level, the early favorite for Big Five player of the year as well as earning a berth on the All-Big East team. he always has been very confident in his shot but this year, his confidence has risen because he’s making nearly 47 percent of his three-point shots. He’s also scoring on drives to the hoop and getting to the free-throw line. He’s already established a career high in free throws made and with a free-throw percentage approaching 94.0%, that’s good for Villanova. The only thing that’s keeping him from the NBA is being able to hit the pull-up jumper off the dribble. He works on it in practice but it’s still not polished to the point where NBA scouts would stand up and take notice. And to be fair, Nova guards Fisher and Wayns deserve a significant amount of credit for finding Stokes at the three-point arc.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Like Maryland, Villanova has a Freshman from Montverde Academy in Orlando. For the Terps, that is Hawk Palsson, for the Wildcats that is James Bell. Bell was a Top 50 National Player who is averaging about 8 minutes a game. While Bell is not scoring, he appears to be in the regular rotation. Any early thoughts on him?”

Joe Juliano: “Bell looks like he has some skills – he hit a three-point basket Wednesday night agains Louisville literally seconds after leaving the bench. But he has been behind because of stress fractures in both legs that required surgery and kept him out of most of pre-season practice. As with any young player, Wright schools them in terms of defense first, and believes Bell will be a good defensive player some day. As on of only nine scholarship players on the Villanova roster, Bell will be looked to contribute more and more as the rugged Big East season moves on.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Another former All-American on the roster is Maalik Wayns who you have mentioned. The Sophomore PG was named to the Big East All-Rookie team last-year. Currently he is averaging 13.1 ppg, 5.6 assists, 3.4 boards, and shooting 83.3% from the line. I’ve seen him described as a quick, score-first pg, with limiting shooting skills. Is that accurate?”

Joe Juliano: “As with Fisher, Wayns has struggled with his outside shot in the early going. His field-goal percentage is hovering around 38 percent and he’s barely shooting 20 percent from three-point range. However, there are few – if any – guards in the Big East who can get from baseline to baseline faster than Wayns. He puts tremendous pressure on the defense with his ability to penetrate into the lane and either score or dish off. He is a good passer and his decision-making his improved. Through the Louisville game, Wayns has 91 assists against 48 turnovers, almost a 2-to-1 ratio. Maybe defenses would be better served sagging into the lane to prevent Wayns and Fisher from driving to the hoop, but only Tennessee (Villanova’s only loss) found any success in doing that.

Baltimore Sports and Life: “If you were game-planning against the Wildcats, what would you try and exploit? What would you be preparing to try and take away?”

Joe Juliano: “As I alluded to in the earlier answer, I felt more teams would try to do what Tennessee did, sag into the lane to disrupt the drives of Fisher and Wayns. Of course, Stokes didn’t shoot very well in that game, nothing like the way he’s been shooting over the last few weeks. But I’d take my chances that way and and try to force Fisher and Wayns into turnovers. I’d also try to pound the ball inside on their defense and try to get Pena and Yarou into foul trouble. The big-man backups, Armwood and Maurice Sutton (also a Marylander), are inexperienced. Maryland needs balance in its offense.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Pennsylvania native Jay Wright entered this season with 326 wins (career .640 winning %) and is just 49 years old. In 2006 he signed a 7 year deal keeping him with the Wildcats through the 2012-13 season. Does Coach Wright strike you as a guy that will look elsewhere when his contract ends, or is Villanova his dream job?”

Joe Juliano: “That’s a good question, one that those of us on the Villanova beat debate from time to time. Jay is deeply rooted to the area. His parents are a short drive away. He met his wife at Villanova. His three kids love the area. Certainly he has had his opportunities to leave and has passed on all of them. Having said all that, there is a theory that once Wright’s youngest child finishes high school (still 6 years away) he made decide to check out something else. But right now, Wright and Villanova have a solid relationship.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Thoughts on this game at the Wells Fargo Center?”

Joe Juliano: “Well, I have to admit that I haven’t seen more than a few minutes of any Maryland game. I do know how well Jordan Williams has played, going into this game on a streak of 10 double-doubles. If he can successfully exploit Yarou’s inexperience, the Terrapins have a chance to win. But Fisher, Wayns, and Stokes have played lights-out ball recently and have been tough to stop. Each teams plays a similar temp and prides itself in holding the opposition to a low field-goal percentage, so it will come down to which team can play better offensively in the half-court. Villanova has played awfully well lately but Maryland doesn’t back down to any team so I look for a game that won’t be decided until the final 2 minutes.”

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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