Inside The Mind of Antonio Pena

I don't understand why everyone is so mad at me.. i took an open shot.  It's not as if we have several better shooters than me on the team.  If you saw me in high school you'd know that Tone can ball.  In fact, I ball so good that I should bring the ball up the court every time.  I might start stealing the ball from Fish or Leek while theys taking it up the court.  People is gon know who Antonio Pena is before the end of the year, i garuntee that.

Coming This Week

1. A look inside the mind of Antonio Pena.
2. Analysis of National Signing Day and its ramifications on the future of Villanova Football.
3. A call for more playing time for James Bell and less playing time for people like Maurice Sutton.

Know Your Georgetown Alumni-Blowjob Edition

Know Your Former Georgetown Players- We Talkin Bout Practice

Tale of The Tape: Villanova-Georgetown

Villanova    School    Georgetown 

1842    Year Founded    1789

Guy Fisher    Drug Kingpin Connection    Rayful Edmond III

Unpaid housework   Alumni Political Scandal   The most famous blowjob ever

Is a quitter    Bradley Cooper    Is an alum

                   

Big East Commish: "We're not waiting on Villanova"

Big East Commisioner John Marinatto came out again and said that they won't wait for Villanova to make a decision.  Whether this is really true or just a tactic to get VU to expedite the process, no one can be sure.

All I have to say is Make the Move!

Interesting Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a fun day for Villanova fans because they travel to Rhode Island to face the Providence Friars, a game they never used to be able to win on the road but have owned recently.  This is a very winnable game, but by no means one to be complacent about.

I'll probably have something out later today to talk about the game against Providence.  Until then, i'll leave you with this video of a possessed cat:

My KenPom Mea Culpa

Embarrassing

At around this time last season, I posted something moronic that effectively dismissed KenPom rankings.  If you look at the comments of the post, I was (rightfully) slammed in the comments by a bunch of trolls who seemed to have a difficult time realizing that I had posted it months before.  In an example of blatant homerism, I was unable to see that last season's Villanova team was fundamentally flawed defensively and that it was not going to get any better.

Well now is time for me to make things right.  My contempt for KenPom rankings last year was mainly based on three things:

1. How high Duke was in KenPom's rankings throughout all of last season.
2. Ranking the ACC ahead of  the Big East.
3. How undervalued I felt Villanova was in the rankings.

Hindsight being 20/20, those rankings were 100 percent correct in forecasting both an early exit for VU, the hype surrounding the Big East was indeed hype, and glory for the Blue Devils.  The whole post was stupid, and I was wrong.  Last season proved to me that KenPom rankings have validity as a point of reference in the same way that sabermetrics are valid gauges of performance in baseball.  We should not see this as the gospel truth, but it does stand up well on its track record, and people should look past that before dismissing it as something nerdy as i so stupidly did last season.

Villanova Beats Syracuse 83-72- Postgame Thoughts

Suck it Central New York Work Release Center

 Today in upstate New York in front of a near record crowd, Villanova beat Syracuse Correctional Center 83-72 and remained in control (despite a few tense moments at various points) for pretty much the entire game.

Here are my thoughts-

• Maalik Wayns had 17 points in the first half, but he disappeared in the second half.  It was nice to see him make a couple threes, but he needs to quit while he's ahead.
• Corey Stokes hit some ridiculous shots.  He won't win any national awards, but his play has been the biggest reason that this team has been good.
• Corey Fisher is finally in a groove.
• The person who was most responsible for allowing Villanova to kill the zone was Antonio Pena.  His ability to spot up on those jump shots completely ruins everything that Jim Boeheim tries to accomplish by running the zone.
• While part of it was luck, Maurice Sutton put in some quality minutes and wound up actually making an offensive impact.
• The stat sheet won't tell this story, but Mouph did a great job of marginalizing the interior game of The Orange.
• It was nice to see Dominic Cheek playing so soon after hurting his knee.  I was very pessimistic when he went down in the Maryland game and didn't return.
• Villanova has been half of the equation in the three largest on campus crowds in college basketball history.  That is why this is an underrated rivalry. 
• Suck it Syracuse.

That's all for right now. 

What to look for in the next week

• More basketball shit.
• National Signing day for football is this coming Wednesday.

Remember to check me out on Twitter during games @TheFoyeEffect

Throw Everything You Have at Syracuse

Retrospective- Villanova Beats the Most Dislikable Team Ever

2/22/2009 a Syracuse Correctional Center team Complete with a toaster thrower and a woman puncher.

Off Topic (sorta)

For those who don't know, Kim Clijsters is married to former Villanova standout Brian Lynch, so this has a slight relevance to VU.  Even if it wasn't relevant; it is informative because it shows exactly how to prevent yourself from sleeping with a woman ever again.

Matt Szczur Press Conference (Video)

Here's video of Szczur Christ's press conference about his decision

Upgrade-Related Phone Surveys are Being Conducted

Just a little nugget- Villanova is calling potential donors and giving them a survey mostly to assess the athletic department and gauge their interest in donation.  Something is finally starting to rub me the right way about this entire process.

Szczur Christ's Football Career is Over

Matt Szczur has decided to retire from football and sign a 1.5 million dollar contract with The Cubs.  This is somewhat shocking news, but you cannot argue with the financial bottom line.

I'll have more on this tomorrow.

That Kinda Really Sucked

blah

more to come later

UConn FAILGASM

Villanova-Maryland Post Game Press Conference

Villanova Wins 74-66

It was a frustrating day for Mouph

Villanova survived a scare when they came back from a 12 point second half deficit to win by eight over Maryland.   The 'Cats took the lead for good on a 19-0 second half run, during which Corey Fisher scored eight of his 17 points.  Maalik Wayns led The 'Cats with 22 points despite his continued abysmal three point shooting.  Isaiah Armwood finished with six points and 13 rebounds in only 22 minutes of action.  For The Terps, Jordan Williams seemed unstoppable for most of the game with a game high 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Here are my thoughts:

• Maalik really needs to stop jacking up threes.  He's hovering right around the Mendoza Line from the perimeter at this point (unacceptable).
• Antonio Pena had probably his best game of the season.  That nifty mid range jump shot he has learned somehow could come in handy against a zone team like Syracuse.
• Mouph had an abysmal game offensively, but VU was still able to win.  That's a good sign that they can beat a somewhat solid team with no contribution from Yarou.
• I hope Dominic Cheek is okay.  Leaving in the first half with a knee injury and not returning is a bad sign.
• I did not miss Mo Sutton at all in that game.  He's simply a sinkhole on offense.
• Williams is a pro.  He was a force for most of the game.

ESPN Highlights

Take Note: No Reference to Basketball

Villanova-Louisville Postgame Press Conference

Featuring Jay Wright, Corey Stokes, and Mouphtaou Yarou




Side note- I love Mouph

Good Win

Another good win by Villanova.  After a shaky start, The 'Cats tightened up the defense and ended up beating Louisville 88-74.  Corey Stokes was monstrous once again, scoring 23 points on 5-9 shooting (4-8 from three, 9-9 from the line.)  Corey Fisher added 17 points and 8 rebounds, Mouphtaou Yarou had his best game of the season with 18 points and 12 boards, and Maalik Wayns put in a very good second half to finish with 15 points and 8 assists.  Preston Knowles led The Cardinals in scoring with a game high 24 points, including 6 three pointers.

Here are my thoughts:

• Stokes has an unlimited license to shoot in my mind.
• While I like the mid range jumper that he has added, Antonio Pena really needs to step his game up and start playing like a fifth year senior.
• I hate Fran Fraschilla.. All he does is drop names like he has a self esteem problem.
• Good game by Fish.  He's finally playing like he was supposed to heading into this season.
• This team is finally playing like they are ranked in the top ten.
• The perimeter defense still needs some polish.
• I like that they aren't fouling like they did last year
• I really liked the "15 seconds" chant directed at Rick Pitino.

That's all, I'll be back tomorrow for some more thoughts.

• 
  

Nothing to do- Some Videos of Villanova Football Commits

So I had nothing really to do waiting for class so i decided to post some videos of the football verbal commitments Villanova has received (the ones that I know of.)  Enjoy.

DT Jordan Hunter- Burlington, NJ

Rick Pitino is a Greasy Bastard and Other Thoughts

I'll be honest, I don't think very much of Rick Pitino.  I think he's an egotistical bastard (among other things.)  He's kind of like a less talented version of Bill Belichick, because while both are widely held to be brilliant tacticians, both are womanizers and both have shown  a questionable (blech, the huffington post) at best attitude toward ethics in their professional lives.  For some reason though, the aforementioned are two of the most effective people on earth at their respective jobs.  Is that a reflection that a personal life and professional life should be entirely seperate? I think it probably  is, but that doesn't mean that you can dislike the people for being jerks.

Beat Louisville.  That is all.

Brilliant First Half, Ugly Second Half, but Villanova Wins

Fish lit it up in the first half but was plagued with foul trouble in the second half.  The 'Cats Still held on to win by 11, 72-61.

Here's What Happened:

• Every Villanova starter had four personal fouls.
• VU looked like they had the game put away at half, but Cincinnati never gave up.
• Mick Cronin looks like Corky from Life Goes On. 
• Cheek needs to play more than Pena.. I'm so tired of Tone.
• If I ever see Isaiah Armwood handling the ball on the perimeter two straight possessions again, I will throw a brick through the front entrance of the Davis Center.
• Ibrahima Thomas is a moron.
• This is a big win against a decent team.. it was a very losable game. 
• 45 straight wins on campus.
• Stokes cooled off.
• Corey Fisher seems to finally be heating up.
• Maalik Wayns made a three!
• Mouph- Step ya game up.

First Live Blog in Forever

Epic Twitter Conversation RE: Villanova Football

Thanks to myself contributors emeritus The Voice and Shit Starter extraordinaire plus our pal (and resident Villanova blogosphere legal eagle) Brian (#VolvoS60) over at VUHoops.com.  So anyways tonight was the sight of an epic twitter conversation regarding the past, present, and future of Villanova football.  Beware, the chronology is a little shaky.

Villanova Wins- Corey Stokes For American of the Century

If you were monitoring the various Villanova bloggers tonight on twitter, you will notice two things- the first being that Corey Stokes is the messiah, and second that the game against USF was somewhat frustrating.  They ended up winning by 12, but it was still too close for comfort a lot of the game.

Here are my thoughts from the game

• Stokes now has official license from me to jack up stupid shots.
• Maalik Wayns does not.
• I normally don't question the coaches, but there was no excuse for Jay to take Stokes out of the game while up by only five in the second half. 
• Cheek had a monster game.
• Antonio Pena should never get the ball with the game in doubt and when free throws are needed.
• Corey Fisher has finally come out of his funk.
• I find it awesome when a player on the opposing team shares a surname with a Panamanian Dictator.
• I don't find it awesome when VU has trouble beating a team the way they're supposed to.
• Mouph had an anonymous game (to be nice) but the team still won, which is a good sign.

That's it for today, and I'll be back for more tomorrow possibly.

Villanova Leads USF by 5 at The Half

I apologize for my lack of posts recently.. Anyways, Villanova is leading USF 35-30 at the half.  Hopefully they close this shit out.

Szczur Christ Career highlights

Another SeanDon Gem

Villanova Beats New Jersey State

Corey Stokes had a monster second half (21 points) and Villanova covered the spread by a point, winning 81-65. 

• Corey Stokes has been absolutely torrid.
• Corey Fisher is finally starting to turn it on, which is big.
• The 'Cats need to play better in the first half of games against teams they're clearly better than.
• The Technical Foul on Fish was absolute horseshit.. Mike Rice should have been ejected from the game as well.

More to come on this later (maybe)

Congratulations Szczur Christ

Matt Szczur was named "Sports Figure of The Year" by the Delco Times.  Almost like being called a golden god.  Pretty good shit.