VILLANOVA, Pa. — “It’s your job to keep celebrating. It’s our job to move on to next year.”
Those were Villanova head coach Jay Wright’s instructions to the fans in the Pavilion for the team’s annual Summer Jam on Monday night, the first time the public got a chance to see next season's squad in action. Wright and the Wildcats are beginning to prepare for the year after their sensational championship season, as they aim to figure out how to compensate for the losses of integral seniors Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu.
“We’ve got to start all over again,” Wright said. “Go back, respect the process, don’t skip any steps, do what we always do — and enjoy it. And don’t feel like we’re letting anybody down by doing that. Stay true to our culture.”
One step that Wright feels will be key in that process is the team’s upcoming tour of Spain. The Wildcats leave on Tuesday night, and will play their first exhibition game on Friday in Barcelona, followed by two games in Madrid on Sunday and on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Wright hopes that seniors Kris Jenkins, the hero of the national championship game, and Josh Hart, who returns to school after seriously considering the NBA draft, can assume greater leadership responsibilities and help integrate the younger players on the team. He also knows that sophomore point guard Jalen Brunson will play an essential role this season.
“What you saw last year was not the true Jalen Brunson,” Wright said. “It was him sacrificing for the team so the team could win — which is a part of Jalen. But the position he’s in now, being a leader on the floor and off the court, is where he’s really comfortable, so I think you’re going to see a more aggressive, more outgoing, more comfortable guy.”
Following Wright’s rousing remarks to the crowd, Brunson and the rest of the players were introduced. Predictably, Jenkins got the biggest cheer.
“It’ll probably stick with me for the rest of my life,” Jenkins said. “It’s just something that I have to continue to look past and use as motivation to get better.”
The Pavilion was at about two-thirds capacity, including many families and children. A number of former Villanova players were also in attendance, including Darrun Hilliard of the Pistons. Eighty-one-year-old Rollie Massimino, the coach of Villanova's legendary 1985 championship team, posed for pictures and signed autographs for the fans.
The Wildcats played a series of scrimmages after a brief warmup, first competing in two five-minute contests with a running clock and a 24-second shot clock, then finishing the evening with a pair of eight-minute games. Instead of a starters vs. second unit affair, “Team Blue” and “Team White” were evenly matched.
As you would expect for so early in the process, the play was sometimes sloppy. Yet there were also plenty of moments that excited the crowd, like Hart leaping over the defense for a rebound, freshman big man Omari Spellman sinking a running hook and sophomore Mikal Bridges instinctively reading the offense, lurking quietly before picking off a pass from Phil Booth.
Booth had an opportunity for a little Jenkins-esque glory, albeit on a much smaller stage. Unfortunately for the junior guard, his potential game-winning, step-back three-pointer rimmed out, as Team Blue took the final scrimmage, 18-16.
With things wrapped up for now at home, Wright is looking forward to leaving for Spain, in large part because of the opportunity to get away from all the hype that still surrounds the team.
“When you’re out of the country, nobody else really cares who you are — it’s nice,” Wright said. “I think it’s going to be really good for this team.”