http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/20246 Recent articles about Scottie Reynolds en-us Tyreke Evans, the super-talented American Christian Academy guard and MVP of the McDonald's All- American Game, said last night that he was leaning heavily toward picking Villanova after making an official visit with the basketball coaching staff Tuesday night. "After eating with Jay and talking to Jay, he kept it real with me," Evans said of the meeting with Villanova coach Jay Wright. "He told me the things I wanted to hear and some things I didn't want to hear but will make me a better player." Evans, the nation's top unsigned basketball recruit, and several relatives and a family friend attended a two-hour meeting with Wildcats staff at Wright's Main Line residence. "He showed me the respect he has for the players and how much of a family they are," Evans said. Villanova's strong pitch made a strong impression. "They pretty much wanted 'Reke's undivided attention," said Reggie Evans, Tyreke Evans' older brother and legal guardian. "It was a very thorough, detailed visit," said Lamont Peterson, an assistant coach at American Christian. "They went over how they planned to use him, how they could help him" in his quest to reach the NBA. In addition to Evans, his older brothers - Reggie, Doc and Pooh - cousin Meek Evans, and Peterson visited with Wright and his staff. Evans has said his list of college choices is narrowed to Villanova, Memphis, Texas and Connecticut. The 6-foot-6 Evans said he would announce his decision on April 16, the first day of the spring signing period. ESPNU and ESPN News both plan to carry the press conference live. Evans also made an official visit to Memphis and unofficial stops at Texas, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Louisville. Evans will not make any more visits. "For me, it's about who can take 'Reke, break him down and build him back up," Reggie Evans said of the decision. "There are good and bad perks about staying close to home and playing. . . . People say I will have [a major influence on the decision], but this is 'Reke's decision." Evans, a Parade All-American, will compete in the 11th annual Nike Hoop Summit on April 12 in Portland, Ore. While there, he and his brothers will go over his options, Reggie Evans said. He said they hope to come close to having a decision before they head back home. "We are going to sit down and say, 'This [current college player] is leaving' " for the NBA, Reggie Evans said. 'This is who is staying.' " At least one person close to Tyreke is pulling for the Wildcats. Peterson, who wore a Villanova T-shirt on Evans' visit to Memphis, would love for him to stay home. "Jay is a great coach," Peterson said, referring to Wright. He pointed out that Wright's former guards - Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye - are both in the NBA. Another former 'Nova guard, Allan Ray, is playing professionally in Italy after a season with the Boston Celtics. "He's proven to be a great guard coach," Peterson said of Wright. "If Tyreke stayed home, it would be great for the community." Evans averaged 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists and 4.3 steals per game this season. After the Nike Hoop Summit, the 18-year-old will play in the Jordan Brand All-American Game on April 19 at Madison Square Garden. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:00:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/228494 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/228494 March Madness is about great team runs spurred by uncanny individual performances, and this year's tournament has been no different. But who earns the honor of being the '2nd Round Workhorse?' Stephen Curry, Brook Lopez, AJ Abrams, Kevin Love? Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:31:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216338 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216338 A 4-Peat upset in Tampa Bay sounded absolutley rediculous. But after Ty Rogers buzzer beater 3 in OT, after De'Jon Jackson's step back jumper beat UConn, after the Siena Saints told Shan Foster's Commodores to go home, and after Scottie Reynolds and the Wildcats waved goodbye to a hot Clemson team, it all looked so perfect for the underdogs. This has never been done before. One city, one day, four upsets. I didn't pick one of them either. Not one. So this kind of ruined my bracket because I had Clemson and UConn in the Sweet 16. It is so much fun to watch, yet so heartbreaking... Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:37:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213783 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213783 Thursday's 1st round games were not as exciting as some people thought they would be. Only 2 lower seeds won (#9 Texas A&M and #11 Kansas State) and the two potential upsets (#14 Georgia over #3 Xavier and #15 Belmont over #2 Duke) were so close too happening, yet so far. So what will the 2nd day of the NCAA Tournament bring us? (10) Davidson vs. (7) Gonzaga In a great Mid-Major matchup, the Davidson Wildcats of the Southern Conference take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference. The Zags have been here before with guys like Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytvelt and David Pendergraft. Davidson may have the best overall player playing in this game with son of former NBA sharp-shooter Del Curry, Stephen Curry. The younger Curry averages 25 points per game on the season and can be deadly on the outside. If the Wildcats want to win, Stephen Curry has to be on target. If he is not, look for Gonzaga to buckle down and use the experience to advance to the 2nd round. SFB Prediction: Davidson wins 81-77 (10) Saint Mary's vs. (7) Miami (FL) Should this matchup really be happening? The Saint Mary's Gaels, who spent a good portion of the year in the Top 25 get a #10 seed and the Miami Hurricanes, who struggled towards the end of the season, get a #7 seed. Very questionable. But nonetheless, these teams square off for a very interesting matchup. For the Hurricanes, guard Jack McClinton leads the team with about 17 points per game. Saint Mary's is led by point guard Patrick Mills with 14.5 PPG and 3.4 assists per game. Something that is interesting about this game is that the Gaels are not your typical "shoot-the-three" Mid-Major squad. In addition to Mills, they have two solid big men inside with forward Diamon Sampson and center Omar Samhan. So unlike other Mid-Majors, Saint Mary's certainly has the ability to pound it inside. SFB Prediction: Saint Mary's wins 77-69 (12) Western Kentucky vs. (5) Drake The Drake Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference have had a great season finishing the year 28-4 and nationally ranked. Led by point guard Adam Emmenecker, the Bulldogs play a very interesting style of play and have the ability to score the basketball. Josh Young leads the team in scoring and Klayon Korver is deadly from 3-point range. But don't forget about the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who have a player by the name of Courtney Lee who averages over 20 points per game. The senior stands at 6'5" and will give Drake some matchup problems in this game. SFB Prediction: Drake wins 75-65 (10) South Alabama vs. (7) Butler Here is yet another solid Mid-Major matchup. And again, a question arises with placing the Butler Bulldogs as a #7 seed. But we do have a great matchup here with Butler battling the South Alabama Jaguars, who received an at-large bid out of the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulldogs are led by guards A.J. Graves and Mike Green but they also have a balanced attack with four players averaging over 11 points per game. The Jaguars also have a balance with 4 players averaging over 10 points per game, led by 20-point per game scorer Demetric Bennett. SFB Prediction: Butler wins 88-87 in overtime (11) Saint Joseph's vs. (6) Oklahoma This seems to be the trendy "upset" pick for many sports fans out there with the Saint Joseph's Hawks taking on the Oklahoma Sooners. The Hawks are led by three athletic big men with Pat Calathes, Ahmad Nevins and Rob Ferguson. All three of these players can score inside, outside and run the floor. This is something Oklahoma needs to prepare for if they want to hang with the Hawks. Of course St. Joe's will have to contend with Oklahoma's big men, 6'10" Blake Griffin and 6'11" Longar Longar. The key to this game for either team is to control the pace of the game. As fast-paced game is in the Hawks favor and a slower-paced game is Oklahoma's favor. This should be a great game. SFB Prediction: Saint Joe's wins 73-70 (13) Siena vs. (4) Vanderbilt As said in a previous Blog, this could be the upset of the tournament with the MAAC champion Siena Saints defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores. However, it certainly will not be easy. Vandy has SEC Player of the Year Shan Foster in their corner in addition to 6'11" Aussie B.J. Ogilvy. On the other side, the Saints have sharp-shooters named Kenny Hasbrouck, Tay Fisher and Edwin Ubiles along with forwards Alex Franklin and Josh Duell on the inside. Even if Siena doesn't pull off the upset, this will be a great game to watch. SFB Prediction: Siena wins 85-81 (9) Oregon vs. (8) Mississippi State Again, these #8 vs #9 games are always very competitive on paper. The Ducks have 4 players averaging in double figures in points led by 6'6" guard Malik Hairston. The Bulldogs also have four players scoring in double figures in points including leading scorer Jamont Gordon and sharp-shooting Ben Hansbrough, Tyler's little brother. Look for this game to be action-packed, high-scoring and very exciting. SFB Prediction: Mississippi State wins 79-74 (9) Arkansas vs. (8) Indiana Another "seeding" question comes to mind when we see the Indiana Hoosiers with a #8 seed. Perhaps the NCAA Tournament Committee is sending a message that the Hoosiers can't win without their former head coach Kelvin Sampson. Despite this fact, Indiana is still a great basketball team led by guard Eric Gordon and big man D.J. White. But Arkansas has the sights set on getting to the 2nd round as well. The Razorbacks are led by forward Sonny Weems, who averages over 14 points per game. SFB Prediction: Indiana wins 69-61 (12) Villanova at (5) Clemson The Clemson Tigers finished the season strong making it all the way to the ACC Championship game. Many sports fans believe Clemson to be a potential sleeper team that can take down a #1 seed in the Regional Semi-Final round. Well with a balanced, athletic attack led by 6'6" junior K.C. Rivers, it's not surprising why sports fans are picking this team to go far in the NCAA Tournament. But before the Tigers think about that, they must deal with Villanova Wildcats, who perhaps was the last team to be put into the Field of 65. Villanova is led by sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds, who averages just under 16 points per game. But to win this game, the Wildcats need big games from guys like Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark. SFB Prediction: Clemson wins 77-65 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:36:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213140 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213140 The Hoyas beat the Wildcats by 19 points. The final score was 82-63. Does Villanova get in? Game Article- http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280730046 Video- http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3291689&categoryId=2459792 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:28:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196385 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196385 Scottie Reynolds scored 22 points while Villanova rode some hot shooting in the second half to knock off Syracuse 82-63 Wednesday in the opening round of the Big East tournament. If Villanova can upset #1 ranked Georgetown in round 2, then they will be sure to lock up a spot in this year's NCAA tournament. Story Link: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280720222 Video Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2459792 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:33:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/193787 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/193787 The Villanova Wildcats arent looking to go after there loss to Marquette Last Monday. Do i think they will make the tournament. YES! but only if they go far in the Big East Tournament. Go Luck And Go WildCats Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:22:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/180533 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/180533 The 81-71 Wildcats victory belies the truth: Villanova is not as good as the polls (#21) indicate. The Wildcats have no inside presence, and unlike the four-guard lineup (Foye, Ray, Lowry, Nardi) that succeeded a few years back, this team is full of underclassmen. Villanova will probably climb a spot or two in the rankings, but if Donte Green from Syracuse hadn't gotten in early foul trouble, the Orange very well could have won the home game that they should have won. Scottie Reynolds led all scorers with 25 points, but the real hero was Dante Cunningham, who despite playing with the flu was 6-8 for 14 points and 8 boards. Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:57:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/77525 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/77525