Villanova Men’s Basketball Settling In On Offense

Villanova Men’s Basketball put on an offensive clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 11, making a program record 22 three-point shots in a 94-60 win over Sacred Heart. The Wildcats attempted 43 shots from beyond the arc, prompting head coach Kevin Willard, who said his team attempted too many threes (35) in their season-opening loss to No. 8 BYU, to quip that Tuesday’s onslaught was “the perfect amount;” he wouldn’t divulge what, if anything, he saw on film to promote the aggressive approach.

Postgame, Willard credited his team’s increased comfort playing together as players like senior point guard Devin Askew, who missed more than six weeks of practice after an offseason knee injury, continue to round into form.

“I think guys are getting more comfortable. Devin missed a month and a half, so just guys getting comfortable,” Willard said. “When you’ve got shooters, you’ve gotta let them shoot.”

All coaches need to micromanage to some extent. Even though Willard keeps a close eye on the types of shots his team takes — both he and Askew confirmed that Askew was chastised for chucking up a heat-check three midway through the second half as the Wildcats broke their program record — Willard said that he wants his players to learn that they have freedom within his system.

“I think again, all these guys are starting to understand that if they do the right thing, play the right way they have total freedom. I think that’s what we saw a little bit of tonight,” Willard said. “To do that early in the year is pretty darn good. When you have guys that are making shots, I’m gonna let them shoot.”

Picking Up Their Passing

Another element of the Wildcats’ success on offense came from their passing. Driving into the paint and kicking out to the perimeter, Villanova finished four assists shy of the single game team record. Guard Bryce Lindsay, who set another program record with nine made three-point shots, credited his teammates for giving him open looks once shots began to fall.

“I just want to thank my teammates for finding me when I got hot. We had 28 assists, that’s the team high right now for assists,” Lindsay said. “I think we’re getting that team chemistry now, we understand where and who takes the shots that they want. We’re getting better at that.”

While Villanova put together a much cleaner offensive performance — Queens actually outshot the Wildcats in their first home game this season — Willard said that the team still needs to put in plenty of work on defense. He added that much of that comes from injuries, describing the strain his players face as they need to take on a bigger role.

“We still have a lot of work to do. A lot of work. Defensively we’re just not good,” Willard said.

“We have guys that have injuries, so it’s hard to get better when you have guys out. Even if it’s maybe a guy that wouldn’t play that much, it’s just putting too much stress on them in practice with the reps that they have to take. So we need to get our guys back healthy. They need to realize that they need to practice because it’s important to the team. I think kids don’t realize that. We have someone out ’cause their toe hurts.”