Great expectations

Day 6: Villanova | Bucknell | Traveling Violations

PHILADELPHIA – Four years ago, the four of them came together amid much promise and with a simple plan – stick together, listen to the coach and see what happens.

It isn't the way highly-touted recruiting classes are supposed to do it these days in the instant gratification, play for the draft as much as for your school era. But that was one of the reasons Villanova coach Jay Wright thought Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser and Randy Foye were not just great talents, but the perfect foursome to resuscitate the Wildcats' program.

There have been ups – last year's run to the Sweet Sixteen, this year's preseason top-five ranking – and downs – a disappointing first two seasons and this year's preseason injury to Sumpter that has turned four Villanova seniors into, at least on the court, three.

Not that the expectations have changed. The pollsters still believe Villanova should be in for the Final Four. And while the players never set that goal originally, it wasn't out of the question either.

"We came into it not knowing what to expect," said Fraser of the senior class. "(We agreed) Coach Wright was the coach and he had a plan and we wanted to be part of that plan."

If you want a reason to like Villanova this year, besides the high-flying offense and tenacious full court defense, it is the character of the core of this team.

All four kids were top-50 recruits out of high school. All four seemed to forget about that the day they came here to this classy campus just off Philadelphia's Main Line.

They didn't point fingers when the promise of their freshman season – preseason top 20 – fell apart with a 15-16 lesson-learning campaign. They didn't give up or transfer when they managed just 18-17 as sophomores – the various injuries, slumps and slides simply never broke their bond.

And no one bailed to the pros or got an oversized ego a year ago when they reach the Sweet Sixteen and gave North Carolina the scare of its life.

"This group has been through so much," said Wright. "They've had a lot of disappointment, which is why I am so confident in their ability to handle (the expectations of this season). I just have such confidence in them. They are so level headed."

For Wright, this was the recruiting class of his life. It changed everything at Villanova, giving the program spark early in his tenure and allowing him to use four good kids to recruit more good kids. While this is clearly the season Villanova has built for, with the amount of talent Wright keeps bringing in, the program should be strong for a long, long time.

"You feel really good when you think about the kind of kids you are attracting now," he said. "You know every year is going to be a struggle, but things are good here."

As for this year, the loss of Sumpter, a 6-7 forward from Brooklyn will hurt, and as a result, the Wildcats will play four guards much of the time. They will need big efforts out of a just-healthy 6-foot-9 Fraser, the other big man, and Will Sheridan, a 6-foot-8 junior. The preseason prognosticators believe that will happen.

"We have all these expectations with Curtis and then he goes down and you figure, OK,'" said Wright. "But then we stay right there."

For the remaining seniors, that is fine. They wish Sumpter wasn't lost for the season. But they aren't conceding anything. Sumpter will be on the bench every night in a suit and tie helping anyway he can. They came in together, learned together and will go out together.

Besides, at this school, the story of an underdog national championship run isn't just a dream, it hangs in the reality of the 1985 NCAA championship banner in the corner of the Pavilion.

"We just have to go back to the basics of playing hard, playing Villanova basketball," said Ray, the sharp shooting guard. "And we'll let everything else take care of itself."

That's the way this group has tackled everything. Big expectations and a critical injury aren't going to change that now.