Jay Wright and Scottie Reynolds referred to it as a “teachable moment.”

You can say that again.

I can admit I have always liked Wright, the head man at Villanova basketball. I like him even more now. And I still would have liked him even if his surprising disciplinary move yesterday had blown up in his face.

It almost did. The Wildcats almost made an ignominious exit to the No.
15 seed William Morris.

Let’s review. Wildcats Nation no doubt was perplexed when Villanova took the floor for their first-round game. Scottie Reynolds, the senior and all-time scorer in Villanova history, was not there. Neither was junior Corey Fisher.

No one is saying what exactly happened. Conjecture seems to be centering on them being unable to answer a question from the scouting report on Robert Morris, indicating they did not read it.

It’s one thing to bench players in the regular season. It’s another altogether to do it in the NCAA Tournament, and for Reynolds, in what could be his last game as a Wildcat.

Reynolds struggled mightily after entering the game, shooting a miserable 2-for-15 from the field. But he was gold at the line and came up big at the end as Villanova rallied from six down late to send the game to overtime, where they held on to advance.

A lot of people think Wright was wrong, not to do what he did, but when he chose to do it.

Not me. I think it’s all the more reason to believe he’s got the Wright stuff.

Good call, coach.