Villanova coach Jay Wright looks on.
(Boston) I took the train into Boston from Newburyport to watch the four NCAA East regional teams get acquainted with the BankNorth Garden.
I thought there might be crowds on hand but like the Division A Prep School tournament at Endicott, only the junkies and family members looked on. You could sit very close to the action.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. I had been told that the Celtic parquet wasn’t going to be used. Instead they had an NCAA floor that had a very strong smell of lacquer. I’m guessing it would give some folks a headache.
Each of the four teams (Xavier, Villanova, Pitt, and Duke) came out for fifty minutes. Most of what we saw was shooting. The length of time before the next team came (15 minutes?) wore me down after three teams and I was back on the train when Duke was on the court.
I had not done my homework on the teams so I wasn’t sure who the star players were. I did have my two cameras with me.
Xavier
Deadly freshman shooter Brad Redford.
What caught my eye about this team was the shooting show put on by freshman guard #12 Brad Redford. This kid could make shot after shot from deep in many different locations and down both ends. I learned later that he averaged over 36 points as a senior in high school and was the Michigan Player of the Year. He would not be a player you would ever want to leave open. I don’t think he plays very much………yet.
Villanova
Dante Cunningham makes it look easy
This team did some serious isometric exercises at the start of their 50 minutes. The impressive player in many respects was #33 senior Dante Cunningham. Coach Jay Wright spent much of his time conversing with announcers Bill Rafferty and Vern Lundquist.
Pittsburgh
Point guard #2 Levance Fields
This was the team with muscles on their muscles. The player who seemed to be enjoying himself was #2 Levance Fields. They had a drill in which halfcourt shots were attempted. After just about everyone else on the team had tried it Levance, who looked overweight to me, drained one.
Is this woman a sideline commentator?
There were quite a number of reporters and TV types checking out their seating spots. I saw this woman and assumed that she could be one of those sideline commentators. I could be wrong since I don’t know who she is.
It was an interesting (free) take and I will search for it next time an NCAA regional is at the BankNorth Garden.
McClelland Miscellanea 