Jay Wright started a Monday national media Zoom press conference by mentioning how Justin Moore underwent surgery for his torn Achilles tendon at 6:30 that morning, how the surgery went well, that arrangements have been made for Moore and injured Villanova reserve Jordan Longino to fly Saturday to New Orleans to join their teammates when the Wildcats face Kansas that day at the Final Four.
“If anybody can allow me to give a shout-out to our team doctor, Mike Duncan, and Dan Erickson, our trainer, who got everything set up on Sunday morning for an MRI, to get a surgeon in here to meet with Justin and his family,” Wright said.
Wright wanted to start out by explaining all that Moore did for Villanova’s team, “how unique he is in our program,” with all his varied skills. “In that sense, he’s probably our most valuable player,” Wright said. “He’s truly one of the most complete players in the country.”
Wright said all this as preamble, understanding that much of the discussion would be about how Villanova carries on without the junior guard who was second-team all-Big East, one team short of where his coach thought Moore belonged.
“Other guys can step up, and we can be a good team without him,” Wright said. “I didn’t want to say that first because I don’t want to undervalue what this guy is.”
Wright mentioned how Chris Arcidiacono and Bryan Antoine will play, and he mentioned the name of freshman forward Trey Patterson for the first time in a long time. “All of our guys off the bench will play more minutes — even Eric Dixon, who starts, will play more minutes,” Wright said. “There are opportunities for them. We believe we can be a really good team without him. With that said, we know how good Kansas is — they’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. They deserve it.”
This has come up for Villanova before. Collin Gillespie sat out the 2021 postseason after knee surgery. Villanova made it to the Sweet 16 and gave eventual NCAA champion Baylor its toughest game. It was pointed out that a similar scenario hit in 2005 when Curtis Sumpter got hurt in a second-round win over Florida and Villanova played North Carolina in the Sweet 16 in a game ‘Nova fans do not forget for another reason: a referee’s call not forgiven, Tar Heels winning by a point. Another reporter brought up how Moore himself didn’t play this season for a game against Connecticut due to a sprained ankle, a game ‘Nova won by 85-74 with Arcidiacono playing 26 minutes.
“It is something our guys are going to have to understand,” Wright said. “We’ve been through this, we played well without a great player, and it’s what a program is about.”
It’s doubtful Kansas has put this one in the win column. Gillespie was Big East player of the year and named outstanding player of the Big East Tourament. Jermaine Samuels was named outstanding player of the NCAA South Region. Dixon, Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater all have had starring roles in the postseason. It’s not like Villanova was going to run with Kansas if the Wildcats had Moore. The Jayhawks play fast. Yet even as Villanova takes its time, the efficiency numbers are remarkably similar. Villanova is No. 9 nationally offensively, 18th defensively. Kansas is No. 7 offensively, 17th defensively.
Villanova will have to game plan differently without Moore, Wright said: “He’s such a huge part of everything we do. We do have a week here to adjust what we do without him. That’s what’s unique about the Final Four – and you only have to play two games if you’re really fortunate.”
Consider that a subliminal message from Villanova’s coach to his players? Going to New Orleans to play two.
“We took off [Sunday] – we have five days of practice where we can adjust things, become comfortable,” Wright said. “But it’s definitely going to change our game plan offensively.”
More minutes for Dixon is a good thing, for instance, Wright said. Daniels, who moves into the starting lineup, already plays starter’s minutes, about 35 a game during March Madness.
Wright always views NCAA Tournament games through a different prism.
“You get so many timeouts and they’re so long,” Wright said. “Guys get rested.”
When the festivities conclude Saturday night inside the Superdome, we’ll find out if the next rest for this shorthanded squad is a day between games, or seven months.
