City of Basketball Love

Andrew O’Connor (@andrewoconnor23)
--

Two days ago, Villanova junior guard Josh Hart had two conversations about his recent slump--one with his father, Moses Hart, and one with his head coach, Jay Wright.  

“I think they must talk, because everytime somethings going I meet with Coach Wright and then my dad calls right after,” Hart said. “It’s weird.”

Hart, who had combined for 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting the past two games, was in need of a pep talk and some motivation from his trusted “mentors.”

It’s not always a coincidence that he hears from his coach and father in close proximity.

“Sometimes I do call his dad--not this time,” Wright said. “His dad is a great guy and looks at life and the game like we do. That’s why he’s such a great kid.”

Whatever they said clearly worked.

The 6-foot-5 wing from Maryland had a game-high 22 points to go along with a game high 12 rebounds as Villanova took down Butler, 77-67 on Saturday afternoon.

On Villanova's senior night, it was the junior Hart who ended up being the biggest piece for the Wildcats. Nonetheless the final regular season home game was still special for seniors Daniel Ochefu, Henry Lowe, Kevin Rafferty, Patrick Farrell, and Ryan Arcidiacono.

Arcidiacono, in particular, received a standing ovation from the crowd when his name was announced and he emerged.

“It was good, it was special, it was something I’ll never forget and something I know my family and the family of the other seniors won’t either,” Arcidiacono said. “It was great to play in front of a great crowd and the rest of the senior class.”

The senior guard had a solid night offensively, scoring nine points on and recording nine assists without a turnover. Ochefu, who was limited to 21 minutes as he battled foul difficulties, went for six points, eight rebounds, and a block.

The high-scoring game for Hart, in which he went 8-of-16 from the field, was by no means groundbreaking for him, but it comes as a nice change after his two game slump.

When asked what his father and Wright told him during their conversations, Hart explained that he was looking at the game the wrong way.

“I just talked with him about valuing myself as more than just a scorer,” he said. “It was about hustle plays, playing Villanova basketball, rebounding, defending, doing all those things and when you do all of those things offense comes.”

Wright and the rest of the Wildcats know the pressure Hart puts on himself. As Villanova’s leading scorer, Hart (14.8 ppg) has emerged as a bona-fide MVP candidate in the Big East as a junior.

“He puts pressure on himself because, he doesn’t care if he scores or not, he feels like he’s letting the team down, when he misses shots because he’s done it for so long, so when he’s not he feels like he’s letting everyone down,” said Wright. “So we just told him don’t worry about it, we value all the other things you do just as much.”

Solid rebounding and defense translated into solid offense for Hart, who found himself as the igniter for the offense in the second half after a 19-9 run by the Bulldogs nabbed a 45-43 advantage with 11 minutes remaining.

Butler sophomore Kelan Martin had one of his best games to date, dropping 19, while senior Roosevelt Jones added 16. 

However, Hart, along with junior forward Kris Jenkins, answered with 16 consecutive points for Villanova as the 'Cats fought back to retake the lead.

The competitiveness of Hart and the rest of the squad shined as the two juniors scoring outburst lead to a game-sealing 24-11 run that started at the 10:31 mark and continued until four minutes left, with the score reaching 67-56.

Looking ahead, the pep talk from Hart's father and head coach came without a doubt at the most opportune time as the Wildcats travel to Xavier on Wednesday for what proves to be a crucial rematch of a blowout home win for Villanova in January. 

Not only will the Wildcats have a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament with a win, but will also be able to strengthen their tournament resume against their last remaining ranked opponent as they fight for the NCAA's top overall seed. 

They'll certainly need Hart and the rest of the battle-tested Wildcats to be at their best.

“Now it’s just focusing on Villanova basketball,” said Hart, “Not focusing on myself as just a scorer.”