Frontcourt Stability Keying Villanova’s Success
Posted by Eric Clark on February 2nd, 2015Villanova hasn’t advanced past the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament since 2009, the year Jay Wright’s club lost to eventual champion North Carolina in the Final Four. Since that pinnacle season, the Wildcats have endured their worst campaign in the Wright era (13-19 in 2011-12) and have won only two more NCAA Tournament games. But since the start of last season, Villanova has returned to form thanks to the durability and improvement of its two frontcourt cornerstones, senior JayVaughn Pinkston and junior Daniel Ochefu.
JayVaughn Pinkston was 10-of-10 from the free throw line in Saturday’s win over DePaul. (Credit AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Pinkston has played meaningful minutes since his freshman season and has steadily improved many facets of his game along the way — his free throw, defensive rebounding and block percentages have improved with each passing year. As a senior, he’s completely abandoned what was an inefficient three-point game in favor of working the paint, but that tradeoff hasn’t resulted in greater overall efficiency (his offensive rating has taken a hit, from 116.0 last season to 102.3 this year). Recognizing his importance to the team’s long-term goals, Wright recently said that he would like to get his senior going offensively, which he did in Saturday’s comeback victory over DePaul. Pinkston was aggressive throughout, powering frequently into the lane and finishing with 14 points and five rebounds (including a 10-of-10 mark at the free throw line).
Pinkston’s penchant for unselfishness might be one of the Villanova fan base’s few sources of frustration this season – a great problem for a 19-2 squad to have — but, if anything, it should be a source of optimism. Villanova is one of the most balanced offensive teams in the country with six players averaging at least nine points per game, and Pinkston’s individual statistics belie his importance to the success of this squad. Even though he is not shooting the ball as well as he has in the past, he has excelled at getting to the free throw line (ranking 15th nationally in free throw rate) and has stepped up as a senior leader when needed (see: his go-ahead shot versus Michigan and the subsequent block to seal the victory) — two key attributes that show he will come through for his team when called upon.
Frontcourt teammate Ochefu got plenty of attention for activating his offensive potential last season – at one point, he was shooting 81 percent from the field – but he struggled to find a defensive rhythm, committing the second-most fouls on the team despite playing the fifth-most minutes. As a junior this season, his offensive progress has continued to develop but the 6’11” center has more importantly become the bedrock of a top-25 defense. His inside presence in 28 minutes of action on Saturday served to limit DePaul to 16 points in the paint, forcing the Blue Demons to rely on outside jumpers to find points (23 threes attempted vs. 22 twos attempted) and allowing nothing else once the shot was up. Villanova allowed zero second-chance points for the game, and Ochefu was almost solely responsible for converting DePaul’s early confidence into later frustration.
Wright is known for producing quality guards and he isn’t short on perimeter talent again this year – the trio of Ryan Arcidiacono, Darrun Hillard and Dylan Ennis has contributed heavily to Villanova’s success. But it says here that Pinkston and Ochefu are the most important players on the team. Through an uninformed lens, both appear to have limited offensive games – Wright wants to see Pinkston play a larger role with the ball in his hands and Ochefu has scored seven points or less on seven occasions this season. But those instances have arisen because of the unselfishness and offensive balance that Wright has engendered rather than a lack of ability to do so. When Wright has needed Pinkston or Ochefu to come through, they’ve both stepped up – and with them, so has the rest of the team, straight to the top of the Big East standings and a top 10 national ranking.
