Dante Cunningham News

Sporting News college basketball expert Mike DeCourcy makes his predictions on how everything will unfold in the six major conferences.

Teams listed in order of the preseason conference poll: VILLANOVA Coach: Jay Wright, 178-91, 300-176 overall.

SINCE FRESHMEN BECAME eligible in the early 1970s, only six players have made first-team all-Big 5 four times: La Salle's Michael Brooks , Villanova's John Pinone , La Salle's Lionel Simmons , Temple's Mark Macon , La Salle's Donnie Carr and Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson .

It's the 25th anniversary of Villanova 's lone national championship team. The Wildcats believe they have the squad to duplicate that feat a quarter century later.

Yes, Kansas was the runaway No. 1 choice in the preseason Top 25. And sure, the Jayhawks had two players on the preseason All-America team.

Kentucky's John Wall lets out a yell after dunking the ball during the first half of an NCAA exhibition college basketball game against Clarion in Lexington, Ky., Friday, Nov.

Villanova Coach: Jay Wright AP preseason rank: Last year: 30-8, 13-5 BE, won four games in NCAAs vs.

Scottie Reynolds' game-winning shot against Pitt in the Elite Eight lifted Villanova to the Final Four last season.

On what otherwise might have been a smug, self-satisfied train ride back to Philadelphia after his team was picked to win this season's Big East title, Villanova Coach Jay Wright spoke to his players about toughness and leadership.

Not the toughness and leadership the squad boasted, but the toughness and leadership they had yet to demonstrate.

'We're going to take that [coaches' vote at Big East media day] today as a great honor,' Wright told them, 'and then we're going to go back to practice, because we've got a lot to prove. Nobody's going to go through this league on talent.'

Coach: Jay Wright Last season's record: 30-8 Spotlight player Scottie Reynolds has been a 15-point scorer from the moment he walked onto the Villanova campus.

The men's basketball team kicked off its season at Hoops Mania on Friday night in front of an enthusiastic, packed crowd at the Pavilion.

Coming off an NCAA Final Four appearance, Villanova is receiving all kinds of love from the preseason prognosticators, including the coaches in the Big East Conference yesterday.

John Thompson's team disappointed big time last season, and yet is picked fifth this year by the Big East coaches.

19, Antonio Pena A fourth birth in the Final Four for the Villanova Wildcats last season ended against the eventual National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels by the score of 83-69. A birth in theA Final FourA for the team was great, but their sights are set even higher coming into the 2009-2010 season.

For the first time in 24 years, college basketball practice will begin in Philadelphia with one of the City Six teams coming off a Final Four appearance.

Among the leftovers from last week's Blazers media day are a few quick Q&As with two of the newest members of the Trail Blazers, rookies Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph .

When George Lawson and Ron Cunningham, who served for a combined 52 years on Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base, spoke on the phone this week, Cunningham said it was about "the dream coming to fruition." Both men were planning to travel to the Final Four, and were understandably feeling nostalgic.

The Trail Blazers signed rookie Jeff Pendergraph a day before the forward is set to have hip surgery.

At the College Basketball Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the college basketball coverage staff for his opinion about a topic in the sport.

Welcome back, Villanova! A lot happened on campus this summer that you might have missed.