Villanova Basketball, Class of 2006 – the Best Recruiting Class you Never Heard of

Villanova Basketball is to my father like Georgia Football is to me. If he could trade all his other teams for the success of his small Catholic alma mater, he would. Luckily he doesn’t have to. As an alumnus, my dad experienced three Villanova national championships (’85, ’16, ’18) and unrivaled success in Big East and national competition.

As they punch their ticket to their seventh Final Four appearance, fourth under the leadership of the best coach in NCAA history not named John Wooden, I think about where Nova was as I grew up. The guys used to laugh when I told them how good Villanova was. Very few of my friends even heard of them at that point, and even fewer believed they had a chance to become the juggernaut Jay Wright built. But I knew, maybe with a lot of optimism, but really I knew they would make it happen. The base for my belief was in the class of 2006 – Jason Fraser, Randy Foye, Allan Ray, and Curtis Sumpter – along with 2007 grad and current assistant Mike Nardi and class of 2008 star Kyle Lowry (yes, NBA All-pro Kyle Lowry). No one remembers this group, certainly not like the Fab Five or other high-profile teams, but this team not only put Villanova on the map, they transformed the game of basketball into what we know today.

Rewind the clock a few years. Villanova was pretty good, but got lost in the gauntlet that was the Big East. UConn, Syracuse, Miami, Boston College, Georgetown, Saint Johns, Pitt, Notre Dame this was the show. They had a coach named Steve Lappas, who was fine, but nothing special. Very similar to how I felt about Mark Richt, my dad would argue that Lappas was a consistent NIT guy but would never get them over the hump. Enter the best looking, and best dressed coach in sports – Jerold Wright Jr. Following a basement phone scandal, and continuing to weather the storm of the Big East, Jay Wright brought his success from Hofstra (ironically my dad’s law school) to North Philly and put Villanova on the map. The other things he brought were toughness, athleticism, and versatility, a combination not seen often in basketball at the time.

With a roster limited in size, Jay Wright utilized those key traits and introduced what was nearly unheard of: a five guard, position-less lineup. Jason Fraser was pretty good, and had decent size, but he was the only traditional “5” on the team. So when he came out, the biggest guy on the court for Nova was Sumpter. Now I have to admit, while most guys’ favorite player was JJ Redick or Sheldon Williams or Tyler Hansbrough, my favorite was Curtis Sumpter. He was so good at everything – ball skills, driving, shooting, rebounding, everything. He was tough as nails and handled his own against opposing forwards, but he could still beat guards on the dribble and defend across the floor. I loved how he played, and even though he isn’t a household name I am convinced his style and that lineup inspired the future of basketball, which is largely what we see used today.

I am going to get the numbers wrong slightly, because I am going strictly off memory, but Villanova’s arrival party came on a cold winter day in Philly when then-number one and undefeated Kansas came to town. I think Nova won by 20, but the game wasn’t even that close. Sumpter probably shot 80% that game, and I believe Allan Ray added another 25 points, but Villanova absolutely took the historic program out behind the woodshed and never looked back. A few months later, Jay Wright’s squad got hosed in the Sweet-16 against future-champion UNC on a terrible travel call against Ray late in the game. I have no doubt that Nova wins that game and wins that tournament if not for that call. But shoulda-coulda-wouldas only go so far. And luckily Villanova did not let it hold them back.

Since that class, Villanova earned four final fours, including a late game winner from Scottie Reynolds in 2009 and a pair of national titles off Kris Jenkins’ buzzer beater in 2016 and Donte DiVincenzo’s Michigan massacre in 2018. Just as important as the success is the way Jay Wright took relatively underrecruited kids with toughness in their DNA and turned them into a true team. For him to do that in this era of one-and-dones and AAU circuits is nothing short of remarkable. And to do it almost every year for 20 seasons is even more incredible. Villanova struggled for a couple seasons in the 2010’s, and Jay Wright openly admits that he lost his way and forgot what Villanova Basketball was all about. He sure remembered, and brought back the toughness and versatility the Wildcats thrive on.

For a spot in the national championship game, Villanova will either play that same Kansas team that launched the Wildcats into a national spotlight, or an old Big East rival in Miami. Either way, and regardless of the outcome of the tournament, this is a special program and one I wish more coaches and more programs would mirror. A team designed to build on and enhance resilience and versatility is a team that provides young people the skills most needed to succeed in life, and Villanova Basketball does just that.  And it all started with the class of 2006, one you probably never heard of until now.