Roster Notes -- Coach Massimino Resting After Cancer Surgery

As reported by New York Post sports writer Lenn Robbins, Coach Rollie Massimino underwent surgery in Philadelphia Friday to remove a chest tumor. Robbins reports the doctors "...are confident they removed all of the cancer...". The 76 year old veteran coach, who guided the Villanova Wildcats to a National Championship in 1985, intends to resume his duties at Norwood College in Florida where he has been the head coach since 2006.

Prayers for a speedy recovery Coach!

Villanova's Returning Players Using Value Add (and Sub)

The Value Add System
Cracked Sidewalks poster bamamarquettefan1 introduced his Offensive Impact stat back on May 1 with a list of the 100 best offensive players in the Big East as a preparation for a more comprehensive offensive stat (Value Add) which he explained in his May 10 post over at Cracked Sidewalks. Offensive Value Add and Defensive Value Sub (explained in his May 17 post also at Cracked Sidewalks) is the latest in a long time movement that uses a single (all encompassing) expression to develop "a number" which describes every player's value to his team, and by inference, a metric that can be used to compare players of different teams. Unlike John Hollinger's PER system, this one is not a straight-line formula. Like the Plus/Minus system, Value Add (Value Sub) defines an individual's value relative to the team on which he plays. Rather than track time on the court to produce an estimate of the points produced and allowed, Value Add (Value Sub) uses possession-based stats developed by Ken Pomeroy and after calculating the offensive impact the player had, calculates that impact versus a hypothetical replacement player. After building the model for an offensive value, bamamarquettefan1 then introcuded an expression to determine the defensive value of each Division 1 player. Like Oliver and others however, bamamarquettefan1 is, after accounting for individual "defensive" stats (blocked shots, steals, defensive rebounds...) is reduced to allocating the balance of the defensive credit (stops/missed field goals, etc.) according to time played (Min% per Ken Pomeroy).

Villanova's Returning Players
After an email exchange, bamamarquettefan1 was gracious enough to share his spreadsheet with me, and I am very happy to credit Cracked Sidewalks and bamamarquettefan1 for the material. Villanova's six returning players...

			------Value------			National
	ORtg	DRtg	Off Add	Def Sub	Total	Rank
Mouphtaou Yarou	107.0	97.2	1.93%	-0.96%	2.89%	222
Maalik Wayns	103.8	99.1	2.67%	0.00%	2.67%	252
Dominic Cheek	100.6	98.0	0.75%	-0.40%	1.15%	654
Maurice Sutton	97.6	96.7	0.19%	-0.46%	0.65%	944
James Bell	114.3	98.6	0.54%	-0.03%	0.57%	1009
Isaiah Armwood	95.4	98.1	0.16%	-0.29%	0.46%	1091

Observations (about Villanova's returning roster)
1. Identifying Mouphtaou Yarou and Maalik Waynes as the two best returning players was not surprising, but the order is...a little. I think most fans would agree with the order -- as a longer term projection (but not last season). If accurate, then thoughts of a post junior season exit for Yarou might be in order.
2. Given that James Bell was injured for the first five games of the season and was used sparingly for the next four (and irregularly after that), his ranking has to encourage optimism for his sophomore season.
3. Is Dom Cheek the victim of relative expectations? The rising junior was certainly not the only sophomore who disappointed last season, but his struggles as the team faded in February seemed more obvious than the other sophomores. I would love to see him have a breakout season as a junior.
4. Clearly for both Maurice Sutton and Isaiah Armwood, the contribution is on defense, not offense. The statistics confirm what the eyes have told us.

The Foye Foundation Classic

Ran across an update on Randy Foye at Jeff Goodman's blog earlier today. The former Villanova guard, who created a foundation to help youth in Newark, will sponsor a high school tournament, to be held at Villanova University's Pavilion on December 19. Details for the event are on the foundation website.

Foye also discussed this year's edition of the Wildcats. A good read for those interested.

Yarou Cleared to Play

The Villanova Athletics Department released a statement earlier today announcing that "...freshman forward Mouphtaou Yarou (Natitingou, Benin/Montrose Christian School) has been cleared by physicians to resume all basketball activities...". Yarou has participated in pre-game warm-ups at home games, but changed back into street clothes and took a place on the bench for the games.

Yarou played in (the 1st) 2 games this season, scoring 10 points and gathering 8 (4-4-8) rebounds in 37 minutes of play, before being diagnosed with a viral infection, and prohibited from participating in games while undergoing treatment.

Welcome back Mouph!