VILLANOVA, Pa. — It’s going to be crazy, and they know it. It’s going to be unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. It’s going to be a week filled with potential distractions, and it’s up to them to find a way to make sure they keep it about basketball.
“There’s just nothing like the Final Fours,” Jay Wright said. “Nothing.”
And Villanova is on its way.
The Wildcats leave Wednesday for Houston and will face Oklahoma Saturday evening in the national semifinals at NRG Stadium, the home of the Texans.
Wright has been there before, but for this young team — two seniors, three juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen in Wright’s rotation — this is uncharted waters.
“It’s like growing up and moving out of the house for the first time,” junior forward Darryl Reynolds said. “You get out in the world and you find out so many different things and different ways of doing things and you realize the way things were for you at home, it’s not like that out in the world.
“So it’s sticking to your values, sticking to what got you there, sticking to what you were taught. You’ve been taught a certain way, you’ve been taught the world is a certain way, but it’s not. There’s so many things going on, and all you can do is hope that what you were taught and what was instilled in you is enough to get you through it.”
That’s an eloquently metaphorical way of saying ... Villanova is about to sail into uncharted waters.
From the ramped-up media responsibilities to the throngs of fans everywhere you go, to the thrill of playing in a 71,000-seat stadium, to the lure of outside distractions and influences, this will all be new for the Wildcats.
“We’ve got to hold each other accountable,” freshman guard Jalen Brunson said. “This is the Final Four, and it can definitely get to somebody. It can get to anybody of those teams. I’m sure it’s gotten to some people already.
“We’ve got to be as focused as possible. As a normal person, it would get to your head going to the Final Four. Being on the national stage, playing on national TV, however many people are going to be there. So we have to hold each other accountable, keep each other grounded, like we have all year.”
Villanova takes a 33-5 record into Saturday’s game. The Wildcats beat 3-seed Miami and 1-seed Kansas in their last two tournament wins, and despite a 2-seed — same as Oklahoma — they now sit atop the KenPom rankings.
But this is a young team. Only Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu were starters a year ago, so you have a fairly inexperienced group of players now on one of the greatest stages in sports.
Wright was here in 2009 — he’s now one of just nine coaches to reach two or more Final Fours at his current school — and he said there’s a lot he’ll do differently this time around. Villanova lost to eventual-champion North Carolina in the Final Four that year by 14 points.
“The first time it was like, ‘Let me let them enjoy it.’ I talked to them about it," he said. "‘Have fun with it and then the time we practice we’ve got to be focused.’ But the problem is, there’s so much fun to be had, it’s hard to re-focus when you try to, and I just didn’t do a good job of it.
“There’s a lot of things that worked, but there’s a lot of things I didn’t ask about. I let the families be around all the time, I wanted them to all enjoy time with their family, then we’ll get together and focus. It was too much. It was too much. So we’ve got to stay focused.
“We’ll take care of all the responsibilities and enjoy that but try to keep as much time for us to be focused on basketball as possible.”
Focus is a word you’ve heard a lot the last few days and really all year with this team. It’s really one of the fundamental words you hear any time around the Villanova program.
Villanova’s leading scorer, junior forward Josh Hart, said the team has spoken a lot these last few days about focusing on basketball and ignoring everything else during its stay in Houston.
“Coach Wright’s been here before, he talked about his experience with this, things he wish he would have done different,” Hart said. “He’s been talking to us about what it’s going to be like and everything like that, the do’s and don’ts.
“But really the character of the guys is the big thing. We know we’re not done yet.
“It’s going to be a special moment for everybody when they step on that court, but we can’t be focused on it. We can’t celebrate it now. We’ll celebrate after the season, regardless of what happens. Final Four's a great accomplishment, but we’re focused on Oklahoma.”
A lot of Villanova’s focus comes from Arcidiacono and Ochefu, who are both mature, serious-minded seniors.
Both have been constantly emphasizing to the younger players that this weekend is a tremendous opportunity for the Wildcats and one that could easily be spoiled if the younger players lose sight of why they’re there.
“We know the Final Four is going to be something none of us have ever experienced and we know the media is going to be just crazy down there,” Arcidiacono said.
“I think we have a great focus and guys have a great attitude of being able to joke around when the time’s right and to be serious when we have to.
“It’s a great little on-and-off switch that we’ve developed throughout the year. I think it starts with the seniors demanding it, myself and Daniel and the walk-ons, and then on to Josh and Kris (Jenkins).
“I think we’ll be prepared for it, because we’ve kind of been dealing with it throughout the whole season. Not like this completely, but I think even just the questions about making it out of the first weekend, I think everyone still stay focused on just getting better every single day and not letting that affect us.”