It’s Rebuilding Time for Villanova : Three Starters Missing from NCAA Championship Team

Villanova enters this college basketball season as the defending national champion. But this could be a long year with the Wildcats losing three starters and their coach talking of rebuilding.

Rollie Massimino, who spurned a coaching offer this summer from the New Jersey Nets, is now without the heart of his squad--Ed Pinckney, Dwayne McClain and Gary McLain.

“People expect a little more because of what happened,” he said. “But our expectations are realistic. Our goal is to get into the NCAA tournament. That’s it. We just want to compete.”

Pinckney, McClain and McLain, along with returning players Harold Pressley and Harold Jensen, led the Wildcats to the NCAA crown last season with a 66-64 title victory over Georgetown.

“We obviously have some rebuilding to do,” said Massimino, who has a 228-137 record in 12 seasons with the Wildcats. “We lost three players who, together, accounted for over 4,100 points, over 1,650 reboundss and over 950 assists, not to mention the needed intangibles in basketball of leadership and experience.”

Still, opponents will be gunning for the NCAA champions.

“Obviously, when you’re a national champion that takes place,” Massimino said. “But I hope nobody takes it out on us. This is a new team.”

Pressley (12 points and 8 rebounds a game), Jensen and Dwight Wilbur will be the heart of the team with 7-1 Chuck Everson and 6-11 Wyatt Maker attempting to replace Pinckney. The three freshmen are forwards Gary Massey and Doug West and guard Kenny Wilson.

“It’s a new team with a new chemistry,” the coach said. “But it’s a great chemistry. It’s a great group of kids who are working very hard, maybe the finest group of kids we’ve had here.”

During the Wildcats’ march through the NCAA Tournament much was made of the family feeling “Daddy Mass” tried to bring to his team. It was that sentiment that led him to turn down the Nets and decide to spend the rest of his career in college basketball.

The national title brought distractions--but also recruiting dividends. Villanova has already received verbal commitments from 6-10 Barry Bekkedam of the Philadelphia suburbs and 7-2 Tom Greis from Long Island, two of the best big men in the East.

And while he stresses the need for new beginnings, Massimino is not averse to his players recalling that feeling of last April 1. When Villanova opened practice this season, the scoreboard clock in the gym read, “Home 66, Visitor 64.”

Massimino insists he had nothing to do with it.