Intense Nardi now flexible, too
His Villanova career hasn't gone as planned, but he's a big asset.
Nothing has gone according to plan at Villanova for Mike Nardi, but that does not mean it has not gone right.
Four years ago, the Villanova senior envisioned his career on the Main Line taking a different route. The plan was as follows: Nardi redshirts as a freshman, plays point guard in the backcourt with Randy Foye for two seasons, and leads the team at the one-spot as a senior.
As Nardi has learned so many times, plans change.
As a freshman, Nardi sees 12 players suspended as part of a phone-code scandal and starts the season opener. There goes that redshirt.
A year later, Kyle Lowry comes in as a freshman and dazzles enough to eventually become the starting point guard. There goes that position.
Lowry departs for the NBA, then McDonald's all-American Scottie Reynolds switches his mind on Oklahoma and commits to Villanova. There goes that plan, too.
It's certainly been a trip for Nardi, but one that the 6-foot-2 senior has enjoyed.
"Everyone else was saying, 'Why aren't you playing point as much?' " Nardi said. "To me, it wasn't that big of a deal. You've got to do what you can for the team. I think that's why we've been so successful. We have guys who will sacrifice for each other."
Nardi is the ultimate teammate.
"He's the leader," senior Curtis Sumpter said.
His coach puts it another way.
"He's the heart and soul of this program," Jay Wright said. "He's done everything here."
Nardi will try to help the Wildcats finish the season strong enough to make his third straight trip to the NCAA tournament. A win today at UConn could help ensure a tournament bid for the on-the-bubble Wildcats (19-9, 7-7).
In the past, if Nardi had a game like the one in last week's loss against Georgetown - 1 for 6 shooting and his lowest scoring effort of the season with two points - he would berate himself.
His 13.2 points per game is the highest average of his career, yet Nardi is not stealing the show this season. But the never-satisfied gym rat has finally found a way to mentally placate himself.
That's thanks to an awakening Nardi experienced in last season's NCAA tournament.
After being a cog in Villanova's famed four-guard offense, he hardly played in tournament games against Arizona and Boston College, when the Wildcats went with a larger lineup.
Despite that, he entered the Elite Eight game against Florida, which Villanova lost, with confidence and played 35 minutes with eight points.
He realized worrying - about statistics, playing time, making or missing shots - did not get him far.
"It's almost like, you can't worry about not getting your chance," said the Linden, N.J., native. "You have to be ready to get the chance when it comes along."
Nardi, whose name is tattooed over a basketball on his thin right biceps, is known for getting black eyes, bloody noses and scraped knees. But he beat himself up more psychologically than from diving after loose balls.
"If I had a bad game, I'd think, 'What am I doing wrong? Why isn't this working?' " he said. "I'd go back and look in the mirror and think, 'I can't understand why I'm not doing this the right way.' . . . I'm very confident this year and believe that everything I'm doing is right, like, 'Hey, I've been through this before.' "
Not that anyone can call Nardi laid-back, though.
He takes about 120 shots before every game. No one matches his intensity in practice. Coaches have been known to kick him out of the gym for practicing too much. Sumpter recalls returning to campus from road losses at 1 in the morning, and there is only one place Nardi wants to go.
"He wants to get in the gym and shoot," Sumpter said. "He gets crazy sometimes."
Reynolds, whom Nardi mentors as a backcourt mate, said Nardi once grabbed him in a game earlier this season against Notre Dame and screamed at the rookie to pick up the pace.
"I looked at it as, man, this guy wants to win," Reynolds said. "That's a leader."
The goal for Nardi is to keep playing, either as a long shot in the NBA or overseas.
"He's a streaky shooter, but he'll be able to get a shot off easier overseas," said an NBA scout who asked to remain anonymous. "He's a hard, hard worker. He's a basketball junkie. Coaches love to see that in guys. He'll make a nice living overseas."
It is not Nardi's style to give up on a fight.
The Star-Ledger's New Jersey player of the year out of St. Patrick's High schooled himself by competing against bigger, tougher players in pickup games at a park called the Pond in his hometown.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was recruiting one of Nardi's teammates in high school. He walked into the gym at 5:30 a.m. and saw Nardi running the practice.
"I came out of there with the ultimate respect for him," Brey said. "He's got a toughness, a feel for the game. He gives Villanova an identity."
Nardi entered Villanova with a five-year plan. It has been altered more than once, but he said he was happy for that.
"It just expanded my game and my thought process," he said. "It showed me what a complete player you need to be. I've had an amazing time."