Villanova's Jay Wright ready to hit the reset button

NEW YORK - Until Villanova plays a basketball game, many questions pointed at the Wildcats will be pointed backward, toward what went wrong.

The good news: There are plenty of ways to answer that question for Jay Wright and his players.

"I knew we could be committed to our core values and we could still slip," Wright said Wednesday at Big East media day. "I didn't think we'd lose our core values."

When you bounce toward the bottom, to a 13-19 record and 5-13 in the Big East, above only Providence and DePaul, the questions keep coming.

One reporter pointed out to Wright that 'Nova took some shots, and made some, "but there were a lot that weren't going in."

"That's a nice way of saying you couldn't shoot," Wright said. "That's the nicest way I've heard that presented. Thank you."

"We were a good team last year, but we just weren't as together as we usually are," said senior big man Maurice Sutton. "I think that was plain to see."

From an X and O angle, not having enough good shooters filtered out, Wright said, as defenses figured out where they could ease off. Maalik Wayns is showing he is a good shooter now with the 76ers, Wright said, and he led the Big East last season in free-throw percentage.

"He's not a poor shooter," Wright said. "It's just he had to take bad shots for us because we weren't a very good shooting team."

Instead of depending so much offensively on one player, Wright is hopeful he'll have improved shooting throughout the lineup, including from freshman guard Ryan Arcidiacono. Wake Forest transfer Tony Chennault is expected to be a force at the defensive end in addition to playing point guard or off the ball.

Villanova was picked by conference coaches to finish 12th out of 15 teams in the Big East, just behind Rutgers and St. John's, ahead of DePaul, Seton Hall, and Providence.

Wright said he is excited about this group, believing it will play with intensity and unselfishness as the program hits the reset button.

"I always knew how fleeting success was," Wright said. "I learned how fleeting being committed to your core values is."