Allan Ray

In its last game of the regular season, the NCAA tournament-bound Villanova basketball team met a never-say-die St. John's squad that's going nowhere, and the Wildcats put their pedigree on display with a 70-68 victory that wasn't sealed until only 3.4 seconds were left. With a crowd of 8,894 on hand yesterday at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Conference contest, Villanova won its seventh straight game to improve to 21-6 overall and 11-5 in the league. The No. 19 Wildcats, who finished in fourth place in the conference to earn a first-round bye in the Big East tournament, will begin postseason play on Thursday with a quarterfinal game against No. 24 Pittsburgh (20-7)

Villanova entered its Big East Conference game against Virginia Tech last night at the Pavilion winless since Feb. 5, when it beat Georgetown. The Wildcats' wait ended with an 80-68 victory before an announced crowd of 6,500. In an outing in which its tendency to turn the ball over was evident once more, Villanova overcame a season-high 24 miscues with 64.3 percent field-goal shooting (27 for 42). That was their best since they began playing other teams in November. The Wildcats, who received 29 points from sophomore guard Allan Ray, improved their record to 14-10 overall, 6-5 in the conference.

Kyle Lowry, Villanova's sophomore point guard, said last night that he is still contemplating whether to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft. Lowry was named to the all-Big Five first team at the Herb Good Basketball Club's annual banquet. He was joined on the first team by Wildcats Randy Foye and Allan Ray. Lowry has until April 29 to decide on the draft. "It doesn't worry me," he said. "I still have a week and a half left. It's hard, but I want to get a little more information.

In March 2005, Villanova played North Carolina in the Sweet 16. 'Nova was without star forward Curtis Sumpter, who had injured his knee in the second round against Florida. Without Sumpter, the Cats were heavy, heavy underdogs against a loaded Tar Heels team - a squad including Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Sean May and Marvin Williams that was even more talented than the current group. But 'Nova played the Heels to a standstill, losing 67-66 to the eventual champions with the help of a terrible traveling call against Allan Ray with nine seconds to play.

After weeks of waiting and wondering, Villanova coach Jay Wright will find out today whether 6-foot-10 center Jason Fraser, the prize recruit of his 2002 freshman class, will choose the Main Line over Louisville and St. John's as the place to play college basketball. Fraser, one of the nation's most highly recruited players, scheduled a news conference for 8 a.m. today at Amityville (N.Y.) High School and is expected to announce his choice. No one knows exactly what Fraser is going to do. Sources close to the situation have said Villanova is the top candidate, but Newsday reported last night on its web site that Fraser has thought of Louisville coach Rick Pitino in recent days, telling the newspaper, "Pitino can actually take me to the next level more than any other coach.

Villanova continued to bolster its strong freshman class for 2002 yesterday when Randy Foye, a point guard from East Side High School in Newark, N.J., gave Wildcats coach Jay Wright an oral commitment to attend the school. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Foye averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists last season. He will fill a need at point guard for the Wildcats, who have sophomore Derrick Snowden as the only scholarship player at the point this season. Foye took an unofficial visit to Villanova last week and liked it, and wound up choosing the Wildcats over Seton Hall.

Yesterday, Villanova officially announced the addition of Scottie Reynolds - the Wildcats' biggest recruit of its incoming class for basketball. Villanova had received an oral commitment from Reynolds in May. Reynolds, a McDonald's all-American, was committed to attend Oklahoma this season, but he was released from that letter of intent when coach Kelvin Sampson left the school to take the Indiana job. The 6-foot-1 guard from Herndon, Va., will enroll at Villanova and will be eligible to play in the fall.

After watching the NBA draft pass without hearing his name called, Villanova graduate Allan Ray has found a team. Ray yesterday entered into a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics, according to the guard's agent, Bill Duffy. "It is our belief that there will be many teams regretting that they passed on him in this year's draft," Duffy said in a statement. "This will serve as great motivation as he begins his professional career. His hard work will be rewarded after all. " Ray, who is 6-foot-2, agreed last week to join the Celtics' summer-league team.

Kyle Lowry is not planning a huge celebration for the NBA draft tonight - at least not one he is telling many people about. Lowry left Villanova after his sophomore season and, after much deliberation, kept his name in the draft more than a week ago. Hoping to hear his name called, Lowry will be "at an undisclosed location," according to Dave Distel, his former assistant coach at Cardinal Dougherty. Lowry had a last-minute workout yesterday with the New Jersey Nets. Draft analysts and NBA scouts predict Lowry will be selected at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second round.

The sound Allan Ray was forced to hear Friday night was both thrilling and chilling. The question Allan Ray might force himself to answer sometime during this long off-season isn't as easily voiced. What took him so long? Mired in an NCAA tournament shooting slump that was adding stress to an already limping Villanova offense, Ray suddenly came alive in the final minutes of the Wildcats' regional semifinal game against top-seeded North Carolina. Considering the way the junior shooter wasn't coming within whistling range of the net in this game, the sight of Ray taking the game over in the last two minutes was surprising.

Scottie Reynolds looked straight into the eyes of reporters who jammed the area near his corner locker at the Dunkin' Donuts Center and answered basketball questions about Villanova's NCAA tournament loss to St. Mary's (Calif.) in a clear voice. But when asked to put his marvelous four-year career with the Wildcats into perspective, his head dropped, his eyes became fixed to the floor, and the tears began to surface. "Um, I don't know," he said before pausing for about 10 seconds.

Fred Hill enjoyed a front-row seat for the start of the Jay Wright era at Villanova, serving as an assistant coach on a staff that brought in a first recruiting class of Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Jason Fraser and Curtis Sumpter in 2002. "Those guys built the culture," Hill, now the head coach at Rutgers, said Wednesday night. The following year produced a freshman trio of Kyle Lowry, Will Sheridan and Mike Nardi. Foye and Lowry now are in the NBA. Ray (who played one season in the NBA)

Rutgers head coach Fred Hill Jr. remembers some struggles when he was an assistant at Villanova from 2001 to 2005. But nothing could prepare for some of the tough times he's enduring now, especially over the past two weeks for the Knights (9-8, 0-5), who are winless in the Big East. "Villanova right now is benefiting from what Randy Foye, and Allan Ray, and Curtis Sumpter did," Hill said. "But it took time to change the culture at Villanova and that's what we're trying to do now. We just have to find a way to get some wins.

In March 2005, Villanova played North Carolina in the Sweet 16. 'Nova was without star forward Curtis Sumpter, who had injured his knee in the second round against Florida. Without Sumpter, the Cats were heavy, heavy underdogs against a loaded Tar Heels team - a squad including Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Sean May and Marvin Williams that was even more talented than the current group. But 'Nova played the Heels to a standstill, losing 67-66 to the eventual champions with the help of a terrible traveling call against Allan Ray with nine seconds to play.

The last time Villanova and North Carolina met, 4 years ago in the Sweet 16, the Tar Heels won by one. But not before a controversial call by official Tom O'Neill turned a possible game-tying, three-point play by Allan Ray into a walk with 9 seconds left. Yesterday, Jay Wright was asked what he remembered most about that night in Syracuse. "I'd never thought about that connection, that now we're playing them again, until you just brought it up," he said. "We kind of just tried to move on. " 'Nova Nation no doubt has longer memories.

Tyreke Evans, the super-talented American Christian Academy guard and MVP of the McDonald's All- American Game, said last night that he was leaning heavily toward picking Villanova after making an official visit with the basketball coaching staff Tuesday night. "After eating with Jay and talking to Jay, he kept it real with me," Evans said of the meeting with Villanova coach Jay Wright. "He told me the things I wanted to hear and some things I didn't want to hear but will make me a better player.

Jay Wright isn't there yet. The Villanova coach was minutes removed from the Wildcats' final game of the season - a first-round exit from the NCAA tournament - and envisioning next year's leaders for him was like imagining your children all grown up. It's just hard to picture. "I can't think about it," he said shortly after Villanova lost, 67-58, on Friday night to Kentucky at the United Center. "Next year might be more of a transition. This group, all they know is success.

Jay Wright finds himself talking about the past a lot this season. During the head coach's many meetings with a young Villanova basketball team, Wright refers to a trio that left last year with not only couple thousand points but also with an intangible edge he is hoping this season's group will inherit. Randy Foye, Allan Ray and Kyle Lowry, who accounted for the bulk of Villanova's offense last season, branded the Wildcats with their ferocious defense and unwavering confidence before departing for the NBA. "We talk about them a lot," Wright said.

When Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun compares rosters, he sees very few similarities between the Huskies and Villanova. Both teams are coming off successful seasons, in which they shared the Big East regular-season title. Both teams lost significant players, including a total of six first-round NBA draft picks. Both teams must immediately make use of freshmen and sophomores. Calhoun still gives the edge to Villanova. "They say about us what we can be, what we might be," Calhoun said at yesterday's Big East media day at Madison Square Garden.

Villanova coach Jay Wright just got cooler in the eyes of his players and their classmates. That happened last night when he introduced G-Unit rappers into the Pavilion. Hip-hop stars 50 Cent and Tony Yayo performed for fans as part of Hoops Mania. Wright got bonus points for getting the "G-G-G-Unit" down before bringing Yayo onto the court. The capacity crowd was equally impressed with the introduction of the players as the rappers. Not surprisingly, Curtis Sumpter stole the show.