Villanova / LaSalle

As our Monday morning started, we were all excited an anxious for the day ahead. We had 2 appointments scheduled - a morning meeting with Coach Giannini and the LaSalle Explorers, followed with an afternoon appointment with Coach Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats. At each stop we would be impressed (check out the photos), and even blown away by how impressive each setup is.
One of my former peers in the high school coaching world of South Florida is now on staff up here at LaSalle. Coach McNelley was more than a gracious host, and, in fact, the Head Coach (John Giannini actually led our team on the campus tour, and hosted a film session with our players. He was very good in front of our guys, and he was a very good speaker. We finished our day at LaSalle by watching the Pro guys and the college guys do their daily workout. Our guys came away knowing that no matter how hard they work or how good they get, they have to work harder and they have to get better. It was a really good visit that we concluded by having lunch at their student union.
We then headed up to Villanova University. Villanova is hot right now - coming off a final 4 appearance this past season in Detroit. Coach Donnelly was our host, and he was awesome. He was prepared and he also made our guys feel both at home and like they were important. When we arrived he introduced us to every player and coach - including Scotty Reynolds and Coach Jay Wright. From there we took a tour of the facilities - their facilities are second to none - and concluded our visit with some time in the film room watching the 2008 highlight video. Our guys came away very impressed.
We headed back to the hotel for a short time, and then we all walked about 10 blocks to our dinner destination - Applebee's. We had a great time again, and tons of laughs were shared.