Jay Wright got the news and immediately sought out JayVaughn Pinkston.
This was four years ago last December, the coach receiving the news the school has suspended his star freshman — who wouldn’t play a single game his first year on campus — for the spring semester after he was charged with two counts of simple assault and harassment following a fight at an off-campus apartment.
He was expecting Pinkston, a McDonald’s All-American from Brooklyn, to say he wanted to look at his options, perhaps transfer. He would have his pick of top Division I programs.
But as the two drove around Philadelphia, Pinkston stunned his coach.
“He immediately said he was staying,” Wright recalled. “There was no discussion.”
Pinkston, a co-captain on this season’s team, said: “I felt since they were loyal to me, I had an obligation to give it back.”
He was loyal to Wright and Villanova then and remains that way, loyal to whatever Wright has asked of him, to carry the scoring load early in his career and cede the spotlight later on.
Pinkston’s numbers this season — 9.9 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists — won’t land him on any of the all Big East teams. The chiseled 6-foot-7 do-everything forward will be in the background, when teammates like Darrun Hilliard III, Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu get honored next week.
But ask any of his teammates about the year he’s having, all the sacrifices he’s made, in terms of shot attempts and minutes, and they can’t stop raving about the team’s unquestioned leader, how hard he plays, how good he’s been on the defensive end, how’s he’s set the tone for another huge regular season.
“Without Jay, this train doesn’t go,” Hillard said. “Jay is the key for everything. He elevates us all. He’ll never complain about that stuff. He’ll never be selfish. He’ll never be arrogant. All he cares about it is if the team is winning. Without that mind-set, a lot of guys wouldn’t have that mind-set. Jay has that mind-set, so everybody on the team has that mind-set. That’s one of the greatest assets he brings to the locker room.”
Pinkston’s past reared its ugly head last week when the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office filed a petition contending Pinkston, 23, violated the terms of his Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, which would have expunged the charges from his record. Wright said Pinkston “is doing the best he can” to adhere to the conditions of the program, requiring 375 hours of community service, and payment of more than $11,000 in restitution and court costs.
On the court, Pinkston doesn’t think he’s done anything anybody else wouldn’t do, because sixth-ranked Villanova is winning, and winning a lot. The Wildcats are 27-2 entering the final week of the regular season, the Big East regular-season champions for the second straight year, and in the running for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. That’s why he’s such a beloved figure.
“He’s the senior, [his teammates] know he’s a New York guy who’s used to being the star, and yet he’s done everything for everybody else his senior year,” Wright said. “He’s played great defense, set great screens, made the extra pass. He’s the best teammate you can ever have.
“He’s our leader. He’s well respected on this campus, not just as a player, but as a person. He’s going to have a great professional career, wherever that is.”
Looking back, Wright said it shouldn’t have surprised him Pinkston didn’t bolt. Loyalty drew Wright to Pinkston during his recruitment. He played for four different high school coaches at Brooklyn’s Bishop Loughlin, and while talented teammates transferred, and he was often recruited by prep schools and other New York City powerhouses, he never left.
“That was the most impressive characteristic about him,” Wright said.
And it remains that way.
Pinkston stayed and carved out a sensational career at Villanova. He will have played in three NCAA Tournaments. He will graduate this spring, with a degree in liberal arts and a concentration on communications, perhaps reach a Final Four. He wants to coach when his playing days over, give back to people who have given so much to him.
It all began with that mature decision not to run from adversity — the kind of decision few kids make these days.
Game of the Week
No. 8 Kansas at No. 16 Oklahoma, Saturday, 4 p.m.
The Jayhawks’ stranglehold on the Big 12 could be in jeopardy in Norman, where they visit the streaking Sooners. Both teams have a difficult game early in the week — Oklahoma visits No. 12 Iowa State and Kansas hosts No. 20 West Virginia — but Bill Self’s team has just a one-game lead over Oklahoma and has struggled on the road lately, dropping its last two games. An 11th straight regular-season league title may be up for grabs.
Stock Watch: Up
Steve Lavin
Talks of a contract extension should be coming shortly for the St. John’s coach. After a slow start, Lavin has the Red Storm playing as well as anyone in the Big East, winners of six of their past seven, firmly in the NCAA Tournament field for the second time in five years with two regular-season games remaining. And unlike the Johnnies’ first trip to the tournament under Lavin, this team appears capable of doing serious damage. The fifth-year coach, who has just one year left on his current deal, has proven he deserves to be well-compensated.
Wichita State
Northern Iowa was the Missouri Valley Conference team that garnered most of the attention, but Wichita State finished with the regular-season hardware, clinching its second straight league title Saturday night. And barring a difficult draw, look for the Shockers to be a dangerous second weekend team in the NCAA Tournament, with the kind of explosive and experienced backcourt — Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton — that will create problems for any team.
Stock Watch: Down
N.C. State
Just when you begin to trust the Wolfpack after impressive road wins at Louisville and North Carolina, they go and lose by 16 at woeful Boston College on Saturday. There may not be a more unpredictable team in the country, and at 17-12 entering the final week of the regular season, a team that will be harder to evaluate for the NCAA Tournament committee.
VCU
The loss of point guard Briante Weber (torn ACL) — as expected — has taken its toll. Without the senior spark plug and key to their “havoc” defense, the Rams are a pedestrian 4-4, and find themselves a game out of first place in the Atlantic 10, behind Dayton, Davidson and Rhode Island, after dominating the league prior to his heartbreaking injury.
Super 16
A prediction of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament (listed in order):
1. Kentucky, Duke, Villanova, Virginia
2. Arizona, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Wichita State
3. Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Maryland
4. Baylor, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Butler