One Week In Brooklyn
By EJ Stewart
It was a happy homecoming for Brooklyn’s own Jayvaughn Pinkston. Villanova’s senior forward returned home this week as the Wildcats won this year’s Progressive Legends Classic at the Barclays Center.
With over 20 friends and family in attendance, Pinkston was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 11.5 points and 8 rebounds in Villanova’s two wins. Pinkston says this was his mother’s first time seeing him play this season and that he would be spending the rest of the week with his family in Brownsville for Thanksgiving. However, apparently one of the things not up for discussion at the dinner table this year was Pinkston’s play.
“We don’t really talk about basketball. We talk about stuff beyond basketball like life and things,” said Pinkston. “She’ll probably try to talk to me about it but I probably won’t even pay it any mind.”
Pinkston wasn’t the only one who felt the Brooklyn, Villanova head coach Jay Wright says coming back to Brooklyn was special for him as well.
“Seven years at Hofstra, a lot of Brooklyn players, spent a lot of time down here recruiting. I probably wouldn’t be here without the Brooklyn guys,” said Wright who coached at Hofstra from 1994 until 2001. “I love Brooklyn and I’m amazed at what this (the opening of the Barclays Center) has done for the area.”
Pinkston struggled for most of Villanova’s championship win over Michigan on Tuesday, but scored the go-ahead bucket to put the Wildcats ahead 56–55 with just 16 seconds left.
“It was frustrating at first but I knew that my team needed me,” said Pinkston who never played at the Barclays Center before this tournament. “And why I had to step up because I’m a senior leader and that’s what leaders do in this program. Step up and make big-time plays.”
However, it was Pinkston’s defensive prowess late that sealed the win for the Wildcats.
Pinkston’s game-saving block at the rim on Michigan’s Zak Irvin earned him an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 play and had most of the internet buzzing.
“It was really special,” Pinkston said about making the game-winning play in his home borough. “Just because I made a play on the ball and helped my team win a game. So it wasn’t even the scoring, it was the block that I’m really proud of.”
Pinkston says he actually made a defensive breakdown that allowed Irvin to get so wide near the hoop. But he made up for it in a big way by recovering to the basket to make the spectacular block.
Pinkston’s game-winning plays and successful homecoming in many ways, signals a true coming full circle moment for the former Bishop Loughlin star, who missed all of his freshman year in 2010. Villanova suspended Pinkston after he was charged with two counts of simple assault and harassment stemming from a fight off-campus. Pinkston, who doesn’t like to talk about the incident, says he’s focused on this season and has put the past behind him.
After tying for a team lead in rebounds (6.1 per game) and averaging 14.1 points per game last season, Pinkston was named preseason All Big East for a Wildcats team that was picked before the season to win the Big East for a second consecutive season. But Wright says Pinkston and the entire Wildcats team will need to improve upon last year’s impressive performance if they want finish first in the conference again.
“I think this league is going to be much harder than last year,” says Wright. “Nobody’s going to win this league at 16–2 like we did last year.”
