Daniel Ochefu Holds The Key To Villanova's Final Four Success
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Jay Wright was coming off the court a week ago with a grin plastered across his face after the Villanova coach watched his Wildcats devour what was a good Miami team in the Sweet 16. Wright needed no prompting as to why Villanova played that well, and has continued being exceptional. The first thing out of Wright's mouth was to throw some light on the Wildcats' 6-foot-11 senior center Daniel Ochefu, who scored 17 points in Villanova's surprisingly easy 92-69 victory.
"We're playing the best basketball we've played all year," Wright said immediately afterwards. "We've played well this year, but not this well. A big part of this is that Daniel is healthy. Since January 12, he has not been healthy, but it made everyone else better. That's a big key for us."
Ochefu has been a big key throughout Villanova's journey to the Final Four these last two weeks. He's Villanova's sole rim protector, and his inside offense in Villanova's four NCAA tournament victories has been a nice bonus. He's averaging 12.5 points a game, 7.8 rebounds and he's blocked seven shots during the tournament. His 11 assists put him third on the team. His tournament scoring average has bumped up 2.4 points from his regular-season average of 10.1.
It's coming all together at the right time for the 245-pound Ochefu, who's played much of this season stymied by a nagging, sore ankle.
During this tournament, Wright has sometimes run the offense through Ochefu. He's also been a stabilizing force inside defensively, not an easy task going against sometimes two or three opposing bigs.
But it is Ochefu's passing that goes unnoticed—and shouldn't.
"I really use that to my advantage," Ochefu said. "People don't think that I'm a good passer, or that's a fluke, then I'll throw another good pass. I really don't care whether I get credit or not as a good passer. As long as we win. I take a lot of pride in my passing, and for some reason, it doesn't seem other coaches know about it. But my teammates and my coaches do, and that's what counts with me. Coach Wright puts me in great positions to make great passes, and I have such great teammates around me that they're great shooters and great finishers. If I have a chance to see someone open, I have trust in all of our guys that they're going to finish.
"Right now, I'm healthy and feeling the best I ever have. I think it's something my teammates see and that's coming out in my play. They're showing a whole lot of confidence in me in terms of what I can do defensively and getting out perimeter to guard guards, if I have to, and still getting back to control the glass. Whenever I'm healthy, I think I'm a big help to the team. Being healthy has also given me a lot of confidence. A huge difference in this tournament than the Big East Tournament is that I was playing hurt in the Big East Tournament, and that was on my mind every second I was on the floor. Now that I'm healthy, it's not. I don't have to think whether or not I have to go in and fight for an offensive rebound wondering I'll retweak my ankle or not. I just go fight for the rebound."