The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Villanova
“There’s always things that I pick up, too. He’s coached veteran teams, young teams. … You try to help them where they can. We did speak about some of the situations I’ve been through in Philadelphia that, seemingly, he’s going through in Sacramento. He’s doing a good job.”
Joerger said the call served as an extension to the knowledge he’s accrued from Brown, who he’s known since playing for one of the Spurs’ summer-league rosters back when Brown was in San Antonio.
“I remember sitting around in one of the first coaches meetings we had in San Antonio and we’re talking and, mostly, sitting,” Joerger said. “And it’s, ‘Hey, you, you, and you. Go up and draw your favorite baseline out-of-bounds play.’ And it turned into picking each other’s brains. For me, I love that stuff. I’m a big fan of (Brown’s).”
••• NOTES » Monday in Chicago, Brown hinted that Ben Simmons slowly would be incorporating more jumpshots into his game. Monday came and went, without Simmons attempting a shot from outside the restricted area. Simmons made good on Brown’s promise Tuesday, knocking down consecutive jumpers in the first quarter . ... Sixers have one more home game before the holiday, hosting Toronto Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. After that, they travel to Toronto for a game Saturday (a 5 o’clock start), which is the first of a five-game road trip that includes a game in Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day at 12 Noon. 4.4 points through the first nine games of the season for the Wildcats (11-0). He shot 46 percent from the field overall (13-for-28) and 42-percent from 3-point range (9-for-21). He scored a career-high 10 points and handed out five assists in Villanova’s 113-77 romp over Nicholls. He hit three 3-pointers and had nine points in Villanova’s 88-72 triumph over No. 12 Gonzaga.
Gillespie did not play against La Salle or Temple.
“We missed him today,” Wright said after the Wildcats shot 6-for-20 from 3-point range in the win over the Explorers. “We needed another perimeter shooter.”
His loss leaves the Wildcats with a four-man rotation in the backcourt between junior Jalen Brunson, redshirt juniors Mikal Bridges and Phil Booth and DiVincenzo.
The Wildcats get back into action Friday night when they host Hofstra at the Nassau Coliseum. Tipoff is 8:30 and the game can be seen on FS1. Villanova is off again until it opens Big East play Dec. 27 at DePaul (7:30 p.m. CBSSN).