Arcidiacono defines Villanova hoops

The perception is that Ryan Arcidiacono has been at Villanova for six years, maybe eight. The reality is that he has played basketball on the Main Line for just four years, not missing a single game, and he has done much to restore the culture of the program and make it nationally prominent again.

Certainly, the thought that Arcidiacono will be leaving 'Nova shortly after games in the Big East and NCAA tournaments has to worry his coach. After all, aren't he and Jay Wright joined at the hip?

"He thinks just like I think. He acts like I act, and he plays like I want to play," Wright said last week. "And I never talk to him about it. I never have meetings with him. I meet with the captains sometimes, but I never have to talk to Arch about Arch - ever. It's made my job easier to really be able to focus on other players, because I don't have to worry about our best player."

That illustrates just how much Arcidiacono has meant to the Villanova program and to Wright over the last four years. The senior guard's value to the Wildcats has not been measured just in statistics - points scored or shots made - but also in how he has represented the Wildcats on and off the court.

Call him "Mr. Villanova."

"His toughness is unbelievable," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "I think what he's brought in four years, not only to Villanova but also to the Big East, is extremely special. He's one of those guys that you really respect as a coach and you wish you had 13 of those guys."

"I think he's been an ambassador for Villanova," said Providence coach Ed Cooley. "I love the way he handles himself on the floor. I think he's helped establish a culture at Villanova of just toughness and unselfishness."

Arcidiacono isn't big on the "Mr. Villanova" label - "Oh no, Scottie [Reynolds] was Mr. Villanova," he says, "or Randy [Foye] or A-Ray [Allan Ray]." But given the fact that Wright gave him responsibilities from his first day on the court as a freshman by making him a co-captain, he has shown toughness, leadership, and competitiveness through 135 games and the countless hours of practice and preparation.

"I've always been competitive, and I don't think it's gotten any better or any worse since I've been here," Arcidiacono said. "My freshman year, losing so much I would get so distraught, and I'd have so many highs and lows about how our team was playing.

"But as a leader, I've learned that not every game is going to go your way, and you can't get so high or so low on something. You need to keep an even keel, especially as a leader and a captain of this team. You need to make sure everyone's ready to go every single day rather than winning a big game and then losing against a team that you're expected to beat."

Arcidiacono has helped lead the Wildcats to a 109-26 record, a program record for most wins by one class. After undergoing back surgery and missing his entire senior season at Neshaminy High School, he has not missed a single game in his college career. He has started every game except one - senior night of 2014, his sophomore year, when he yielded his spot to senior walk-on Nick McMahon.

Wright says Arcidiacono came to Villanova at the perfect time. The Wildcats were coming off a 13-19 season in 2011-12, and the coach admitted the team's culture got "shaken a little bit."

"When he stepped on campus, the pride in which he approached everything we do started to build that culture back up immediately," Wright said. "We made him captain as a freshman, and we've never done that. Everybody that's come in since then, he makes sure they respect the program and they respect the culture, on and off the court."

Former Wildcat great Darrun Hilliard, who roomed with Arcidiacono for three years when 'Nova was on the road, saw the difference upon his arrival as well.

"He kind of came in with that Villanova attitude," said Hilliard, who now plays with the Detroit Pistons. "It was just who he was. He didn't have to get adjusted. He didn't have to try to fit in or try to become what Coach Wright wanted us to be. He came in and was already like that."

Wright may love Arcidiacono but that doesn't mean he takes it easy on him, even in his senior year.

In a Feb. 27 game at Marquette, the 6-foot-3 Arcidiacono got 6-10 defender Henry Ellenson in the air on a pump fake and leaned forward to draw contact. But Ellenson barely brushed him so there was no whistle, and Arcidiacono's shot went six feet wide of the basket, like a shanked field goal try in football.

"I've heard things that I'm his boy," Arcidiacono said, "but I think he coaches me the hardest because of the way I play and the trust that he has in me. There's definitely been some times during games where he's wanted to rip my head off, like the Marquette game."

Wright recalled, "I went crazy on him, but by doing that it sends a message to everybody else. They all know, 'We'd better get going because if he's yelling at Arch . . .,' and I don't have to yell at anybody else."

There have been some great statistical games in Arcidiacono's career, such as last New Year's Eve, when he scored 27 points in a 95-64 win over Xavier. In the last two seasons, he has had 10 games of at least six assists and no turnovers. He will enter this week's Big East tournament on a six-game run of 40 assists and four turnovers.

But his game is gauged by how many times he steps in front of an offensive player and takes a charge, or goes after errant passes, or dives to get on loose balls, or embraces the moment when Villanova needs him to organize the offense when a big basket is needed.

"I think I'm one of the better players on the floor, maybe not athletically, but I think mentally, and overall I can affect the team in a lot of ways," he said. "I think at the end of the game, I'll be able to make the right decision or try to make the shot. I know if I make it or miss it, I still know our team is going to get a stop at the other end."

Once his college career ends, Arcidiacono will look to play more basketball, either in this country or overseas. After that, he would like to get into coaching. In fact, he tells friends that he'd like to return to Villanova in 20 years to be its head coach.

"I think Villanova is a great community, a unique place," he said. "Hopefully we can get it all worked out."

Before that, there's some college basketball left. He needs to play in five more games to take over the Wildcats' record for most career games played. On Saturday, he became the fifth player in program history to reach 500 assists for his career. His 1,470 points are good for 29th place in school history.

But stats aren't what he'll be remembered for.

"I want people to have the perception that I was the hardest playing guy on the team and that I got my team to play at its hardest," he said. "I think we brought the culture back, of what Villanova basketball should be and the standards of what it is."

Wright goes along with that, calling Arcidiacono "the consummate Villanova basketball player, and we've had some great ones." The reality for him next season, however, will be not having him.

"It's been a real luxury," Wright said, "and I know I'm going to have to get back to work next year."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq