Villanova, along with USC, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State, was brought up as a “program on the rise” by CBS’ Jon Rothstein on his podcast on Tuesday.
The whole podcast is worth a listen, but we will focus on Villanova here of course and summarize the points that were made on Kevin Willard’s squad.
In his interview with Rothstein earlier in the offseason, Willard spoke about the need to upgrade the size and physicality of the roster. The games against Michigan, St. John’s and Connecticut highlighted the deficiencies that the roster had in that department. Fast forward to the offseason, where Willard brought in three frontcourt players and retained Matt Hodge.
- Luigi Suigo makes his “highly anticipated” way to the Main Line from Italy, due to his “size and skill.”
- Devin Royal is a “proven” player in the Big 10 over multiple seasons.
- Kwame Evans Jr. is “lanky” and “skilled,” and Rothstein anticipates him being used in a similar fashion to how Willard utilized Julian Reese at Maryland.
The Reese note is interesting, as he was used next to freshman phenom Derik Queen in his final season with the Terrapins. Evans Jr. will start next to Suigo, but there will be plenty of situations where he’s the center as well. That versatility provides Willard with something he simply did not have a year ago.
Villanova has been “synonymous” with guard play over the past 25 years, but they will now win with “power.” Rothstein noted that Villanova decided to allocate its resources elsewhere rather than bring back Acaden Lewis, who transferred to Miami to play for Jai Lucas. Those resources presumably went to the aforementioned frontcourt players. With that comes a (mostly) new backcourt, minus the return of “All Big-East candidate” Tyler Perkins, who Rothstein expects to “anchor” the team.
Elijah Crawford, Darryl Simmons II and Jake Fiegen will round out the new backcourt for the Wildcats. Rothstein implied that he has concerns about the group, pointing out where they all transferred from. While all three are technically mid-to-low major transfers, Crawford did play his freshman year at BYU.
- Crawford is not a “gifted” shot maker, but he is “tough” and a “hard-nosed table setter.”
- Simmons II and Fiegen will be expected to space the floor, citing Simmons II’s 94 made threes from a year ago.
Rothstein’s final point was regarding the team’s potential within the conference, where he believes Villanova has a “legitimate chance” to win the Big East regular season title. His reasoning is due to both Connecticut and St. John’s not appearing to be as strong as they’ve been over the past few seasons. He understands and expects them to be picked at the top due to that recent history, but he believes Villanova is right there.
The Wildcats will have “plenty of opportunities” to showcase their potential in their “great” non-conference schedule, which includes neutral-site games against Notre Dame and Wisconsin, a home game against Michigan, and road games against Pittsburgh and Kansas.
Overall, I agree with Rothstein’s assessment. I’m seemingly higher on the backcourt (and also believe that Adam Oumiddoch can contribute as a freshman), but I understand the lower confidence level in them versus the frontcourt. Villanova has the size, depth and versatility (assuming Hodge eventually is back at full strength) to compete with any team in the country. The true ceiling will likely come down to how good the backcourt is, which as Rothstein mentioned is not something Villanova fans are used to saying.