2020-2021 Villanova Basketball Preview

Villanova Basketball guard Collin Gillespie goes on the offence against during a 2019 game against Penn at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia. (Andrew McKeough/AKSM Photography).

National Championship contenders as well. With the amount of depth and experience the Wildcats have this year, Wright hopes that his team can live up to those expectations.

Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports

VILLANOVA, PA - It shouldn’t be shocking to see that the Villanova Wildcats are this season’s favorites to win the Big East this year. It was announced on October 28th that Villanova received the most first place votes in the conference, and rightfully so. Despite the departure of Saddiq Bey to the NBA Draft, the ‘Cats are returning four of their starting five from last season’s Co-Regular Season Big East Championship squad.   

“I really like our experience,” Said Jay Wright at Big East Media Day. “We’ve had a couple years here where we haven’t had the experience that we’re used to, like last year, not having any seniors. Now, (we’re) having three seniors and guys who played last year, and our depth. I think our depth is part of our experience. Having freshmen like Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore who have played and are now coming into their sophomore year, probably will give us the deepest team we’ve had in a while.”

The leader of this year’s Wildcats will be senior guard Collin Gillespie. Taking over as the team’s floor general last year, the Archbishop Wood alum is arguably the most experienced player on the roster this year. As a freshman he played significant minutes off the bench in the 2018 National Championship season, and increased his playing time as a starter his sophomore and junior seasons. In the last three seasons, Gillespie has increased his points per game by almost five points each year. Last season, he averaged 15.1 points per game, 4.5 assists per game (fifth in the conference), and 3.7 boards per contest. With high expectations for Gillespie, the Big East selected him as a Preseason All-Big East First Team and will also contend for Big East Player of the Year. 

Along with Gillespie, the Wildcats return forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who was last season’s Big East Freshman of the Year. The former standout from IMG Academy averaged 10.5 points and 9.4 boards per game, with nine double-doubles, and a rebounding average that ranked fourth in the conference last season. In an offense that is prevalent to guard play, Robinson-Earl was able to establish his presence in the post, especially on the glass, but isn’t afraid to shoot a perimeter jumper as well. Those were qualities that impressed NBA Scouts, but the 6’9 sophomore decided to come back to school for one reason: to win. 

“I wanted to win a BIG EAST title and an NCAA championship,” said Robinson-Earl on why he chose to come back to Lancaster Ave. “I’m really into winning.”

Justin Moore will make a significant impact this season as well. The Dematha alum was one of the first players off the bench last season, averaging 29 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.1 boards, and averaged 39.6 parent from beyond the arc last year. He was a unanimous decision for the Big East All Freshman Team last year, as he ranked seventh in the conference in three-point shooting, and was named to the Preseason All-Big East second team. The versatility of the 6’4 guard, with his ability to shoot from beyond the arc and ability to put the ball on the deck to score, is bound to have a stellar sophomore campaign. His head coach expects a big transition from him this year as well. 

“I do expect him to make a big leap,” Wright said. “Number one because he’s got the ability and number two, because we need him to. It’s set up for Justin to do that and we need him to make that big leap.”

With the departure of Saddiq Bey, there is no one singular player who can replace his production in the lineup this season. But, the growth of Jermaine Samuels will only help Villanova this season. The 6’7 senior started all 30 games last year, averaging 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. His confidence grew from his sophomore to junior season, as he increased his overall points per game average by almost four, and found the ability to make clutch plays when the Wildcats needed it most, which was resembled when he made the game-winning three pointer against No.1 Kansas.  

Other players to keep an eye on this year will be sophomore Bryan Antoine, junior forwards Brandon Slater and Cole Swider, and transfer guard from Tulane, Caleb Daniels. 

Antoine came to the Main Line last year with a highly touted reputation as a McDonald’s All-American and was ranked the 15th and 16th ranked prospect in the 2019 class by ESPN.com and 247 Sports respectively, but a shoulder injury hindered his production last year. With a full off-season, a healthy Antoine can make and immediate impact.    

Slater scored a total of 49 points, averaging 11.5 minutes in 31 games played last year. Swider averaged 18.5 minutes per game, starting in 15 of them, averaging 6.1 points and 2.9 boards per game last year. Both forwards came to Villanova as ESPN Top 100 prospects and were able to make contributions in their freshman and sophomore seasons. If Slater and Swider can make the jump that Samuels did last year, both forwards can help make up Bey’s production from last year.  

Caleb Daniels comes in as an immediate impact player, based on his reputation at Tulane. Two years ago, he started 30 games, averaged 33.9 minutes, 16.9 points and 5.3 boards per game, shot 44.5 percent from three, and was ranked seventh in the American Athletic Conference in scoring. While there is a difference in competition level between the American and the Big East, if Daniels can average close to 10 points per contest next year, it can add to the point production and the depth that Villanova has next year.  

So far only nine of the 27 games have been released for the 2020-21 season for Villanova, including non-conference matchups against St. Joe’s, Temple, and a date with Virginia at Madison Square Garden in December. They open the season at Mohegan Sun Arena for the 2K Empire Classic, which features Rhode Island, Arizona State, and Boston College as the other schools represented on November 25th-26th. Villanova also has a few games against the Big East slated as well before Christmas. They open their Big East schedule at Georgetown on December 11th, followed by home games against DePaul and Butler on December 14th and 16th, and travel to Milwaukee on December 23rd to face Marquette. The rest of the schedule will be announced at a later date. 

There are a lot of expectations for the Wildcats this season, as many experts have them as Final Four and National Championship contenders as well. With the amount of depth and experience the Wildcats have this year, Wright hopes that his team can live up to those expectations. 

“I hope we live out those predictions,” said Wright. “That would be cool. But as you know we got a lot of work to do.” 

The season tips off Thanksgiving Eve against Boston College at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.