Reviewing Villanova

[OmahaGuy]

Another good year for the Cats as they won themselves another Big East championship. It's a shame we couldn't see them in the dance. Now let's review them.

OUT:
Nobody!! (For now..)

MAYBE:
*Saddiq Bey

STAY:
*Bryan Antoine
*Collin Gillespie
*Justin Moore
*Cole Swider
*Jermaine Samuels
*Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
*Brandon Slater
*Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree

IN:
*Caleb Daniels (transfer from Tulane)
*Eric Dixon (redshirted)

My 0.02: Nova was Nova again this year. They're getting a lot of way-too-early love already and they should be. Even if Bey leaves, they'll still return the vast majority of their team. JRE didn't exactly light the world on fire but give him time and we'll see why he's such a hyped player. Bryan Antoine wasn't able to get it going after being hurt to start the year. But once he's 100%, he should be a great player too. Then you got a rising star in Justin Moore and the leadership of Gillespie and you got a team that should not only repeat for a conference title but go far in March, especially if Bey returns.

[Letsgonova]

Thanks, Omaha.

I think you're underselling JRE a little. He was Freshman of the Year and was our best-ever freshman rebounder. Even the 3s were starting to fall the last 4 games. I look for him to be a 15-9 guy next season.

Daniels and Antoine are probably the keys to how far we can go next season. I think we can project reasonable incremental improvement from Gillespie, Moore and Samuels. Losing Bey will obviously hurt, but if Daniels can replace a big chunk of that production and Antoine can give us another useful body off the bench, we'll be tough.

Swider and Slater, even though they saw minutes this year -- who knows. Swider might be too limited athletically for Jay's system. Slater has more upside, but needs to show even a glimmer of offensive ability.

Dixon is a wildcard. He's a scorer (over 3000 points in high school), but can he move his feet well enough to play our switching man-to-man defense?

[Django]

Bey's gone for sure right? Isn't he projected as a lottery pick? Would C19 keep him at Nova another year?

[Letsgonova]

Everyone assumes he’s gone, projected between 15-25. Of course, the draft timing and process is a crap shoot right now. I actually think it helps him if they can’t do team workouts and such. His shooting numbers can only go down.

[Xudash]

That is a formidable roster.

Nova fans, what is your specific take on Swider at this point? Just curious. I recall him narrowing his decision between Nova and Xavier, and he went with you guys.

[gtmoBlue]

Nice writeup Omaha...¿U a closet Radnorite??
I, for one, am not buying all the hype.

I've heard that Bey is gone...done deal. Also that JRE and Antoine are testing the waters.
Nova should be a good mid-pack (5th. 6th maybe?) team next year after the 3 above abandon ship. I am looking
forward to seeing my boy Dixon...aka Poppin Fresh 2... do his thing at Dunkin Donuts.

Ol' LetsgoNova's assessment is spot on:

"Daniels and Antoine are probably the keys to how far we can go next season. I think we can project reasonable incremental improvement from Gillespie, Moore and Samuels. if Daniels can replace a big chunk of that production and Antoine can give us another useful body off the bench," Can either/both adjust to Jays system in time or will it take a season like many transfers? Can Daniels really play at this level...this ain't the AAC.

"Swider and Slater, even though they saw minutes this year -- who knows. Swider might be too limited athletically for Jay's system. Slater needs to show even a glimmer of offensive ability." Naw...both may as well transfer now to save Gumby and Co going thru even more pain.

Dixon is a wildcard. He's a scorer (over 3000 points in high school), but can he move his feet well enough to play our switching man-to-man defense? My boy Poppin Fresh 2. Keep the Krispy Kremes coming!!!

All the Best to my guys in Radnor! Luv ya.

[Letsgonova]

Jre will be back. Antoine isn’t testing anything, will also be back.

Xu - swider is a tough one. He can really shoot, but he can’t guard at thIs level man-to-man. He’s best on 4s, but he gets pushed around. He gets up in his head sometimes. But teams have him scouted and run him off the 3 pt line and he doesn’t have a dribble drive game. I think he ends up transferring to an A-10 school and thriving there. Or, maybe the Jay Wright player development machine turns another miracle. But, I think he’s just too limited athletically.

Dixon is really in shape, gtmo, you’ll be shocked. Kid will see real minutes.

[gtmoBlue]

Awww Let'sgo... Just havin a little fun, that's all. It's the offseason after all.

[GumbyDamnit!]

There are 2 parts of what makes JW the best in the business IMO (of course biased). The first is he is able to identify guys that may be low-ish in class ratings (relative I know b/c many are 4 and 5 stars), that fit a system and a culture--team first guys that are willing to work hard. He knows what he wants and seldom misses. Secondly he is able to turn many of these kids into elite talents (Hilliard, Arch, Hart, Bridges, Donte D, Pillsbury Paschall, Bey, etc.). I think Nova's biggest strength is what happens off the court: strength training, core skills development, shooting, yada, yada, yada, rinse repeat. Every year I hear: "yeah but you lost..."x, y & z." And then 2-3 players take big steps forward and fill the void. And the wagon keeps rolling.

Bey will leave, and he should. Hopefully JRE doesn't because he shouldn't. Gillespie and Z will battle as two of the best PG's in the country next year; those will be fun match-ups. Samuels will improve in some meaningful way; same with Moore. If JRE stays he'll be a double-double machine, and perhaps become a true stretch 4/5. Hopefully DCR gets healthy (2nd straight offseason with a surgery on his legs). Excited to see Dixon. He could be a problem. Big and strong with great touch and range.

I'm actually bullish on Swider. 6'9" kids with unlimited range don't grow on trees. He needs to get stronger and play like a stretch big, and he needs to not think too much and let the talent bubble to the surface. He opens up the floor for guys like Moore and CG, and Daniels and Antoine play a bunch more as expected then you have 4 guys who can attack off the dribble. You need guys like Swider to hang out at the 3 pt line, stretch the floor and fire when open. That's the Nova way. Not sure about Slater but am hoping the off season does it's magic and he comes back more polished.

If we lose Bey I'd vote us 2nd in the league preseason. But I think even without him we're a better overall team next year.

[Jet915]

Who is the backup PG for Gillespie next year?