(If you missed it, I talked on Friday about who will benefit from Armwood's transfer)
When Isaiah Armwood announced his decision to transfer from Villanova, there were definitely two schools of thought from 'Nova Nation on Twitter. Some believed the decision would hurt the team, and some thought it would benefit both 'Nova and Armwood. And then there were the people who were still in disbelief that a captain would decide to transfer immediately following the team's European tour.
Let's look at both sides to this. Zeek was a great energy defender and rebounder, but he was certainly not a consistent offensive threat. And there's definitely an argument against one-dimensional players. Isaiah was what he was; and that's a leave-it-all-on-the-floor player who was probably never was going to become the type of player we all hoped he could become. So if losing Armwood means bringing in a very elite-level talent in Amile Jefferson, I'm certainly okay with it.
But for the current team (and even next year's team) he was a captain, and he brought a great deal of experience to the squad. Jay Wright himself even admitted he was one of the team's best leaders. And of course, he had a knack for some very big plays, and some very big shots. While Zeek wasn't going to play 30 minutes a night, he was going to play 20+, and with a lot of new faces, that'll be tough to replace effectively.
In every program, you're going to have kids who live up to their billing, and some who never grow into it. I'm not saying Armwood won't, and I hope he does because he still has 2 years left at the school he transfers to. Look at Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham - two guys who made the leap. Some don't make that leap though. Guys like Jason Frasor, Casiem Drummond, or Andrew Ott for example (crap that's a lot of big men) never seem to do it for one reason or another.
In the short term, this certainly hurts Villanova basketball. There's no other way around it. Zeek could have done a job for this year's team. But let's remember that this is probably the best decision for Isaiah too. He'll transfer to another school and hopefully be utilized in a role more to his liking.
Best of luck Zeek, and thanks for the memories.