Due to excessive community complaining lobbying, I'm pleased to announce the return of the recruiting big boards. The 2014 board will occur on the first weekday of the month, and the 2015 board will be posted on roughly the 15th of the month. We're moving to monthly editions because we're going to be posting more articles as news occurs.
As you're all hopefully aware, we opened the books on 2014 on June 19th with the commitment of wing Mikal Bridges. Bridges is a member of Team Final, and as you'll see below we'll need him recruiting a certain someone for us.
Also thanks to Mike, we've got a nice graphic of the roster outlook, so you can get a good feel for how the next few years will play out. In this cycle, we've still got a maximum of 3 scholarships open (assuming no transfers).
Point Guards
Ryan Arcidiacono and Dylan Ennis will have 2 years of eligibility remaining, and we're still targeting at least one handler in the class of 2014, so this doesn't appear to be a huge priority for Wright (unless he whiffs on 2014).
Target | Hometown (HS & AAU) | Height/Weight | Recruiting Profiles | Also Considering | Trending |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ja'Quan Newton |
Philadelphia, PA (Neumann-Goretti & Team Final |
6'3" 180 lbs. |
|
Newton previously spoke highly of Villanova at the NBAPA Top 100 camp, but insisted he wasn't close to making a decision. Then the bombshell came that he and Isaiah Whitehead were considering a package deal, which would likely eliminate Villanova. |
|
Phil Booth |
Baltimore, MD (Mount St. Joseph & Team Takeover) |
6'3", 170 lbs. |
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Booth looks poised to be a PG in college, as he's publicly stated the desire to handle the ball at the next level. He confirmed an important piece of news - Maryland is no longer a factor. |
|
Shep Garner |
Philadelphia, PA (Roman Catholic & Team Final) |
6'2", 170 lbs. |
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Always a plan B for 'Nova, Garner committed to Penn State back in mid-June. |
Shooting Guards
Target | Hometown (HS) | Height/Weight | Recruiting Profiles | Also Considering | Trending |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Johnson |
Chesterfield, VA (Benedictine & Boo Williams) |
6'3", 180 lbs. |
|
Johnson was scheduled for an unofficial visit in late June after an offer came in, but postponed it and took it on July 1st. He plans to cut his list soon. |
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Mike Williams |
Brooklyn, NY (Bishop Loughlin & NY Lightning) |
6'2", 180 lbs. |
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Likely a plan B option, Williams is known as a shooter, and is attracting more mid-major interest than high-major interest at this stage. |
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Khadeen Carrington |
Brooklyn, NY (Bishop Loughlin & NY Lightning) |
6'3", 180 lbs. |
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Carrington previously said he could see himself following in JayVaughn Pinkston's footsteps to Villanova. However, he looks like he's keen on other schools at the moment. |
Small Forwards
Welcome aboard, Mikal Bridges! While the backcourt and the frontcourt were the priorities heading into this cylcle, Jay Wright looks like he's snagged a promising player who's stock is soaring right now with his recent play on the AAU Circuit.
Target |
Hometown (HS) | Height/Weight | Rankings | Also Considering | Trending |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mikal Bridges |
Malvern, PA (Great Valley & Team Final) |
6'6", 180 lbs. |
|
Bridges popped for 'Nova on June 25th, calling Villanova his dream school and citing the Jay Wright and the Wildcats' style of play as the deciding factors. |
|
Marial Shayok |
Ottawa, CAN (Blair Academy & CIA Bounce) |
6'6", 200 lbs. |
|
The buzz on Shayok seems to have cooled from last summer, and with Bridges now in the fold, Villanova will likely take a step back and focus their attention elsewhere for the time being. |
|
Jared Nickens |
Westtown, PA (Westtown School & Sports U) |
6'6", 185 lbs. |
|
A deadly shooter who many readers were clamoring for Jay Wright to pursue, Nickens tore it up at the Mary Kline Classic and then shortly after committed to the Terps. |
Forwards/Centers
Things calmed down a bit when Jay Wright brought in Daryl Reynolds late in 2013, but another big man is needed in this class. Ben Bentil is clearly priority A.
Target | Hometown (HS) | Height/Weight | Recruiting Profiles | Also Considering | Trending |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Bentil |
Middletown, DE (St. Andrew's & WE-R-1) |
6'8", 225 lbs. |
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All quiet on the Bentil front, which probably gives Villanova fans more anxiety than anything. Rest assured, Bentil is truly not focused on recruiting right now, preferring to focus on his academics (which should be a plus for 'Nova). |
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Johnathan Wilkins |
La Porte, IN (La Lumiere School & Spiece Indy Heat) |
6'9", 220 lbs. |
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'Nova offered Wilkins, whose Dad is a former NBA player, back in March. It will be interesting to see what new schools come to the mix after the AAU summer session wraps up. |
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Martin Geben |
Hagerstown, MD (St. Maria Goretti & Team Takeover) |
6'9", 230 lbs. |
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A new name for 'Nova, Geben picked up an offer on April 30. The Team Takeover product seemed pretty impressed by a Notre Dame offer shortly after, however. |
|
Quadri Moore |
Linden, NJ (Linden & Sports U) |
6'9", 230 lbs. |
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Moore says 5 schools are after him the hardest, but he wants to see if he picks up any more offers after the July evaluation period. Villanova could be one of those schools. |
Anybody you think we should be tracking? Let us know and we'll add them to the board.
Make sure to stay tuned to our dedicated section for 2014 Villanova basketball recruiting where we'll be filing all our big boards along with any other posts that deal with recruiting in the 2013 cycle.
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