Lonnie Walker commits to Miami

In a move that feels a bit like a surprise, 5-star guard Lonnie Walker has committed to Miami (Fla.) over Villanova, Kentucky, Syracuse and Arizona

The Reading, PA native had been Villanova’s top target for seemingly forever, and Jay Wright and staff spent countless hours recruiting the uber-athletic prospect. During most of his recruitment, and even as recently as this summer Villanova was considered a near-lock for his signature.

Reports had pressure from Walker’s father urging him to get away from home. Many will point to that as the main reason Walker seemed to fall out of love with the local school, but give credit where credit’s due: Jim Larranaga has had some big-time recruiting wins and there are definitely worse places to spend your college years than South Beach.

For Villanova, it stinks.

It’s just another instance of Jay ending up as the bridesmaid in a local recruitment in a long line of them. And Walker would have been a perfect fit into a roster that will need an influx of ball-handling, shooting, and perimeter defense.

But let’s be real.

Villanova will be absolutely fine. The program hasn’t been rebuilt on one-and-done talent and won’t be sustained on one-and-done talent. Wright’s bringing two (more) Top-100 players next year to pair with Omari Spellman, and he’s in great shape with multiple elite 2018 prospects.

The sky isn’t falling. On to 2018 recruiting!