Villanova Basketball 2019-2020 Player Preview: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

VUHoops continues our coverage of Villanova Basketball’s 100th Season by previewing the entire Wildcat roster. Be sure to check out all of our coverage including Ten Top 10’s, event coverage, and schedule previews. Check back over the coming weeks as we begin the celebration of 100 years of Villanova Basketball!

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

Hometown: Overland Park, KS

High School: IMG Academy (FL)

Height: 6”9’

Weight: 231 lbs

Player Preview:

When Jeremiah Robinson-Earl chose Villanova over Kansas, it came as a shock to many. The five star recruit had been targeted by Kansas for years, and seemed destined to be the next great Jawhawk big man, following in the footsteps of Thomas Robinson, Joel Embiid, and his father Lester Earl, who played at Kansas under Roy Williams.

However, despite Villanova’s reputation as “Guard U”, Robinson-Earl looks to be an integral piece to Villanova’s quest to defend their Big East titles, being named the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year. Robinson-Earl was listed as the 11th best prospect in the class of 2019 by Rivals, and the third best forward in his class.

While the limited playing time of last year’s freshman class may have some concerned, Jay Wright’s only other five star big man of the decade, Omari Spellman, started all but one game in the 2018 season. Like Spellman, Robinson-Earl is a more skill-centric big as opposed to a freak athlete, drawing comparisons to collegiate standouts Michael Beasley and Ed O’Bannon. As Brendan Reilly pointed out in the Blue and White scrimmage recap, Robinson-Earl showed great poise and footwork throughout, and looks to have a sort of preternatural positioning ability. Despite Jermaine Samuels, Saddiq Bey, and Dhamir-Cosby Roundtree all having entrenched roles in the front court, Robinson-Earl will almost certainly make his mark on Villanova this season and is projected to start for the Wildcats.

Best Case Scenario: Robinson-Earl wins Big East Freshman of the Year, slots in as the starting power forward, and leads the team in rebounding while finishing second in scoring. The Wildcats roll through the Big East in large part due to Robinson-Earl providing an incredible mismatch for defenders, and Robinson-Earl also shows his passing ability he had at IMG Academy.

Worst Case Scenario: Robinson-Earl shows flashes of greatness, but looks like, well, a freshman. He can’t find consistency and plays about fifteen minutes a game. Robinson-Earl leaves for the draft in May based on raw potential despite making little on-court impact for the Wildcats.

The Wisdom of the Crowds

We are pleased to bring back our Wisdom of Crowds experiment for the 2019-20 season. In this series, we ask that you consider the points covered in our player preview to supplement your own personal insights and instincts to predict the points per game each scholarship player on the roster we score in the upcoming season.