Villanova Basketball’s Recruiting Will Be Tested

Happy Monday Nova Nation! I’m going to ask up front that we try to keep this a spoiler-free zone, and steer the chat away from any major TV or movie spoilers from the weekend. That said, the internet is gonna internet, so be warned if you’re trying to avoid that kind of talk today. Now, back to basketball.

The vast majority of our efforts on this site focus on either Jay Wright or the Villanova Basketball players, but today we’re going to focus on the rest of the coaching staff. Specifically the recruiting aspect. Baker Dunleavy and Ashley Howard were two major factors in the construction of the teams that went on to win National Championships for the Wildcats. While Dunleavy was finishing his first year at Quinnipiac and Howard was already out the door this time last year, this is still the first full off-season without those two recruiting for Villanova. Those responsibilities now fall on the shoulders of Kyle Neptune, George Halcovage, Mike Nardi, and Dwayne Anderson.

It’s not to say this group isn’t experienced when it comes to recruiting, they’ve all been in coaching for years now. Neptune and Halcovage both started with the program in the 2008-09 season. That’s just two years after Nardi graduated, and Anderson’s senior season. As far as being an assistant coach at Villanova goes, Neptune has six seasons, Halcovage has two, and Nardi just finished his first. Dwayne Anderson is the Director of Basketball Operations, but was an assistant coach at Penn State for five seasons before joining Nova’s staff a year ago.

The current “Live” period lasts until this Thursday, when coaches are able to contact and visit with players any time, any where. But that will end on Friday, and as we’ll enter into a “quiet period” for recruiting until mid-June. I’ll leave all the details on the recruiting side to guys that know much more about it like our own Chris Lane or Eugene Rapay, but let’s focus on what Villanova needs to see in terms of results.

The Wildcats need to land their point guard of the future in the Class of 2020. Assuming Villanova doesn’t bring anyone else in as a transfer this offseason, that means they’ll have another scholarship available as well if they can land a second highly ranked recruit.

The point guard the Wildcats have focused in on is a 5-Star prospect from Virginia, Jeremy Roach. Roach suffered a torn ACL this past November, but is recovering and should be back in form for his senior year. Villanova and Kentucky are the early favorites, but Duke and UNC are still involved.

The other player to keep a close eye on is 4-Star wing from New Jersey, Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim was thought to be a strong lean to Georgia given his family ties to their coaching staff. But with his uncle leaving the Bulldogs this off-season, the recruitment seems to have opened up and Villanova just offered him a scholarship this weekend.

We’ll have more on these recruiting stories as the summer goes on, but landing these two players would be a huge get for the program and this coaching staff. But as always, I leave these calls to you Nova Nation:

In other news, it was another great Penn Relays for Villanova, Kyle Lowry keeps Kyle Lowry-ing, and more on the gripping storyline involving the university’s stadium lighting and Radnor Township. Enjoy!

Recruiting

Villanova Wildcats offer 2020 4-star Jabri Abdur-Rahim a scholarship | CBB Today
Jabri Abdur-Rahim, a four-star prospect out of the 2020 recruiting class, has been offered a scholarship by the Villanova Wildcats. This college basketball.

Girls Basketball Player of the Year: North Cobb's Azonya Austin has season to remember | mdjonline.com
Azonya Austin is rewriting the North Cobb record books.

Johnny Juzang news: 2019 five-star wing announces top four schools | SI.com
Five-star Johnny Juzang announced his top four schools on Sunday. Villanova is out of the running.

AAU results, April 27: Tyson Gordon adds pressure in final four minutes; Jaren Marshall scores 20 | Boys basketball | omaha.com
World-Herald prep recruiting specialist Mike Sautter is in Dallas this weekend to watch the Adidas Gauntlet.

Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry is actually a nice guy. He just doesn't care if you know it | Sportsnet
Kyle Lowry is aware of his reputation as the Raptors' resident grump. He doesn’t mind. He’s got his family, his boys, his teammates and his charitable endeavours in Toronto and Philadelphia. Outside of that, perceptions of him are just that.

For Raptors, guard Kyle Lowry might be as valuable as ever | Inquirer Sports
The biggest play Kyle Lowry made in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs might have been overlooked.

Penn Relays

Villanova women bounce back with 4x1,500-meter relay win at Penn Relays | The Inquirer
One day after the Wildcats lost the women's distance medley on a fantastic run by Penn, they pulled off a convincing win in the 4x1500 on a day that featured two delays because of lightning at Franklin Field.

Villanova Rally Not Enough in Men’s Distance Medley Relay | Philly College Sports
The Villanova Men’s Distance Medley Relay team looked to defend their Penn Relays title, but a fall in the last turn of, the 1200 meter segment put them at the back of the pack.

Penn Relays: Hutchinson has fun helping 'Nova win 4 x 1,500 | delcotimes.com
PHILADELPHIA — As she was about to take the track for the anchor leg of the college women’s 4 x 1,500-meter relay at the 125th Penn Relays Friday, Villanova senior

Padua graduate Lydia Olivere on the fast track as Villanova freshman | Delaware Online
Former Padua standout Lydia Olivere leads off winning Wildcats teams at Penn Relays.

Other Villanova Sports

Kelly Jekot using sister Katie's experience and help to recover from knee injury | cumberlink.com
Having a younger sister who knows what it’s like will help Villanova's Kelly Jekot.

Binghamton High graduates stepping up to challenges at Villanova | Press Connects
Coach-player tandem adjusting well to new challenges after year together at Fordham.

Villanova Adjacent

Villanova stadium lights hearing delayed again; residents irked | mainlinemedianews.com
RADNOR — The township Zoning Hearing Board agreed to a request from a lawyer for Villanova University and a township solicitor to delay a hearing regarding a dispute with the

College Basketball

Tony Bennett: UVA won't visit White House to celebrate NCAA title | SI.com
Bennett said it would be difficult for the Cavaliers to get everyone back together if they were invited to Washington, D.C.

Attorneys have yet to put Sean Miller request in writing; co-conspirator testifies about Book | Tucson.com
Testimony continued Friday in the federal trial of would-be agent Christian Dawkins and Adidas rep Merl Code.