Villanova Basketball’s seniors are getting NBA attention

Happy Monday Nova Nation! With the NBA Draft now just ten days away, a number of teams are trying to make sure they’ve given everyone a once over. That doesn’t just include guys who will hear their name called next Thursday, but also the potential undrafted free agents (UFA) who will make up a large portion of the league’s summer league teams this summer.

Eric Paschall has been getting a lot of hype as a potential late first round pick or second round steal. Phil Booth is also getting a lot of looks as a high value UFA. The two even got to workout together for the 76ers, to which Paschall joked about Booth “I can’t get away from this kid!”

And as of today, you can add Joe Cremo to the list of Villanova Wildcats that the NBA is interested in. Cremo will be in Washington D.C. today to work out with the Wizards today. He’ll be joined by a familiar face in Georgetown’s Kaleb Johnson, along with four other NBA hopefuls. More than his former teammates, Cremo needs these workouts to overcome a down year statistically and prove to the pro teams it was more fluke than anything else. He’ll be considered a long shot to sign with an NBA team, but the connections he’s made through Villanova should at least help him get some looks.

We wish the best of luck to all of our players who have moved on to their pro careers, and we’ll be watching on June 20th to find out which lucky teams will be adding them to their rosters.

In other “news”, Kyle Lowry can add ‘NBA Champion’ to his resume tonight, Jay Wright is underappreciated because he wins TOO MUCH, and the NCAA finally did something right even though they were partially to blame in the first place. Enjoy!

NBA Draft

Joe Cremo to Workout with Washington Wizards | Spectrum News
Cremo is 1 of 6 players attending the workout.

Scotia, UAlbany Grad Joe Cremo Getting an NBA Workout | ESPN Radio 104.5FM
Cremo won two state championships at Scotia and a New York State Federation title in his time with the Tartans.

Wizards 2019 NBA Draft Workouts - 6/10/19 | Washington Wizards
The Wizards will work out six 2019 NBA Draft prospects on Monday: Brandon Better (Southern Utah), Joe Cremo (Villanova), Jon Davis (Charlotte), Malik Dunbar (Auburn), Paul Eboua (Cameroon), and Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown).

Villanova's Eric Paschall, Phil Booth lead Sixers pre-draft workout group with Tennessee's Grant Williams, Oregon's Louis King | NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers hosted a pair of national champions on Saturday along with a couple other intriguing prospects in a pre-draft workout at the team's practice facility. By Paul Hudrick

Villanova’s Eric Paschall and Phil Booth work out for Sixers | The Inquirer
“That’s my guy,” Booth said of seeing Paschall at the predraft workout. “I actually haven’t seen him in a long time ... Of all places, we come back to Philly to work out together.”

NBA Daily: Projected Late-Round Gems Are Worth Targeting | Basketball Insiders
As draft night fast approaches, there are three upperclassmen that franchises should target with a late-round selection, writes Ben Nadeau.

2019 NBA Mock Draft: Latest Prospects' Stock Movement and Predictions | Bleacher Report
We're four games into the NBA Finals, but teams watching the series from afar don't have any downtime. While mock drafters can guess what the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies will do with the Nos...

Celtics Reportedly Hosted Loaded Pre-Draft Workout Friday In Boston | NESN.com
The Boston Celtics offseason is in full swing, and when the team's front office executives aren't fielding Kyrie Irving-related questions, they're bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts.

Villanova Basketball

Ranking college basketball's underappreciated coaches | ESPN
John Beilein led Michigan to two title games. But was he ever fully appreciated? With Beilein in the NBA, here are some current coaches we shouldn't take for granted. Jay Wright lands on the list... wait what?

Teams most likely to be in the 2020 Final Four | Sportsnaut
Thanks to a crazy college basketball offseason, there has been so much change within the sport. Many of the best players from last year’s NCAA tournament have gone on to the NBA draft, setting up a new season where anything can happen.

Kyle Lowry

Why Adam’s Silver’s One-Year Suspension of Mark Stevens Is Bad For The NBA Brand | Forbes
The author reviews the NBA’s handling of the incident involving Kyle Lowry and Mark Stevens. If further action is not taken, the NBA risks: being accused of double standards; needing to move fans further away from the court’ and sustaining damage to its image.

Kyle Lowry and the Factors That Allowed His Return to Form | Yahoo! Sports
After two games struggling at home, Raptors star Kyle Lowry had a breakout game against the Warriors in Oakland. Finally back in rhythm, he adds another layer of danger for the hobbled Warriors.

Knicks almost landed Kyle Lowry...until they didn’t | Sportsnaut
Focusing on a report indicating that the New York Knicks almost acquired Kyle Lowry from the Raptors until James Dolan vetoed it.

NBA Finals: Kyle Lowry caught off guard by kid reporter’s question | USA Today
Raptors star Kyle Lowry has thoughtful answer to youngster’s question about his status as an ‘icon’ at NBA Finals press conference.

See a chance and seize it: To know Kyle Lowry, you need to know where he grew up — Philadelphia | The Athletic
Philly, a city that embraces grit and celebrates toughness, forged the Raptors guard's determination and tenacity in his formative years.

Q&A: Damon Stoudamire on Lowry's growth, love for Raptors, title asterisks | Sportsnet.ca
With his former club heading into the latter half of its first-ever NBA Finals appearance, Damon Stoudamire caught up with Sportsnet to reflect on Toronto's progress, the growth of former teammate Kyle Lowry, and why the Raptors can tune out all talk of a championship asterisk.

Villanova Athletics

Penn Gets 2nd & 3rd Place Finishes in Women’s NCAA Track & Field Championships, Villanova Earns a 6th Place Spot | Philly College Sports
In the final day of competition in the NCAA Track & Field Championships the University of Pennsylvania scored with a second and third place finish to earn 14 team points tying for 17th place in the meet. Nia Akins was the national runner-up in the 800 meters, and senior Anna Peyton Malizia set a program record finishing third in the high jump.

Hopewell Valley's Dolan completes HS collection with 1,600 MoC gold medal, 2019 | NJ.com
A Meet of Champions title had eluded the Villanova University commit and, in his final try, Dolan made certain that the one race he had not won during his high school tenure would finally result in gold.

College Basketball

Coach K's grandson a Duke walk-on: 'Earned it' | ESPN
Mike Krzyzewski's grandson Michael Savarino -- who appeared with Coack K in a SportsCenter commercial in 2015 -- is now a walk-on at Duke. The coach said he isn't anticipating any problems in the family.

NCAA clears D-II player after agent-rule error | ESPN
The NCAA cleared Glenville State's Phil Bledsoe for his senior season after the Division II player mistakenly used a new rule permitting only Division I players to declare for the NBA draft and sign with an agent while maintaining college eligibility.