Villanova Basketball Recruiting: 2020 Big Board

Villanova’s 2020 recruiting effort technically got under way when Caleb Daniels joined the program last month. The Tulane transfer will have to sit out the upcoming season but will be eligible to play during the 2020-21 season.

With Daniels on board and no Seniors on the roster, there will 12 scholarship players during the 2020-21 season assuming no attrition.

Everywhere you look on the roster, there’s a ton of depth. Collin Gillespie will be supported in the backcourt by Justin Moore and Chris Arcidiacono until Bryan Antoine is healthy. And that’s before Caleb Daniels is eligible next season. The wings boast Saddiq Bey, Jermaine Samuels, Cole Swider and Brandon Slater and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Eric Dixon will immediately push Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree for frontcourt minutes.

All that to say, the staff will likely be extremely selective in this recruiting cycle. So much so that it might be a ‘best player available’ strategy that we often see in the NFL Draft. That approach would certainly make sense and allow the staff to evaluate this season’s performance and wait to see if any players decide to leave early for the NBA or transfer to another school.

AAU season is in full swing, but we’ve only seen a couple of new offers so far. Below are the names worth tracking at this point, as they either hold an offer or have confirmed interest from Villanova.

Offers

Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Short Hills, N.J.) - 4-star SF - #41 Nationally

An elite scorer who has been on fire during the Nike EYBL season thus far. Jay Wright offered him after watching Abdur-Rahim rack up 86 points across 2 games in April. With Roach off the board, Abdur-Rahim looks like the new priority for ‘Nova.

Cormac Ryan (New York, N.Y.) - Transfer from Stanford - 4-star SG - #68 Nationally

Ryan recently his entry into the transfer portal, and Villanova was mentioned on a long list of schools likely to be involved. The ‘Cats sniffed around his recruitment the first time around as well.

Jaden Springer (Charlotte, N.C.) - 5-star SG - #9 Nationally

Villanova offered in early May. Springer, a former teammate of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at IMG, put out a Top 11 shortly after but it will likely take a lot for them to beat out the competition here.

Elijah Hutchins-Everett (Montclair, N.J.) - 4-star C - #64 Nationally

Hutchins-Everett landed an offer from ‘Nova in March of 2018, but frontcourt doesn’t appear to be the priority at the present time.

Mikeal Brown-Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) - 3-star PF - #296 Nationally

One of Villanova’s earliest offers, he has already committed and decommitted from Penn State. Villanova never really seemed to push too hard for him and likely won’t on the second go around either.

Jalen Green (Fresno, Calif.) - 5-star SG - #2 Nationally

Villanova extended an early offer to Jalen Green, but it remains highly unlikely the ‘Cats will ever be seriously involved in his recruitment. A wildly talented prospect, Green could probably jump right to the NBA if the rules allowed.

Isaiah Todd (Richmond, Va.) - 5-star PF - #12 Nationally

Villanova was an early mover in his recruitment last year, but once the ACC and traditional blue bloods got involved they never really stood a chance.

Jeremy Roach (Leesburg, Va.) - 5-star PG - #16 Nationally

For a long time it looked like Villanova might be in pole position for Roach, but he committed to Duke in early May.

Prospects To Watch

No offers yet for any of these guys, but we’ve either seen Villanova directly linked with them or they fall within the ‘Cats general recruiting territory.

• Lance Ware (Camden, N.J.) - 4-star PF - #45 Nationally
• Tyler Beard (Chicago, Ill.) - 4-star PG - #110 Nationally
• Noah Collier (Mullica Hill, N.J.) - 4-star PF - #114 Nationally
• Richard Springs (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - 4-star PF - #117 Nationally
• Jyare Davis (Newark, Del.) - 4-star SF - #144 Nationally
• Lynn Greer III (Philadelphia, Pa.) - 4-star PG - #147 Nationally
• Niels Lane (Princeton, N.J.) - 3-star SG - #188 Nationally
• R.J. Davis (White Plains, N.Y.) -3-star CG - #205 Nationally