Villanova Basketball starts practice with Jay Wright’s youngest roster ever

Happy Tuesday Nova Nation! Another long offseason is over, and the preseason has officially begun. Today Villanova Basketball will begin a full practice schedule as it prepares for the 2019-2020 season. And boy do they have a lot of preparing to do.

This year, Jay Wright and his coaching staff face one of the biggest challenges they’ve ever had. Per KenPom.com, this is the least experienced team Jay Wright has ever started a season with. The active roster consists of five freshmen, three sophomores, and three juniors, which means on average the players have .82 years of experience between them. To put that into perspective, in 2019 that would have ranked 342nd among college teams, the 12th least experienced team in the country.

That’s not to say this team can’t be great. This team is loaded with talent and the good thing about young teams is while they may struggle early, they also improve more rapidly throughout the season. We should also start getting reports about how things look early on, and we’ll get our first look at the new players on October 5th at Hoops Mania.

In other “news”, Villanova football rakes in the weekly honors and awards, a look at some of Nova’s Myrtle Beach Invitational opponents, and the NCAA makes some serious accusations against Kansas. Enjoy!

Villanova Basketball: Myrtle Beach Invitational

MTSU's McDevitt finalizes 2019-2020 basketball schedule | murfreesboropost.com
With the 2019-20 basketball season right around the corner, MTSU coach Nick McDevitt has finalized the non-conference portion of Middle Tennessee's schedule.

Runnin’ Utes open 2019-20 basketball practice with roster full of freshmen | Deseret News
The Utah basketball team will feature one of the youngest teams in history with 11 freshmen and four sophomores as it opens practice for the 2019-20 season.

NBA Wildcats

The Toronto Raptors' point guard dilemma and what to do with Kyle Lowry | Raptors Rapture
The Toronto Raptors need to find a replacement for Kyle Lowry, but there are limited options available and the team should think twice before making a move.

Shams: Carmelo Anthony ‘ very unlikely’ for Nets, but other names emerge for final spot | NetsDaily
Shams Charania reports that the Nets are "unlikely" to sign Carmelo Anthony, but are looking at other names, including Lance Thomas, Luol Deng, Dante Cunningham and C.J. Williams. All but Williams...

Villanova Football

Villanova moves up in polls, Smith, team honored | delcotimes.com
Villanova reaped quite a few rewards from its 52-45 overtime victory over then fifth-ranked Towson.

The Big Picture: Villanova Is For Real | Flo Football
Another week, another massive matchup that actually exceeded its billing in the CAA. Here's your weekly whip-around the league.

FCS football rankings: Villanova makes big jump after knocking off Towson | NCAA.com
Off an overtime win over CAA rival Towson, Villanova moved up five spots in the latest FCS Coaches Poll, released Sept. 23. North Dakota State remains unanimous No. 1 in the rankings.

DANIEL SMITH EARNS CAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS | Villanova University Athletics
RICHMOND, VA. – Junior quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) has been named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Smith earns the award for his play in Saturday's

NFL Wildcats

Seahawks work out offensive lineman Brandon Hitner on Monday | Seahawks Wire
The Seattle Seahawks reportedly hosted free agent offensive linemen Brandon Hitner for a workout on Monday.

Villanova Athletics

McInroy Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll | Villanova University Athletics
New York, N.Y.- Sophomore Brice McInroy picked up her second BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll spot of the season after helping the Wildcats got 1-0-1 on the week.

Villanova Records Four Championship Wins in Singles and Doubles Play at the Bucknell Invite | Villanova University Athletics
In its first weekend of its Fall schedule, Villanova recorded four wins at the Bucknell Invite.

Villanova Completes Successful Weekend at St. Joesph's Invitational | Villanova University Athletics
The Wildcats finished its second Fall tournament at the St. Joseph's Invitational this weekend. The field included teams from Harford, University of Mary Washington,

Wildcats Return Home to Host George Washington Tuesday | Villanova University Athletics
Villanova hosts George Washington Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Villanova Rowing Opens Season at Rumson Boat Race | Villanova University Athletics
Rumson, NJ – Villanova raced its first event of the year at the Rumson Boat Race Saturday morning and had a strong showing in the unique 2,500-meter race.

College Basketball

Kansas basketball, Bill Self hit with NCAA violations | Yahoo! Sports
Kansas will be charged with lack of institutional control, three Level 1 violations in men’s basketball and there will be a head coach responsibility charge against coach Bill Self, according to multiple sources.

Kansas basketball hit with major NCAA violation charges stemming from FBI probe | CBSSports.com
The Jayhawks have received a notice of allegations after an investigation into its basketball and football programs