Casting Villanova Basketball in TV and Movies

Happy Monday Nova Nation! In 2006, a lot of great Villanova basketball players left for professional careers. Off the top of your head I’m sure you can name Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye. You may also know that as the year Allan Ray and Jason Fraser left the program. But very few people remember that season as the final year of senior big man Chris Charles.

Charles was a limited role player off the bench at Villanova, but his skills and 7-foot frame have led to a long and productive career overseas in multiple leagues. But now Chris has his eye on a new challenge: Hollywood. Specifically, Charles is vying for the role of Kareem Abdul-Jabar in an upcoming HBO project about the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers.

That got me thinking, what roles would you cast the current members of Villanova’s basketball team in? Obviously Jay Wright could reprise any George Clooney role, but what about the players?

Jermaine Samuels seems like he could pull off the role of Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Then, just before a big game like Marquette, he would transform into his much smoother alter ego Stefan Urquelle, aka “Big Game Jermaine”. And star guard Collin Gillespie seems like he could reprise the Rudy role, just with more diving on the hardwood.

Which Wildcats would you recast in classic movies and tv shows? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

In other “news”, Villanova Football is off to a great start, Josh Hart deserved better from the Lakers, and Villanova Men’s and Women’s soccer both shut out Temple over the weekend. Enjoy!

Villanova Basketball

KU basketball vs. Villanova tip-off time announced | PHOG
Here's a look at one of the key games on KU basketball's schedule.

Big East Preview: 2019-2020 Season | The Game Haus
Big East Preview: 2019-2020 college basketball season with team's ranking in the conference and each team's expectations with the rosters

Dana O’Neil’s Mailbag: Final Four/title picks, all-Big East team, Champions Classic and more | The Athletic
Dana O'Neil answers subscribers' questions on a variety of college basketball topics, including the NCAA investigations at multiple schools.

Recruiting

Germantown Academy's Jordan Longino can choose his future | The Intelligencer
Junior quarterback receiving big-time interest in basketball, football.

NBA Wildcats

Golden State Warriors: Battle to backup Draymond Green will get messy | Blue Man Hoop
The Golden State Warriors have numerous power forwards, and minutes behind Draymond Green will be difficult to consistently secure.

Josh Hart wishes Lakers would have called him before he found out he was traded on Twitter | Silver Screen and Roll
Josh Hart is the second former member of the Lakers this week to say they found out they were traded on Twitter.

Los Angeles Lakers: Don't get mad at Josh Hart, he is right | Los Angeles Sports Hub
Josh Hart was a fan-favorite while he was on the Los Angeles Lakers but since being traded, Hart has received some backlash from Laker faithful.

Popovich's plan stops Giannis and Greece | ESPN
Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled against Team USA's defense in the second round at the FIBA World Cup.

Villanova Basketball Alumni

Milwaukee player wants to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in HBO Lakers drama | Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee native, and Villanova alumn, Chris Charles and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are both thoughtful 7-footers. Now, Charles wants to play the basketball legend on film.

Villanova Football

Villanova’s Packed Home Opener A Happy One for Wildcat Fans, Win 38-10 over Lehigh | The College Sports Journal
The Villanova Wildcats (2-0) surged to a 17-3 halftime lead over Lehigh, and ultimately cruised to a 38-10 win on Saturday evening on the Main Line.It was a game where the Mountain Hawks (0-2) would make way too many mistakes to pull off the upset on the road of a nationally-ranked FCS football team on the road.

Villanova overcomes sluggish start to dominate Lehigh, 38-10 | The Inquirer
The Wildcats scored five times in six possessions to take charge of the game.

Villanova line gets up to speed, then runs past Lehigh | dailylocal.com
RADNOR — The stat sheet did not look promising for Villanova after the first quarter of Saturday night’s 38-10 victory over Lehigh.

New Villanova QB Daniel Smith, grad transfer from Campbell, is more than meets the eye | The Inquirer
“I like to think I have a better arm than people would think just seeing me walk around,’’ Smith said. “I’m not a huge dude.”

’Cats Pounce on Mountain Hawks | The Villanovan
The #24 Villanova Wildcats defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 38-10, in their home opener to move to 2-0 on the 2019 season.

Villanova 38, Lehigh 10: Mountain Hawks get off to good start before being overwhelmed by Wildcats | The Morning Call
Lehigh tries to get its first win of the season and first for new coach Tom Gilmore when it travels to nationall-ranked Villanova.

Mountain Hawks struggle to clinch first victory | The Brown and White
Lehigh Football continues to struggle as it falls to Villanova (38-10) in its second game of the season, lending to its 0-2 record.

Second Quarter Burst Paces Wildcats Past Lehigh, 38-10, in Home Opener | Villanova University Athletics
VILLANOVA, Pa.—A second quarter scoring burst which featured touchdowns on both sides of the ball turned the tables after a stagnant start and No. 24 Villanova (2-0)

FCS RECAP: Montana Schools Are Back, Game Balls, B-Mac Apologies | HERO Sports
The FCS Week 2 situation wasn’t easy to predict (trust us, we whiffed on some and admit it in the column). Who got FCS “Game Balls” and who is B-Mac apologizing to?

Villanova Athletics

Dominant Second Half Lifts Wildcats over Owls 3-0 | Villanova University Athletics
Philadelphia, Pa.- Villanova scored three goals in the second half which secured the Wildcats a 3-0 victory over the Temple Owls on Sunday afternoon. Villanova is

Villanova Sweeps Hampton Inn-Vitational, Three Wildcats Receive All-Tournament Honors | Villanova University Athletics
Smithfield, RI – The Wildcats closed out the Hampton Inn-vitational and completed the sweep with a 3-0 win of Bryant on Saturday afternoon. The straight-sets victory

Another Clean Sheet Carries Cats Past Temple, 1-0 | Villanova University Athletics
Villanova improved to 3-0 with a home pitch win over Temple Saturday.

Villanova Adjacent

Cumberland Valley basketball standout Julie Jekot makes her college pick | pennlive.com
She will be the third Jekot sister to move on from Cumberland Valley and play college basketball.