The Sun’s Arizin: Remembering Josh Hart’s Villanova Basketball Career

Happy Game Day Nova Nation! There’s plenty of primers and previews out there for tonight’s Marquette game, including our own Dan Reagan’s Game Preview. But today we’re going to focus a little more on the ceremony that will take place at halftime tonight, as one of Villanova’s All-Time greats is celebrated. Josh Hart will have his jersey raised to the rafters, and he certainly deserves the honor. Let’s get into all the reasons why.

When I describe Hart as one of the best to ever play at Villanova, I’m not just saying it. Statistically he really is one of the most productive Wildcats of all time.

• 10th All-Time in Points: 1,921
• 14th All-Time in Rebounds: 812
• 17th All-Time in Steals: 160
• 30th All-Time in Assists: 266

And if the all-time rankings weren’t impressive enough, the list of accolades that Hart racked up during his time on the main line are truly remarkable:

• 2014 Big East All-Freshman Team
• 2015 Big East Sixth Man of the Year
• 2015 Big East Tournament MVP
• 2016 NCAA Tournament All-Region Team
• 2016 NCAA All-Tournament Team
• 2017 AP Pre-Season All American
• 2017 Big East Defensive Player of the Year
• 2017 Big East Player of the Year
• 2017 Big East Tournament MVP
• 2017 Julius Erving Award Winner
• 2017 Naismith Award Finalist
• 2017 USBWA Player of the Year Finalist
• 2017 Consensus All-American First Team
• 3X All-Big East Tournament First Team (‘15-’17)
• 2X All-Big East First Team (‘16,’17)
• 2X Wooden Award Finalist (‘16,’17)
• 2X Big East Tournament MVP (‘15,’17)

But a statistic or an award isn’t what we remember these great players by. It’s the moments and performances that stand out the most, and that fans will hold onto the longest. Here are some of those great moments for Josh Hart.

The Comeback Win Against Notre Dame

In his final season, Hart put the Wildcats on his back and put up a career high 37 points to lead Villanova to a comeback against Notre Dame.

The Put Back To Beat Seton Hall

Maybe the signature play of Hart’s career, the 2017 Big East Player of the Year stormed the lane with his team down one to grab a rebound and put it back to give Villanova the lead for good and send them to the Big East Tournament Final.

The Triple-Double To Kill The Hawk

Against Nova’s biggest Big 5 rival, Josh Hart did it all for the Wildcats. He’d finish with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for the only triple-double Villanova has seen in the past decade.

The 2016 National Championship Run

Ryan Arcidiacono was the 2016 NCAA Tournament MOP. Kris Jenkins hit the biggest shot in NCAA Tournament history. But Hart was without a doubt a driving force in the Championship run, leading the team in scoring in three of their six tournament games.

It will be great to see Josh back on campus tonight, and even better to see his name up with the rest of the Villanova greats every time we go to the Finn.

For today’s Game Day Poll, we’re sticking with who will Nova’s #3 go to scorer be. Over the six game winning streak, that designation has gone to Jermaine Samuels, Brandon Slater, Caleb Daniels, and Eric Dixon. So who will it be tonight?

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