Preview: Chris Arcidiacono

Chris Arcidiacono

Hometown: Langhorne, Pa.
High School: Neshaminy/Perkiomen School
Height: 6-4
Weight: 205

Chris Arcidiacono player preview:

As one of the longtime members of the roster and with injuries marring the Villanova Wildcats, the younger Arcidiacono will likely play some sort of role in the rotation, but how big of a piece he gets or how long he remains in the picture is still up in the air.

He appeared in 35 of 38 games last season, averaging 1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists through 9.4 minutes per game.

We know Jay Wright preferred his veterans and tight rotations, but will his successor follow the same philosophy?

Arcidiacono played a lot in the first half of the season, but his minutes started to dwindle towards the end of it. With the emergence of Jordan Longino, he only logged 28 minutes of the course of eight postseason games.

He had extended outings against Big 5 opponents, knocking down a couple of threes in each of Villanova’s lopsided wins over St. Joseph’s and La Salle. He did chip in nine points, two boards, one assist, two steals and three turnovers in a Wells Fargo Center win against UConn.

Arcidiacono also logged eight points through 20 minutes in the regular season finale against Butler, which would be his last extended appearance of the season.

This year, the Wildcats have young talented guards that could possibly make an impact right away if they can live up to their potential in Mark Armstrong and Brendan Hausen. Then, there are guys like Angelo Brizzi, who will be also vying for minutes and a bigger role.

It will be interesting to see if Neptune allows his youth to have a trial-by-fire and learn right away, or if he chooses to ease them in and turn to Arcidiacono early on.

Arcidiacono might not be the most flashiest player, but he can take care of the ball and facilitate for others. He doesn’t make many mental mistakes and even when thrusted in big minutes early in his career, he didn’t freeze up in hostile road environments or big games.

Best Case Scenario: Depends who you talk to. If you’re team “let the kids play,” you’ll likely want Arcidiacono at the end of the rotation. However, if you’re a fan of seniority, you’ll want to see him carve a role for himself as a dependable rotation piece that comes off the bench, while the underclassmen develop. Either way, you already know what you’re getting from an Arcidiacono — playmaking, good decision-making, hustle and effort. This will be his fourth year in the program, and while the head coach and system may be slightly different, he’s been around the Villanova way the longest — if you count the years he supported and watched Ryan closely go to work. Hopefully, he is a good role model for teammates, provides good minutes when called upon, and shows improved skills.

Worst Case Scenario: Given that the “best case scenario” will depend on who you talk to, you could easily say the same for this. However, there are certainly common themes that both sides of the playing time debate can agree on. The worst case scenario would be that Arcidiacono stagnates, becomes a defensive liability or gets outplayed on the court. Backcourt minutes will be vital while Villanova nurses its wounds and there are only so many minutes to go around. It’ll be an imperative for players to make the most of them, and if Arcidiacono cannot, then he fades further down the rotation.