Villanova Basketball 2020 Player Recaps: The Bench Mob

The Breakdown

There’s always room for more ‘Bench Mob’ love, but with a young team filled with plenty of newcomers in bigger roles, fewer playing opportunities for walk-ons wasn’t unexpected.

However, as the tradition of the walk-on and the “Bench Mob” goes, they don’t play for glory and stats, they are there to embody the Villanova Wildcats’ core values, further cultivate a culture, as well as push their teammates on the practice court.

In a season where every single veteran in the program was looked upon to help guide the younger ‘Cats, they did their job.

Senior Tim Saunders and junior Kevin Hoehn only got to appear in two games this season, Army (Nov. 5) and Middle Tennessee State (Nov. 21). Unfortunately, they didn’t get the opportunity to create even more memories with a postseason march, since the Big East and NCAA canceled their tournaments, but they were a part of a 24-7 team that snagged a share of the conference regular season title.

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats gave a senior salute to Saunders back on Feb. 26, commemorating their lone departure by graduation. Saunders was a member of the practice squad during the 2018 National Championship run, and he was promoted as an official member of the team for the 2018-19 season. He appeared in three games over the two years he got to suit up as a Wildcat.

As for Hoehn, he’ll be back next year and will have a new member of the Bench Mob by his side. With the projected ceiling and promise of the 2020-21 Wildcat team, maybe he’ll get his shot at more in-game appearances.