Villanova Basketball 2021-22 player preview: Jordan Longino

Jordan Longino

Height: 6-5
Weight: 220
Hometown: Doylestown, Pa.
High School: Germantown Academy

Jordan Longino preview:

Villanova being ‘Guard U’ was one of the driving reasons that brought Longino to stay local and join the Wildcats. He hopes to be the next notable guard to emerge from the program.

“It was really a perfect fit,” Longino said on the day he committed. “Coach Wright, his history with guards, you know Donte DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson, Kyle Lowry, guards like that are guards I look up to. I want to have as successful of a career as they did, and I think Coach Wright takes development very seriously. Also, the main thing was the team aspect of Villanova, it’s really a brotherhood there.”

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So far, he seems to be on the right path.

At Germantown Academy, he surpassed Villanova legend Alvin Williams as the program’s all-time leading scorer, even with the COVID-affected shortened seasons. He achieved the record in February of his senior year.

Longino already has the mentality of someone who’s been at Villanova for a while.

“First, I’m a team guy, I want to do anything that Coach Wright and the coaching staff needs to do to get wins,” he said. “I’m not looking there to put up a whole bunch of shots, I’m there to soak everything in and take leadership from the older guys and the coaching staff. I want him to develop my game as much as possible. I think I have a great base that fits Villanova’s philosophy offensively and defensively, and I think he can just take my skillset now to the next level. Looking forward to getting started.”

On the court, he’s an athletic and versatile player. He has a strong three-point shot, but he can score from anywhere. He’s comfortable with shooting off the dribble and making his own shot.

While his scoring ability is his best asset, he’s also aggressive when it comes to crashing the boards and is a capable defender. Although it remains to be seen how he adjusts to the much higher pace of play and level of competition in making the jump from high school to college, Longino certainly has the proper mindset and the foundation skills-wise to have a bright future.

It’s a very crowded backcourt for Villanova, so he might need to wait his turn this season, or maybe he’s able to leave a good impression and get some minutes in the rotation.

Best Case Scenario: Longino is able to get some minutes and make the most out of them when he gets off the bench. He provides a scoring punch and contributes with his time.

Worst Case Scenario: He has to wait his turn and develop behind the scenes. It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s just the reality of the situation when a high-caliber player like Collin Gillespie opts to return for a fifth-year, then there’s Justin Moore, Caleb Daniels, Chris Arcidiacono, and Bryan Antoine all in the mix.