Villanova Basketball 2021-22 player preview: Angelo Brizzi

Angelo Brizzi

Height: 6-3
Weight: 180
Hometown: Warrenton, Va.
High School: Highland

Angelo Brizzi preview:

Brizzi was the final piece in Villanova’s loaded 2021 recruiting class, giving his commitment in July 2020, after Trey Patterson, Nnanna Njoku and Jordan Longino had already pledged to join the ‘Cats.

COVID-19 limited his opportunities to gain exposure, but the Warrenton, Va. native and Highland High School standout still managed to rack up nearly 20 offers. He opted for the Wildcats, choosing Villanova out of a final eight list that also included Arizona, Michigan, California, Colorado, Davidson, Dartmouth, and Northwestern.

“I thought Coach Wright and his staff recruited me the hardest and that was really important,” Brizzi said of his decision to pick Villanova. “Obviously, the recent success with winning and developing players, and putting people at the next level — especially point guards — I just thought it was the right place.”

Brizzi might not be the highest-rated of the quartet, but as Wright and his staff — and past under-the-radar players — have shown, stars and rankings don’t exactly matter.

He entered as a three-star prospect, but seems to be made out of the same mold of successful Villanova guards before him, with the same knack for winning.

His greatest assets are his shooting and scoring ability. Brizzi would even include that he takes pride in doing the things “not everybody likes to do” — the usual diving for loose balls and taking charges, so it appears he’ll fit right in.

Highland went a combined 64-11 throughout Brizzi’s three years there. He finished with 1,336 career points and 155 made three-pointers, even with his junior and senior seasons being affected by COVID-19.

His senior year was impacted the most by the pandemic, limiting Highland to just 11 games. Brizzi made the most of his time though, scoring 21.6 points and 7.1 assists per game, and earning conference MVP and first-team all-state honors for the second straight year.

Best case scenario: Given Villanova’s backcourt depth and the amount of players ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s likely that Brizzi’s development will mostly take place behind the scenes and we might not see him much on game day. However, the best case scenario would be that he appears in more games than expected and makes the most of his minutes when he does check into the game. Especially with the team’s high ceiling, if they’re comfortably ahead, it’ll mean more minutes for Brizzi.

Worst case scenario: It’s not exactly a worst-case-scenario, just a reality of the situation: Brizzi has to wait his turn and doesn’t get to play much this season, but he’s set up to be in a better position to contribute as a sophomore next year.