Villanova Basketball 2021-22 Player Recap: Chris Arcidiacono

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The breakdown

After getting pushed into a bigger role due to injuries and being able to handle himself at the end of his sophomore year, the 2020-21 season, it was clear that we would likely expect more Chris Arcidiacono in the rotation — and, it happened.

He played sparingly in his first two years, but seemed primed for a much bigger spot entering this season. Arcidiacono ended up playing in 35 of 38 games, averaging 1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists through 9.4 minutes per game.

Arcidiacono had some of his better games, particularly against Big 5 opponents. He got extended outings against La Salle and St. Joseph’s, burying a couple of threes in both games. He had six points and three rebounds against the Explorers, then eight points and five boards against the Hawks.

Arcidiacono also had one of his better Big East games against UConn in the Wells Fargo Center, where he had nine points, making all of his shots and free throws, two rebounds, one assist and two steals. He did, however, have three turnovers, as the Huskies desperately tried to rally in what once seemed like a one-sided game for the ‘Cats.

He also had eight points in the regular season finale against Butler.

While his playing time and minutes serving had long been a point of discussion among fans, Arcidiacono did start to fade out of the rotation, as the emergence of Jordan Longino developed over the last month of the season.

Arcidiacono only logged 28 minutes over the course of eight postseason games, Big East Tournament included.

Looking ahead

So far, Villanova only has one outgoing transfer, so it looks like Arcidiacono will be back for another year.

There’s no doubt he’ll likely play some role in the rotation once again, especially as Villanova transitions into a younger and less experienced backcourt — outside of Caleb Daniels and Justin Moore, who will still be missing a chunk of the season as he recovers from his injury.

Arcidiacono has been able to carve a role for himself as a pass-first point guard, who has good knowledge of the concepts and schemes with the ‘Cats. Although he might not be a flashy guard or an athletic scorer, he provided a safe option for Villanova off the bench as another facilitator.

His deficiencies weren’t in the mental game. He could be in the right place or make the right calls, something that the younger players couldn’t say just yet, but his shortcomings certainly showed when he’d get beat out by a quicker guard or when the ‘Cats matched up against a more up-tempo team that looked to frazzle their opponents.

Has he hit his ceiling? Is there still more in the bag? You can never count out an Arcidiacono, but we’re also still unsure if Kyle Neptune will share the same tight-leaashed approach for incoming freshmen or less-experienced guards. Either way, there will be some sort of role for Arcidiacono again in the rotation, but it will be interesting to see how big it is and if he can elevate his game even further.