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The second and final live period wrapped up on Sunday night, and once again the Villanova Wildcats staff spent the weekend on the road. The majority of the staff, including Jay Wright, spent the weekend in Indianapolis where both Nike and Under Armour held their events. Kyle Neptune was spotted in Atlanta at the adidas event briefly.
There weren’t any new names thrown out there this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the staff is done offering players. There is increased speculation that Justin Moore’s recruitment may be nearing its completion. If the ‘Cats were to land him, they would almost certainly focus their efforts on the handful of elite players that they have offered to date.
The biggest news of the weekend came from Nico Mannion, who told reporters that he’s seriously considering reclassifying to the 2019 class. Via Adam Zagoria:
“I’m actually thinking about reclassing to 2019,” the 6-foot-3 Mannion said Saturday at the Under Armour stop here where his West Coast Elite team is competing. “I’m going to take college credits this summer so I have the option if I want to.”
Mannion also had some good things to say about Villanova:
“That (Villanova) was a big offer for me,” Mannion said. “I’m very happy about it, great program, great coaches, they just do things the right way so I was happy to get that one.”
“I see myself fitting in pretty well, just the play style,” Mannion said of Villanova. “I feel like I fit their system because they’re all family guys, very team-oriented, very together. I could see myself playing there.”
2020 prospects can’t talk to coaches until June 15th, but it seems like ‘Nova will be heavily involved in Mannion’s recruitment. From what I can tell, the staff didn’t miss a single game this weekend (Mannion plays with Josh Green, who landed an offer last week).
The other big story? How things seem to be trending up in the recruitment of Scottie Lewis.
Jay Wright is one of many coaches watching Scottie Lewis today. One of Kentucky’s top 2019 targets is high on Villanova. https://t.co/GQJvh561IW
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) April 28, 2018
Last week we saw insider Andrew Slater Crystal Ball Lewis to Villanova, and now we get this. Things are looking up! Wright and staff were at pretty much every game for Lewis and teammate Bryan Antoine (who seems to be favoring Duke now?).
Some quick hitters from around the Twitter-verse.
- Villanova also was seen watching Team Final on a couple of occasions. That’s no surprise with the amount of targets there. John Bol Ajak and Mikeal Brown-Jones have offers, while Seth Lundy and Lynn Greer are prime targets.
- Cole Anthony continued his assault on the EYBL this weekend with Villanova watching. Anthony still isn’t talking to the media about his recruitment, so put a pin in this one for now.
- Kyle Neptune stopped by the adidas Gauntlet in Atlanta before joining the staff in Indianapolis. That was to get a look at 2020 PF Isaiah Todd, considered a Top-5 player in the class. Todd already have a ‘Nova offer.
- Jay Wright watched Isaiah Stewart on Saturday night.
- Villanova watched Malik Hall on Saturday morning.
- As you would expect, Wright watched Team Takeover’s Justin Moore. Many think the ‘Cats are zeroing in on their second commitment of the 2019 class.