It has been a crazy year for sports, especially College Basketball. Here is a quick recap of the 2019-2020 Villanova Wildcats, right before the postseason. Conference Tournaments were already underway, and those came to a stop real quick. The Big East Tournament, which is the conference that the Villanova Wildcats play in, was in the middle of a game when the news broke that the rest of the tournament was canceled. The Wildcats were hitting their stride and felt confident going into the postseason. The team was clicking and headed in the right direction. They were prepared for a long run into March Madness but sadly did not get the chance because of COVID.
Moving on to the 2020-2021 Villanova Wildcats Men’s Basketball Team. Jay Wright, who is the head coach, is bringing back a lot of talent heading into the new season and his 20th at Nova. First, the loss of Saddiq Bey is a big one, but as I just said, Villanova has a lot of experience returning to the court. He has the three returning seniors in Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Jermaine Samuels, and most notably Collin Gillespie. The juniors have two years under their belt in Wright’s system, so except Cole Swider, Brandon Slater, and Caleb Daniels to play major roles this season. The sophomores for Coach Wright have been able to learn from the upper-classman. Justin Moore and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl were key players last season for the Wildcats, and I would expect their impact to be even greater this year. The freshmen are going to have the advantage of being able to learn from the sophomores and the upperclassmen.
Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are going to get a lot of media attention for Villanova this year. Robinson-Earl is extremely gifted. He has a chance to be one of the best defensive and rebounding forwards that Jay Wright has ever had. To start off, he is projected to be First Team All-Big East and on the Wooden Watch List for Best Forward in all of College Basketball. Robinson-Earl is also getting a lot of attention for his defense, which is a key component for a Villanova Forward. Expect big things from him this season at Nova.
Collin Gillespie, the biggest name senior that Jay Wright has this year. Collin has a lot on his plate coming into his senior season. He is Villanova’s point guard, who tries to get his teammates involved as much as possible. Gillespie will likely be the team’s leading scorer, and if that doesn’t happen, he’ll still be the main engine of the offense. Each year at Villanova, Collin has gotten better, and he has a chance to leave his mark and legacy. He could snag Big East and NCAA titles to start and end his career. Gillespie is projected to be First Team All-Big East and is one of the top candidates for Big East Player of the Year. Villanova this year will go as long and as far as Collin Gillespie can and will take them.
Villanova is preseason #3 in the Country. All the analysts expect big things from the Wildcats this year. Villanova is also projected to win the Big East regular season title this season. The Wildcats are a preseason #1 seed for March Madness, that is if College Basketball can make it until then. College Basketball Analysts would be shocked if Nova was not involved with the Final Four. With all the talent that Jay Wright has this year, Villanova is primed for a deep run at another National Championship. It is going to be an exciting season for the Wildcats. Let’s see if they can live up to all the preseason hype and expectations.
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