City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

April 2016 continues to be a great month for the Villanova Wildcats.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree -- a 6-foot-9 forward from Neumann-Goretti -- committed to Villanova on Friday evening, he told CoBL. The 2017 big man is one of the best prospects in Pennsylvania and among the top forwards nationally in next year’s class. 

"They provide a great family atmosphere, and they showed that to me throughout my recruitment," Cosby-Roundtree said over the phone. "I just feel it's a great environment and I can be successful."

Cosby-Roundtree, who plays on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Final, reportedly narrowed his list of schools down to eight earlier this month and went with Villanova over offers from Miami, Temple Seton Hall, VCU, Syracuse, Xavier and Providence.

And while it seems from the outside that Villanova's National Championship may have played a role in Cosby-Roundtree's decision, he says that was not the case.

"That National Championship didn't really affect anything," Cosby-Roundtree said. "I kind of knew where I wanted to go for a while. It just felt like now is the time.”

As one of the best recruits in Philadelphia, Cosby-Roundtree said he was first in contact with Wright and his staff last summer. And at the time, he said it felt like a "great accomplishment" to just have interest from the perennial top 10 program.

Cosby-Roundtree had a strong summer followed by a great junior season with the Saints, and the offers continued to pour from across the east coast. But the forward ultimately wanted to stay close to home.

At Villanova, Cosby-Roundtree is continuing a trend of the Wildcats bolstering their frontcourt in their latest recruiting classes. In the 2016 class, Jay Wright's staff is bringing in 6-9 Omari Spellman, considered the 16th-best recruit in the class by ESPN, as well as Hershey native Dylan Painter, a who also stands at 6-9. They’ll all be joining Tim Delaney, a 6-8 forward from Mullica Hill, N.J., who sat out the 2015-16 campaign because of a hip injury and has four years of eligibility remaining.

An outstanding shot blocker and finisher at the rim, Cosby-Roundtree said the coaching staff does not know exactly how he'll be used at the collegiate level, but he might not be locked in to playing a traditional 5. Until then, Cosby-Roundtree wants to use the next year-and-a-half to refine his game.

“They told me to be the best, for right now, be the best Neumann-Goretti senior I can be," he said of his conversations with the Wildcats' staff. "They want me to stay active on the defensive end, blocking shots. And doing everything else, keep getting better.”