City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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Once the confetti settled and the euphoria of a national championship started to subside, Jay Wright and his coaching staff had to take a hard look at his roster in order to start preparing for next season.

The Wildcats were graduating starters Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu, captains whose value to the program went beyond the thousands of minutes and points they logged while wearing the blue and white.

Meanwhile, Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart were contemplating the possibility of leaving early and making the jump for the NBA. This would have been a blow to the Wildcats’ roster, as Wright has never had to replace four starters going into a new season during his time as Villanova's head coach.

Under the newly established rules by the NCAA surrounding the draft, college players may go declare in the draft, participate in the combine, and work out for NBA teams. Players may withdraw their names from the draft pool, just as long as they don’t hire an agent. The deadline to do so was moved from the traditional date of 60 days before the NBA Draft, to 10 days after the end of the combine.

Jenkins, whose buzzer-beating heroics secured the Wildcats’ second national title in program history officially announced that he would be returning to Villanova in mid-April.

Hart remained in the process a bit longer -- waiting until the penultimate day of the window to make up his mind.

It wasn’t until Tuesday night that Hart made the commitment to return to school. After mulling through his options following the combine and a few team workouts, he tweeted that he would, indeed, return to the Main Line. The message itself was so simple, bearing only 22 characters, but it held much weight for the Wildcats.

It brought excitement for Villanova fans, but with the craze also comes great expectations.

The blow that was dealt from player departures suddenly becomes much more manageable. While the losses of Arcidiacono and Ochefu are sizeable, the return of Hart and the rest of the team places Villanova back into the conversation of title contenders.

With Hart back in the lineup for next season, Wright has his top two scorers still around.

Hart led the Wildcats, averaging 15.5 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game during the championship season. His play earned him a unanimous All-Big East first team selection, as well as being named one of 15 finalists for the John Wooden Award and one of five for the Jerry West award.

His classmate, Jenkins, was right behind him with 13.6 points per game. Their return provides a formidable one-two punch for the Wildcats moving forward, but they also bring back a number of other key players and add some exciting newcomers to the mix as well.

Another rising senior, Darryl Reynolds, became a reliable asset off of the bench to give Ochefu some breaks during the 2015-16 season. The Lower Merion product steadily made a name for himself, entering in the starting lineup for six games while Ochefu dealt with an ankle injury.

Phil Booth and Mikal Bridges will return with another year of experience under their belts. Booth went through an up-and-down season, not quite breaking out as he was predicted to, though that may have been because of a bout he had with mono all season long, an insight shared by his coach after the season. Regardless, he had his best showing in the title game, scoring a team-high 20 points.

As for Bridges, he was finally able to play in his first season as a Wildcat after being redshirted last year. He became a contributor on the defensive end of the court and proved to be an asset on the team, and the 6-7 wing could be in for a breakout season in his third year on campus.

There’s also Jalen Brunson, who was a highly-touted recruiting coming into Villanova. However, he found himself as the secondary ball handler behind Arcidiacono. With Arcidiacono gone, the 'Nova offense is now all his.

He showed flashes of excellence where he took control of the game, like in clashes against Big 5 rivals Penn and Temple. Now, he has big shoes to fill. He averaged just under 10 points per game last season; as the primary point guard, that number may increase.

Brunson’s classmate, Donte Divincenzo, got a taste of the college basketball scene, playing briefly in the earlier stages of the season before going down with a foot injury that led to his redshirting. The Wildcats are also looking forward to the return of Eric Paschall to the court after sitting out a year due to transfer rules. Originally from Fordham, Paschall led the Rams in scoring as a true freshman in the 2014-15 season with 15.9 points per game, before opting to transfer for the following season.

Aside from the veteran players, Wright and his team will be adding Omari Spellman and Dylan Painter. Spellman, a five-star recruit from New York, has the tools to potentially make an impact right away, due to the graduation of Ochefu; the 6-10, 270-pound center is one of the more offensively talented big men ever to come through the Main Line school.

As for Painter, a local product out of Hershey (Pa.), he adds extra depth to the frontcourt, and is a versatile big man who can knock down the 3-point shot aswell.

Villanova entered the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 record. Together with a blend of experience and incoming freshmen, the Wildcats will look to add to last year’s success. The Wildcats’ future was unclear just over a month ago, but the return of Hart has re-solidified this team’s status as a contender.

The expectations will be high for the defending champions, as they try protect their crown. Along the way, they will be peppered with many questions. No longer will they be asked if they can get past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament--but rather, do they have the pieces to win it all again?