Villanova was one of the busiest teams this offseason as the roster completely turned over.
Fans watched as player after player entered the transfer portal, with the exception of Tyler Perkins and Matt Hodge, while Kevin Willard responded by adding experience, depth, and size to the roster.
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The final addition of Luigi Suigo put Villanova right where it wants to be near the top of the Big East projections. The preseason AP Poll has not come out yet and will not anytime soon, but in multiple predictions made, the Wildcats have been left out of the Top 25.
Is this a snub or warranted?
The most recent example came from Jeff Borzello of ESPN. In his open, he mentioned:
“Villanova’s addition of international center Luigi Suigo does have Kevin Willard’s team knocking on the door of the top 25, but the Wildcats aren’t all the way in yet.”
The list features Florida in the No. 1 spot with familiar names of Duke, Illinois, UConn, and Michigan rounding out the top five. As you move down the list, St. John’s comes in at No. 8 and this is the last Big East team mentioned until Villanova, which is the first team listed in the section labeled “Next five.”
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The lineup will look completely different outside of Perkins and Hodge, who continues to work his way back from a season-ending injury. Willard prioritized size in the offseason. The first addition was Kwame Evans, a 6-foot-10 forward who can step outside when needed. Devin Royal, 6-foot-6, was next up to take over at small forward but the frontcourt needed that final piece. It ended up being the 7-foot-3 Suigo and all of a sudden, the Wildcats have great size.
Villanova also had to rebuild the backcourt as Acaden Lewis and Bryce Lindsay entered the transfer portal. Perkins returns to lead the way while Elijah Crawford and Darryl Simmons improve depth. An underrated addition will be Jake Fiegen, who provides shooting off the bench. With Simmons and Fiegen leading the reserves, the Wildcats should be able to score with any rotation.
The roster looks much better at this point than the one from last year that finished 24-9 and 15-5 in the Big East. Villanova returned to the NCAA Tournament last season before a first-round exit. With this retooled roster, the expectation will be the second weekend. For now, Villanova seems to be on the outside looking in of the preseason rankings but will this be the case when it becomes official?
