Villanova basketball is back on the Main Line.
Villanova basketball won its charity exhibition game on Oct. 27, beating Robert Morris, 87-73, in the Finneran Pavilion.
The Swiss army knife Eric Dixon dropped a team-leading 28 points. Senior guard Jordan Longino, coming off a healthy offseason, backed up Dixon with 21 points of his own, hitting three-of-four from the three-point line. Fresno State forward transfer Enoch Boakye recorded a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The exhibition previewed the season’s starting lineup, major contributors, and possible insights into the rotation’s progress.
It is said that preseason exhibitions should be analyzed only for them to get over-analyzed.
With college basketball season just a week away, Villanova is putting the final touches on a new roster.
Starting Lineup and Observations
While the rotation is still a work in progress, the starting lineup is all but finalized.
LaSalle transfer Jhamir Brickus is set to be the primary ball handler at the point guard for the Wildcats. Brickus led the team in assists in the scrimmage and only had one turnover. At LaSalle last season, the five-foot-eleven guard averaged 13.9 points and 4.8 assists. Brickus needs to get going scoring and with what he did at LaSalle, it should come in due time.
Brickus’ ability to be a true point guard and facilitate ball movement and opportunities is reassuring for the Wildcats.
With Villanova running a three-guard lineup, Philadelphia native Wooga Poplar will rotate between the backcourt and frontcourt as needed.
The senior guard transferred from Miami this offseason. At Miami, he was a part of the Miami Final Four team. Poplar is ranked as one of the top 15 three-point shooters in the nation. Last season, Poplar connected on 38.5% of his three-point attempts. Villanova struggled with open and contested three-point attempts, he looks to be part of the solution. He struggled to hit a portion of the open shots he had, but once he gets going, all will be fine.
Longino also is going to be a part of both courts. In the scrimmage, Longino had a plus-minus of 29. His ability to create opportunities and space does not show up on the stat line.
“He’s a guy that can play every position on the floor,” Neptune said. “Offensively, shooting capacity to finish up the rim and really versatile guy for our team, a guy that is a great leader as well.”
Rounding up the starting lineup is the two in the frontcourt – Dixon and Enoch Boakye.
Dixon is no stranger to the Main Line, returning for his sixth season. Neptune acknowledges Dixon can do just about anything on the court.
“Eric Dixon is probably the most versatile player, possibly in the country,” Neptune said. “When you talk about offensively, there’s literally nothing [Dixon] can’t do, catch and shoot, post up. He can isolate from the perimeter, finish around the rim, and I think he’s a much improved passer this offseason as well. So anytime you fill that many boxes, it makes it really tough for the defense.”
There is a noticeable difference without Dixon on the court. Villanova and Neptune need to create a lineup without Dixon that can be just as efficient when he is resting.
Boakye is Villanova’s first true big man since Daniel Ochefu (‘16).
Boakye looked impressive and possibly could contribute to the season more than most expected. His team-leading 10 rebounds were just a glimpse of what Boakye is capable of. Comparing his 15 points to the rest of his college career, it would have Boayke’s third-highest-scoring game. Boakye, however, is not looking to score. He wants rebounds and blocks.
“My main focus is on defending and rebounding. That’s all,” Boakye said. That allows Dixon to play his natural position at the ‘4’ which he did not get to do much last season or in his college career.
Rotation
Neptune made it clear that the rotation is still not finished product. The exhibition was a stepping stone in shaping the rotation for the season.
“It’s a work in progress,” Neptune said. “We’ll go back and watch the film, and we’ll go back and keep making our evaluations and we’ll change our substitution patterns as we see fit. But I like how it went today, I think we’ve got a lot of guys a lot of minutes.”
Sophomore UPenn transfer Tyler Perkins saw the first minutes off the bench followed by Moseley and Parker.
At some point every player that dressed, besides the walk-ons, got minutes.
Takeaway #1: Scoring in the paint
Villanova scored at will in the paint. Out of the 87 points Villanova scored, 44 of them were in the paint. To start the game, 18 of 21 points were scored in the paint.The Wildcats struggled with offensive boards and second-chance opportunities. With Dixon playing the four spot fully and Boakye at center, that problem is diminishing quickly.
Freshman forward Josiah Moseley had a lot of flashy plays under the basket. He had his mix of baskets and blocks under the net. He will be a nice touch to the depth of rotation.
Someone with Boakye size has not graced the Finneran Pavilion since 2016. Villanova is known for its guard play and the NBA is a testament to that with players such as Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Cam Whitmore, Kyle Lowry and more.
With that being the case, however, size is needed in today’s college basketball world. Villanova outrebounded Robert Morris, 51-27. Boakye is proof that having a big man goes a long way. It also takes pressure off of Dixon to rebound more than he has to.
Takeaway#2: Three-point defense
Robert Morris came out hot from beyond the three-point line and while the team quieted down, the three-pointers were still finding the basket.
The Wildcats only allowed 20 points in the paint which means Robert Morris’ performances from mid-range and the three-point line worked well.
The Colonials connected on 12 of their 29 three-point attempts. Neptune recognized, but stated they have not seen much from other schools they face that have five guys who can shoot from deep.
“When we scout teams, it’s hard to find that [a lineup of five who can shoot from beyond the arc],” Neptune said. “We literally go through a team’s entire season, never seeing another team that does that. So it’s not a lot of teams you play that way, so it’s hard to prepare for it, and something that you don’t see, something that our guys had to get a little used to. I thought we settled in at times, but at times it gave us issues.”
Takeaway #3: Injuries and eligibility
Neptune noted at the Blue-White Scrimmage that most of the injured players if not all, were on track to be ready for the start of the regular season. That seemed to be true for the most part.
Freshman guard Aleksandar Gavalyugov played minutes after recovering from a right knee bone bruise and redshirt freshman Kris Parker played minutes and used them well after returning from a right toe fracture.
Redshirt junior Nnanna Njoku dressed and played well in the Blue-White Scrimmage, but now is sidelined again. While the injury specifics are unclear, it is not known whether he will dress in eight days for Villanova’s first regular season game.
Freshman forward Matthew Hodge was sat due to eligibility problems. The school released a statement before the game announcing the issue.
“Our NCAA Compliance team continues to work with the Eligibility Center in the effort to get this resolved,” Neptune said. “[Hodge] has maintained a great attitude since we learned of this and continues to get better each day in practice. We look forward to the day when [Hodge] is with us in uniform.”
Neither the school nor Neptune gave an insight into when Hodge’s eligibility would be cleared up.