Busting Brackets
Fansided

Villanova Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Wildcats

By Lukas Harkins

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Jalen Brunson #1 of the Villanova Wildcats raises the trophy and celebrates with his teammates after defeating the Michigan Wolverines during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Villanova defeated Michigan 79-62. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Jalen Brunson #1 of the Villanova Wildcats raises the trophy and celebrates with his teammates after defeating the Michigan Wolverines during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Villanova defeated Michigan 79-62. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 25: Paschall and Booth of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 25: Paschall and Booth of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Starting Lineup

Projected starters: Quinerly, Booth, Cremo, Paschall, Cosby-Roundtree

Despite the fact that Villanova lost a ton of talent this offseason, the team is still most likely going to start three seniors this season. And while this does not mean that replacing departures will be easy, these players should offset some of the damage. It does not hurt, of course, that head coach Jay Wright seems to always lead his team to a strong season.

Jalen Brunson, the National Player of the Year this past season, will be the most difficult player to replace and head coach Jay Wright will likely rely on a freshman to take up the majority of the minutes. This will be a tall task to ask out of Jahvon Quinerly but he seems up to the challenge of posting a strong season (although he will not replace Brunson all by himself). Ranked as the No. 29 recruit in the 2018 class, Quinerly should be able to step in right away and provide high-quality minutes.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that Quinerly will be surrounded by two seniors in the backcourt. Phil Booth, one of the best leaders in the entire country, is coming back for his final season after averaging 10.0 points (.441/.379/.800), 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. His numbers might not jump off of the computer screen but he is a consistent presence who can really be dangerous when completely healthy.

Additionally, Coach Wright brought in one of the best graduate transfers in the country in Joe Cremo. While playing for Albany last season, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 17.8 points (.458/458/.819), 4.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. And considering he is an outstanding post player for a guard, Cremo should fit tremendously well in Villanova’s offensive system.

In the frontcourt, Eric Paschall projects as a Big East Player of the Year contender this season. A highly-efficient forward, Paschall has been a strong contributor for the Wildcats for each of the past two seasons. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points (.533/.356/.813), 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. And while these numbers might not seem tremendous, it is important to mention he posted these on low volume. Remember, he scored 15.9 points per game as a freshman at Fordham.

Rounding out the starting lineup should be Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree. A 6-foot-9 sophomore, Cosby-Roundtree averaged just 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game last season. With extended playing time this season, he could be a strong contributor in the frontcourt.