NCAA Basketball: Transfer options for former Villanova Wildcat Jahvon Quinerly

Jahvon Quinerly, a former 5-star recruit is transferring from Villanova after a disappointing freshman season.

Jahvon Quinerly went viral in high school for his famous “Jelly Fam” move, which is a finishing move around the rim that might be the smoothest thing you’ll ever seen on a basketball court. Despite his elite quickness, agility, passing ability, and finishing around the rim, he barely saw any playing time during his brief one year tenure at Villanova. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, however, because Villanova head coach Jay Wright prefers fundamentals over flash.

Quinerly was visibly frustrated at times during the season, which became confirmed publicly when he posted to his instagram story “Was my 2nd choice for a reason,” following a three-point loss to Penn where Quinerly only saw one minute of game action. He quickly apologized for the post, but it confirmed many people’s hunches that he wasn’t happy waiting his turn at Villanova.

Quinerly committed to Villanova after decided to decommitt from Arizona amidst the investigation scandal. He was a hyped up 5-star recruit, who clearly felt like he shouldn’t have to wait his turn. Jay Wright is going to coach the Villanova way no matter who’s on his team, and if his players don’t adapt to his coaching style, they won’t see the court. It seemed clear from the get-go that Quinerly’s style wasn’t compatible with Villanova basketball, but many thought he would adapt and be just fine.

Now that Quinerly is in the transfer portal, his name is without a doubt at the top of many high-profile programs radars. Arizona, UNC, Virginia Tech, and Oregon are four schools I believe are strong candidates to land Quinerly. However, each school comes with their own complications.

Possible Suitors

Arizona was Quinerly’s first choice throughout his college recruitment process, but now the Wildcats are struggling in a very weak Pac-12. Also, highly touted 5-star point guard Nico Mannion is committed to Arizona. I don’t see Quinerly choosing a school that he will have to compete at that level to become the teams starting point guard, and I don’t see him or Mannion wanting to move off ball if the pair ends up together in Arizona.

North Carolina is losing star point guard Coby White to the NBA Draft, which leaves a spot at point guard that Quinerly could fill. Assuming the NCAA makes Quinerly sit out a season, by the time he’s ready to play for the Tar Heels they will be without Coby White, Kenny Williams, and Seventh Woods. Roy Williams has always been a coach who likes to recruit kids from high school and develop them for multiple years under his supervision, so getting a transfer like Quinerly would be fairly uncharacteristic for the veteran coach.

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Virginia Tech is a very intriguing spot for Quinerly. Head coach Buzz Williams is now officially heading to Texas A&M, and VT has been linked to a plethora of coaches looking to fill that spot. The two most popular candidates are Steve Wojciechowski from Marquette and Mick Cronin from Cincinnati. What makes VT a possible candidate for Quinerly is the fact that star point guard Justin Robinson is graduating.

Virginia Tech is coming off one of the best seasons in school history, and if the Hokies hire Wojciechowski, Quinerly could fit very well. Coach Wojo is known for giving his guards complete control of the offense, which showcases their talents better than a strict system like Villanova. it also doesn’t hurt that Wojo’s last point guard was Markus Howard, a guy that exceeded expectations and really ran with the system Wojo puts in place.

Last but not least is Oregon. Oregon is coming off a great end of season run that saw them win the Pac-12 to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and then make a sweet 16 run, which ended narrowly to Virginia. This is a program that is looking to build on a season that saw the players come together in unity despite all the injuries they suffered early in the season, which got them great national media recognition. Quinerly’s connection to Oregon is Louis King, his former teammate at Hudson Catholic. In his freshman season at Oregon, King averaged 13 points per game and really flourished for the Ducks in the Pac-12 and NCAA tournament.

Jahvon Quinerly announced he’s transferring from Villanova today, and there’s a long list of suitors that would love to have him. Although for now Quinerly’s situation is up in the air, we do know one thing for sure: he’s a high-profile player that will be heading to a power conference. I think he will think long and hard about this, since he needs to make sure he goes to a school that will fit his style of play.