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Villanova Basketball: Early look at Wildcats 2019-20 returners and newcomers

By Zac Voynow

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 03: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Georgetown Hoyas in the second half at the Wells Fargo Center on February 3, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Villanova defeated Georgetown 77-65. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 03: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Georgetown Hoyas in the second half at the Wells Fargo Center on February 3, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Villanova defeated Georgetown 77-65. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats handles the ball on offense against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats handles the ball on offense against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Key Returners

Collin Gillespie is the top returning scoring from last seasons team. He averaged 10.9 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. Gillespie is a guy Villanova fans saw really grow up during his sophomore season, and I think he’s poised to have a breakout junior year. Gillespie always seems to hit big shots in big moments, and he always plays under control.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree averaged 5.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season, but he will have a much bigger workload as a junior. Cosby-Roundtree is still a pretty raw big man, but he brings to the Villanova has always seemed to struggle with: size. I expect Cosby-Roundtree to continue to start at the center position for Villanova next season, but as the freshman get more comfortable in Jay Wright’s system, Cosby-Roundtree’s minutes may end up plateauing.

Saddiq Bey is returning for his sophomore season, and the small forward is looking to make waves in the Big East. He had a nice freshman campaign. He proved he can be an effective shooter against high level talent. The freshman defended well and will continue with improve with enhanced minutes. Bey averaged 8.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and he shot 37.4% from three-point range.

Jermaine Samuels came out of his shell this season during his sophomore campaign. The versatile and athletic 6’7″, 220 pound Samuels showed that he’s more of a stretch four than a small forward, which bodes well for Villanova, since he can then share the floor with small forward Saadiq Bey. I can’t explain enough how great it was to see Samuels go from a kid who played scared, never wanting to shoot or even have the ball in his hands, to being a guy who posterized defenders and shot threes with confidence. I think Samuels could be the most improved player for the Villanova Wildcats next season.