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Villanova Basketball: Wildcats land quality scoring transfer Caleb Daniels

By Tristan Freeman

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Michigan Wolverines 79-62. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Michigan Wolverines 79-62. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Caleb Daniels won’t be eligible to play next season but will still have a big impact for Villanova Basketball in 2020-21. What should Wildcat fans expect in the future?

Villanova Basketball picked up a major future piece in Caleb Daniels, a 6’4 guard who led Tulane in both scoring (16.3 ppg) and passing (3.3 apg). He entered the transfer portal after head coach Mike Dunleavy was fired this offseason. The Green Wave finished with just four total wins this past season and didn’t win a single game in the AAC (0-18).

Daniels wasn’t the reason for the team’s struggles, at times singlehandedly carrying them offensively. He scored in double figures in 28 of 30 games this year, including a career-high 36 points against Wichita State. Daniels is more than a scorer, grabbing 10 rebounds three different times and at least five assists in a contest over eight different times. Despite the lack of help, the sophomore was still efficient overall and worked himself into the NBA Draft discussion.

Daniels still wasn’t in the range to go pro yet, and rather than come back to a complete rebuild at Tulane, he choose to play for Jay Wright and Villanova Basketball.

Even though they’re losing their two top scorers in Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, the Wildcats are bringing in a top-5 recruiting class for this next season. Five-star prospects Bryan Antoine and
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are potential “one and done” players, with another pair of top-100 recruits coming aboard in Justin Moore and Eric Dixon. Underclassmen Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey are coming back for bigger roles, along with big men Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree Jermaine Samuels. This collective group can do some major damage in the Big East and make another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

But of course transfers and early declarations can change rosters, so bringing in sit-out transfers is a good way of bringing in stability. And with Antoine very likely to not be around after next year and Jahvon Quinerly already gone, Daniels could be used as a lead ball handler in case another quality point guard doesn’t arrive for 2020-21. At the very least, Coach Wright knows he’ll have a legit scorer on the roster for the future.

Next. Biggest takeaways from 2019 NBA Draft combine. dark

Transfers aren’t a 100% guarantee to be successful, evident by Joe Cremo’s struggles after transferring in from Albany. But Daniels was good at a power conference level and will have a much stronger supporting cast surrounding him. This was a rather quiet recruitment overall but could be one of the most impactful down the line.