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Villanova Basketball: 2019-20 season recap of the Wildcats

By David Mullen

VILLANOVA, PA - DECEMBER 30: A general view of Finneran Pavilion prior to the game between the Xavier Musketeers and Villanova Wildcats on December 30, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA - DECEMBER 30: A general view of Finneran Pavilion prior to the game between the Xavier Musketeers and Villanova Wildcats on December 30, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 08: Saddiq Bey #41 of the Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 08: Saddiq Bey #41 of the Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Key Wildcat players for 2019-20

Sophomore guard Saddiq Bey showed tremendous improvement from his freshman campaign. Bey showed enough improvement from year one to year two that he become the Wildcats top offensive player. Although Bey’s playing time only increased by four minutes, he took five more field goals per game including two more three-point attempts per game compared to his freshman campaign. Most importantly, even though Bey’s use increased, so did his efficiency.

Bey was shooting at a higher clip than his previous season and increased his assists per game (from 1.3 in 2018-19 to 2.4 in 2019-20). The most impressive facet of Bey’s improvement is he doubled his points per game (8.2 in 2018-19) to a team-leading 16.1 points per game. Bey went from being a role player to the star player in less than a year. Isn’t that typical of a Jay Wright-led team? It is not always his biggest recruits that receive the accolades and improvements. Sometimes it is the less-sexy prospect who is willing to listen and put the work in ala Saddiq Bey.

Local product Collin Gillespie also saw increased playing time and did his part by providing increased production for the Wildcats. Gillespie saw an increase of five minutes per game from the 2018-19 season to the 2019-20 season. In those extra five minutes, Gillespie has increased his scoring average by almost four points per game. (from 10.9 ppg to 15.1 ppg). Further, Gillespie took on more of a point guard role and thrived. His assists increased from 2.8 per game to 4.5 per game while his turnovers pretty much stayed the same.

Gillespie took more three-point attempts this year than in years past but it did not show any positive results. Gillespie attempted, almost, one more three per game than his sophomore season but his three-point percentage dipped a bit from 37.9% to 35.7%. It was a very good season for Gillespie as he took on a newer role with more minutes while trying to fill some big shoes from stars past.