Villanova might not lose a single rotation piece this offseason after a year in which the team was expected to land a No. 2-4 seed at the NCAA Tournament before its cancelation. That is pretty ridiculous. Of course, it does feel likely that Saddiq Bey will head to the NBA and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl could potentially join him as well, but the potential is there for the Wildcats to completely run it back with the same roster. If that is the case, then Villanova should be an easy choice for a preseason No. 1 or 2 spot.
Bey was Villanova’s top scorer last season and the team would gladly welcome him back to his starring role. If he is gone, though, the Wildcats have plenty of other options to turn to. Collin Gillespie is perhaps the most important of this group as he will be the rock-solid senior leader at the point guard spot. Gillespie took major strides last season and is now a consistent go-to option with his playmaking and three-level scoring ability.
Justin Moore will be back for his sophomore campaign and he could reprise his starting role alongside Gillespie. It is vital to mention, though, that we could finally see a healthy version of former five-star recruit Bryan Antoine in 2020-21. Antoine did not see a ton of playing time as a freshman due to injuries but could emerge as a star now that he will likely be at or close to 100%. Tulane transfer Caleb Daniels (16.9 points in ’18-19) will be joining the fray in the backcourt.
The frontcourt will then be completely filled out by returners. JRE seems likely to come back to Villanova and he will be joined then by the likes of Jermaine Samuels, Brandon Slater, Cole Swider, and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree.
This group is obviously extremely talented and quite deep. Head coach Jay Wright has another national title contending roster on his hands.
That concludes this way-too-early look at potentially some of the best teams for the 2020-21 season. There are obviously plenty of draft and transfer decisions that will greatly shake up these rankings, but all of these teams seem to be in good shape at this moment.