Villanova Basketball: Preview of Wildcats 2020-21 depth chart

VILLANOVA, PA - DECEMBER 30: Justin Moore #5, Collin Gillespie #2, and Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats react against the Xavier Musketeers in the first half at Finneran Pavilion on December 30, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Xavier Musketeers 68-62. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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VILLANOVA, PA – DECEMBER 05: Brandon Slater #3, Jermaine Samuels #23, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21, and Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Small forward/wings

Starter- Jermaine Samuels (22 mins/game)

Other SFs- Brandon Slater (11 min/game) Caleb Daniels (3 min/game) and Justin Moore (4 mins/game)

The most under-appreciated guy on this team is Jermaine Samuels (10.7 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 2.0 Ast). Samuels’s minutes have increased from six his freshman campaign to 22 and 30 in his junior and senior years, respectively, and is a “team-first” competitor, fitting the Villanova culture perfectly.

Nonetheless, there are people in Philly who think this kid can be even better in his senior season especially with the hole to fill, given Sadiq Bey’s exit. In 2019-20 Samuels finished top-30 in points, rebounds, field goal percentage and minutes played in the Big East and is going to get a lot more opportunities this season with the ball in his hands more frequently. Samuels is certainly good enough to be an all-Big East player in 2020-21. When he’s not playing small forward his 6’8 frame gives him the ability to play at the 4-position as well.

Brandon Slater (1.6 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast), one of Wright’s former top 100 recruits enters 2020-21 with something to prove. He must prove that he can contribute on the offensive end. He played in every game last season, providing solid spot minutes as a defender, but was one of the worst shooters on the team, only shooting 38% from the field.

The 3-point shot in particular needs improvement, but even without that his athletic ability will have him on the floor as part of the rotation, but maybe no more than the 11 minutes per game he played a season ago.