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 – NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats talks to Cole Swider (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Power forwards

Starter- Cole Swider (20 mins/game)

Other PFs- Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (13 mins/game), Jermaine Samuels (5 mins/game) and Eric Dixon (2 mins/game)

There is debate about how many guards Villanova will start this season, and if they start three of them, Cole Swider (6.1 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.6 Ast) probably moves out of the starting five, but in 15 starts a season ago Swider showed that he can handle that responsibility. While he increased his scoring clip from 3 to 6 points a game he also bettered his 3-point shot from 28% to 35% making him the ideal stretch-4 for Wright’s offensive system where the Wildcats finished 12th in the country in 3 pointers made in 19-20.

There is no one else like Swider on this Villanova roster which makes him an intriguing player heading into the season. He can get hot from outside and if he can boost that 3-point percentage to 40% he’s probably playing about 20 minutes a contest.

The compliment to Swider’s offensive stretch-the-floor prowess in the frontcourt is Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (1.5 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast). Cosby Roundtree is a bruiser in the paint who averaged six rebounds per game in 2018-19, his sophomore year, but took a major step back last season as a junior where he saw his minute decrease from 20 to 8 per game. The former top 100 recruit has underachieved mainly due to troubles with his right shin that he’s been dealing with since he was in high school.

After the NCAA Tournament was canceled in March, Cosby Roundtree underwent another surgery on his right shin which is expected to improve his agility for his senior season. If he can recover quickly and that shin holds up, this is the kind of guy that can be an x-factor for the Wildcats in 2020-21. Don’t expect his junior numbers of 5 points and 6 boards a game to fully come back, but he will be a key part of the rotation depending on matchups as he’s a better post defender than Swider.