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NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 rankings for 2021-22 after NBA Draft deadline

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Collin Gillespie Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Collin Gillespie Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /

Wildcats . 6. team. 479. . .

Things are usually quiet and drama-free involving Jay Wright and Villanova Basketball. But this offseason effectively gave us nothing after the middle of April, when Co-Big East Player of the Year Collin Gillespie decides he would come back for a 5th year. After suffering a season-ending injury and missing out on the postseason, the star point guard leader wanted to come back for one more year.

The Wildcats also got good news with underrated forward Jermaine Samuels (12.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg) also taking the extra year as well. That made it only two departures on the roster overall, with star forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl off to the NBA, while reserve wing Cole Swider transferring to Syracuse.

That’s not to say that those two won’t be missed but Villanova not only has a ton of production returning but they also have some young stars in the making as well. Junior Justin Moore showed himself well as the lead guard in the postseason after Gillespie got hurt and will be back, along with senior guard Caleb Daniels.

There’s also real hope that former five-star prospect Bryan Antoine will have an impact after dealing with back-to-back injury-filled seasons. And former top-100 forward Trey Patterson will be entering his true freshman campaign after joining the Wildcats midway through last year.

The only question that remains is at center but if the combination of four-star recruit Nnanna Njoku and a healthy Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree can work out, Villanova will be a Final Four and national title contender once again… as long as they remain injury-free.

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