NCAA Basketball: Top 25 team backcourts for 2021-22 season

Backcourt depth and consistency have been a stable for the Villanova program for years. It’s been the key that’s propelled them to championship success and a string of Big East conference titles. It was certainly evident last season before the injury bug attempted to derail those chances. While the Wildcats didn’t have the best March Madness showing, because of this misfortune, they were able to keep their group together in the offseason thanks to the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA.

Floor general Collin Gillespie gets a second shot at ending his college career on a positive note and will rightfully have the full support of both head coach Jay Wright and last year’s entire cast. Following the team’s play after his injury, Villanova showed it needed a steadying force at the helm. Gillespie’s return helps to ease the learning curve for expected heir apparent Chris Arcidiacono, who played admirably in his absence to end the year.

Coach Wright has been able to alternatively rely on the steady production of upperclassmen Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels. Moore proved his freshman ascendency to Villanova’s starting lineup was not a fluke and elevated his status to a go-to weapon for the Wildcats offense in year 2.

While he has put forth strong numbers thus far in his career, both he and Daniels will need to take another step forward in their development to help get this team back to true national contention. Another route to national success for Villanova is to see developmental leaps from junior Bryan Antoine or sophomore wing Trey Patterson.

Antoine, a former top-20 5-star recruit has only accumulated 200 minutes of live-game action in his two seasons on campus due to lingering injury issues. While his career path has not unfolded in an ideal manner, Antoine still possesses some of the highest athleticism the program has seen. His skillset would certainly compliment the perimeter-based nature of the Wildcats program should he find a way to consistently see the floor.

Patterson on the other hand has the ideal frame and ability that have helped to elevate guys like Saddiq Bey and Mikal Bridges to professional careers. If his offseason has been a success, this group will be even more formidable than they were last season as Big East Champions.