NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest losers of the 2022 offseason (so far)

Villanova Wildcats

Duke losing Coach K isn’t a loss of the offseason, since the move was long in the offing. Jay Wright departing Villanova, though? That was a shock.

Wright retired, seemingly out of nowhere, after the conclusion of the Wildcats’ season. There was some chatter after Villanova’s elimination that Wright could be nearing the end, but few suspected it would come so quickly.

This is not meant to be an indictment of the person coming in, Kyle Neptune. He was an assistant at the school for a long time and made Fordham basketball respectable in his first season at the helm. He’ll likely do a good, maybe even a great job with the Wildcats.

But Neptune has been thrust into replacing a Hall of Fame coach with two titles to his name, a man named Coach of the DECADE by the Associated Press in the 2010s. There’s simply going to be an inevitable drop-off, it’s just a question of how much it will impact this year’s team.

Speaking of which, this won’t be last year’s Final Four team. Arguably no loss on the playing side is bigger in college basketball than Collin Gillespie, who finally departed after exhausting his eligibility. He paced the Wildcats last year, averaging 15.6 points per game and winning Big East Player of the Year for the second straight season.

The Wildcats should still be quite good next year. Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels are back, as is Justin Moore as he recovers from his injury. Top recruit Cameron Whitmore is set to play a big role too.

Still, the losses of Wright and Gillespie hurt this program a lot.