Kevin Willard plucks Philly native from Big 5 rival to kickstart Villanova rebuild

All five of Villanova’s starters exhausted their final season of eligibility for Kyle Neptune in 2024-25, so as former Maryland head coach Kevin Willard takes over one of the Big East’s most coveted jobs, he didn’t have a choice but to start from scratch. And considering that the Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons under his predecessor, a fresh start is probably for the best. 

No stranger to the Big East from his time at Seton Hall, Willard stayed local for the first transfer portal addition to his bare-bones roster, adding Zion Stanford, a Philadelphia native and Temple transfer, on Monday. 

Wildcats add Temple transfer Zion Stanford in transfer portal

While he won’t replace the program’s all-time leading scorer Eric Dixon, he could fill the role of another Philadelphia native, Wooga Poplar, who starred on last season’s under-performing roster. A 6-foot-6 talented scoring guard, Stanford shouldered a large offensive load for the Owls following a late-season injury to Jamal Mashburn Jr. and thrived with the additional usage. 

Over his final 10 games of the season, the sophomore averaged 15.9 points, 2.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds, all up from his season-long marks. However, with his usage rate jumping from 25.1 percent to 29.2 percent, Stanford’s effective field goal percentage cratered from 47.5 percent (43rd percentile according to CBBanalytics.com) to 43.6 percent (22nd). 

While he’s an effective shooter, 88th percentile 60 percent effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot opportunities, he has a bit of a slow release and is reluctant to let it fly from beyond the arc. Instead, Stanford would prefer to use his long strides and impressive balance to maneuver his way into the paint for mid-range pull-ups or floaters from the paint. 

He has talent and touch as a finisher, but forces himself into too many contested looks at the rim and far too many difficult mid-range jump shots. It’s an aesthetically pleasing style if you miss basketball in the early 2000s, but there’s a reason they don’t play the game that way anymore. If Willard can clean up Stanford’s shot selection and lean into his skillset as a passer, he can be an effective and efficient secondary creator, attacking weak side close-outs off the primary action. The problem for Willard is finding the players to orchestrate the primary action. 

If Stanford is Villanova’s leading scorer next season, the Wildcats will miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and the Willard era will be off to a disastrous start. With two seasons of eligibility remaining the Philly native can be a long-term contributor on the Main Line, but Willard still has his work cut out for him in the portal and very few primary initiators remaining on the market. 

Another potential solution for Willard is to look to the high school ranks where four-star guard Acaden Lewis recently backed out of his Kentucky commitment and has been connected to Villanova.