Big East Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

Villanova Wildcats - Grade: B-

It’s been a wild offseason for the Wildcats, filled with ups and downs. Six of the top seven scorers from last season are gone, including TJ Bamba and Brendan Hausen electing to enter the transfer portal, while Mark Armstrong went pro.

The one player who did return for Villanova is Eric Dixon, who led the team with 16.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Like with Hopkins, Kalkbrenner, and Jones, Dixon’s return gives the Wildcats hope of being a possible contender in the Big East next season. Adding to the frontcourt depth is Enoch Boakye, a center transfer from Fresno State.

At one point, Villanova had VCU star guard Max Shulga committed to them but he opted to return to the A-10 team instead. They were able to rebound with Wooga Poplar, a sharpshooter from Miami and a double-digit scorer. The other transfers on the team are La Salle point guard Jhamir Brickus and Tyler Perkins, a star freshman guard from Penn.

Is Villanova better now than they were last season? That’s hard to guarantee since only Poplar is the lone proven power conference player. But keeping Dixon for another year gives them a star to build off of for another year, an important one for Coach Kyle Neptune.