The Way Too Early 2020-21 Villanova Basketball Preview with Nova forward, Jermaine Sameuls Jr!!!

It's the dead middle of the summer, coronavirus is sort of going away-ish, and we still have no confirmation of if there will be college basketball this fall, more specifically, no conformation that my Villanova Wildcats will have a chance to go get another Big East championship and National Championship. Not knowing if my Wildcats and every other CBB team will be able to play this fall is definitely stressful.

Will that stop me from previewing the upcoming Nova season? Hell no!

Last year, the Wildcats finished the season ranked number ten in the nation and finished in a tie for first on top of the Big East regular-season standings with a 13-5 conference record. Along the way, they beat #1 ranked Kansas, probably the best game of the season.

Coming into this year, the Wildcats are looking to be dangerous. They only graduated one player, that being Tim Saunders. But, they lost an absolute monster in Saddiq Bey. Bey was an All-American honorable mention, all-Big East first team, Julius Erving award winner (small forward of the year) just to name a few accolades. Bey is projected to be drafted in the mid-early first round of this year's NBA Draft. In my opinion, Saddiq staying would have made Nova the best team in the country. Even without him, you can make the case that they are. Just look at the projected starting lineup for this year:

PG: Collin Gillespie, Senior

SG: Justin Moore, Sophomore

SF: Jermaine Samuels Jr., Senior

PF: Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Senior

C: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Sophomore

That's a dangerous starting lineup. Plus, they have guys like Cole Swider, Caleb Daniels, Eric Dixon, Brandon Slater, and others coming off the bench. This team is undeniably deep. When I caught up with Jermaine Samuels Jr about next years' team, he said: "Our team being very deep gives us the ability to be very versatile and gives us the ability to sustain 40 minutes of Villanova basketball. I'm truly excited about it."

Experience is something that Jay Wright builds his teams off of. Both 2016 and 2018 are textbook examples of how his teams are built around experience. This years' team takes no exception to that rule. There are still 3 guys on the team that were on the 2018 National Championship team. That experience will be crucial come March when the Wildcats have to play both in the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats are going to need to use their experience over the rest of the Big East this year. Many Big East teams lost their big pieces, such as Myles Powell and Markus Howard. That means that new players have to step into the spotlight and that's not easy in a conference like the Big East. High paced, intense basketball. They need to use that experience to jump on these teams in this upcoming season.

There's a new challenger approaching! An old foe! May I re-introduce to you, the University of Connecticut!

Danny Hurley and the Huskies are looking to make a splash in their first season back. UConn is one of two teams that I think will be able to hang with Villanova this season. They're a very tough team, as they proved against Nova last year in their late comeback loss. Of course, Villanova was able to pull out the win in this game, but they need to keep their eye out for the Huskies. James Bouknight could give the Wildcats some fits this year. Keeping him outside of the three-point arc will be their key to victory against UConn. Also, on the offensive side of the ball, Villanova shoots the three better than any other team in the conference. UConn does not do well against teams that excel behind the arc. SHOOT THE THREE, BOYS!

Jermaine Samuels Jr., a 4 year senior from Franklin, Massachusetts (home of IMH's Ryan Martin) and 2018 national champion, feels confident that the season will happen. When I asked if he thought they will be playing this fall, Samuels had high hopes. "Yeah, I do," said Samuels. "I feel like they are going to make it work one way or another, but I think they are going to avoid shutting the season down as much as possible."

Seeing someone so close to the situation so confident that the season is happening is definitely a relief.

Anyway, here is my prediction for the Villanova Wildcats season:

League Record: 15-5. Regular Season Champs!

Big East Tournament: Champs! 4 in a row!

NCAA Tournament seeding: #2 in Eastern Bracket!

Of course, there are people out there who won't follow CDC guidelines and stuff like that. They're probably Seton Hall fans who don't want Nova to win their 4th straight Big East Tournament title. Don't be a Seton Hall fan,

Wear a mask! Wash your hands! Practice proper social distancing so we can have sports!