It's shaping up to be a newsworthy week for Villanova on the recruiting front. Late last night Nova target Jaden Springer cut his list to five and left off the Wildcats, and now it appears another Nova target is ready to make a decision as Jabri Abdur-Rahim shared that he will announce his decision tomorrow.

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Abdur-Rahim is ranked #41 in the 2020 Rivals 150 and picked up an offer from the Cats in late April. With is stock on the rise, it felt like the process could drag out as more options became available to the prospect, but it seems he has found a fit he likes.

The timing doesn't feel great for Villanova. Abdur-Rahim is fresh off a visit to Virginia and the Cavaliers are the consensus favorite. Michigan is considered a strong player as well. Still, Abdur-Rahim has said some good things about Nova, and perhaps a Cole Swider-like surprise is in the works. We'll know for sure tomorrow.

Should the consensus be correct and Abdur-Rahim heads elsewhere, it could set the stage for a busy rest of the month in terms of 2020 offers going out with two key targets in the class going off the board in a matter of days.

Five-star 2020 guard Jaden Springer, who picked up a Villanova offer in May, has released a top five that doesn't include Villanova.

Springer is down to Memphis, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina.

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With Nova apparently being out of the running for Springer, Jabri Abdur-Rahim projects as one of the Wildcats' top priorities in 2020. I also wouldn't be surprised to see some Nova offers go out to 2020 players later this month. Some potential names to keep an eye on just based on my gut would be Andre Curbelo, Lynn Greer III, and Noah Farrakhan.

Future Wildcat Jeremiah Robinson-Earl continued his stellar play at the FIBA U19 World Cup on Saturday, recording a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Four of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive end, and he added a steal while shooting 5-11 from the field. Team USA secured a spot in the Gold Medal game with a 102-67 win over Lithuania.

Robinson-Earl also recorded a double-double in Team USA's opening exhibition in Greece and shot a perfect 8-8 from the field in a Group Stage win over Lithuania. On Saturday, Robinson-Earl was second on the team in rebounding and third in scoring.

Team USA will take on Mali for the Gold on Sunday at 1:30. That game will be available on ESPN+.

Robinson-Earl showed well in Greece, heightening the anticipation for his Villanova debut.

The U19 USA Men's Basketball Team secured a 102-84 win over Lithuania Saturday, getting a big lift from future Wildcat Jeremiah Robinson-Earl along the way.

Robinson-Earl scored 17 points on perfect 8-8 shooting in Saturday's win. That mark tied a record for an USA U19 game. Additionally, his 17 points were good for third on the team.

After posting a dobule-double in the team's opening exhibition earlier this week, Robinson-Earl now has two standout performances under his belt in Greece.

The United States is now 2-0 in group play and will wrap up that stage of the tournament on Tuesday at 9 AM against Senegal (0-2). I'm hoping to get a chance to watch that game and to be able to provide a more detailed breakdown of Robinson-Earl's performance.

Happy Fourth everybody!

Villanova recently offered the 6-10 big man out of Delaware, and Rivals' Corey Evans caught up with Njoku to discuss the state of his recruitment. The 2021 product is likely to see a big boost to his recruitment in the coming months, and it's good that Nova is in on the action early.

Talking with Evans, Njoku revealed that Villanova was the first program to reach out on the first day of permissible contact with HS juniors. He also had some brief thoughts on Nova that sound pretty encouraging in terms of the Wildcats' hopes of landing him.

“It was my first time talking to them. He (Jay Wright) was just catching up with me. I love them. I have been there for a couple of games and it is just amazing.”

Things are just getting started with the rising big, but Villanova seems to be in an excellent position. You can read the full article, in which Njoku also comments on Marquette and Providence, at the link below.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/nnanna-njoku-is-on-the-cusp-of-his-national-breakout

Work continued on the 2021 class Tuesday, as the Wildcats got out an offer to big man Nnanna Njoku out of Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware. Already listed at 6-10, 245, Njoku has college size and has honed his ability to finish around the basket.

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Other schools invovled with Njoku include Marquette, Providence, NC State, Miami, Temple, La Salle, Wichita State, and Virginia Tech. Expect is recruitment to gain momentum throughout his junior season.

The Cats have received another commitment in the 2020 class as Ty Trinh from Calvert Hall High School in Baltimore has announced his commitment to Villanova.

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It's been a good few days for the program as Trinh joins Ricky Ortega as recent 2020 commits.

After receiving the commitment of Coatesville quarterback Ricky Ortega, the Wildcats have extended an offer to Ortega's teammate Dapree Bryant.

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Bryant is rated as a 2-star prospect by Rivals. He's developed a solid rapport with Ortega at Coatesville and it will be interesting to see if the duo looks to continue as teammates at the college level.

Bryant had recently released a top 7 that included Toledo, Monmouth, Youngstown, New Mexico, Western Michigan, Holy Cross, and Delaware. Based on the commitment of Ortega to Nova and the new offer to Bryant, you'd have to think the Cats join that list.

After dropping a top 7 earlier this month, Coatesville's dual-threat QB Ricky Ortega has committed to Villanova.

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Ortega has already compiled over 7,000 yards and 100 touchdowns passing, adding another 2,000+ yards and 35 TDs on the ground. He projects to bring a dynamic component to the Nova offense when he arrives on campus.

It's worth noting that Nova has also extended an offer to 2020 WR Dapree Bryant, Ortega's teammate at Coatesville.

The USA Basketball U19 team played an exhibition game against Greece on Wednesday ahead of the start of the U19 World Cup on Saturday, and future Wildcat Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was one of the standouts from a 72-58 win.

Cade Cunningham, one of the top members of the 2020 class, led the US in scoring with 16 points. But Robinson-Earl was right behind him, notching a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The USA Basketball website shared the following quote from JRE: “I think we did really well. It was a learning experience for us, we had two scrimmages in Colorado that we saw how great offensively we are, but we need to be solid on defense. We did really well on the defensive end today, it was more of just finishing the game, and finishing quarters and halftime. I feel like we’re looking really good, and the trip is making us bond together.

It's nice to hear Robinson-Earl talking about defense and finishing, things that should certainly help him fit in at Villanova.

It was a great showing for Robinson-Earl as he looks to earn a second gold medal. It should be fun to keep an eye on his performance at the U19 World Cup as we anxiously await getting to see him in a Villanova uniform this fall.

41st ranked 2020 forward Jabri Abdur-Rahim recently spoke with Rivals' Eric Bossi about is burgeoning recruitment. After a stellar junior season at Blair Academy, Abdur-Rahim has continued his impressive play on the AAU circuit this spring.

As a result, his recruitment has been taking off, with schools like Virginia, Michigan, Texas, Cal, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Kansas getting heavily involved in addition to Villanova. Abdur-Rahim discussed four of those programs (Virginia, Cal, Michigan, Villanova) with Bossi.

Regarding Nova, this is what he had to say. "They've been on me since day one and their message is kind of like me being a Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart kind of guy. A guy who can come in and play defense, guard multiple positions and they said they can help me reach my ultimate goal."

Abdur-Rahim will take an official visit to Virginia next weekend, and Bossi gets the sense that the Cavaliers and Villanova are the programs leading the pack right now.

You can read the full article here.
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/top-50-scorer-jabri-abdur-rahim-talks-recruiting

The USA Basketball U-19 roster has been set, and incoming Villanova freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has made the cut.

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Robinson-Earl will be playing with some fellow collegiate freshmen as well as a handful of elite high school talent.

The U-19 team will compete in the FIBA U-19 World Cup in Greece from June 29-July 7. In group play, the US is scheduled to take on New Zealand on June 29, Lithuania on June 30, and Senegal on July 2.

Robinson-Earl will be looking to earn his second gold medal.

In the midst of a busy weekend in which four players from the class of 2021 received offers from Villanova, the program also reached out to two more prospects from the class who could be next in line for offers from the Cats.

One of those prospects is 6-8 forward Trey Patterson. Patterson plays at Rutgers Prep in Franklin Township, NJ and is currently ranked No. 40 in the class by Rivals. Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, UCLA, Maryland, and Georgetown are just a few of the schools involved in Patterson's recruitment.

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The other is John Camden, who plays right down the road at Archbishop Carroll. The 6-7 forward is ranked No. 69 in the class. Despite being ranked lower than the other prospects Nova has gotten involved with early in the 2021 class, Camden is drawing plenty of interest. Xavier, Miami, Penn State, Temple, UConn, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford, and Marquette have all reached out so far.

It wouldn't be surprising to see offers come for this duo soon.

It was a busy weekend for the Nova staff as they took advantage of the first opportunity to reach out to players in the class of 2021.

2021 guard Devin Askew was one of four players to pick up a Nova offer over the weekend. Askew is currently ranked No. 18 in the class by Rivals, and he is the closest to a true lead guard of the four players offered. Listed at 6-3, he has very good size already and will garner a ton of interest. Arizona, Oregon, Texas, Texas Tech, and Louisville are just some of the programs already involved.

Askew is from Santa Ana, CA, obviously way out of Villanova's traditional recruiting grounds, so it will be interesting to see what kind of traction the Cats can gain and if they can become a serious player in his recruitment.

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The US will send a team comprised entirely of Big East players to represent it in the Pan Am Games in Peru from July 31-August 4. Villanova's Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels will be on the team, which will be coached by Providence's Ed Cooley.

The US team is slated to play the Virgin Islands on July 31, Venezuela on August 1, and Puerto Rico on August 2 before the medal rounds on August 3-4.

Joining Gillespie and Samuels will be five players from Providence (Nate Watson, A.J. Reeves, David Duke, Luwane Pipkins, and Alpha Diallo), two from Seton Hall (Myles Powell and Myles Cale), two from Creighton (Ty-Shon Alexander and Geoffrey Groselle), as well as Mustapha Heron from St. John's, Tyler Wideman from Butler, and Greg Malinowski from Georgetown.

It should be a great experience for Gillespie and Samuels, and one that helps further their development as they prepare to step into larger roles with Villanova next season.

As we spend our summer awaiting news from the recruiting trail and anticipate seeing the Wildcats on the court again, today we have some encouraging on-court news.

Per ESPN's Fran Fraschilla, a trio of incoming Nova freshmen stood out at USA Basketball's U-19 Camp.

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The incoming class will be expected to make a contribution next season, and they will need to if the Cats are to have the kind of season they hope to have. It's good to get reports of them excelling throughout the spring and summer.

Robinson-Earl also caught the attention of Rivals' Corey Evans. While the 2019 recruiting class comes with a lot of excitement as a whole, it's Robinson-Earl that leads the way and will generate the most excitement heading into the season.

For now we continue to wait, but all indications are that the class should be able to live up to the hype.

A busy day on the recruiting trail continues, this time with some indirect Nova news. Both Arizona and UCLA have offered 2020 wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who picked up a Nova offer at the end of April.

Arizona and UCLA join powerhouses like Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, and Virginia as potential suitors for Abdur-Rahim. He hails from North Jersey, an area the Cats have had plenty of success recruiting from, which is perhaps a small factor going in Nova's favor.

One thing that is clear based on the flurry of activity we've seen today is that Villanova is asserting itself with the elite prospects in the country and recruiting battles with some of the biggest names in the sport will become increasingly frequent.

After offering 2021 five-star prospect Max Christie, the Cats continued work on the 2021 class on Saturday afternoon when they offered another elite 2021 guard prospect in A.J. Griffin.

Griffin is currently ranked No. 10 in his class. He is listed at 6'5" and attends Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, NY.

Griffin is seeing his recruitment take off, as he has received offers from Duke, UCLA, and Kansas in addition to Villanova this weekend.

Jay Wright is clearly going after the elite in the 2021 class as two five-star recruits picked up Nova offers on Saturday. It also appears the Wildcats would very much like to add a shooting guard in 2021.

While we would expect more news on the 2020 class this spring and summer, Nova is clearly putting in early work on 2021, and it's great to see them getting a jump on some of the elite prospects in this class.

Villanova continued to work the recruiting trail, this time making a move in the 2021 class with an offer to Max Christie.

Christie is a five-star recruit who is currently ranked No. 13 in his class. He is listed at 6'5" and is from Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Christie is highly-regarded as a shooter.

It's obviously very early in Christie's recruitment and there will almost certainly be a large number of schools involved. But it never hurts to get in early, and Christie becomes a player to watch moving forward.

Action at the NBPA Top 100 Camp got underway on Wednesday, and Rivals' Corey Evans was there to take it all in. On Thursday, he shared his thoughts from day 1 and there was a pair of Nova-related observations.

The most important Villanova takeaway was the play of Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who recently picked up a Nova offer. Evans pegged Abdur-Rahim as the most polished player he saw on day 1. Abdur-Rahim had an impressive spring on the EYBL circuit and apparently continued that strong play Wednesday. Evans noted, in particular, Abdur-Rahim's ability to score from all three levels, as well as an advanced feel and pace, a skillset that Evans believes will help Abdur-Rahim transfer seamlessly to the college game. Evans pegged Villanova, Michigan, and Virginia as programs standing out for Abdur-Rahim right now, and it appears he his quickly developing into one of the Wildcats prime targets for 2020.

The other takeaway was Andre Curbelo, who Evans saw as the best playmaker on Wednesday. When the news of Jahvon Quinerly's transfer broke, Curbelo was a name we highlighted as a potential prospect that Nova could get involved with. While there's been nothing official between Curbelo and Nova just yet, the 2020 point guard has seen his stock begin to rise, jumping 11 spots in the latest update of the Rivals 150. Evans believes Curbelo is one of the most college-ready guards in high school and notes his speed and motor as his most known attributes. Curbelo displayed an expanding ability as a playmaker at day 1 of NBPA Camp, demonstrating an ability to change gears and operate in high ball screens. It's easy to see Curbelo fitting in nicely on the Main Line, and I think he's a name to continue to keep an eye on. It's possible that the late 2019 additions of Chris Arcidiacono and Caleb Daniels may have changed the 2020 recruiting philosophy for Nova, but the Cats remain loaded on the wings and have a strong foundation in the frontcourt. That, plus the clear fit between Curbelo and Nova and the fact that Curbelo hails from the northeast corridor, make him someone to follow.

Here's a link to Evans' full article.
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/nbpa-top-100-superlatives-from-wednesday-s-action

The Coatesville product relased a top 7 today on Twitter that included Villanova, along with William & Mary, Monmouth, Elon, Wofford, Colgate, and Holy Cross.

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The list should be taken with a grain of salt, as Ortega included "I am still open to other options" at the end of his note, but the Cats find themselves in good position with Ortega for the time being.

The 2020 product is worth keeping an eye on.

…has transferred to Alabama. It came down to Alabama and Pitt.
He is applying for a waiver which will enable him to play immediately.
He will have 3 years of eligibility remaining.

Incoming freshman Bryan Antoine underwent surgery on his right shoulder on Friday, per the university.

The procedure was performed by Villanova team surgeon Dr. William Emper, and Antoine will be rehabbing while attending summer classes, which began this week.

“This is a tough start for Bryan,” stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “But he’s a very mature young man and he’ll work very hard to get himself back as soon as possible.”

An announcement of a timetable for recovery hasn't been released, but we are working on finding it and will update as necessary.

Tulane transfer Caleb Daniels announced his commitment to Villanova Tuesday night via his Twitter page. Story coming.

damn.