Who says no?

With the late additions of Joe Cremo (and Jahvon Quinerly) where does that rank Nova's 2018 recruiting class?

How far up the Top Ten ladder?

Five-star shooting guard Bryan Antoine, currently ranked No. 8 in the 2019 Rivals 150, has named a final five, and what a five it is. Villanova joins Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and Florida as the remaining schools battling for Antoine's commitment. Antoine made the announcement via his twitter on Thursday evening.

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Talking to Pat Lawless for prepcircuit.com, Antoine had this to say about Villanova...

“Villanova is close to home with it being only a couple of hours away,” he said. “What they have done in the past three years has been remarkable and just what Jay Wright has been doing with their players. He’s not known for one and done type players, but he does a great job developing his players. I really liked our in-home visit and I’ve known them since eighth grade. I feel like the friendship we have is very tight and Coach Wright will just call me to talk about normal stuff. It doesn’t have to be about basketball, sometimes he will just check up on me.”

Villanova has been involved with Antoine for a long time and it's no surprise to see the Wildcats on the final list. It currently appears that a decision could come in the fall, and it is likely that each of the finalists will get an opportunity to host him for an official visit. For now Villanova remains squarely in play, and that is a good thing.

Continuing our look at 2018's new faces. Next up Cole Swider.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/getting-to-know-the-class-of-2018-cole-swider

Ironically the pick was by a Philly kid. From Imhotep Charter. JR threw for 4 TDs today. This kid is out of this world.

While I have season ticket, I don't usually get a parking pass. I'll have out of town relatives in for the game and Pike lot, apparently, won't be an option. Anyone with a pass that can't make the game, I'd be interested.

A nice get for the Cats.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/cats-land-albany-transfer-joe-cremo

What type of impact do you think he will have this season.

Taking a look at the three members of the 2018 recruiting class, starting with Jahvon Quinerly.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/getting-to-know-the-class-of-2018-jahvon-quinerly

…It's Official.

Per Rivals' Corey Evans, Villanova will host 2019 guard Justin Moore for an unofficial visit today.

There has been a flurry of activity between Villanova and Moore over the past three weeks, as the Cats have twice been to Maryland to see him, and now will host him on campus.

Moore saw a nice bump in his ranking in the most recent update of the Rivals 150, jumping from No. 75 to No. 57. All signs point to a prioritization of Moore by Nova, so it will be interesting to see what develops from today's visit.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman reports that Albany grad transfer Joe Cremo will visit Villanova on Wednesday. As a grad transfer, Cremo will be eligible to play next season, and this could be an indication that Nova is looking for protection should Donte DiVincenzo elect to remain in the NBA draft.

Cremo averaged 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists last season while shooting 45.8% from three.

He is also scheduled to visit Kansas over the weekend, and has taken visits to Texas and Creighton. Something to keep an eye on as we await a decision from DiVincenzo.

Rivals' Corey Evans with a wrap-up of the April live period, with a look at some of Villanova's work in Indianapolis.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/five-programs-riding-momentum-after-the-live-periods

Critically injured in a small plane crash.

Quick update following the second weekend of the travel circuits with a handful of players who were attracting the most attention from Jay Wright and the Nova staff.

Bryan Antoine, No. 8 in 2019 Rivals 150
Josh Green, No. 19 in 2019 Rivals 150
Nico Mannion, No. 26 in 2020 Rivals 150

The Cats have been interested in Antoine for some time, and he had the attention of Wright and several staff members.

Green recently picked up a Nova offer, and put on a show in front of Wright as he poured in 37 points.

Mannion also recently picked up an offer from Nova. He is intriguing in that he is way out of Villanova's normal recruiting grounds (Phoenix, AZ), so it will be interesting to see how involved/how many resources Nova puts into Mannion's recruitment, and to see how much of a foothold they can get. He also hinted at the possibility of reclassifying into the 2019 class, so that is something else to keep an eye on.

A look at the names to know this summer as the Cats look to keep building on the recent success.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/an-updated-look-at-the-2019-recruiting-landscape

According to Lesean McCoy. He got rid of all the black players this off season. I guess replacing them with more black players doesn't count.

A bit early, but Penn Relays (4/26 – 4/28) are essentially eight weeks away. Hopefully Villanova will be able to shine. I think the women will do well. The men? But what is somewhat disconcerting is the number of major college programs that will no longer be competing. There was already competition from the Drake Relays. Last year, the SEC schools formed their own SEC Relays. This year, Oregon is not coming (going to the Desert Heat Classic and their own OSU High Performance) and Stanford is splitting teams between SEC Relays and Penn Relays. However ACC is coming, which is good. My experience (some may have other experiences and remembrances): if a school (college or high school) felt they had something, they came to Penn Relays to prove it. Think Arizona State years ago or even John Muir HS (Pasadena, Ca. & Obea Morre). Jamaican schools still come and win just about everything. No problem. They run fast. It is what it is and it is fun. But why so many colleges choosing not to come? Colleges athletics is polluted with $ so maybe it has finally found its way into track …?

Nova has been busy following the first weekend of the spring travel circuit, handing out three offers on Monday.

First it was 2019 5-star forward Isaiah Stewart.

Now, 2019 guard Josh Green has joined Stewart with an offer. Green, a native of Australia who attends IMG Academy in Florida, is currently ranked No. 19 in the Rivals 150. Some of his other offers include UCLA, Arizona, Kansas and Virginia.

In addition, 2020 guard Nico Mannion has received a Nova offer. Mannion plays for Pinnacle High School in Phoenix. He is currently ranked No. 26 in the 2020 Rivals 150. He is also an AAU teammate of Green, with West Coast Elite on the Under Armour circuit. Mannion has hinted at the possibility of reclassifying into the 2019 class, so that is something to watch as well.

We will have an up to date look at all the important names in the class of 2019 soon, and will also start a thread to keep up with all the changes. But for now the Cats remain busy as they look to build off the 2018 national title and talented 2018 recruiting class heading to campus in the fall.

Jay Wright and staff continue work on the class of 2019, offering newly-minted five-star forward Isaiah Stewart, per Rivals' Corey Evans.

Stewart took a significant leap in the the recently updated Rivals 150, jumping 22 spots from No. 32 to No. 10, while adding that fifth star.

A 6-8 power forward out of La Lumiere School in Indiana, there was no shortage of interest in Stewart, with many of the nations top programs already involved, and his recruitment is poised to get more competitive with his rising stock.

Stewart could look to clear the picture a bit in the near-future, as he recently told Rivals that a narrowed list could be coming soon.

We got updates on the futures of three Wildcats today, as the school released news on Donte DiVincenzo, Phil Booth, and Eric Paschall.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/more-nba-draft-news-out-of-villanova

With the 2018 travel circuit getting underway this weekend, Rivals had an eye on who was watching what prospects. This can give us hints as to which prospects certain programs are prioritizing and who the real players are in certain players' recruitment. So who was Nova watching on Friday night?

Cole Anthony (2019 G, 5 star, No. 4 in class)
Bryan Antoine (2019 G, 5 star, No. 8 in class)
Isaiah Stewart (2019 F, 5 star, No. 10 in class)
Scottie Lewis (2019 G, 5 star, No. 11 in class)
Aidan Igiehon (2019 F, 5 star, No. 23 in class)

Early indications are that the Cats are most involved with high school teammates Antoine and Lewis, who remain a potential package deal, and Stewart who is seeing his stock skyrocket.

How hot are these 2? Sandusky would be jelaous

The newest Rivals 150 for the class of 2019 is fresh off the presses, and there is some movement particularly with some Nova targets near the back end.

Recent Nova commit Eric Dixon has moved up two spots to No. 70.

Nova target Seth Lundy, who we've been discussing in on of the threads this week, has jumped 15 spots to No. 89.

Nova target Joe Girard III, who the Cats were recently in to see, skyrocketed 46 spots up to No. 79.

Justin Moore, another target Nova recently visited, also saw a big jump, moving up 18 spots to No. 57.

You can see the full rankings here: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2019 and we will have an updated look at the 2019 recruiting scene coming soon to help you keep track of all the Nova targets.

Rivals' Corey Evans caught up with 2019 Roman Catholic forward Seth Lundy and found out that Villanova is among a handful of programs that have begun to prioritize him.

Lundy had this to say about Villanova: “I love their system. The way that they play, all five guys on the court are locked in. Offensively, everyone on the court can shoot.”

You can read the full article here: https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...-seth-lundy-drawing-interest-from-top-schools