No surprises here, but another 2018 target is off the board as Cam Reddish officially chooses Duke.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/reddish-to-duke

Highlighting some points of interest as the initial rankings for the class of 2020 have been released.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/rivals-releases-initial-2020-rankings

Villanova has announced that the Nov. 29 game with Penn will be played in the Jake Nevin Field House, marking the first time in 31 years the building will host a regular season game.

See story for quotes, ticket details, and a timeline for the full schedule release.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/nova-to-host-penn-at-nevin-field-house

During the first half of the year, it was believed that Villanova had the early lead for the 2018, 6'4", 4 Star, PG. Apparently, Not so any longer. Looks like Ohio State and Florida are now the favorites.

First, Weaver lost interest in Nova, and then Nova decided to move on. It seems the Nova staff believes their chances are better with David Duke, who has long been considered a very strong Providence lean.

Long considered a favorite in Weaver's recruitment, Nova is now out of the picture. 2018 options are dwindling as the Cats look to add a PG to the class.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/weaver-drops-top-four-nova-out

2018 Nova target Jalen Carey has scheduled four of his five available official visits. In what has become a bit of a trend this summer, Villanova finds itself as one of the finalists awaiting a potential visit.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/jalen-carey-sets-four-of-five-official-visits

Guess yelling "f#ck her right in p#ssy" was getting old
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The latest edition of the 2018 Rivals 150 has been released, and Nova commits Cole Swider and Brandon Slater have each climbed slightly in the rankings.

Swider has continued his impressive rise since the spring, and now sits at #39 in the class.

Slater had seen some slight waffling in his rankings, but has steadied and is now pushing the top 50 at #51.

Meanwhile, key remaining targets for the 2018 class Elijah Weaver, David Duke, and Jalen Carey come in at 28, 43, and 49 respectively.

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2018

This 4 Star, Top 45, 6'6", Small Forward could see a good deal of playing time this season.
He has very good interior moves and he can shoot from distance.

Bryan Mauro, of College Hoops Daily, has stated that "Samuels is an NBA Player".

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Matthue Cotton gives a quick update on his recruitment and briefly speaks on his feelings about Villanova as he recently took in a game of theirs. While he is a three-star prospect at the time being, expect to see him receive a bump during the next update; he is a shot making wing with good size and solid upside from New Jersey.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/three-star-guard-matthue-cotton

.....in the Country by CBS Sports. Another indication that this is his last season at Nova.

Villanova's Mikal Bridges was rated the 5th Best Small Forward.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/scouting-college-basketballs-five-best-players-at-the-five-different-positions/

Five-star Cam Reddish talked with Rivals' Krysten Peek, and hinted that a decision could be coming sooner than expected. Reddish comments on each of his five remaining schools: Duke, Kentucky, Nova, UConn, and UCLA. While he remains a heavy Duke lean, he does a decent job of at least somewhat keeping the intrigue alive.

Duke remains the favorite, and Reddish is rooming with Duke commit Tre Jones at the Nike Skills Academy. Based on Reddish's comments, that experience appears to be strengthening Duke's status as the favorite.

As expected, Reddish's experience playing with Coach Cal with Team USA seems to have given Kentucky a boost as well.

Reddish to Nova was always a long shot and that remains the case as Reddish works towards a decision. He has always had nice things to say about the program, and his latest comments may give the staff another angle to play if they wish to make a final push to try to lure him away from Duke or Kentucky. There likely won't be a surprise when decision time comes, but you never know.

Full article here: https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/five-star-cameron-reddish-nearing-a-decision

Very, Very Good. Watch and See:

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Quick update on Andrew Nembhard, one of the top guard prospects out of the 2019 class. Likely to reclass into the 2018 class this spring as Villanova has put in some early work for him.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/nebhard-a-rising-star-in-the-2019-class

Should have given both teams a trophy instead...

161-2

2018 Nova target David Duke has trimmed his list to five, and has included Villanova. Joining the Cats are Indiana, Florida, Providence, and Virginia Tech.

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After Jahvon Quinerly's commitment to Arizona last week, there are a dwindling number of candidates remaining to fill Villanova's coveted PG spot in the class of 2018 and it is possible Nova will up the pressure on Duke.

Providence represents a hometown school for Duke, and the Friars have been ahead of the pack in his recruitment as they have been on him from early in the process. However, Duke has seen his stock rise and it's possible a higher profile program could end up luring him away from Providence.

Duke has yet to set any official visits, so that will be the next thing to watch for. A decision could come late in the fall.

Rivals' Corey Evans caught up with Duke to get some thoughts on each of his finalists.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/david-duke-narrows-it-to-five

After hosting 2020 guards B.J. Boston and Jalen Carey and getting an offer out to 2020 F Mikeal Jones, Nova has stayed active with the class of 2020 by extending an offer to PG Jeremy Roach.

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At 6-2, Roach already has decent size. Roach is a teammate of Villanova commit Brandon Slater at Paul VI in Virginia and a part of USA Basketball. He was on hand for the Virginia game this past season and participated in Team Camp this summer.

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The athletic department as officially announced the 2017-18 MBB staff, including Baker Dunleavy's replacement and a few promotions.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/cats-finalize-2017-18-staff

After recently hosting 2020 guards B.J. Boston and Jalen Carey (who already has an offer), the Cats continued to work on the 2020 class on Wednesday night with an offer to Philadelphia's Mikeal Jones from Girard College. Jones has received an offer from Penn State, and garnered interest from Temple, St. Joe's, Xavier, and UConn early in his recruitment.

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At 6-8, 210 pounds Jones already has great size. He's shown the ability to be an elite defender as he works to polish his offensive game. Here's a scouting report on Jones from City of Basketball Love:
http://www.cityofbasketballlove.com/mikeal-jones

Another Nova 2018 target is off the board, as five-star PG Jahvon Quinerly has committed to Arizona. The Cats will remain focused on Elijah Weaver, David Duke, Jalen Carey, Cam Reddish, and perhaps Andrew Nembhard as they look to round out their 2018 class.

Key Nova target Jahvon Quinerly has told ESPN he will announce tonight and will be deciding between Arizona and Villanova. He plans to make his decision during the SC30 Select Showcase game on ESPNU starting at 9 tonight.

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Former Nova LB Austin Calitro has signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2...th-on-IR/293d9178-1ad2-4a32-a368-18d82b1e646c

Rivals' Corey Evans has the latest on four-star guard David Duke, including a comment on Villanova.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/four-star-guard-david-duke-is-wide-open

Four-star point guard Jalen Carey has cut his list to six, and has included Villanova. Joining Nova in his final six are Miami, Kansas, Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse. Carey is currently ranked 52nd in the class of 2018. The Cats were a bit late to the party, just offering Carey at the end of July, although he has been on Nova's radar for some time. The fact that Nova made the cut despite the late offer has to be viewed as a positive as the team looks to round out the 2018 recruiting class with a lead guard.

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At 6-3/6-4, Carey possesses great size and is a high-level athlete. An elite scorer who is able to score from all levels, he is particularly adept at getting to the rim.

Via Rivals' Corey Evans twitter account, the Cats will host B.J. Boston tomorrow for an unofficial visit. While Rivals hasn't released its first rankings for the 2020 class yet, he will likely be near the top. ESPN currently has him ranked 15th in his class.