Four Cats will get some additional experience and the opportunity to represent their country next week.

The Cats send another representative to the NBA as JRE is selected with pick No. 32.

Some movement on the recruiting front as another 2022 offer has gone out, this one to combo guard Brendan Hausen of Amarillo High (TX).

Rivals currently ranks Hausen as a 3-star prospect, but he is garnering attention from plenty of big name schools. In addition to Villanova, Hausen has offers from Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Houston, Texas A&M, TCU, Minnesota, Butler, Creighton, Penn State, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and Oregon, among others.

Hausen has great size at 6-5 and a good body for a player entering his senior year of high school. He's shown a very good (and consistent) stroke from the outside as well as good vision and decision making. He uses a bit of craftiness to make up for a lack of quickness, and can finish around the rim when he gets there. Another name to keep an eye on as we look to the 2022 class.

Armstrong has drawn attention for his play this summer and was highlighted by Rivals' Rob Cassidy as one of five committed 2022 players who have most boosted their stock throughout the summer circuit.

The first stage of the Nike EYBL slate has concluded, with the Peach Jam portion of the schedule set to kick off this week. In addition to getting looks at prospects, these events are a great way to try to gain insight into who certain programs might be prioritizing and where the next offers may go. With that in mind, here's what we saw during the first stage of play at the EYBL.

While coaching staffs will try to take in as much action as possible, there are usually certain teams that programs seem to be paying more attention to, either by catching as many of their sessions as possible or by sending multiple staff members to a particular game. Teams that I can confirm Nova staff members saw more than one time are Team Final, City Rocks and Pro Skills. Teams that had multiple Nova staffers at games included City Rocks, Pro Skills, The Family and Team Why Not. Immediately we can surmise that there is a player/players of interest on City Rocks and Pro Skills.

Nova staff members also spent a good amount of time watching the NH Lightning and Nova commit Mark Armstrong and Team Melo and 2022 target Cam Whitmore.

With the info we have we can try to project who the Wildcats might be looking at. Now, there is a lot of speculation here and attempting to put together pieces of information. But between the information we have on who Nova was watching, rumblings we're hearing throughout the recruiting world, and other things like connections to certain high schools or AAU programs, we can at the very least put together a list of names to keep an eye on and use that to help inform us as we watch the recruiting cycle unfold. Here are some players we think are worth watching. (All prospects are class of 2022 unless noted)

J.J. Starling - 6-4 PG, City Rocks, La Lumiere HS, 4-stars (No. 46 in Rivals 150)
Jaheim Bethea - 6-2 G, Team Final, Math, Civics, & Sciences HS (Not ranked, Bethea is a late riser)
Jameel Brown - 6-4 G, Team Final, Haverford School HS, 4-stars (No. 112) (Previously committed to Purdue, reopened recruitment)
Rodney Rice - 6-4 G, Team Durant, Dematha Catholic HS, 4-stars (No. 57)
Darren Buchanan - 6-7 F, Team Durant, Woodrow Wilson HS, 3-stars
Akil Watson - 6-8 F, NH Lightning, Don Bosco Prep HS, 4-stars (No. 51) (Class of 2023)
Tarik Watson- 6-7 F, NH Lightning, Don Bosco Prep HS (class of 2024)
Malik Reneau - 6-9 F, Nightrydas Elite, Montverde Academy HS, 4-stars (No. 52)
Jett Howard, 6-6 SG/SF, Nightrydas Elite, IMG Academy HS, 4-stars (No. 40)
Jaden Bradley, 6-3 G, Team CP3, IMG Academy HS, 5-stars (No. 18)

Some other names that feel more like stretches but could be possibilities include Aaron Carter (City Rocks, Don Bosco Prep) and Khalif Crawley Jr. (Team Durant, Math, Civics, & Sciences).

We'll be watching for further information as games resume this week. ESPN U will broadcast the semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday (July 24-25) for anyone who wants to tune in and get their own look at some of these players. In addition, all games can be livestreamed at the following link... https://nikeeyb.com/livestream/

2022 four-star small forward Cam Whitmore has cut his list to 10 schools and has included Villanova. Whitmore is currently ranked 101st in his class by Rivals.

Whitmore got an offer from Nova a little over a month ago and the Cats appear to be squarely in contention to land his commitment. Joining the Wildcats in Whitmore's top 10 are Georgetown, Maryland, Notre Dame, Illinois, Louisville, Florida, Penn State, North Carolina, and Miami.

A quick scout of Whitmore's game can be found in our article that followed his Villanova offer, linked below:

Live player evaluations returned to the hoops world over the last two weekends, providing a big boost to high school players and teams, college coaches, and the basketball media. It's hard to overstate the value of these events to all parties involved, and it was great to have them back. With that said, let's see what we can glean from what we saw over the past two weekends.

Much of our attention was on the Philly High School Live events, both because they were among the premier events of the period and because of factors like location, convenience, and the number of connections/sources that took in the events. Of course, Jay Wright and Mike Nardi spent a good deal of time at the two events.

First, Wright and staff made sure to make a strong show of support to the program's first 2022 commit, Mark Armstrong. Nova representatives had eyes on Armstrong's St. Peter's Prep throughout the event. No surprise there, as naturally the staff wants to show love to their commit and also see where his game is at and track his progress.

Outside of an offer to 2023 top prospect Dajuan Wagner Jr. and confirmation of Villanova interest in Mackenzie Mgbako, there wasn't much in the way of hard news. However, one of the many advantages of these kinds of events is information you can get simply by paying attention to who certain coaches are watching. By doing so, we can get some clues as to who the program may be interested in.

A pair of teams that the Nova staff appeared to be particularly interested in were Imhotep Charter and Don Bosco Prep. Now, it's impossible to know who exactly the coaches may have been interested in, but with some research on the rosters, the eye test and buzz surrounding performances you can make some fairly educated guesses. In terms of the two teams just mentioned, it seems the most likely prospects Nova was eyeing are Imhotep's Justin Edwards and Don Bosco's Akil Watson, both 2023 prospects.

Edwards is a 6-6 small forward who is currently ranked 21st in the class. Watson is a 6-9 forward, ranked 51st.

Some other prospects to keep an eye on are Camden's Aaron Bradshaw (7-0 center ranked 19th), Paul VI's Deshawn Harris-Smith (6-4 SF ranked 64th) and Salesianum's James Johns Jr. (6-6 SG ranked 86th).

It was great to have live events back and we were able to gain at least a little insight into what Wright and staff are thinking, particularly regarding the 2023 class. We certainly have some names to keep an eye on, and a better idea on where to focus attention at future events. The next round of live events kicks off in about two weeks.

Per a report from Tipton Edits, Jalen Duren, the top prospect in the class of 2022, will cut his list of options from 11 to five on Friday. Duren was one of Villanova's first offers in the 2022 class, and the Cats were included in Duren's final 11. In addition to professional options in the G League and Australia, Villanova is joined by Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Penn State and Memphis.

If I had to take a guess at the finalists, I would guess that the G League, Villanova, Kentucky and Michigan would be included.

As you know, we've long projected Duren to take a professional route and I still believe that option is the leader. However, with progress being made on the Name, Image, and Likeness idea, I do believe the college route will get a big boost in being able to compete for the most elite prospects in each class. I've heard some estimates that the truly elite prospects who attend college would be able to make sums from NIL that rival those being offered by the G League. Likewise, the ability to build a brand and get a jump on endorsements/appearances at big time colleges is arguably easier than it is in G League cities like Cedar Park (TX), Walker (MI), Des Moines (IA), Lakeland (FL), Southaven (MS), Taylorsville (UT), Sioux Falls (SD), Frisco (TX), Oshkosh (WI), El Segundo (CA) and other cities that host G League teams.

That's not to say that Duren will elect to go the college route, or that the professional route won't remain an attractive option to elite high school prospects, but it does level the playing field in a big way and will give prospects an important angle to consider. While I still believe Duren heads to the G League, the latest NIL developments certainly make things much more interesting.

There were also reports that Duren was considering reclassifying to 2021, but those were refuted on social media by an account for his AAU team, so we're still waiting on some clarity there.

For now, we'll wait for Friday to see what the final five looks like.

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With the recruiting trail buzzing with the return of live events and the opening of communication with the class of 2023, there's a lot going on. Amidst the frenzy, a potential name to keep an eye on has emerged: Shawn Phillips.

Phillips is a 6-10 center playing at Ypsi Prep (MI) who is a four-star prospect ranked 42 in his class. It doesn't appear an official offer has been made, but Phillips noted that Villanova was involved. We'll have to wait and see the Nova interest persists and if an offer goes out, but for now Phillips is another player to watch in the 2022 class.

As work continues on the 2022 recruiting class, Villanova wasted no time getting established with the top prospect in the class of 2023, Camden's D.J. Wagner. Wagner is the son of former NBA player DaJuan Wagner. He is considered a point guard, but is more of a scoring guard than your traditional run the offense type of floor general.

On Friday at Philly High School Live, Wagner put forth a solid performance in front of Mike Nardi with 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Wagner is already renowned for a lightning-quick first-step, and when paired with an ability to hit from deep Wagner becomes an incredibly difficult player to guard who can punish defenses in a number of ways. He has also been lauded for his love of the game and his willingness to work.

Wagner mentioned the history of guard play at Villanova when asked about the program.

One other interesting note...Wagner spoke to Zags Blog about his love of college basketball. With the new G League path to the NBA and more prospects also considering overseas professional opportunities before becoming draft eligible, the prospect of skipping college basketball is a real concern with many of today's top recruits, and something that will likely disappoint Villanova fans with 2022 No. 1 player Jalen Duren. But Wagner seems to have an appreciation for the college game, and unlike with Duren and some other top names in 2022 and 2023, there's a feeling that Wagner could go the college route.

This will certainly be something to follow as Wagner's recruitment develops.

Remember, you can find other names of interest in the 2023 class in our running tab thread at the top of the forum.

The college basketball world took another step towards normalcy this month with the return of live recruiting and showcase events. One of the premier events to take place this past weekend was the Philly High School Live event, where five-star 2023 forward Mackenzie Mgbako was among the participants. Mgbako also spoke with Rivals recruiting director Rob Cassidy about his recruitment, and he specified Villanova as a school he'd like to take a visit to and said that Villanova has been "recruiting me hard."

Mgbako was one of the first 2023 prospect Nova reached out to when contact with that class was first allowed last week, as we noted in our running tab of 2023 interests thread.

Here are a couple full quotes from Mgbako...

On potential visits: “I don’t have anything set up yet, but that could change any time. Maybe Villanova. They’ve been recruiting me hard. Maybe I’ll go to Penn, Maryland, Kentucky and Duke. I want to see those schools. I want to see how it is.”

On Villanova: “I like Coach Jay Wright. He’s a really nice guy. I have some friends from Rutgers Prep -- my boys Trey Patterson and Christina Dalce are there. I’m really close with them and they say it’s a great school, so I for sure want to check it out.”

It's still early in the process for Mgbako so there's no real read on who could potentially be leading his recruitment, but it certainly sounds like Villanova is heavily involved and highly regarded by Mgbako, and it would appear Nova is in line for one of his five official visits.

Here's the link to Cassidy's full story...

Tuesday marked the first day that college coaches could be in contact with 2023 prospects, and we'll use this thread to keep tabs on who has been contacted by Jay Wright and staff. Like last year with the 2022 prospects, official offers will get a post of their own, and remember to check this thread for updates occasionally as I'm not sure that updates I make to it will show up as "new" on the forum. Let's get to it.

Amani Hansberry - F, 4-stars, 19th in class, St. John's College High (DC)
Mackenzie Mgbako - F, 5-stars, 9th in class, Gill St. Bernard School (NJ)
Drew Steffe - SG, 4-stars, 88th in class, Memorial (TX)

Recently offered Cam Whitmore, a 6-7 forward in the class of 2022, was on campus today for an unofficial visit.

Whitmore is also expected to visit Pitt and Penn State this weekend and has also been to Maryland.

Adam Zagoria has reported that Jalen Duren, currently the No. 1 player in the 2022 Rivals 150 and the first player from that class to receive an offer from Villanova, will reclassify into the class of 2021 and take the next step in his basketball journey this fall.

We've believed for months that Duren would ultimately go the professional route and eschew college basketball, and his play over the spring and summer has only served to strengthen that belief. Zagoria cites a source saying that Duren has a seven-figure offer on the table from the G League. It's hard not to think a decision to reclassify is one made to get to that kind of money as soon as possible.

The nine colleges on Duren's list (Villanova, Kentucky, Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Penn State, UCLA, Memphis) will certainly hold out hope, and it sounds like they won't have to wait long to find out what Duren will do. At the very least, a reclassification will allow those schools to shift recruiting resources sooner than expected.

Per Zagoria, Duren is expected to compete with Team Final at Peach Jam in late July, where Team Final is the favorite to win the tournament, and then announce his future plans sometime after that.

As expected, Jay Wright promoted from within to fill the void left by Kyle Neptune's departure for Fordham.

A player we recently highlighted as a potential Nova target, Whitmore has his Villanova offer.

Some scheduling news on Tuesday.

As expected, Armstrong's stock improved in a big way with the latest update of the 2022 Rivals 150.

Villanova will return to Mohegan Sun, the place where it started its 2020-21 season, early in the 2021-22 campaign. The Cats will take part in the Hall of Fame Tip Off, an event with a loaded field that includes North Carolina, Tennessee, and Purdue. Jon Rothstein has reported that Villanova will open the event with Tennessee.

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The matchups will reportedly take place on November 20, with the winners and losers playing each other the following day. An official announcement on matchups and dates is expected soon.

It's a great early-season opportunity for Nova as there is a strong chance that all four teams will be in the top 25 when the event kicks off.

An incredible, and well-deserved, honor for coach Wright. He spoke with reporters Sunday evening.

With the return of Gillespie and Samuels, Nova will have up to 12 guys vying for playing time in 2021-22. Wright shared some of his thoughts on the crowded roster situation.

The rules committee made several recommendations on changes today, and there is some good stuff in there in my opinion. I hope to see most, if not all, of these approved.

In an effort to expand our reach and grow our following we've created a Nova Illustrated facebook page. The page will mostly be used for sharing links to the content here and trying to generate discussion that we can hopefully move here to the site. If any of you are on facebook and could give the page a like or follow or whatever to help us gain some traffic over there, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for everyone's support here, as always we're always looking for ways to make the site the best it possibly can be and we hope this can be another tool to that end. Thanks again everyone, looking forward to what will hopefully be an exciting summer on the recruiting trail followed by another incredible season of Nova hoops that will once again bring high hopes. Here's a link to the facebook page...

Things have been relatively quiet so far. Here's a look at where we're at and where we could potentially see some movement.

As expected, we got a list cut from elite five-star prospect Jalen Duren. And, as expected, Villanova was included in the list. However, instead of cutting the list to five options as some reports indicated, Duren actually kept 11 options in the mix.

Joining Nova as collegiate options are Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Penn State, and Memphis. In addition, Duren is considering both the NBA G League and the NBL in Australia as professional options.

As stated earlier this week, I believe one of the professional options will be the choice here but it's definitely a positive to be included and under consideration.