The No. 2 HS senior announced today that he will play for North Carolina next season.
The PG's final four schools included Oregon, Georgetown and Notre Dame.
UNC had it in the bag from day one. .

A quick update on future Wildcat Eric Dixon, who was back on the court Monday night against some quality competition.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/eric-dixon-takes-court-at-play-by-play-invitational

….is Mike Anderson, who was fired in March from his job as Head Coach of Arkansas after an 18-16 season.
He is 59 years old, a Head Coach for 19 seasons, this is his 4th job; he has a 65% win record.
He coached Missouri to an elite 8 appearance, and has made it to the Dance 9 times.

The NY Post called this hire the act of a "bumbling administration". Johnnie fans are not happy.

Nova stays busy with the class of 2020, offering highly regarding big man Isaiah Todd.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/cats-offer-2020-f-isaiah-todd

Using our partnership with Synergy Sports to take an in-depth look at the offensive numbers from last season to see what they tell us about both last season and next.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/a-deep-dive-into-2018-19-s-offensive-numbers

Marquette has announced that both Sam and Joey Hauser will be transferring from the program at the end of the semester. This is a significant blow for a team that was likely to start the season ranked in the top 10 and as the favorite to win the Big East.

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Sam was second on the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game while Joey was third at 9.7. In addition, the brothers were the top two rebounders for Marquette last year (Sam 7.2, Joey 5.3) and tied for second on the team in assists with 2.4.

In addition to the lost production and the terrible look for the program of losing its second and third best players at the same time, you have to wonder if this will play into the decision of Markus Howard as he weighs returning to school or entering the NBA draft.

Ultimately it's a devastating blow to the Golden Eagles and drastically alters the Big East landscape for 2019-20.

Sorry for the delay here, I was headed to a wedding when the news broke yesterday, but the Cats have another member of the 2019 class in Chris Arcidiacono.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/chris-arcidiacono-commits-to-villanova

The Cats were in to see 6-10 big man from the Sanford School in Delaware, per Pat Lawless.

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Njoku has drawn interest from La Salle, Wichita State, and Virginia Tech and that list is expected to grow as he continues to develop his game. He told Hoop Group that he's also heard from Louisville and NC State, among others.

Already building a reputation around his strength, motor, and rebounding ability, his focus will be on refining his offensive game over his final two years of high school, but he projects as a high-ceiling prospect.

While 2019 and 2020 will garner most of our attention this spring and summer, Njoku is a name to keep an eye on for the 2021 class.

Maybe I'm way off base here, but the way things went down left a sour taste in my mouth in regards to the reversal of that out of bounds call. I get they got the call right, and that's ultimately what you want, but it just doesn't feel right to have games swing on frame-by-frame replays and in real time the Virginia player swiped the ball and sent it out of bounds, especially when the same replays reveal potential missed calls prior to the reviewed call. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right to me, and it feels like that review didn't serve the betterment of the game. Again, maybe I'm way off, and maybe this is the price we have to pay for ensured accuracy, but it feels like a slippery slope and that it's doing almost as much harm as good. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feel free to call me an idiot if I'm wrong here.

Sticking with our way too early theme, Vegas has released the initial odds of winning the 2020 national championship and Villanova opened with the sixth-best odds at 15-1.

The Cats are tied with Louisville and trail Virginia (5-1), Duke (8-1), Kentucky (8-1), Gonzaga (10-1), and Michigan State (12-1).

Again a lot can change between now and November, and even more so between now and next March, but for now, we have another indication that a lot of people believe in the Cats.

Trying something different here and trying to have a little fun as Jay Wright is faced with an intersting situation at the PG position.

The 2018-19 college basketball season has been in the books for less than an hour, and already we're getting our first look at the early expectations for 2019-20 in the form of "way too early" top 25 rankings. The finishing touches of the 2019 recruiting class, NBA draft declarations, and transfer decisions will cause some movement in the rankings, but it's still fun to take an early look ahead. Here's where some of the first releases view Villanova.

NBC Sports #6
Sports Illustrated #7
Jeff Borzello (ESPN) #5
SB Nation #12
Jeff Goodman (Watch Stadium) #9

Interestingly, the Sporting News evidently doesn't see Villanova as a top 25 team to start the season. Marquette and Seton Hall also getting a lot of top 25 love, with Big East teams like Xavier, Georgetown, and Creighton getting some mentions on the fringe in what is expected to be a bounce-back year for the conference.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, HS Championship game, tomorrow (Saturday) 12 Noon, ESPN.

Suddenly lacking PG depth, the 2019 offseason just got a bit more interesting as the 'Cats have some decisions to make.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/breaking-down-nova-s-options-in-light-of-quinerly-news

If you read our look at Villanova's options at PG next season, you know we mentioned VT commit Anthony Harris. On Thursday, Harris officially reopened his recruitment, as he announced on Twitter.

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The four-star guard is listed at 6-3, 185 and is ranked #71 in the current Rivals 150. He attends Paul VI in Virginia, an area that has been kind to Villanova in terms of recruitment.

It remains to be seen if Villanova will get involved, but Thursday's news gives the Cats another option to look at. We'll monitor the situation for any developments.

Rivals' Krysten Peek caught up with future Wildcat Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at last week's McDonald's All-American game and discussed his time at the AA game, the competition he's facing there, what sold him on Villanova, and what he hopes to bring to the Wildcats next season. (Video)

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...son-earl-ready-to-make-an-impact-at-villanova

Rutgers and Maryland are rumored to be possible destinations.
Since the family has apparently demonstrated an interest in financial considerations, playing overseas has to be considered as a possibility.

However, since no "tape" of any consequence is available regarding his performance last season, that could be a hard sell. Time is not on his side. He will be 22 when he is next available to play college ball.

Purdue has lost 9 games this season. The first 8 losses were road games.
The 9th loss was at a neutral site in the first round of the Big Ten Championship.
Saturday is a neutral site.

Will their 7'3" inch Center have a dunk fest vs. Nova? Probably so.
It is going to take great (40%) 3 ball shooting by Nova to pull this one out.

The other key for Nova is to stop Carson Edwards (#3) Purdue's high scoring Guard. By far their best player. Same situation as stopping/controlling St. Mary's Jordan Ford.

The Vegas early line has Purdue as a 3 point favorite. Game is Saturday, 9 PM.

St. John's best player, Ponds, will forego his Senior year to enter the NBA Draft. He has hired an agent.
Ponds averaged 19.7 points last season, and scored more points in 3 years than any other St. J player in their history has in 3 years, 1,870. He is their 5th highest score of all time.

The Johnnies are not in good shape going forward. They are bringing in 2 JUCO players and 3 transfers. Mullin's future would appear be questionable. Another season of street ball on deck.

Rival's Corey Evans shared seven takeaways following Wednesday's McDonald's All-American game, and one of them is that Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Bryan Antoine will deliver a national title to Villanova.

I've been on the record that I believe the Wildcats would win another championship in the next five years, and Evans now echoes that sentiment, only he believes it will happen by 2022, led by this year's incoming class.

Obviously, a lot can change over time, especially when dealing with five-star, top 15 prospects. Players of that caliber have NBA expectations, and it's impossible to know how long a stay JRE or Antoine will have on the Main Line. Combined with other variables like transfers, injuries, player development, and the makeup of the competition, along with the unpredictable nature of the NCAA tournament, such predictions are hard to make with any kind of certainty.

Still, it's easy to see the potential. Robinson-Earl and Antoine project as elite, immediate-impact contributors. Eric Dixon and Justin Moore appear primed for long, fruitful Villanova careers that mimic the trajectory of some other recent Villanova greats (Paschall, Booth). The growth of Saddiq Bey and Jermaine Samuels provided a dose of optimism to the disappointing end of the season. Collin Gillespie's toughness and shot-making ability and the hope for more progression from Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree add to that optimism. The shooting ability of Cole Swider and athleticism of Brandon Slater remain tantalizing, while Jahvon Quinerly remains a wildcard as we await definitive word on his future.

But the pieces in place, combined with future recruiting classes that should remain highly-touted, help to create a sense of optimism around the program, and people are taking notice.

You can read Evans' article here:
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/evans-seven-takeaways-from-mcd-all-american-game

Checking on the performances of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Bryan Antoine at the McDonald's AA game.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/two-future-cats-take-stage-at-mcdonald-s-all-american-game

Rivals' Corey Evans published a roundup of Wednesday's McDonald's All-American game, giving out some awards. Villanova's Jeremiah Robinson-Earl earned the title "Most College-Ready." Here's what Evans had to say about JRE:

"While there are still questions about his athleticism at the highest level, his smarts, feel for the game, ability to be in the right spot at the right time and defensive versatility makes Robinson-Earl arguably the most college-ready of the McDonald's All-Americans. Headed to Villanova to play for an elite tactician in Jay Wright, Robinson-Earl might have a multi-year stay on the Main Line but he is also going to maximize all of the talent that he was given and accrue a hefty amount of wins before he opts for the NBA."

Robinson-Earl was expected to make an immediate impact at Nova, and that expectation continues. He played well Wednesday night against some of the most elite talent in his class, and it will be exciting to see what he can do in a Villanova uniform.

You can read Evans full article here:
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/the-evans-awards-mcdonald-s-all-american-game

Following his graduation in May, Villanova forward Tim Delaney will continue his education and college basketball career at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, the school announced Tuesday evening.

Delaney appeared in 37 games for Villanova as he battled through a myriad of injuries, including three hip surgeries. He leaves Villanova with 133 wins, three Big East titles, three Big East tournament titles, and two national championships. He was also named to the Big East All-Academic team three times. While his career on the court was limited, his determination and perseverance were inspirational.

"Tim has been an integral member of our team for the last four years," said head coach Jay Wright. "He has been a leader and inspirational teammate as he's battled through numerous injuries."

With a business degree in hand, Delaney will join his brother, Andrew, on the team at Adelphi as he pursues his master's degree. Thanks to Tim for his contributions to the program, and we wish him the best as he begins his next chapter.

An ugly end for the 2018-19 Cats.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/nova-s-season-ends-in-87-61-loss-to-purdue

A pretty odd evaluation from the selection committee, but despite the seeming disrespect, I think Nova ended up in a pretty decent position.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/cats-receive-curious-evaluation-from-selection-committee

Can't wait for Thursday!