Not a surprise here, as it never felt like there was much traction for Bacot to Nova. But since the Cats were in his top 10, figured it was worth reporting that Nova was officially out of the running. VCU, Oklahoma State, Duke, UNC, and Georgia remain in the running.

The school has released the dates for the 13 non-conference games for the upcoming season. Locations of the home games will be released with the full schedule after Labor Day.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/2018-19-non-conference-schedule-released

After a relatively quiet first live period, the second evaluation period of the month is underway, and we will use this thread to track all the Nova news.

Here's what we have so far.

Eric Dixon continues to impress.

Dixon had a strong showing in the first evaluation period, and all indications are that he has picked up right where he left off. On Tuesday, he was marked as a Day 1 standout at the Hoop Group Elite Event, displaying his physicality while showing off a turnaround jumper.

On Thursday morning, Dixon caught the attention of Prep Circuit's Pat Lawless, who praised the big man's ability to attack off the dribble as well as his consistent shot making.

Other Cats' targets impress at Hoop Group.

In addition to Dixon's strong showing, two other Cats' targets have shown well at Hoop Group, with both Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis being tabbed as Day 2 standouts.

Antoine impressed with his ability to get to the basket and to knock it down from the mid-range. Perhaps more importantly, he used his size to be a presence on the defensive end of the floor. We are sure to hear plenty of Antoine to Duke pronouncements and predictions in the coming months, but expect Nova to continue to make a strong push for his commitment.

Meanwhile Scottie Lewis showed an ability to contribute in a variety of ways, making an impression with his athleticism and wingspan.

Rivals' Corey Evans reports that the Nova target has officially reclassified into the the 2019 class, an option that he has been considering for some time.

Villanova has been a heavy presence at Mannion's summer exploits, as the Cats currently sit in his top 10.

Evans reports that Mannion will cut his list to five or six schools very soon, possibly by the end of the week, and will look to start scheduling visits from there.

In addition to Villanova, Mannion's top 10 includes Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, Marquette and Vanderbilt. It will be interesting to see who makes the cut, as I ran into some difficulty when trying to make a prediction, but I believe Nova will make his final group. Evans feels that Arizona and Nova are early frontrunners.

The more I read about and see from Mannion the more intrigued I become about seeing him in a Villanova uniform, as his elite vision and ability to score make it easy to see him thriving in the Nova system.

It will be interesting to see if the Cats can pull a player from way outside their usual Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Corridor recruiting sphere. We've seen Nova expand its reach a bit with the 2019 group with players like Mannion (AZ), Josh Green (FL via Australia) and Malik Hall (KS), and it would be interesting to see what effect landing one or more of those players would do to the recruiting philosophy going forward.

Regardless, Mannion would be a huge get and I expect the Cats to make a hard push to land him. His decision to reclassify only adds intrigue into what is already shaping up as an exciting end of summer and fall. You can read Evans' full article here.

We'll use this thread to keep track of any news and notes that come from this weekend's first July evaluation period. With the Cats having already secured two commitments in the 2019 class and in a good spot with some priorities to round out the class, it's unlikely any new names/offers emerge in that group, although as movement begins it's possible things could change. For now we'll be trying to keep an eye on who Wright and staff are watching as well as keeping an ear out for any 2020 names that could become important, while monitoring any movement with 2019 targets.

So far, it appears that Wright and staff have prioritized the Under Armour event in Georgia. This isn't a surprise, as it's where long-time targets Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis are competing. The buzz around Nova and Lewis has been quiet lately, although the Cats remain in his final seven. Meanwhile Duke remains the favorite for Antoine, with Nova and Kentucky jockeying for position along with Florida and Kansas. Antoine is scheduled to visit Duke, Kentucky and Florida in September and Nova in early November, so he will garner a lot of attention as we look for clues into how his recruitment is developing. So far the Cats remain active.

In addition, there was a heavy Nova presence for West Coast Elite teammates Josh Green and Nico Mannion. On Friday morning Wright and members of his staff were on hand to see the duo play as the Cats continue to track the talented backcourt players.

Other tidbits so far...
Nova commit Eric Dixon has been impressing, showing off an impressive knack for clearing the glass as well as an ability to knock it down from the perimeter. Rivals' Corey Evans sees him as ready to make an immediate impact on the Main Line when he arrives.

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews/west-virginia-mountaineers-2018-college-football-today-preview

FBS Top 25

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/fbstop25.html

FCS Top 25

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/1aatop25.html

Hawaii Warriors vs Colorado State 2018 Preview

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews/hawaii-warriors-colorado-state-rams-august-25th-2018-530pm-mt-cbs-sports-network

Georgia Bulldogs Preview

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews/georgia-bulldogs-2018-football-preview

Florida State Preview

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews/florida-state-seminoles-2018-preview

We'll use this thread to track the former Wildcats in the Summer League. I'll do my best to watch as many games as possible so I can provide some analysis as well as stats. Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch last night's games, but I do have the numbers for Hart and Spellman.

7/2
Omari Spellman - Spellman had a solid debut for the Hawks, despite not having his outside shot working. He shot just 1-6 from three but still managed 11 points on 5-12 shooting overall. He added six rebounds, two impressive blocks, an assist and a steal. He logged 23 minutes, good for third best on the team.

Josh Hart - Hart had a very nice summer debut, tying for the team lead with 23 points. He shot 7-15 overall and 4-7 from deep. He also added four assists, three rebounds and a steal in 40 minutes of action.

On Wednesday, Nova staff is expected to be in New England to take in the City Rocks/Expressions Elite combine per Adam Zagoria.

Presumably, the Cats will be on hand to get a look at elite forward Isaiah Stewart, who is currently ranked 6th in the 2019 Rivals 150. The Cats were recently named in Stewart's top 10, and he is likely to cut that list to five before the end of summer, when he will begin to schedule visits. It appears that Stewart would like to have a decision sooner rather than later.

You can read Zagoria's full article here.

Former Wildcat rewarded for his stellar summer showing.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/josh-hart-wins-summer-league-mvp

Rivals' Dan McDonald caught up with Antoine after the first night of the Under Armour Challenge as the first of the July evaluation periods kicked off, and got some thoughts from Antoine on each of his five finalists.

This is what he had to say about Villanova...“They’ve been on me since seventh or eighth grade, so they were one of the first schools to show love. Just the way Coach (Jay) Wright is, he’s an amazing guy. My parents love him. My parents and him talk all the time.”

In my opinion, none of the quotes he gave about each school point to a favorite, although the Duke quote could be used to in conjunction with the other opinions out there regarding his recruitment to boost their status as the presumed favorite I suppose.

But the bigger concern came in McDonald's assessment of what's next. There he indicates Antoine plans to take visits in September (we know he has Duke, Kentucky, and Florida scheduled in that month) and that he wants to make a decision before his senior season kicks off, possibly in October. That would bode poorly for Nova, as their visit is scheduled for early November. I will try to reach out to Dan to find out if that October timeline came directly from Antoine or is just speculation on his part.

I've said before that if his recruitment remains open and he actually takes his Nova visit, then the Cats have a chance to pull it off, but now that is in serious doubt. You can read the full article here.

Villanova has made a habit of taking part in early season tournaments, and feasting on the competition. This year, they'll spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Orlando taking part in the AdvoCare Invitational. On Wednesday the bracket was released, helping to clarify the schedule for the upcoming season.

The Cats will open up the tournament against Canisius at 1:30 PM on Thanksgiving day. Should they win that game, they will get the winner of Oklahoma State and Memphis at 11:30 AM on black Friday.

The championship game is scheduled for November 25 at either 1 or 4 PM. Looking at the opposite side of the bracket, the most like opponent should Nova advance would be either Florida State or LSU, both which would provide an intriguing early season matchup.

All games will air on ESPN or ESPN 2.

Nova will also host Furman on Nov. 17 as part of the non-bracketed matchups.

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Continuing our look at the new situations for the NBA-bound Wildcats with Omari Spellman and the Atlanta Hawks.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/assessing-new-situations-omari-spellman

Looking at Jalen Brunson's situation with the Dallas Mavericks as he begins his NBA career.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/assessing-new-situations-jalen-brunson

In conjunction with the 2019 class update today, Rivals' national staff members Eric Bossi, Corey Evans, Dan McDonald, and Krysten Peek made predictions on where the top 15 remaining members of the class will end up.

Bossi predicts 10th ranked Josh Green ends up at Villanova, while UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon also received predictions.

Evans and Peek predicted 12th ranked Bryan Antoine will land at Nova, while Bossi and McDonald think it will be Duke.

You can read the full article here.

The 2019 Rivals 150 has been updated, but there wasn't much change for the Villanova commits. Justin Moore remained steady at No. 57 while Eric Dixon bumped up one spot to No. 69.

Nova target Isaiah Wong saw a 12-spot jump to No. 95, and I would expect to see him creep a little higher in future updates.

Local product Dahmir Bishop, out of Imhotep Charter, saw one of the biggest rises of the update, climbing 38 spots to No. 77. He could see his recruitment jump up a level in the near future.

Nova also remains in contention for some of the elite prospects in the class like Isaiah Steward (No. 6), Josh Green (10), Bryan Antoine (12) and Scottie Lewis (13).

Sorry I'm a bit late with this as summer league kicked off earlier tonight, but here's the Wildcats that will be participating.

Josh Hart - Lakers
Omari Spellman - Hawks
Kris Jenkins - Spurs
Donte DiVincnezo -Bucks
Mikal Bridges - Suns
Jalen Brunson -Mavs
Ryan Arcidiacono - Bulls
Daniel Ochefu - Knicks

2019 five-star Bryan Antoine, currently ranked 8th in the Rivals 150, has scheduled four of his five official visits (first reported by Adam Zagoria), and Villanova is one of them.

Antoine plans to be on campus November 3. In addition, he will spend three consecutive weekends in September making visits to Florida (9/15), Kentucky (9/22), and Duke (9/29). That leaves him with one official visit remaining, which will likely be to Kansas should he choose to take it.

Antoine cut his list to the five schools mentioned above in early May. The Cats have been involved with Antoine for some time, and now they will get to battle it out with some heavy hitters for his commitment.

The San Antonio Spurs have announced their Utah Summer League roster and it contains a familiar name, as former Wildcat and 2016 national title game hero Kris Jenkins is on the squad. Great opportunity for Kris, especially with the extra spots available afforded by the two-way contract rule.

Taking a look at the new situations for the four NBA-bound Wildcats, starting with Mikal Bridges and the Phoenix Suns.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/assessing-new-situations-mikal-bridges

A quick look at Villanova's night at the NBA Draft, with landing spots for each Nova player and quotes from coach Wright. We'll have a more in-depth look at each player's landing spot in the near future.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/recapping-nova-s-night-at-the-nba-draft

He visited Kentucky on Tuesday (yesterday), and the "experts" are now saying he will commit in a few days, and not even visit Villanova.

If he does visit Nova, all bets are off, IMO. We will know very soon.

Omari Spellman joins teammates Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo as a first round draft pick, going 30th overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

As expected, Mikal Bridges was the first Wildcat off the board Thursday night, and all the local Nova fans will have plenty of opportunities to keep an eye on his NBA career as he was selected by the hometown Sixers. Bridges to the Sixers seems like a perfect fit, and he should have every opportunity to thrive. A great start to a big night for Villanova. Congrats Mikal!

A good short video on Jalen Brunson by Slam.

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