A trio of Rivals' national analysts recently held their weekly "Rivals Roundtable" and discussed several topics, including their way-too-early Final Four predictions. And Eric Bossi had the Wildcats in his.
On the surface, this isn't much of a surprise. Villanova has been a near consensus top 4 pick in way-too-early Top 25s, so it would stand to reason it is a serious Final Four contender. However, one statement from Bossi did stand out: that he stands by this pick even if Saddiq Bey leaves early for the NBA.
Most of the way-too-early Top 25s have come with the caveat of Bey returning, with many dropping Nova out of the top 5 and some dropping it as low as the 15 range if Bey leaves, so Bossi going on record that he holds the Wildcats in such esteem regardless of Bey's decision is noteworthy.
Bossi didn't have a ton of space to get into a ton of details, but he noted that Nova boasts a strong returning group with or without Bey and that he could see Jeremiah Robinson-Earl competing for All-American honors.
This will remain an interesting debate not only until Bey makes a decision but also through the early part of the season if Bey elects to leave. If Bey returns, Nova will likely be the preseason No. 1 team. If he leaves, we'll see a somewhat wide margin on expectations. As we noted, some still see Nova as a top 10 team, some have it more in the 15 range, and one analyst I saw even dropped it out of the top 15. Now, we have an analyst on record saying the Cats should be viewed similarly even if they lose Bey.
While we have plenty of time to formulate an opinion on what Villanova's ceiling is without Bey, there are plenty of factors supporting Bossi's assessment. The Cats will return three seniors, something that may be even more important than usual considering the uncertain circumstances. Justin Moore should become a staple for the Cats while Caleb Daniels seems to be getting overlooked. The progression of players like Cole Swider and Brandon Slater will be an X factor, as will Bryan Antoine and Eric Dixon. If Antoine can give Nova anything close to what they expected to get from him before his injury, if Dixon can provide the post presence that Jay Wright has lauded this past week, and if Swider and Slater can make even a slight jump, the Wildcats will be formidable. In fairness, there are a lot of "ifs" there, but it's not a stretch to think all of them can come to fruition.
Regardless, 2020-21 stands to be another fun season on the Main Line.
On the surface, this isn't much of a surprise. Villanova has been a near consensus top 4 pick in way-too-early Top 25s, so it would stand to reason it is a serious Final Four contender. However, one statement from Bossi did stand out: that he stands by this pick even if Saddiq Bey leaves early for the NBA.
Most of the way-too-early Top 25s have come with the caveat of Bey returning, with many dropping Nova out of the top 5 and some dropping it as low as the 15 range if Bey leaves, so Bossi going on record that he holds the Wildcats in such esteem regardless of Bey's decision is noteworthy.
Bossi didn't have a ton of space to get into a ton of details, but he noted that Nova boasts a strong returning group with or without Bey and that he could see Jeremiah Robinson-Earl competing for All-American honors.
This will remain an interesting debate not only until Bey makes a decision but also through the early part of the season if Bey elects to leave. If Bey returns, Nova will likely be the preseason No. 1 team. If he leaves, we'll see a somewhat wide margin on expectations. As we noted, some still see Nova as a top 10 team, some have it more in the 15 range, and one analyst I saw even dropped it out of the top 15. Now, we have an analyst on record saying the Cats should be viewed similarly even if they lose Bey.
While we have plenty of time to formulate an opinion on what Villanova's ceiling is without Bey, there are plenty of factors supporting Bossi's assessment. The Cats will return three seniors, something that may be even more important than usual considering the uncertain circumstances. Justin Moore should become a staple for the Cats while Caleb Daniels seems to be getting overlooked. The progression of players like Cole Swider and Brandon Slater will be an X factor, as will Bryan Antoine and Eric Dixon. If Antoine can give Nova anything close to what they expected to get from him before his injury, if Dixon can provide the post presence that Jay Wright has lauded this past week, and if Swider and Slater can make even a slight jump, the Wildcats will be formidable. In fairness, there are a lot of "ifs" there, but it's not a stretch to think all of them can come to fruition.
Regardless, 2020-21 stands to be another fun season on the Main Line.
