Category: Villanova

NEW YORK — Tuesday morning was going to be an unfamiliar experience for any player who joined Villanova coach Kevin Willard at Madison Square Garden for the annual Big East media day.

The Wildcats have 11 new players on the roster, all of them new to the Big East, and just one returning player who saw the floor last season, junior guard Tyler Perkins. Which players would Willard opt to put in the spotlight at the conference’s kickoff event and why? Perkins was an obvious choice “because he’s the only player that scored in a Big East game,” Willard said.

The second choice could have been a few people. Villanova has multiple seniors or graduate students. Any of them — Long Beach State transfer Devin Askew, Grand Canyon transfer Duke Brennan, and Maryland transfer Tafara Gapare — would have been a reasonable second option. So would Matthew Hodge, the redshirt freshman who was forced to sit out last season at Villanova.

But Willard chose to pair Perkins with freshman point guard Acaden Lewis, the consensus top-35 prospect Willard landed in May when the Washington native decided to reopen his recruitment after originally committing to Kentucky last fall. It is a sport sometimes dominated by upperclassmen and a conference that leans a little older. Braylon Mullins was named the conference’s preseason freshman of the year, but he wasn’t one of the players Dan Hurley brought with him to represent UConn.

To be fair, Willard’s roster is not laden with the same type of talent as UConn’s, but Lewis, who will be relied on heavily to be the engine that makes Villanova’s offense go, was chosen by Willard for a reason.

“Acaden is a big-time freshman recruit,” he said. “I know this is good for his career.”

This basketball season will bring a lot of firsts in Lewis’ life, and this week was the start of it all in some ways. Villanova’s media day traveling party arrived Monday in New York. While Willard had some other things to attend to — including a meal with Jay Wright — Lewis, Perkins, and another Villanova staff member dined at TAO, the popular upscale Asian fusion chain. On Tuesday, Lewis was in Madison Square Garden fulfilling various media obligations, shaking hands, smiling for the cameras.

“Most freshmen don’t get the chance to do this, not even sophomores,” he said. “This definitely isn’t normal. I’m just really thankful that I get to be in opportunities like this, and that’s why I’m here to experience some of these things. I’m here with a lot of talented guys, amazing coaches, legendary coaches, and we’re in New York. This is amazing.”

The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh among 11 teams in the Big East’s preseason poll. The conference is a “guard league,” Willard said, and while Villanova has a couple of other traditional guards — like Askew and Bryce Lindsay — who will factor largely in where the 2025-26 season goes, the dynamic between Lewis and Perkins will be a big one.

Lewis is a self-described “flashy” player, and his big and mature personality was on display for a larger audience Tuesday. Perkins is an off-ball guard whose defensive intensity might be the loudest thing about him. He’s quiet but steady, and Villanova will need that to stabilize what could be a bumpy early portion of the season as all the new pieces try to fit together.

Willard will rely on that steadiness from Perkins, too, to help Lewis navigate his first college basketball season.

That much has been communicated to Perkins.

“[Willard] just said it’s not going to be easy for him and us as a team,” Perkins said.

And the dueling dispositions?

“We definitely do have two different personalities, but they mix, though,” Perkins said.

How will Perkins help Lewis in Willard’s mind?

“Tyler’s the only guy we have that has experience,” Willard said. “He’s the only guy that’s scored in the Big East so far. So what I rely Tyler on is to teach Acaden the intensity that you have to play in this league. It’s such a big transition. … Every night, he’s going to face physicality. Every night, he’s going to have to be on. Tyler has been really good in, not only in practice, but just talking to Acaden about ‘You can’t be cute. You can’t be casual. You have to be on the go at all times.’ I think Acaden’s really taken that message and ran with it.”

Not always. Villanova won its first exhibition game Sunday vs. Virginia Commonwealth. Lewis led all scorers with 15 points while adding three assists (against three turnovers). Perkins had 14 points, five rebounds, and five steals. But Lewis’ flashiness was on display. Near the end of the first half, the freshman tossed an underhanded pass deep down the court. It worked, but his new coach wasn’t a big fan.

Most of Villanova’s players and coaches traveled one way to get back to the locker room for halftime, but Willard and Lewis took a different route.

“He cursed me out the whole time there,” Lewis said. “It just wasn’t the best play. He told me I could beat the big [man], so there was no need to do all of that. He just gave me a little bit of words of encouragement.”

That’s one way to put it.

“It did work, so I couldn’t really argue with him as we were walking off the court,” Willard said. “But I think I told him, ‘If you ever … do that again, I’m going to kill you.’ He kind of said, ‘OK, I’m going to go with your message and not my message.’”

Another new experience, and another lesson learned in a season when there will be many — some from a fiery coach, others from a quiet teammate.

Villanova began a new era of men’s basketball Sunday with a 70-51 exhibition victory against Virginia Commonwealth at the Finneran Pavilion. Acaden Lewis scored a team-high 15 points and added three assists in his first collegiate minutes.

“That Lewis kid is the real deal,” VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said of the freshman guard. “He’s going to be a problem for a lot of people. I didn’t realize his ability at that young of an age, to be able to play the game that much with the ball in your hands, to make the right reads, and to make the right plays.”

Lewis starred last season at Sidwell Friends School in the Washington area. “It has been seamless,” Lewis said about his transition to college. “Sometimes I’m playing with really good players. … So I’ve tried my best to just let other dudes rock out and get mine when they’re needed in the flow of the game.”

New coach Kevin Willard’s starting lineup included two first-year players. Lewis ran the point and was joined by redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay, junior Tyler Perkins, redshirt freshman Matthew Hodge, and senior Duke Brennan.

“I think one of the biggest things with young players is getting the casualness out of their game, understanding that every possession is really important, ” Willard said. “They can score the ball in different ways, but getting them to understand college basketball, like you just can’t come down and just be casual. It has to have purpose on every possession.”

The Wildcats made 44.6% of their shots (25 for 56) and went 6 for 21 (28.6%) from beyond the arc. Villanova’s defense smothered the Rams, forcing 15 turnovers.

At forward, Hodge tied for the team high with seven rebounds along with 10 points in his Villanova debut. Sophomore guard Malachi Palmer and freshman Chris Jeffrey were the first off the bench.

Fast-paced basketball

Last season, Villanova averaged 64.8 possessions per 40 minutes, ranking 358th out of the 365 Division I teams. Willard noted over the summer that he wanted to play at a faster pace and the Wildcats finished Sunday with 69 possessions, which would have ranked in the top three games last season.

He started three guards — Lewis, Lindsay, and Perkins — and the Wildcats had 18 points off turnovers along with 12 steals.

“I think these guys are very unselfish,” Willard said. “ … They kind of understand at any one point, [Lewis] can get 30 [points]. Malachi can get 30. We have guys that can really score the basketball. I think they understand, as long as they play together, they’re all going to benefit.”

Perkins finished with 14 points, Lindsay had 12, and Brennan 10.

Injury report

Grad student Devin Askew, a guard, remains out with a right knee sprain. He has been sidelined for two months, but Willard expects him back at practice after the season opener against Brigham Young on Nov. 3 in Las Vegas.

“We kind of just have to piece together practice,” Willard said when discussing the injuries. “Once we get Dev back for practice, hopefully after BYU, I think that will help. [Lewis and Lindsay] don’t get any rest in practice. They take all the reps. … I’m more worried about long term when you hit in January and February, and all the sudden they’re a little gassed because they haven’t had rest in practice.”

Two weeks ago, junior guard Zion Stanford suffered a left ankle sprain. Willard said he might not return until December. Senior forward Tafara Gapare (right foot) is set to practice next week.

Up next

Villanova will play an exhibition game at Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. (radio: Villanova Sports Network).

The first thing Virginia Commonwealth coach Phil Martelli Jr. wanted to know when he walked into his postgame news conference Sunday was whether the Eagles won.

“Shoot, our offense looked like [the Eagles] offense for the first how many weeks,” Martelli joked as he sat down to address the media.

Martelli was raised in Drexel Hill, which means Philadelphia is in his blood. He grew up watching his father, coach Phil Martelli Sr., lead St. Joseph’s for 24 seasons. It allowed the younger Martelli to spend countless hours inside Big 5 venues as a child, player, recruiter, and now coach.

With his father and family in the stands watching, Martelli led the Rams from the sideline for the first time in an exhibition game against Villanova. He is no stranger to the Finneran Pavilion, playing there in PIAA District 1 playoff games with St. Joseph’s Prep and later in college with St. Joe’s.

“I mean, it’s huge to be able to come back here,” Martelli said. “Any time is fun. Honestly, I was hoping to be back here while an NLCS or World Series run [for the Phillies] was going on, but that wasn’t in the cards. Playing here, coaching here, recruiting here, just being here for whatever, it’s special. It’s special to walk into those places.”

Martelli coached Bryant to an NCAA Tournament berth last season. He thanked Villanova coach Kevin Willard, who is also in his first season with a new program, for his willingness to play and host VCU. The Wildcats prevailed, 70-51.

“I really appreciate Kevin, his staff, and everyone here at Villanova for having us,” he said. “We make a lot of these calls to try and get games like this specifically for the regular season, but now with exhibitions, and there’s a lot of people that either don’t respond or come up with a reason not to play. They were very willing to play, and I’m very appreciative of that.”

Before heading to shootaround on Saturday night, the Rams headed to Martelli’s parents’ house for dinner.

“To be able to do that and share that with the players and share that with my family will always be the ultimate for me,” he said.

With VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the team will face two Big 5 programs: La Salle and St. Joe’s. The Rams will host Martelli’s alma mater and his father’s former program, the Hawks, in conference play on Jan. 19 (3 p.m., CBSSN).

VCU will return to Philadelphia on Feb. 11 to face La Salle (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).