Villanova gets a commitment from Fresno State center Enoch Boakye. Up next? Eric Dixon’s decision.
Boakye is a 6-foot-11 center who started his college career at Arizona State. He scored 7.5 points and pulled in 7.7 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game last season.
Villanova’s 2024-25 men’s basketball roster continues to take shape.
On Monday evening, the Wildcats got a commitment from Fresno State transfer Enoch Boakye, a 6-foot-11 center who started his college career at Arizona State as a five-star high school recruit.
Boakye, who grew up in Ontario, visited Villanova earlier in May. He averaged 7.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in 22.7 minutes with the Bulldogs over 31 games last season. Like departing center Lance Ware, Boakye has not attempted a three-pointer in college and does most of his work around the rim. Where Boakye struggled in 2023-24 was free-throw shooting (49.2%). But Boakye is a solid rim protector, an area where Villanova struggled in 2023-24.
Boakye, who has one season of eligibility remaining, would likely start at center next to Eric Dixon if Villanova had its way. The Wildcats are still waiting for a decision from Dixon, who entered the draft but is unlikely to be selected and could make more money by returning to Villanova for a sixth year of school and fifth season of college basketball. The deadline to withdraw from the draft is 5 p.m. June 16.
Dixon commented on Boakye’s commitment announcement on Instagram, writing: “Let’s work.”
» READ MORE: Eric Dixon’s looming decision is a tale of modern college sports. Here’s why he may be back at Villanova.
All signs point to a return to Villanova for Dixon, who is finishing up his NBA workouts. If Dixon returns, Villanova has a lot of options as far as the makeup of its starting lineup. The Wildcats could start Dixon at center and rely on one of their freshmen — Matthew Hodge or Josiah Mosley — to start at power forward. They could also start Dixon at power forward next to Boakye, which seems like the most likely result.
Those decisions, of course, are for the future. Right now, the Wildcats continue to finalize a roster they hope will return the program to the NCAA Tournament after missing out the last two seasons.
Monday’s news marked a positive after a week that saw Virginia Commonwealth’s Max Shulga decide to not join Villanova and stay at VCU for his final season of eligibility — a blow that has sent Villanova back to the drawing board in search of another playmaking guard who can shoot with proficiency from three-point range.
Assuming there are no problems with Boakye, he will become the third Villanova player to join the program via the transfer portal this offseason, joining guards Tyler Perkins (Penn) and Jhamir Brickus (La Salle). Villanova remains in the mix for Miami guard and Philadelphia native Wooga Poplar.
If Dixon returns — a decision is expected this week — Villanova would have three more scholarship spots to fill, one of which the Wildcats hope to use on Poplar.