La Salle transfer Jhamir Brickus commits to Villanova. Here’s where the Wildcats’ roster stands.

La Salle transfer Jhamir Brickus is not going very far.

Brickus announced Sunday night on Instagram that he was heading to Villanova.

Brickus is the second transfer-portal commitment for Villanova, and both players have come from the Big 5. The Wildcats are also bringing in Penn guard Tyler Perkins.

Brickus, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Coatesville, averaged 13.9 points and 4.8 assists while adding 3.5 rebounds per game during his senior year in 2023-24. He shot a career-high 40% from three-point range on 4.5 attempts per game. Brickus is a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic.

The Wildcats, who finished 18-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament, lacked playmaking and shooting in 2023-24. Brickus fills that need, but time will tell if he is as effective in the Big East as he was in the Atlantic 10. Villanova took Richmond’s top scorer, Tyler Burton, in the portal last year, but Burton — whether due to the level of competition or how Villanova used his skills — was not nearly as impactful as he was in the A-10.

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Villanova has conducted visits with multiple players over the last few weeks. The Wildcats could have anywhere from three to five roster spots still to fill. Brickus’ commitment could be pretty telling in one area: where things stand with sophomore point guard Mark Armstrong, who declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility. It’s unlikely Brickus would commit somewhere as a graduate transfer without the expectation of starting, and it’s unlikely Villanova would go into the 2024-25 season with the expectation that Armstrong will be a starter in an off-ball role given his struggles as a shooter.

Villanova is still waiting for a decision from forward Eric Dixon, too. Dixon, who has one year of eligibility remaining, declared for the draft and intends to play professionally next season, but he’s unlikely to be drafted and it’s unclear if he’ll get any assurances on a guaranteed two-way NBA deal, which could force him to make a business decision and return to Villanova to make more money via name, image, and likeness compensation.

Regardless of how those decisions shake out, Villanova likely needs another guard who can handle the ball and shoot, a starting-caliber big man who can provide rim protection, and a wing with some length. There are still options in the portal at each of those positions. The portal closes May 1, but Villanova did not fill out its roster last offseason until the end of May.

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Villanova is losing four players to the portal: guards TJ Bamba and Brendan Hausen, and frontcourt players Trey Patterson and Lance Ware. Hausen committed to Kansas State on Friday and Patterson previously committed to play at Rice.

Brickus, meanwhile, became the second of La Salle’s seven transfers to commit elsewhere. Anwar Gill is heading to Howard. Archbishop Wood’s Daeshon Shepherd, meanwhile, withdrew his name from the portal Thursday and will return to the Explorers. Brickus is the third player to transfer within the Big 5 this offseason, the others being Perkins and Lynn Greer III, who will head to Temple from St. Joseph’s.