No. 22 Villanova, with four touted transfers, aiming to return to national prominence

In the modern era, what do you do when your basketball team goes 17-17, misses the NCAA Tournament, and has its worst season in a decade?

You hit the transfer portal. Hard.

Villanova did just that, signing four players out of the transfer portal in an effort to get back to its recent level of success. While returnees Justin Moore and Eric Dixon were the two Wildcats named to the preseason All-Big East team, the newcomers are the reason Villanova is not only expected to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but to possibly do more than just make an appearance.

Expectations are high on the Main Line, and why wouldn’t they be? The Wildcats brought back their two best players and added Richmond’s Tyler Burton (19.0 ppg), Washington State’s TJ Bamba (15.8 ppg), Maryland’s Hakim Hart (11.4 ppg) and Kentucky’s Lance Ware (2.0 ppg). All four are seniors or grad students, meaning seven of Villanova’s 14 players have played three or more seasons of college basketball. Of KenPom’s 30 most experienced teams last year, 16 made the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats were ranked No. 22 in the AP preseason poll. The challenge for them is in bringing the transfers into the established Villanova way. The program brought in four transfers (Dylan Ennis, Joe Cremo, Eric Paschall, and Caleb Daniels) in Jay Wright’s last 10 years. Kyle Neptune matched that in one offseason. It’s difficult enough to bring in a player to a new program, but it’s even more so at Villanova, which prides itself on its culture and style of play. It’s not impossible, but there’s a reason Wright usually chose to promote from within.

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As for Neptune, he’s happy with how the new guys are fitting in.

“They’re doing a great job in their own right,” the coach said. “It’s not easy. You’re coming in, you’ve got to learn new terminology, new strategy, just a new way of doing things. To those guys’ credit, I think they’ve done a phenomenal job.”

All four additions feel their transition is going well. They’ve admitted there have been some challenges, but each has felt welcomed.

“Everybody’s loving and caring here,” Hart said. “It’s been a brotherhood from my teammates.”

Burton and Bamba are expected to immediately start for the Wildcats. The 6-foot-7 Burton will step in at forward after Cam Whitmore left for the NBA after one season and Brandon Slater graduated. Bamba, a 6-5 guard, was Washington State’s top scorer and is a strong defender. He’ll likely step in for the graduated Daniels.

Hart is where it gets interesting. He is listed as a 6-8 guard, giving Neptune enviable versatility in a system that emphasizes it. The Roman Catholic grad could join the starting lineup with Moore as the point guard, or he could come off the bench while Mark Armstrong runs the point. Regardless of how Neptune chooses to start, Hart will be used in a wide variety of lineups.

Ware, a Camden High grad, was a backup center at Kentucky and is expected to fill the same role at Villanova behind Dixon. He’ll give Villanova depth it did not have last season.

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Each transfer will have a new role for his new program. With Dixon and a healthy Moore, Villanova won’t need Burton and Bamba to combine for 35 points per game. Hart’s scoring will likely drop as well. Ware’s role may be similar, but Kentucky and Villanova play at very different speeds.

“I was at Kentucky for three years, so I kind of adapted to Kentucky’s culture and the way they do things,” Ware said. “[I’m] just trying to adapt to Villanova and how they do things.”

Moore and Dixon will still be the team’s leaders, as they were last year. However, Villanova’s success this season depends on how it integrates the four new faces.

Bringing in new players is a difficult process, but with so many coming in together, it makes the transition easier.

“It’s much better than going through it alone,” Burton said. “The battles we go through every day, the highs, the lows, they’re all pretty much the same for all of us. We can relate, bounce off each other, pick each other up if need be, and keep each other up.”

The Wildcats hope their transfers will pick the team up, too.

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