Amid adversity that included positive COVID-19 tests and injuries, Villanova’s players dealt with it admirably

The COVID-19 cases that struck their program and forced three separate interruptions in practice and competition, and an injury to a vital piece of their team on and off the court, provided plenty of adversity for the Villanova Wildcats to deal with this season.

However, for all the obstacles faced by a team that boasted just one healthy senior by the time postseason play began, the young Cats showed the type of growth and improvement that brought a smile to Jay Wright’s face even after the team was eliminated Saturday from the NCAA Tournament by Baylor, 62-51, in Indianapolis.

“With everything that’s going on, people have lost their jobs, lost lives. It’s hard to complain or say how difficult it was,” the head coach said. “I think the best thing I can say is we had challenges, maybe not as much as people who are dealing with real-life situations. But our young players did a great job of dealing with every adversity that hit them.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s season ends under a flurry of turnovers: Wildcats lose to Baylor, 62-51, in NCAA Tournament

“All of our quarantines – we had three of them – and our injuries, that’s what you learn. As an 18-to-22-year-old in college, you learn how to deal with these things with some coaching and how to respond to those challenges. And I thought our guys did a great job. I’m really proud of it.

“I looked at all those challenges as blessing for us, that we could be fazed from them, learn from them, and I think it’s going to make us stronger going forward.”

Senior forward Jermaine Samuels called the season “unlike any other I’ve been a part of, the ups and the downs.

“But the greatest thing of all is that no one felt sorry for themselves,” he said. “No one dwelled on anything. Everybody just kept having a focused mindset and keeping their attitude and focus on getting better every day. And that was the most inspiring thing about the season.”

The Wildcats, who finished the abbreviated season with an 18-7 record, advanced to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in Wright’s 20 years as coach but ran into a buzz saw that was the Baylor defense. Without injured floor leader Collin Gillespie to stabilize the offense, ‘Nova committed 16 turnovers, nine in the second half.

Wright said he told his players afterward, “We can learn a lot from this.

“You play a great opponent like Baylor, and you give them credit and you learn from them,” he said. “Their defensive intensity, their ability to take care of the basketball in the offensive end, their efficiency in a tight game like that, you’ve got to see that’s what it takes to advance. And then you’ve got to get to work in the offseason and really concentrate on those skills.”

The journey for Villanova began more than a year ago.

The 2019-20 season ended abruptly on March 12 without a Big East or an NCAA Tournament, and players had to work out on their own at home before being allowed to return to campus on Aug. 10. They had to stay in the team bubble – not able to see family or friends and undergoing COVID-19 testing every day.

The first pause for positive tests came in September, forcing a two-week quarantine and almost another week of cardiac testing. Injuries struck the team after that, and Wright didn’t have his full roster together on the court until the first day of preseason practice on Oct. 15.

Two more coronavirus disruptions came almost back-to-back. Wright tested positive for the virus Dec. 26, but just as the team emerged from quarantine for one practice and prepared to play again, tests showed two players – Samuels and Caleb Daniels – as positive. In all, the Wildcats went 27 days between games, finally returning to the court Jan. 19 but with much catching up to do.

After an 11-1 start, Villanova went 5-5 in its next 10 games, entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed following back-to-back losses at Providence and to Georgetown in the Big East Tournament. But Wright saw improvement in the 72-71 loss to the Hoyas, and solid NCAA wins over Winthrop and North Texas gave him and his players hope going up against Baylor, the No. 1 seed.

The ride ended Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but the Wildcats showed grit to have gotten as far as they did. Sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl became the focal point offensively after Gillespie’s March 3 injury and led the team in scoring (15.7 points per game), rebounding (8.5) and field-goal shooting (49.7%).

Three other players – Gillespie, sophomore Justin Moore and Samuels – averaged at least 12 points. Daniels, a redshirt junior, was an effective three-point shooter, hitting 38.6% of his attempts and leading the team with 44 made threes.

The Wildcats’ young players also showed promise. Sophomore Chris Arcidiacono came on in an emergency situation after Moore suffered an ankle injury against Providence and handled the point admirably. Sophomore Bryan Antoine returned from a shoulder injury and impressed, and redshirt freshman Eric Dixon showed potential.

Robinson-Earl is expected to declare for the NBA draft after putting his name in for a brief time last year. With the NCAA granting “eligibility relief” for 2020-21 winter sports because of the pandemic, seniors Gillespie, Samuels, and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree could return next season.

An unknown offseason factor is the NCAA transfer portal, which currently has more than 900 names entered, according to VerbalCommits.com. Seton Hall, Marquette, Georgetown, and St. John’s are Big East teams that have players in the portal.

Villanova’s incoming 2021 recruiting class is ranked ninth by Rivals.com. One member of that class, forward Trey Patterson, enrolled in January. The other three are guard Jordan Longino (Germantown Academy), center Nnanna Njoku, and guard Angelo Brizzi.

In any case, Wright is looking ahead to the offseason and further improvement to his team.

“I think we have a lot of room for improvement, and we’ve got a lot of guys who can do it,” he said. “I like the guys we have coming back. So I feel really good about the team and the program and especially proud of this group and how much they grew during this season.”