‘It’s all love’: Ryan Arcidiacono, the original ’Nova Knick, has no hard feelings about missing out on their NBA rise

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — When Alex Schumacher finished his pregame shooting workout about 75 minutes before an early-season tipoff, he had one question: “What do I do now?”

Luckily, Schumacher’s locker is next to Ryan Arcidiacono, who began guiding the Windy City Bulls rookie through a routine. That is part of basketball life these days for Arcidiacono, the beloved former Villanova star. He is the most experienced player on the G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, who will face the Delaware Blue Coats in consecutive games on Friday and Saturday in Wilmington.

There are no hard feelings stemming from how Arcidiacono wound up here. The original “’Nova Knick” first signed with New York in 2021 and got traded away at last February’s deadline. He returned to a familiar environment, where he once worked his way up from a two-way contract to log 257 NBA games with the Chicago Bulls, Knicks, and Portland Trail Blazers. And he is embracing his role as a 30-year-old veteran whom Windy City coach Billy Donovan III calls “a living embodiment” of a G League success story, while also aiming to prove he can stay healthy and thrive while playing significant minutes following a second back surgery.

» READ MORE: Josh Hart arrives to Sixers-Knicks wearing Villanova teammate Ryan Arcidiacono’s jersey

“Coming back to the G League, there’s nothing like it,” Arcidiacono told The Inquirer earlier this month in a dimly lit NOW Arena ahead of a Windy City practice. “Because everyone’s hungry here, working hard, and trying to make the most out of their professional career, whatever that might be. …

“[I want to] help them in any way that I can, but also help myself just get back to the love of the game.”

Arcidiacono, a Langhorne native and Neshaminy High School graduate, still holds local legend status as the engine of Villanova’s 2016 national title team. He flipped the ball to Kris Jenkins for the buzzer-beating shot in the championship win over North Carolina, was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and had his jersey retired by the school.

After going undrafted and beginning his professional career with the Austin Spurs, the G League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, Arcidiacono then spent four seasons with the Bulls organization. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 207 games with the NBA club, including 36 starts. This is also where he met his wife, Clare, who is from Chicago’s western suburbs and still has family in the area.

Arcidiacono’s connections from his first Chicago stint include Donovan, the son of Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan. The younger Donovan was a video coordinator during Arcidiacono’s final season with the team, in 2020-21.

Back then, the elder Donovan used to playfully give Arcidiacono a hard time about choosing Villanova over Florida, where the coach built a college basketball power before jumping to the NBA. That’s also when the younger Donovan observed Arcidiacono’s “superpower” to impact winning through intangibles such as a sharp basketball IQ and willingness to take charges.

Today, the 32-year-old Donovan relies on Arcidiacono to be the pulse of Windy City’s locker room and a bridge between the coach and players.

“He’ll pull me aside,” Donovan told The Inquirer, “and say, ‘Hey, Billy, maybe you should try this’ or ‘Maybe you should talk to this guy.’ A lot of times, being the head coach, no one’s going to come talk to you, so Arch is kind of that guy that he lets me know things that I need to know.”

» READ MORE: What makes Knicks star Jalen Brunson so special? ‘The magic is in the work.’

That gift of communication — Donovan joked that “you could sit Arch with this chair right here, and he would talk to the chair for like 30 minutes” — also applies to his younger teammates, such as Schumacher, DJ Steward, and Marcus Domask.

While on the court, Arcidiacono walks them through how he reads the defense and makes decisions in various scenarios. He has provided tips on how to physically recover after games and study film. And he has broached deeper topics such as handling adversity and seizing NBA opportunities when they arrive.

“Because you only might get that one chance,” Arcidiacono said. “And you have to be ready for it.”

Added Donovan: “Having a guy like that around just puts the belief in everybody.”

But this opportunity is for Arcidiacono, too.

Following back surgery in April 2023, he knew it would take at least a year to feel like himself again. Now, he’s playing 24.4 minutes per game and averaging 8.4 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 15 games. He still hopes to earn another NBA shot, but if he goes the full season without a call-up, he said he will consider going overseas to play.

“I feel great playing on the court now,” Arcidiacono said. “With the more minutes, my body actually feels better.”

Still, it is a drastic change from this time last year, when Arcidiacono had been reunited with Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo on the Knicks. Arcidiacono, though, did not contribute on the floor as much as those other former Wildcats, going scoreless in 20 games last season.

» READ MORE: How Mikal Bridges morphed from ’Nova redshirt to ’Nova Knick

Yet that connection was on display days after Arcidiacono was traded to (and then waived by) the Detroit Pistons, when Hart wore a No. 15 Villanova jersey (Arcidiacono’s number) while walking into the Wells Fargo Center for a matchup against the 76ers. Since then, the Knicks have acquired another former Villanova standout and Philly native in Mikal Bridges but traded DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the blockbuster deal that brought them Karl-Anthony Towns.

“It’s professional basketball,” said Arcidiacono, who added that he still regularly checks Knicks box scores. “It’s a business, and you understand it. … But it’s all love between all the ’Nova guys, and I want them to be successful and do well.”

Arcidiacono also still has ties to his Philly roots. He spends summers at his family’s home on the Jersey Shore. He creates everyday habits in the way former Villanova coach Jay Wright emphasized, such as focusing on footwork even when going through a half-speed shooting workout.

Now, he finds moments to impart those lessons on his younger Windy City teammates, such as when Schumacher returned to the pregame locker room unsure of what to do next. Donovan believes that is evidence that Arcidiacono has a future in coaching or player development.

But Arcidiacono is not ready to look that far ahead just yet. He’s still motivated to play.

“It’s hard not to come back to a place that you love so much,” he said, “and just work on a game that you love so much, and hope for the best results in the process.”