‘Nova’s Njoku will face his former coach on Monday night

There are three people whom former Villanova forward Will Sheridan sees as father figures in his life: his actual father, Jay Wright, and Delaware State coach Stan Waterman.

While the Wildcats’ Monday home game against Delaware State (6:30 p.m., FS2) is seen by most as an opportunity to get back on track after a loss Friday at Temple, the game holds added significance for Sheridan and Villanova sophomore forward Nnanna Njoku. Both played under Waterman at Sanford School in Hockessin, Del.

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“It’s going to feel really weird,” Njoku said. “It’s going to be difficult not to laugh a little bit just because I’m used to going up to him before the game to ask him what the game plan is, what he wants me to do differently. And now I’m going to have to do that against him.”

Waterman is in his second year coaching the Hornets after spending 30 seasons at Sanford. In his tenure, the Warriors won eight state titles, including in 2002 with Sheridan and in 2019 and 2021 with Njoku.

“I watched a lot of Villanova basketball, a huge Jay Wright fan,” Waterman said of the Wildcats’ retired Hall of Fame coach. “Those things that they did really well we tried to implement and install in our program at the high school level.”

Waterman also coached Villanova forward Eric Dixon. Waterman was a USA Basketball assistant for youth teams in 2016 and 2017, when Dixon attended the national team’s training camp.

Waterman faces a difficult journey to repeat his Sanford success at Delaware State (1-1), a year after taking over a team that went 3-16 in 2020-21. He went 2-26 in his first season, and KenPom.com ranks the Hornets 362nd out of 363 Division I teams this season.

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He sees Villanova as the standard of basketball cultures, and wants to develop Delaware State in the way Villanova developed under Wright. However, Waterman has experience building a program. Njoku says that one of the reasons he chose Villanova was because its culture was similar to the one he was in under Waterman at Sanford.

“Sanford was a huge basketball school; Villanova’s a huge basketball school,” Njoku said. “As far as coaching-wise, we played very under control and played to our strengths [at Sanford]. I feel like that’s what Villanova does.”

Sheridan regularly talks to Waterman, even though he hasn’t played for him in 20 years.

“It really is all about relationships, and to have our relationship continue and to grow 20 years later, it’s pretty impressive,” Waterman said. “I take that responsibility — as a coach, as a teacher, as a mentor — very seriously and challenge [my players] to be able to do the same thing, to pass it on to the guys who come behind them.”

Sheridan still follows Waterman and his team. He attends most Villanova games, but in between trips last week, he visited Memorial Hall in Dover for the Hornets’ 104-67 win over Division III Immaculata.

“I don’t think he even knew I was coming to the game,” Sheridan said. “Coach is in my life. That’s my guy. I text him all the time. I will admit he’s very focused and committed right now on Del State basketball, so I get a few less texts back, but I keep in touch with him.”

Waterman understands that Monday will be a difficult game for his team.

“We’re really looking for, No. 1, an opportunity to compete,” Waterman said. “But then also, an opportunity for us to see how an established and successful program really gets it done.”

Njoku expects a challenge.

“I have a couple friends who play on the team and they told me that he coaches the same way he coached at Sanford,” Njoku said. “They do everything very precisely, under control. It should be fun.”

However, Sheridan knows what he’s hoping for.

“I’m rooting for Coach Waterman, but I want Villanova to win,” Sheridan said. “Cut me open, I bleed blue and white, I am Villanova. Just as much as I am Delaware, I am Coach Waterman, but I’m a Wildcat.”