Kevin Willard Talks Recruiting Luigi Suigo, Post-Portal Offseasons

Villanova head coach Kevin Willard appeared alongside NBC Sports and Big East personality John Fanta during a segment of The Summer Conversation, describing his early impressions of 7-foot-3 center commit Luigi Suigo and his new approach to the offseason in the transfer portal era.

Willard praised Suigo, who arrived on campus at the end of July, for his ability with the ball — adding the caveat that a player who stands close to 7-foot-4 won’t ever display a point guard’s handles. He also complimented Suigo’s passing and physicality, which could add a dangerous element of mobility to the Wildcats’ offense.

Not Your Average Big Man

“Even though he can shoot the basketball as well as he can, he still wants to get down low and post up,” Willard said. “Kinda one of those rarities for big guys, still loves going to the post. Great passer out of the post. He has a chance to be really special.”

Willard provided a window into Suigo’s recruiting process and personality, citing Villanova General Manager Baker Dunleavy for his role interacting with Suigo’s agent and securing his commitment.

“Getting to know GiGi, going over there and seeing him play during the live period, it’s a process,” Willard said. “The best thing about GiGi is he’s a great, great young man. He really is. He’s smart, he’s got a great sense of humor, he’s very driven. So when you have everything that’s kind of aligned like it does for GiGi, it’s a process, but it makes it a little bit easier.”

Naturally, Villanova’s scheduled season opener in Rome, Italy provided the Wildcats with another weapon to use in recruiting Suigo, who hails from Milan.

“I kinda threw that out there at the end of our first zoom with him, we threw a picture of Pope Leo up and I said ‘we do have a pope, and he is in Rome,’ and ‘oh by the way we’re going to play a basketball game there,’” Willard said. “He kinda looked at me like ‘is this a set-up?’”

Across the Pond

Seguing to the topic of European basketball, Willard said he thinks the European leagues develop young athletes better than the American version of the sport because they have a chance to play against a wider variety of ages, challenging themselves against different skill sets instead of growing with the same cohort. He compared European basketball today to his own upbringing.

“We played in the park, and we were always playing against older guys that were more experienced, knew the tricks to get open,” Willard said. “They might have been slower than you but would always get their shot off, and you could pick up on stuff.”

Despite that advantage, Willard said that the faster speed of the American game provided a challenge for the other international players he’s coached.

In developing his players, Willard said he’s had to fundamentally change his approach since the advent of the free-for-all transfer portal. Rather than diving headfirst into drills and teaching his system, he has to sound things out for a significant portion of the summer.

“The month of June, I really try to figure out their personalities. The portal is speed dating. You might have two days, a Zoom, an official visit, and you’ve gotta make your decision. So you think you know these guys and you watch film on them,” Willard said. “Reality is when you put them in drills and you work them, [you find out] who are the guys that are accepting the challenge and who are the guys who try to go to the back of the line.”

For a related story, here’s how Kevin Willard broke down Villanova’s roster construction.