Temple Transfer Zion Stanford Set to Make Villanova Debut

Villanova junior Zion Stanford is available to make his Wildcats debut on Saturday, Nov. 15 against Duquesne, per a team announcement. Stanford, a 6-foot-6 guard/wing who spent his first two college seasons at Temple, missed the first three games of the season with an ankle injury, and the Wildcats feared his rehab might last into December.

A Philadelphia native, Stanford attended West Catholic High School. He broke out with the Owls last season, averaging 13.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as their second-leading scorer. Temple played him at forward, where he did much of his damage from two-point range, but the Wildcats have him listed as a guard.

Head coach Kevin Willard has talked at length about his team’s versatility this season, and having Stanford back healthy — even if he needs to shake off rust after missing more than a month — should help them achieve that goal. A sturdy defender who weighs 205 pounds, Stanford spoke with Philadelphia Sports Now at the Villanova media day about how he’s trying to lean into that versatility, focusing on both playmaking and his physicality.

He’ll likely begin his season off the bench as Villanova’s sixth or seventh man, but expect plenty of minutes once he’s adjusted to game speed.

Reserve forward Tafara Gapare remains out with a foot injury, and they’ll also play without guard Malcolm Flaggs (Achilles’ strain).