Villanova HC Kevin Willard Pleased With Wildcats’ Youth Movement

To say that Villanova Men’s Basketball’s shooting came unraveled for more than half of their Dec. 31 win over the DePaul Blue Demons marks a massive understatement. After making four of five shots to start, they fell into two massive shooting slumps that each lasted more than ten minutes, making just 3 of 23 and four of 15 shots in those spans.

Despite the hideous performance, the Wildcats (11-2, 2-0 Big East) found a rhythm in time to save themselves, making six of seven threes in the final ten minutes to overcome a ten point deficit. After the game, head coach Kevin Willard said the way his young team stayed engaged on both sides of the ball in spite of their struggles impressed him. 

“I thought we did a good job battling and still playing hard while not playing well. When you have a young team, sometimes that can be a little frustrating when you’re not playing well offensively, it kinda affects your defense,” Willard said. “I thought we hung in there as close as we could while not playing overly well offensively.”

Inside the Slump

The Wildcats’ poor shooting even extended to the free throw line, where they shot just 68 percent: they missed the first half of a pair of one-and-one opportunities, further limiting their offense. Willard said that while he and his staff are working with big man Duke Brennan on free throws, he’s confident in his team’s shooting, describing the slump as an aberration.

“Sometimes you eat too many Christmas cookies, your free throws go to shit,” Willard quipped.

Villanova brought down ten offensive rebounds in the first half but created just two second-chance points. Willard said they created open looks on those plays but just couldn’t convert.

“We also had four or five really good looks in the first half on kick-out threes, which we’ve been working on,” Willard said. “I think it was four wide open threes that we missed off offensive rebounds. I think only being down four not shooting free throws, not shooting the ball real well, just shows this team has grit.”

Willard credited the Blue Demons’ size for how they disrupted the Wildcats: it also helped them go a perfect 6-for-6 on dunk attempts on the way to 34 points in the paint, helping DePaul stay one step ahead of Villanova’s hapless offense. 

“They’re very good defensively. Their length, I knew, was going to bother us. The two times we’ve played against long teams we’ve struggled a little bit offensively,” Willard said. 

“You got to give Chris [DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann] and their staff credit. They kept running the same play, and it was just a matter of we had to take that away and just make sure they weren’t getting too many easy layups. So we switched into a zone and just had the guards take away the pick and rolls and scramble.”

Villanova Adjusts

Those defensive adjustments came after a timeout Willard called with 10:54 to play, Villanova trailing 50-40. They reeled off an 8-0 run out of the break, with two triples from Bryce Lindsay starting the three-point party. Lindsay said an added hustle helped him break out of the funk.

“I changed my pace up,” Lindsay said. “These guys tell me I’m being too casual sometimes, so I just ran a little harder to get shots.”

Willard credited Lindsay, who’s attempted a team high 153 shots this season, for how he’s learning to contribute away from the basketball.

“Obviously he can really shoot, but I think he’s been doing much more off the ball, making plays for his teammates,” Willard said. “I think that’s what I’m more excited about is the fact that the more comfortable he gets in making plays for his teammates, that’ll open up better shots.”

Throughout the press conference, Willard expressed excitement at his team’s youth and the way they’re progressing.

“Those guys embracing the system, learning the system, I think they’ve gotten more comfortable  with it,” Willard said. “They’ve taken coaching really well. I really enjoy coaching this group because they are young, so you do have to teach them a lot. They don’t know everything but they listen, they try their best to learn it.”