Villanova in the Pros
Villanova in the Pros: Knicks Trio Still Leading the Pack

We’re just over a third of the way into the 2024-25 NBA season, which means it’s a good time to take stock of how former Villanova Wildcats are acquitting themselves in the upper echelons of the basketball world.
Something of a pipeline between Villanova and the New York Knicks has developed in recent years. During his three years at the helm, Knicks’ general manager Gersson Rosas has acquired members of the 2016 and 2018 Wildcats’ NCAA Championship teams like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo… all of whom but the latter remain in the royal blue and orange.
Other Villanova alumni active in the NBA this season include Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Kyle Lowry, Cam Whitmore, Collin Gillespie, Cole Swider and Saddiq Bey. Here’s a look at their performances this season.
Villanova Knicks
After making the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, losing to the Indiana Pacers in seven games, Rosas and the Celtics decided to switch things up, sending DiVincenzo (more on him later) to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade and later picking up Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, continuing the “Nova Knicks” tradition in a new iteration.
Brunson looks like one of the best point guards in the NBA this season, averaging 24.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, the 15th and ninth best marks in the league, respectively.
Bridges fits right in as a tertiary option behind Towns and Brunson, leading the team with 38.6 minutes played per game. That’s no small feat and a testament to his overall durability, as he holds the active record for most consecutive games played… which says a lot in the modern era of load management. Bridges is no scoring slouch either, contributing 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Josh Hart, meanwhile, puts up 14 points, eight boards and 5.4 assists per game, a steady all-around option on the wing.
The trio has helped New York to a 19-10 record, good for third overall in the eastern conference as they look like a strong playoff contender once again this season.
Other Key Contributors
After serving as a starter with New York for much of last season, Donte DiVincenzo is settling in to a ‘sixth man’ role with Minnesota this year. He’s putting up 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as one of the Timberwolves’ first options off the bench… a niche he excelled in during his time with Villanova.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl also serves a change of pace option, albeit in the low post with the New Orleans Pelicans. The 6-foot-9 power forward averages 6.7 points and 4.9 boards per night in roughly 19.5 minutes per night.
Although he’s now 38 years old, North Philly native Kyle Lowry is playing for his hometown 76ers as he puts the finishing touches on a potential hall of fame career. Even though he’s no longer an everyday starter, Lowry contributes 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Perhaps even more important, he’s serving as a mentor for a Sixers’ team going through some brutal growing pains right now.
Rounding out the rest are Houston Rockets’ wing Cam Whitmore, who’s back in the NBA after a month-long stint in the G-League. He put up 17 points and eight boards in the Rockets’ Dec. 23 win over Charlotte, setting a season high with 27.5 minutes played. With starting wing Tari Eason missing time with leg soreness, now is a great audition for Whitmore to carve out a bigger role for himself.
Cole Swider and Collin Gillespie have spent most of this season in the G-League, while Saddiq Bey continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered last March. The knee injury didn’t stop him from signing a three-year, $20 million free agent deal with Washington in the offseason.

