Villanova Transfers Devin Royal, Jake Fiegen Star in Road Win at Rutgers

Villanova Men’s Basketball used their preseason debut against Rutgers as an opportunity to tinker with new lineups and find playing time for expected reserves like center Nico Onyekwere. Devin Royal (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Tyler Perkins (18 points) led the way in scoring, helping the Wildcats weather a late-game push from the Scarlet Knights. Royal, in particular, flashed his athleticism, joking after the game that fellow forward Kwame Evans Jr., announced as day-to-day with a foot injury, can take his time returning.

“I like our physicality, I like our hustle. When KJ [Kwame Evans Jr.] comes back, that’s an even bigger team,” Royal said. “So I just love how big we are and how we can move the ball and play basketball. We all can shoot the ball. We’re very versatile.”

Willard had a chance to track Royal’s progress over the years as he coached against him in the Big Ten from 2023 to 2025, and described the new role he envisions for the veteran forward on the Main Line.

“I’ve seen a young man that’s continued to get better and develop, kind of the old school college way. I think Ohio State [head coach] Jake [Diebler] did a great job of developing him, and I think we’re putting him in a little bit different position now to be a little bit more aggressive offensively. And I think he’ll continue to grow and get better,” Willard said. “Dev gives us experience, toughness, played three years in the Big Ten. So he knows physicality: I think he gives us really good composure, and I think he’s just gonna, as he gets more settled in with everybody, we’ll get better and better.”

In the Mix at Guard

In a break with the last quarter century of Villanova basketball, point guard is the biggest question for this Wildcats team. Elijah Crawford is expected to start, while spark-plug scorer Buddy Simmons II will rotate in. Willard also alluded to a bigger role as a ball-handler for Tyler Perkins, who played on the wing during his first two seasons at Villanova.

“With Perk, he’s gonna be more involved and have the ball in his hands a little bit more, just continue to work on his decision-making. He’s gonna have it a lot more, which is good for us, he’s really good at it. It’s just in-game situations, adjusting to,” Willard said. “That’s why it was good playing against Rutgers, because they’re a big hedge team, bump physical, so it was good to see that.”

Cornell transfer Jake Fiegen made five of ten three-point shots off the bench, and Royal gushed over the transfer’s shooting ability.

“He’s shooting 60 some percent in practice throughout the whole summer, so we know he can shoot it,” Royal said. “I love it because if you pass it to him, he’s gonna knock it down most of the time.”