Villanova Transfers: Gillespie to Tennessee, ‘Cats Target Tavarez

Villanova Men’s Basketball missed out on transfer point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, one of the top players available through the portal, after he committed to Tennessee on Friday, April 4.

Gillespie led Maryland with an average of 31.6 minutes per game and finished first or second on the team in points (14.7), assists (4.8) and steals (1.9) per game. He hit the portal following Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard’s departure for Villanova, scheduling visits with his home state Volunteers as well as the Wildcats.

Tennessee’s sales pitch proved sufficient, however, as Gillespie never ended up visiting the Main Line.

Other Wildcats transfer targets include Deywilk Tavarez, a rising junior who averaged 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists at the College of Charleston this season and Robert Morris forward Amarion Dickerson, who averaged 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Colonials, putting on a show with 25 points against No. 2 seed Alabama in the Round of 64.

Beyond Gillespie, much of Maryland’s former roster remains at play for Villanova. The Wildcats are also making moves in overseas recruiting, targeting 6-foot-7 Bosnian forward Harun Zrno, who decommitted from Indiana following the Hoosiers coaching change. Zrno put up 17.5 points per game in the Bosnian pros this past season and will visit Villanova on April 21.

While the Wildcats don’t have a recruit in the class of 2025 right now, overseas connections helped them pull a late commitment from Bulgarian point guard Sash Gavalyugov last season, so it’ll be interesting to see if they succeed in that route again.