Villanova Wishlist: Could the Wildcats Target the Hoyas?

Villanova Men’s Basketball still has nine spots to fill on their roster ahead of the 2026-27 season and, while most of their minutes should be accounted for, the Wildcats still have two glaring areas of need.

First, they need someone to run their offense. Former top five recruit and Arkansas transfer DJ Wagner is the only bona fide point guard linked to Villanova, but he committed to Maryland on April 18.

They kicked the tires on Arkansas State transfer Camren Hunter, a graduate transfer who will need to obtain a medical redshirt in order to play another season, and had a weekend visit with Saint Mary’s transfer Mikey Lewis scheduled. Lewis visited Vanderbilt earlier this weekend and hasn’t yet posted about Villanova, perhaps indicating that the Wildcats’ pickup of Cornell transfer Jake Fiegen has put them out of the shooting guard market.

Hunter is a traditional shooting guard; Lewis came with the combo guard tag in high school but fits best off the ball. In a conference like the Big East, the Wildcats would be better off finding a legitimate point guard than trying to box a player with different talents into the position.

Targeting the Hoyas?

One potential target is Georgetown transfer Malik Mack, a 6-foot-2, 175 pound rising senior who averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 assists with the Hoyas this past season. Mack had a visit scheduled to NC State this weekend; other reports have linked him to Georgia Tech. There isn’t any smoke for the Wildcats yet, but they desperately need a point guard and the conference tie makes sense.

If Villanova chooses to add size instead of playing transfer Kwame Evans Jr. at the five, they could target another Georgetown transfer, center Julius Halaifonua. A seven foot tall, 259 pound rising junior from Auckland, New Zealand, Halaifonua entered the portal on April 17 after previously announcing his intention to stick around in Washington, D.C.

He averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 19.8 minutes per game for the Hoyas, missing some time to injury. Both he and Mack tormented Villanova during the Big East Tournament and the regular season, so head coach Kevin Willard and his staff have first-hand experience of their skill.

With the market for big men in a frenzy, a late addition to the portal like Halaifonua could help the Wildcats fly under the radar and snap up a gem. As of right now, however, both Mack and Halaifonua are pure speculation.