Sweet 16 Recruiting Flashback: Villanova vs. Miami
Other Sweet 16 recruiting flashbacks: Oklahoma-Texas A&M | Maryland-Kansas | Duke-Oregon | Iowa State-Virginia | Wisconsin-Notre Dame | Gonzaga-Syracuse | Indiana-North Carolina
THE MATCHUP
In a game featuring two veteran squads that have played to seed in the South region, No. 3 Miami and No. 2 Villanova will tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
Miami is one of six teams from the ACC to make the Sweet 16, while Villanova is the lone representative of the Big East. Both teams are veteran squads that rely heavily upon their backcourt players to provide scoring punch.
THE KEYS
We know that Miami's perimeter trio of Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan and Davon Reed will shoulder the scoring load for the Hurricanes while the Wildcats' backcourt starters Jalen Brunson, Ryan Arcidiacono and Josh Hart are likely to do the same.
So, this could come down to whether Miami's brutish center Tonye Jekiri or Villanova's slightly more skilled Daniel Ochefu can provide scoring punch in the paint.
HOW THEY WERE BUILT
Eric Bossi on Villanova: Coach Jay Wright and the Wildcats are reaping the benefits of a terrific 2012 class where both Arcidiacono and Ochefu ranked in the top 60 players nationally. What has really impressed me about Wright and his staff is the way they have been able to supplement their core of local talent by raiding the Washington D.C. DMV area. Maybe the most versatile player, Hart, is from the DMV as are starters Ochefu and Kris Jenkins. When they landed an elite prospect in Brunson from the class of 2015, I thought the McDonald's All-American could help the Wildcats get into the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2009.
Bossi on Miami: Coach Jim Larrañaga and his staff have built an impressive roster through the smart use of transfers and tapping into the contacts they built in the Mid-Atlantic region during their time at George Mason. Frankly, when they took Rodriguez as a transfer from Kansas State I was worried that he was the type of player that could win the game for either team but the job they've done in developing him has been impressive. The same goes with McClellan, who they landed from Texas. Reed and bench scorer Ja'Quan Newton are both from the Philly area and reflective of the ability of the Hurricanes' staff to grab talent from between D.C. and Philadelphia.
| STARTERS | STARTERS |
|---|---|
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Jalen Brunson - Freshman, 6-3, 199 5-star PG From 2015 class (ranked 20th nationally). A two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year (2014 and 2015). 2015-16 Stats: 10.0 PPG, 45.4 FG%, 38 3PT%, 77.3 FT%, 2.7 APG |
Angel Rodriguez - Senior, 5-11, 185 3-star PG from 2011 class. Transfer from Kansas State. Left Puerto Rico at age 15 to come to the U.S. to play basketball. 2015-16 Stats: 12.6 PPG, 44.1 FG%, 33.1 3PT%, 80.0 FT%, 4.4 APG, 1.6 SPG |
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Ryan Arcidiacono - Senior, 6-3, 195 4-star PG from 2012 class (ranked 57 nationally). Averaged 20.4 points his junior year in high school. Sat out senior year due to back surgery. 2015-16 Stats: 12 PPG, 42.5 FG%, 37.5 3PT%, 82.3 FT%, 4.4 APG, 1.4 SPG |
Davon Reed - Junior, 6-6, 210 4-star SF from 2013 class (ranked 104 nationally). Chose Miami over Wake Forest and Xavier. 2015-16 Stats: 11.2 PPG, 47.0 FG%, 81.6 FT%, 4.1 RPG |
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Josh Hart - Junior, 6-5, 215 4-star SF from 2013 class (ranked 84 nationally). Josh and teammate Kris Jenkins were named First-Team All-Met by the Washington Post in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 15.4 PPG, 51.1 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 74.6 FT%, 6.9 RPG |
Sheldon McClellan - Senior, 6-5, 200 4-star SG from 2011 class (ranked 60th nationally). Transfer from Texas. His favorite food is a homemade sloppy Joe. 2015-16 Stats: 16.0 PPG, 49.9 FG%, 38.9 3PT%, 83.8 FT%, 1.1 SPG |
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Kris Jenkins - Junior, 6-6, 240 4-star PF from 2013 class (ranked 74 nationally). Averaged 18.3 points and 10.3 rebounds his senior year in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 13.3 PPG, 44.7 FG%, 84.0 FT%, 2.2 APG |
Kamari Murphy - Junior, 6-8, 220 3-star PF from 2012 class. Transfer from Oklahoma State. Averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds his prep year at IMG Academy. 2015-16 Stats: 5.6 PPG, 50.0 FG%, 55.8 FT%, 6.1 RPG, 1.0 BPG |
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Daniel Ochefu - Senior, 6-11, 245 4-star center from 2012 class (ranked 42nd nationally). Chose Villanova over Georgetown, Temple, Texas and Virginia. 2015-16 Stats: 9.8 PPG, 61.9 FG%, 67.8 FT%, 7.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG |
Tonye Jekiri - Senior, 7-0, 248 3-star center from 2012 class. Originally from Nigeria, moved to South Florida in 2010 to begin his basketball career. 2015-16 Stats: 7.8 PPG, 52.6 FG%, 57.6 FT%, 8.7 RPG, 1.0 BPG |
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KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
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Phil Booth - Sophomore, 6-3, 185 4-star SG from 2014 class (ranked 85 nationally). Named the 2013-14 Baltimore Prep Player of the year. 2015-16 Stats: 6.9 PPG, 34.7 FG%, 86.6 FT%, 2.3 APG |
Ja’Quan Newton - Sophomore, 6-2, 180 4-star PG from 2014 class (ranked 37th nationally). Played AAU ball for Team Final, the same squad as Miami teammate Davon Reed. 2015-16 Stats: 10.8 PPG, 46.9 FG%, 34.6 3PT%, 73.4 FT%, 2.5 APG |
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Mikal Bridges - RS Freshman, 6-7, 191 4-star SF from 2014 class (ranked 95 nationally). Finished his high school career with 1,340 points. 2015-16 Stats: 6.4 PPG, 51.3 FG%, 77.3 FT%, 3.3 RPG |
Anthony Lawrence Jr. - Freshman, 6-7, 185 3-star SF from 2015 class. Anthony’s dad and uncle both played at Miami between 1991-94. 2015-16 Stats: 4.0 PPG, 50.0 FG%, 42.5 3PT%, 60.5 FT%, 1.9 RPG |
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Darryl Reynolds - Junior, 6-8, 225 3-star PF from 2013 class. Chose Villanova over South Carolina and Utah. 2015-16 Stats: 3.7 PPG, 65.7 FG%, 69.5 FT%, 4.7 RPG |