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There wasn't too much doubt that Jenkins was coming back, but good to see him make the right decision. Should have a monster senior season.

http://www.vuhoops.com/villanova-basketball/2016/4/15/11437706/kris-jenkins-nba-draft-returning-to-villanova-senior-season

The "Josh Hart watch" continues....

His improvement from nov-jan compared to february and march of last yr was incredible.

He is the more important piece to next year's puzzle than hart.

Hart is also very good, and while i would love to have him back, the bridges paschal combination is a nice replacement for hart.

Assuming that Hart goes, Jenkins will become the go-to guy in the Villanova offense. If he can continue to hit 3's at around a 40% rate and can get his scoring into the 20 ppg neighborhood, he would make himself into a high draft pick.

Good move by Kris.

NovaBall wrote:His improvement from nov-jan compared to february and march of last yr was incredible.

He is the more important piece to next year's puzzle than hart.

Hart is also very good, and while i would love to have him back, the bridges paschal combination is a nice replacement for hart.

I disagree. Hart's ability to drive the ball was/is unique on this team. As much as I love KJ, I think Hart affects the game on both ends more than any other wildcat. He finished in the KenPom top 10 of all Div 1 efficient offensive players last year's and can guard 1-4 effortlessly. Most of the others on that KenPom list were AA's BTW.

GumbyDamnit! wrote:

NovaBall wrote:His improvement from nov-jan compared to february and march of last yr was incredible.

He is the more important piece to next year's puzzle than hart.

Hart is also very good, and while i would love to have him back, the bridges paschal combination is a nice replacement for hart.

I disagree. Hart's ability to drive the ball was/is unique on this team. As much as I love KJ, I think Hart affects the game on both ends more than any other wildcat. He finished in the KenPom top 10 of all Div 1 efficient offensive players last year's and can guard 1-4 effortlessly. Most of the others on that KenPom list were AA's BTW.

Big Hart fan here too. The guy was special, truly an exceptional player with great body control who impacted the game at both ends of the court as you say. Rare player who could be spectacular while always playing under control.

Bill Marsh wrote:

GumbyDamnit! wrote:

NovaBall wrote:His improvement from nov-jan compared to february and march of last yr was incredible.

He is the more important piece to next year's puzzle than hart.

Hart is also very good, and while i would love to have him back, the bridges paschal combination is a nice replacement for hart.

I disagree. Hart's ability to drive the ball was/is unique on this team. As much as I love KJ, I think Hart affects the game on both ends more than any other wildcat. He finished in the KenPom top 10 of all Div 1 efficient offensive players last year's and can guard 1-4 effortlessly. Most of the others on that KenPom list were AA's BTW.

Big Hart fan here too. The guy was special, truly an exceptional player with great body control who impacted the game at both ends of the court as you say. Rare player who could be spectacular while always playing under control.

Another big Josh Hart fan. Nova's a national title contender with him. Still good without, but with a lower ceiling.

I'm telling you, Jenkins is the more valuable piece for next year. I view this situation sort of how 2005 played out for Nova where Allan Ray was clearly the best player, but towards the end of the year you could see glimpses and a preview of Randy Foye taking the lead role for the next year.

Look, I love Josh Hart. I view him as an athletic defender, great rebounder, decent shooter, and a guy who can at times create off the bounce in the half court set, but more of his drives are formed from cuts in the half court set (let's not go confusing him with Randy Foye isolation dribble drive here). He's great at those things.

At the same time, those are the exact areas that Mikal Bridges and Eric Paschall (from what I hear) excel at. So while Hart is obviously more polished than those two will be at the start of next year, by next March the two sophomores might be able to have adequately replaced Hart's production.


Now, BIG SMOOTH on the other hand is bringing something that cannot be replaced. An A+ super elite outside shot. Of course people look at the 83-224 from deep for 37% and think that's solid. But Hart is also around 36% for 180 3's, so what's the difference.

Here is the difference:
From January 31 to the end of the season, Big Smooth:
62 long balls made on 137 attempts, and many of them from well beyond the arc...
That's 45% over a very solid sample against great competition. He found his stroke later in the season.

A high volume shooter that can hit 45% of his three point shots from NBA range, who also happens to have ice running through his veins and the confidence to shoot it whenever. That's an incredible asset to have in the college game, especially with Nova's spread and chuck offense.

Oh yeah, and he's 6-5 and works the post and rebounds well. He's not some 5-11 pure shooter who honed his skills in his driveway in the cornfields of Nebraska.

Now I love Hart, but if he can go get paid next year I hope he does. After all, that's the goal, to go make his money. And that will just mean minutes for Bridges and Paschall to play that role. These guys need to develop into their roles too.

There is no replacing the shooting that Jenkins brings to the table. That is truly elite level shooting to go along with his good defense, rebounding, and midrange game. Jenkins clearly doesn't have the off the bounce game that a guy like Hart possesses, but his shooting will open things up tremendously for the rest of the team.

Kris Jenkins returning for senior year

Aw f#@K.

Meant that in the best possible way.