How Villanova’s three captains could be the x-factor at the Final Four
At the start of every season, Villanova head coach Jay Wright selects his team captains. The captains are always the team leaders, no matter what their class may be.
For the 2017–18 season, Wright selected three team captains: two redshirt juniors and a true junior. That would be Phil Booth, Mikal Bridges, and Jalen Brunson. While the selection of Booth, Bridges, and Brunson is certainly based on their seniority and leadership, there is another important reason why this trio was named team captains. Booth, Bridges, and Brunson are the only three members from this year’s Villanova team that played in the school’s last appearance in the Final Four in 2016, when the Wildcats captured their second national championship in school history. Donte DiVincenzo, Tim Delaney, and Eric Paschall were also on Villanova’s 2016 national title roster, but they did not play in the Final Four.
Each captain has evolved and developed in their own way over the last three years. As a sophomore on the 2016 national championship team, Booth was Villanova’s sixth man and famously scored 20 points in the national title game against North Carolina in Houston. After medical redshirting in 2016–17 due to a knee injury, Booth has returned to the floor and become a starter for Villanova this season. Playing off the ball alongside Brunson in the backcourt, Booth has continued to develop as a consistent scorer and on-ball defender. When Brunson is not on the floor, Booth has grown as a point guard and offensive facilitator for the Wildcats.
After redshirting his freshman season, Bridges earned his keep on the 2016 team as a lockdown defender off the bench. His length and athleticism allowed Bridges to play and guard multiple positions on the floor. When Booth got hurt the following season, Bridges shifted from the bench to the starting lineup and began to develop his offensive game as a lethal three-point shooter. His prowess on the defensive end helped him earn co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors. Now, as a redshirt junior, Bridges has added to his offensive arsenal by being able to score off the dribble and around the basket. Having been named first-team All-Big East, a consensus All-American, and MVP of the Big East Tournament, Bridges is now expected to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft this summer. Scouts now foam at the mouth watching Bridges play.
Brunson started as a freshman on the national title team, learning under the tutelage of senior Ryan Arcidiacono in the Villanova backcourt. Sharing the point guard duties with Arch, Brunson was a great ball-handler and distributor in 2016. As a sophomore, Brunson became the full-time point guard and emerged as the Wildcats’ go-to scoring option behind senior guard Josh Hart. His strong second season on the Main Line earned him a spot on the All-Big East first team. Now, as a junior, Brunson is Villanova’s MVP and floor general. As he goes, so do the Wildcats. Along with being named to the All-Big East first team for a second straight year, Brunson was named Player of the Year in the Big East and a consensus All-American. Most expect him to be named National Player of the Year later this week. Like Bridges, Brunson is projected to be an NBA Draft pick this summer.
But most importantly, all three captains know how to win.
Given the high turnover of players in college basketball as a result of the One-and-Done era, it has become extremely rare to take any semblance of a championship team to the final weekend of the season on multiple occasions. In fact, schools that return to the Final Four with the same team have typically lost in their previous trips, as the desire and drive to get back to and win the national championship keeps the core intact for another season. When coaches and schools return to the Final Four, it is more often than not with a completely different team.
However, that is not what Villanova will be doing when the trio of Booth, Bridges, and Brunson play in the Final Four. All three know what it is like to play basketball in a football stadium, the required preparation during the week leading up to the Final Four, and the focus that is required to overcome the numerous distractions that will exist over the weekend. What Villanova and its championship core is doing is both impressive and infrequent in today’s game. And it must be appreciated.
This weekend, Villanova will play in its second Final Four in three years (its second in Texas) and its sixth in program history. However, the Wildcats are in unchartered waters as they travel down to San Antonio. For the first time in school history, Villanova enters the Final Four as the favorite, rather than the underdog, to cut down the nets. In each of their previous five appearances on the biggest stage of the sport, the Wildcats were not expected to win it all. Now, Villanova is the hunted one with the target on its back.
One important reason why Villanova is the favorite is because of the championship experience that Booth, Bridges, and Brunson will bring to the Alamodome. Villanova has by far the most experienced roster at the Final Four. While Bill Self at Kansas and John Beilein at Michigan have been to the Final Four in the last six years, their current players have never appeared on a stage (literally) that the Wildcats have. And it’s pretty safe to assume that no one from the 1963 Loyola Chicago team that won the national championship will be suiting up this weekend for the Ramblers.
In an era of college basketball where players are leaving school for the NBA after playing only one season, it could be the experience of Villanova and its three captains that serves as the difference maker and propels the Wildcats to their second national championship in three years.
