With two national titles in three seasons, Villanova has received the “blue blood” designation from many college basketball pundits, tossing the Wildcats’ name around as a perennial contender along with the likes of Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas.
But while “blue blood” is one descriptor those schools share, another had eluded the Wildcats for most of Jay Wright’s tenure — a “destination.” As college basketball’s heavyweights have fought it out over the last decade for high-priced recruits, Villanova has mainly taken on four- and three-star players with the occasional 5-star talent here and there.
Part of this is program preference, as the Wildcats have found great success with next-tier players.