Neptune Gives Postseason Update

Colin Beazley Co-Editor-in Chief

Villanova’s men’s basketball season ended with a first-round NIT loss on a Tuesday night in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Villanova’s offseason? Kyle Neptune is still waiting for it.

Neptune and his staff have been constantly working ever since the season ended. In the current age of college basketball, coaches must simultaneously look for talent in the transfer portal, while doing all they can to keep their own players — a never-ending multi-tasking of recruiting and re-recruiting. Villanova looked to solve this problem by hiring former assistant Baker Dunleavy as its General Manager of Basketball, where he will help both the men’s and women’s programs with the portal, NIL, fundraising and more.

Because of this difficult schedule, Neptune says that he has not had time to reflect on his first season as head coach. However, he has thought about how his team performed, looking back on missed opportunities but acknowledging the challenges of the season.

“Our goal is always to be the best team we can be by the end [of the season],” Neptune said, “And I thought that we were trending towards that way.”

The Wildcats finished, 17-17, the team’s worst record since 2011-2012. They showed an inability for much of the year to win close games, and struggled with injuries throughout the year, most notably to senior guard Justin Moore and freshman forward Cam Whitmore.

At one point, the Wildcats had a 5-12 record in games decided by 10 points or fewer. Once Moore returned, Villanova won six of