If you want to play it safe for a college basketball championship run, then continuously keeping the same players for four to five years and developing them within a strong culture is one of the easiest options.
Simply put, it requires patience—no matter how strong a recruiting class you build, players need time to develop. This process demands immense patience, which is increasingly missing in many players today.
Kevin Willard Credits Villanova’s Redshirt Strategy for 2016 and 2018 Championship Wins
Frequent transfers, the impact of NIL deals, and the constant roster changes every year have significantly disrupted this approach. Thankfully, in the past, the situation was more stable, and Kevin Willard believes the Villanova Wildcats’ legendary runs in 2016 and 2018 were rooted in the fundamental principles like patience, development, and redshirting.
In the recent episode of “CBS Sports College Basketball,” Villanova’s new head coach, Kevin Willard, had a great conversation with host Jon Rothstein. Rothstein directly asked the new coach whether he believed he had inherited the same brand of team, which won the NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018.
Willard’s answer was straightforward—he made it clear that those championships were possible because the team had players who redshirted.
He mentioned Mikal Bridges as a prime example, who redshirted before becoming a key player in Villanova’s success.
Willard said, “I think if you look at the 2016 championship, the 2018 championship, the guys on that team, they had guys that redshirted. Mikal Bridges redshirted. I mean, you know, he’s starting for the Knicks, and just think about those guys that have gone through there.”
He also referenced Jalen Brunson and others who spent several years in the program, saying, “Those guys were three-, four-year guys. Some guys were five-year guys.” He then admired Jay Wright’s system that built Villanova’s winning culture through patience and long-term development.
He emphasized, “I think the biggest thing is just trying to get back to that identity, that culture. Getting guys that were three-, four-, five-year guys who became the culture. I mean, they were everything.”
Willard’s remarks align with Villanova’s historical dominance, especially during their 2018 championship season, when the Wildcats finished with a 36-4 record and ranked 2nd in the final AP poll.
That squad boasted one of the best offenses in the country, leading with an offensive rating of 122.3, showcasing how player retention played a direct role in their success.
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But Willard also knows the game has changed. Quick transfers and big NIL deals rule today’s college basketball. It’s harder than ever to hold on to players long enough to build a solid core.
At the end of the day, this fast-paced, transfer-heavy era might be the new norm. And the teams that figure out how to thrive in it will be the ones raising trophies in the end.
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