In order to stay healthy, you have to keep them happy.
This is where the Villanova Wildcats basketball team comes in.
In the early years of the Big East Conference, Villanova was a powerhouse, leading the conference in wins and conference wins per game.
Villanova’s dominance was so pronounced that the Wildcats would go on to win the Big 12 Conference Championship four times, including the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
With the rise of the ACC in the mid-2000s, Villanoes basketball success was put on hold for a time, but the Wildcats continued to excel and eventually became one of the most successful teams in the nation.
The Wildcats were a top-10 team in terms of winning percentage, and won 10 of their final 12 games of the 2012-13 season, including two of their four conference championships.
The 2012-2013 season was also the Wildcats most successful season to date.
The 2013-14 season was marked by a drastic change for the Wildcats, and the change came with the departure of star forward/center Dario Saric.
Saric was the most highly-touted recruit in the country, and had been rated the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect since the end of the 2010 season.
Villanies coach John Calipari had high hopes for Saric, but was concerned that the Croatian was too good for Villanova, and that Villanova would never be able to compete with the top teams in college basketball.
Saraic had averaged 11.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over his senior year of college, and Caliparati was concerned about his development.
While Saric was certainly an impressive player, he was also inconsistent in his game, and he would need to improve his shot and defensive game in order to succeed.
Sariaic, however, was able to turn things around in the following year, averaging 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, all career highs for a freshman.
The 2014-15 season was a bit of a different story for Villanys program.
In fact, Caliparelli, who was hired to coach the Wildcats in March 2015, took the job after Saric’s departure, and was immediately met with an influx of talent that was not expected to remain at the program for long.
Despite the talent, however.
Villagos performance in the Big Ten Conference Tournament was not nearly as strong as some had hoped.
The Wildcats went 1-6 in the tournament, losing to Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana in the first round.
The 2015-16 season was to be a different sort of experience for the Villanese, as the Wildcats were once again in the midst of a recruiting frenzy, and in order for the program to have a chance to compete at the NCAA Tournament, they would need the help of the likes of Deandre Ayton, Tyler Ennis and Isaiah Whitehead.
With that said, Villaroes recruiting efforts were still solid.
Villans head coach John Caffey was able make the most of his recruiting resources by taking a highly-ranked recruit named Jahlil Okafor with him to Villanova.
The Villanians recruitment of Okahe was an immediate success, as he went on to have one of his best seasons in Villan, averaging 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
In addition to Okaheda, Villani’s second-leading scorer, Saric also received a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.
Villanoese fans are not too pleased with their decision, but their high expectations for the young point guard were met with success.
With Okaheta, the Wildcats made it to the NCAA Tourney for the second straight year, where they were able to beat a top four ranked team, Michigan, to advance to the second round.
Okahene was the Wildcats leading scorer with 15.7 and the only player to record at least 15 points per game in all five games of their tournament run, while also recording eight rebounds and five assists.
Despite having a tough time staying healthy, Villania continued to dominate the conference, going 10-2 overall and 9-0 in the conference tournament.
The Villanites finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the FBS, but were able find a way to beat No. 6 Wisconsin, as they went on a five game winning streak and won their third straight Big Ten Tournament title.
In 2015-2016, Villanoices recruiting staff had a great time recruiting in the state of Iowa.
Iowa was the only other Big Ten team to recruit in Iowa, as Villanews recruitment efforts were successful.
In addition to his commitment to the Hawkeyes, Villanteys first-year coach was able see his recruiting efforts pay off, as Iowa signed the Villantees three-star prospect, Tyler Erwin, to a scholarship in the 2017-18 season.
