The end of the 2023-2024 season brought upon sweeping change for Villanova men’s basketball. With eight of the team’s 14 players either transferring, graduating, or declaring for the draft, head coach Kyle Neptune needed to scout out talent to fill more than half of Villanova’s roster.
The most recent addition to this new wave of Villanova basketball is guard Jhamir Brickus from Coatesville, PA. The senior announced on April 28 that he would be taking advantage of his fifth year of eligibility with the ‘Cats, transferring to Villanova from La Salle University.
Villanova did not see La Salle at any point in the 2023-2024 season, with the Big 5’s new structure keeping them off of each other’s lineups.
Brickus played 33 games and averaged 13.9 points per game in his senior season. He shot 85.7% from the free throw line which is up from his 78.9% from the 2022-2023, but his field goal percentage decreased slightly, from 47.3% to 43.3% last season. He did, however, average higher in both rebounds and assists in his senior year compared to the stats from his junior year.
Brickus’ skill from the line as well as his close range accuracy will be a helpful addition, especially with the amount of offensive talent leaving the team.
Brickus is the second new transfer to Villanova so far. He will join freshman guard Tyler Perkins from the University of Pennsylvania, who announced his commitment to Villanova on April 14.
This movement within the Big 5 will no doubt change the landscape of college basketball in the greater Philadelphia area, creating an interesting dynamic at the highly-anticipated tournament that takes place early on in the season.
