After the mostly-negative reception to last year’s musical performer, Rick Ross, this year’s Hoops Mania (colloquially known as “Hoops” on Villanova’s campus) had much rumor and hope surrounding the identity of the performer. This year, Grammy-nominated rapper Gunna took the stage. After much speculation over him being the surprise guest, there were many more positive feelings than what was felt last year.
Gunna’s closing performance at Hoops capped an overall better celebration of the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball campaign compared to last year’s, as well, and the event felt much less rushed than 2023’s edition, which was attributed by some students to a performance Ross had in Miami the same night.
Hoops celebrated both teams with walkouts, dances, three-point and brand-new skills competitions and the annual blue-and-white scrimmage, where after a year-long absence, streamers returned and covered the floor of the Finn after the first basket was scored. The gem of Hoops, however, always comes with the surprise musical performance, which in Villanova’s history has included Nicki Minaj, Drake and this year, Gunna. While many expected his selection, many students thought his performance was significantly better than last year’s.
Hoops Mania represents the start of a new season, with this season representing a fresh start for both teams with multiple transfers in and out on both sides. The men’s team will look to snap its streak of missing March Madness since Kyle Neptune took over as head coach in 2022. Meanwhile, the women’s team will look to build on its WBIT runner-up finish last season with March Madness success.
Also in attendance were several high-level recruits the Wildcats are targeting, including freshman Matt Hodge’s younger brother, Jayden, who is a junior at St. Rose. On the women’s side, Jordyn Palmer (ESPN’s fourth-ranked recruit in the class of 2027), Ryan Carter (eighth-ranked) and Jessie Moses (fifteenth-ranked) were all in the Finn on Friday night to watch the show.
As students packed the Finneran Pavilion, they were welcomed with good vibes, music from the Villanova Band and performances from the cheer and dance teams. They performed as Executive Board members of the Nation took the floor to hype up the crowd with different chants to spur on the Wildcats.
Both head coaches, Neptune and Denise Dillon, soon kicked off the event by introducing their teams, respectively, with specialized walkouts for each player. The highlights were transfer forward Bronagh Power-Cassidy’s Ireland-inspired walkout, including her dancing with the Irish flag, and sixth-year star Eric Dixon, who received the loudest applause from the crowd. Notable after this was the return of two former Villanova players who served as MCs for the basketball festivities to come. First was Brooke Mullin, part of the 2022-23 Sweet 16 team and a solid contributor all four years as a Wildcat. And then, to much delight, was legendary forward Kris Jenkins, who had the greatest shot in Villanova history to win the 2016 NCAA Men’s National Championship.
In the three-point contest, senior Jordan Longino and transfer guard Lara Edmanson’s team was victorious, while Canadian freshman Jasmine Bascoe and freshman forward Malcolm Thomas’s team took home the win in the inaugural skills competition.
Then came the annual blue-and-white scrimmage, where the blue team won, 15-9, and the dunk contest, which saw two 10s given out to a beautiful Wooga Poplar dunk and then a Thomas dunk later in the contest.
In the scrimmage, strong performances all around gave the Villanova community plenty to be excited about come the start of the campaign. In particular, Matt Hodge looked impressive for a freshman, while Poplar and Perkins didn’t look a step out of place despite their transferring in this season.
For Villanovans in attendance, however, the most important part of said scrimmage might have been the awaited return of blue and white streamers to throw on the court after the first basket, a tradition all in the Finn were excited to partake in after not having them the year prior.
Then, came the musical performance. For days and weeks in advance of the event, Villanovans were speculating over who this year’s performance would be after the discontent over last year’s choice of Rick Ross. Names like JID, Sexxy Red and even Jack Harlow were floated across campus, with Macklemore and Gunna eventually becoming two of the most-speculated performers, with neither having any commitments on the day of Hoops.
It turned out to be the latter, as Gunna came through the crowd to send the Finn into a frenzy. The Georgia native and rapper/songwriter released his fifth album this past May, “One Of Wun,” which skyrocketed to second on the Billboard 200 Charts and was recently featured on Tyla’s debut album. A four-time Grammy nominee, he has collaborated with top names in the business, including 2011 Hoops performer Drake, Future, Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert.
“It was expected, but also a lot of fun,” sophomore Alex Markatos said. “Compared to last year, this was way better and Gunna actually seemed like he wanted to be there.”
His performance, which featured several times going back into the crowd of Villanova students and playing several of his hit songs, earned mixed reviews overall but still more positive compared to what was heard a year ago.
“I would definitely say that this year was better than last year,” sophomore Corey McCall said. “What I really liked the most was his interaction with the crowd and his overall entrance.”
During The Villanovan’s live coverage of the event on X, there were two notable responses that conveyed confusion over who Gunna was, which, while a prevailing theme among the majority of the student body, did not take away from the excitement and electricity of his performance.
However, this year’s senior class enjoyed the festivities, compared to the shortened celebration from 2023.
“I thought overall hoops was fun,” senior Lily Herron said. “I enjoyed how they added the new skills [competition] this year and that it wasn’t super rushed like last year. As for Gunna, definitely not my personal taste in music, but [he] fits the Hoops-vibes of past performers so I get it, and moshing was fun as always.”
