By ADAM ZAGORIA
After taking an unofficial visit to Villanova last week, Class of 2019 shooting guard Bryan Antoine committed to the Wildcats on Tuesday morning.
The 6-foot-5 Antoine from the Ranney School (N.J.) and Team Rio is the No. 12 player in the Class of 2019, per ESPN.com. He chose Villanova over Florida, Kentucky and Duke.
“Villanova is only like an hour and 45 [minutes] from my house so it’s kind of like the home school,” Antoine told me earlier this year. “In the past three years they’ve won two national championships, there’s no other place you can do that at home. You can go in there and win a national championship.”
glory to god ?? @NovaMBB pic.twitter.com/wwYmcKXno1
— Bryan Antoine (@BryanAntoine_) September 4, 2018
He added: “For any 18-, 17-year-old, to come into one school and be that guy and be able to make it to the national championship, that’s pretty amazing.”
Bryan Antoine with the GAME WINNER at Curry Camp ? @BryanAntoine_ #WEWILL #SC30SelectCamp pic.twitter.com/NuIrlCJmW8
— Overtime (@overtime) August 8, 2018
Duke and Kentucky have produced a slew of one-and-dones in recent years, while Villanova hasn’t produced one since Tim Thomas in 1997. Still, Antoine says that’s not an issue for him.
“It really doesn’t matter if the school produces one-and-dones or not,” he said. “I mean, if you have the talent and you work hard, you can go.”
Indeed, Villanova is involved for several players who could be one-and-dones in the 2020 NBA Draft. Antoine, Scottie Lewis and Cole Anthony are all projected on at least one 2020 mock.
“Villanova’s not known for having one-and-dones, but it’s always a one-time thing where one player comes in and breaks that,” Antoine said.
Mike Rice, the current Team Rio and former Rutgers coach, says Villanova is getting a rising star.
“His scoring instincts are is good as you find in grassroots,” Rice said. “Combine that with freaking athleticism and you get a Top 10 player in the country. But the real challenge for him is coming when he gets to college and they introduce him full time to the weight room.”
Tahj Holden, the former Maryland player and current Ranney coach, said Antoine is a “perfect fit” for Villanova.
“Bryan is a dynamic scorer, and will add a scoring punch from day one,” Holden said. “He also has the ability to affect the game similarly on the defensive end, and he’ll only get better when he gets into a collegiate weight program. I think it’s a perfect fit for him, and Villanova.”
Meantime, Lewis is still more wide open. His most recent list includes Villanova, St. John’s, Kentucky, Duke, Florida, Harvard and Stanford, and he has set three officials so far. Florida and Kentucky are the clubhouse leaders.
Antoine thinks they could still wind up going to school together.
“Yeah, me and Scottie been talking out that for a while now, so that’s still in consideration,” he said. “I feel as though whenever he feels it’s time for him to commit, he’ll commit. When I feel it’s the right time to commit, I will.”
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