Five thoughts from Villanova’s open practice: Jake Fiegen shines, injury updates, and more

Villanova’s annual open Summer Jam practice was Monday afternoon at the Finneran Pavilion, where a few hundred fans had their first (partial) glance at the new-look men’s basketball team.

Injuries to a few key players and Italian big man Luigi Suigo still not on campus made any analysis of the 2026-27 team incomplete, but there were still some things worth highlighting.

Here are five thoughts from the session:

Matt Hodge is continuing his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL, and Tyler Perkins — the other returning starter, last season’s leading scorer — is recovering from shoulder surgery.

Those injuries were known, but Oregon transfer Kwame Evans Jr., a 6-foot-10 forward, entered the court with a walking boot on his left leg. Evans is dealing with a minor injury, a source said, and should be back to basketball activities in the coming weeks.

Perkins, meanwhile, continues to progress. Villanova has mostly gone through individual workouts during the summer program, and Perkins took part in all of those drills Monday but sat out of the scrimmage session. If Villanova played a real game Monday, Perkins would have been on the court.

Hodge is progressing well, but while Kevin Willard seemed pretty confident when talking to The Inquirer last month that Hodge would be ready to start the season, he was less effusive Monday. Regardless, Hodge should be ready to play in the early stage of the 2026-27 season. He took some jumpers Monday and did skill work.

Suigo, the prized addition of the offseason, is expected to be in the United States this week, and possibly as soon as Tuesday, Willard said. The team hoped to have him on campus for Summer Jam, but putting the final touches on the paperwork took some extra time.

It’s hard to overstate how much the 7-3 center will transform Villanova’s lineup. It was easy to see Monday with Evans also sitting out. A skilled big man who can shoot and pass — and is slated to be a potential lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft — is a boon for any college team.

» READ MORE: Kevin Willard accomplished most of his goals in Villanova’s roster rebuild. Then came Luigi Suigo.

Willard has surrounded Suigo with plenty of talent, but that skill set at that size has the potential to take the Wildcats to the next level.

“I’m the only one that’s really seen him live,” Willard said. “I think they’re excited to get him here because there’s been so much talk. He’s also a terrific young man, so I think they’ve also heard that.”

With Suigo still overseas and Evans out, backup big man Nico Onyekwere got a lot of run during the scrimmage session. Willard has said he expects the 7-1 redshirt-freshman to play some, but Onyekwere will need to continue to learn to play at a faster pace and get in better shape if he’s going to log meaningful minutes in the Big East.

With three starters and the projected sixth man sitting out, Jake Fiegen was the star of the scrimmage, which also included a few recent alumni (Enoch Boakye, Hakim Hart, Mark Armstrong, and Joe Cremo).

Fiegen, a 6-4 senior, was one of the best shooters in the Ivy League last season at Cornell and showed why Monday. He connected on at least seven three-pointers during the scrimmage, including three during a four-possession span.

Fiegen, who shot 41.4% from deep last season, will come off the bench and should have plenty of catch-and-shoot opportunities given the playmaking around him.

» READ MORE: Why signing Luigi Suigo is significant for Villanova, not just for 2026-27, but beyond

There’s a lot of it.

Projected starting point guard Elijah Crawford was pretty efficient in the pick-and-roll game. That’s where the Wildcats will need him to shine and be a difference maker.

There was a two-possession span where Crawford connected with Onyekwere for an easy alley-oop and then, after a quick turnover, found Fiegen for an open three in transition.

Later, Crawford broke his defender down off the dribble, drove to the rim, jumped for a layup before kicking out to Darryl “Buddy” Simmons II, who made a wide-open triple.

Simmons, a 5-11 guard from St. Bonaventure, made a few three-pointers during the scrimmage and also found his way to the basket for a nice layup. On the other end, he defended Armstrong, now a G League player, pretty well during a few one-on-one possessions.

Fiegen even got in on the playmaking. On one possession, Fiegen dribbled into the lane, jump stopped, then kicked to Simmons for a three on the wing.

It looked like old-school Villanova basketball ... but it’s only July.

Villanova already had return games on two-game deals with Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin slated for this season. He then added new two-game series with Kansas to begin this year on the road and an international game vs. Notre Dame in Rome.

The rest of the 11-game non-conference schedule will come from the Big 5 (three games) and likely three “buy games” at home.

It’s a pretty tough schedule, and Willard explained why on Monday.

“I went back and looked at the last 10 national champions and looked at how they schedule and where their rank of schedule was,” Willard said. “I think it’s really important to test yourself on the road, most importantly. ... Especially with the tournament going to 76 teams, I think teams should get rewarded by scheduling hard.”

» READ MORE: Villanova and Wisconsin men’s hoops will meet at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Dec. 12

He also mentioned the all-important revenue-generating component in the new world of revenue sharing. The Wildcats will host Michigan at Xfinity Mobile Arena. They play Wisconsin there, too, though that game is technically a neutral-site game. They will play more games there than they did last season, Willard said, in part because they can sell more tickets there than at the 6,500-seat Finneran Pavilion.

You can’t afford Suigo and the rest of the roster if you’re not increasing revenues.