Villanova adds St. Bonaventure guard Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons as backcourt rotation comes into focus
Simmons scored 16.4 points per game at St. Bonaventure last season.
One of the leading scorers in the Atlantic 10 is heading to Villanova.
The Wildcats will sign St. Bonaventure transfer Darryl “Buddy” Simmons II, he announced on social media.
Simmons, a 5-foot-11 guard, averaged 16.4 points in 35.4 minutes per game last season, good for a tie for third in the A-10. He shot 42.5% from three-point range on 6.5 attempts per game and made at least four triples in nine of his 34 games played.
Villanova has added three guards in recent days: Simmons, Illinois-Chicago point guard Elijah Crawford, and Cornell shooting guard Jake Fiegen, who, like Simmons, is a three-point marksman.
The Wildcats now have five guards on the roster and could be done tinkering with their backcourt. The trio of newcomers join returning leading scorer Tyler Perkins and incoming freshman Adam Oumiddoch.
The pecking order seems to include Crawford and Perkins as locks for the starting lineup as Crawford is the lone true facilitator on the roster and thrives in ball screens, which Kevin Willard deploys frequently. Simmons and Fiegen would give Villanova experienced and capable scoring threats off the bench, and Oumiddoch is expected to be a contributor right away.
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Villanova still has frontcourt needs. The Wildcats agreed to deals this offseason with Kwame Evans Jr., an Oregon transfer, and Devin Royal, an Ohio State transfer. Both figure to be in the starting lineup, with injured wing Matt Hodge providing bench relief when he is fully recovered from his ACL injury.
Willard and Co. are still in search of a big man. Evans is 6-foot-10, but would be better served in a power forward role. But adding a volume scorer like Simmons means the Wildcats will likely roll out plenty of five-man units with Evans at the five and a trio of guards on the floor.
The remaking of the roster — which lost the majority of its rotation to the transfer portal and graduation — has focused on experienced players. Simmons, who averaged 17.4 points at Gardner-Webb in 2024-25, is the fifth transfer addition and fourth with three years of college basketball experience under his belt.
