This edition of the Nova Notebook, by Director of Media Relations Mike Sheridan, catches up with newly signed Chicago Bulls guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

Atop the lengthy list of qualities that helped set Ryan Arcidiacono apart during his four seasons as a Villanova Wildcat was his preternatural on-court calm. No matter how hot the spotlight burned, the man his teammates knew as “Arch” never showed the slightest bit of trepidation.

That trait was on display as a freshman, when he drained a corner 3-pointer to force overtime in a pivotal BIG EAST game against Syracuse the Wildcats would win in overtime. In November 2013, it was evident again as he sank another clutch 3-ball drained in the waning seconds to help VU upend No. 2 Kansas.

Then came his masterpiece. It came in the final sequence of his college career, as he dribbled down the left side of the floor on April 4, 2016 at Houston’s NRG Stadium with the outcome of the NCAA title game against North Carolina hanging in the balance. If you are reading this on villanoc.com, odds are you know how that played out.

In his four seasons from 2012-16 “Arch” was often Villanova’s Coolest Cat.

Yet the shifting currents in the business of professional basketball have the capacity to test the nerves of even the steeliest competitor. So it was for Arcidiacono last month as he headed to Las Vegas with little more than an invitation to compete for a well-stocked Chicago Bulls NBA Summer League unit.

The next three plus weeks were, well, a blur of swirling emotions.

“My stomach is still a little unsettled,” he conceded while on the phone recently from Chicago.

On the morning of Aug. 1, Arcidiacono signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls, capping a tumultuous month that at one point appeared to have him pointed towards a season playing in Italy. After spending 2016-17 in the NBA Developmental League in Austin, Tex., the 6-3 guard will be in training camp in September with the Bulls.

“It means a lot,” states Arcidiacono. “To sign a two-way deal means that I am one step closer to being in the NBA. I appreciate that the Bulls have shown this confidence in me and I just want to try to make an impact when we start training camp.”

This outcome was only one of a few possibilities for Arcidiacono at the start of last month. He was officially a free agent along with dozens of other aspiring NBA players. The invitation to play for the Bulls in the NBA Summer League was nice but offered no assurances of future employment. In fact, the odds were against him as most NBA rosters are comprised mostly of players with guaranteed contracts already in place. When the games began, the climb appeared daunting. Game minutes were scarce for Arcidiacono as the Bull assessed other young players. Meanwhile, his agent was in negotiations with JuveCaserta Basket, a top shelf team in Italy about a 2017-18 contract. Midway through the Summer League, headlines blared that Arcidiacono would play his second pro season in Italy.

But as Summer League play continued, Arcidiacono began to assume a larger role for the Bulls. The lessons absorbed with the Austin Spurs in the Developmental League as a rookie paid off in a large way. Any anxiety about what lay ahead was left in the “little suitcase” he was mostly living out of back at the hotel.

“I thought I played well,” he stated of his work with the Bulls, for whom he averaged 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists in the Summer League.

When the Summer League wrapped, the Bulls expressed an interest in bringing Arcidiacono on board. But there was a time sensitivity to this. The deal with the Italian club offered only a small window for Arcidiacono to opt out for an NBA camp invitation. That added to the intrigue – and the angst.

In the end, it fell into place in what was pretty much the best case scenario for the Neshaminy High School product. Chicago signed him to what is known as a two-way contract. (The NBA permits each team to sign a pair of two-way players in addition to its regular roster of 15 players).

When the Bulls open training camp at the Advocate Center, located across the street from the United Center, Arcidiacono will be there. And while he is likely to begin the year with the franchise’s G-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, he will be well-positioned to help the parent team when the roster shuffling that inevitably occurs takes place.

“This was my first year with this kind of uncertainty,” he stated. “It comes with being a professional but it was an experience to go through it for the first time.”

One resource Arcidiacono drew upon in the ups and downs of July were his former coaches, led by head coach Jay Wright.

“You know you can always go to the Nova staff for advice,” he stated. “Coach (Jay) Wright is very knowledgeable about the business side of all this so his opinion is really valuable. You know that all of the coaches want the best for you and they are just a phone call or text away.”

And it wasn’t just old coaching friends Arcidiacono found himself communicating with in Vegas. Former teammates were in similar straits, vying to show their best in front of all the NBA talent evaluators over a two week stretch. A clash with Washington put him on the opposite side from two of the other instrumental figures in his dash to history – Daniel Ochefu, who set the screen that helped spring him on the final possession in the ’16 NCAA title game, and Kris Jenkins, whom he fed for the epic buzzer beater that gave VU the 77-74 win over North Carolina.

“It was a little weird,” he recalled with a chuckle. “At one point Daniel and I dove for the same loose ball. We kind of smiled at one another as we got up. On another possession Kris got one of my teammates into the air on one of his classic 3-point shot fakes and drew the foul. I just winked at him.

“Those guys will always be my brothers.”

A pause.

“But I should mention that we did win that game.”

In truth, the connection to Villanova is never too far away. Strangers still approach him and ask about the final play in Houston. When in the Philadelphia area, he returns to open gym sessions in the Davis Center. And he is in frequent touch with his former teammates and coaches, including another cool customer whom he helped mentor as a senior.Jalen Brunson, a first team All-BIG EAST selection in 2016-17 who will serve as a Wildcats leader in 2017-18. “I kind of watched him from afar last year and you just seem him continuing to grow. Now that Josh (Hart), Darryl (Reynolds), and Kris have graduated, I think you’ll see him step even more into that leadership role.”

With his immediate future resolved, Arcidiacono plans to immerse himself in the Bulls culture as he did at Villanova. His little suitcase will hopefully be augmented when he settles on a residence for the season near Chicago (Windy City plays its home games in Hoffman Estates, Ill.) There will be workouts at the training center, though he does hope to sneak home to Langhorne a few times before camp begins.

With the final touches being put on his contract, Arcidiacono was unable to attend Villanova’s annual “Summer Jam” alumni hoops reunion on July 31. It was an event he had hoped to attend and he said he missed seeing so many former teammates and friends.

It would have been a nice way to conclude the month of July.

But the ups and downs of the seventh month of 2017 have delivered him to the doorstep of where he wants to be, with an opportunity to make a mark at the highest level of professional basketball. For all its upheaval, July 2017 figures to linger as a happy memory in the basketball life of Ryan Arcidiacono.