VILLANOVA, Pa. – The 2021-22 Villanova Wildcats went through their first full team practice on Tuesday, six weeks ahead of the squad's regular season opener on Nov. 9 vs. Mount St. Mary's at Finneran Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats posted an 18-7 regular season record in 2020-21 while enduring three different COVID-19 shutdowns.
 
"It feels great to be back to some kind of normalcy," stated junior guard Justin Moore, one of four returning Wildcats' starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. "It's great to be with the guys, putting the work in day in and day out."
 
Head Coach Jay Wright, who spent six weeks of summer serving as an assistant on the USA Basketball Olympic gold medal team, welcomed the fresh start.
 
"The way the NCAA has it set up now, where we can get our short workouts in during the summer, it's not really the same start it was years ago," stated Wright. "I feel like we've been in a little bit of a rhythm. But we did get our first full-length practice today and we will be able to get practices back-to-back now.
 
"This was a good first day. We've got a good group. Our assistants did a good job with this group in the summer while I was away. We're in a good place. I think we have a really difficult early season schedule. We can be prepared for an early difficult schedule."
 
Wright talked about the return of graduate students Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, both of whom graduated in May. The pair elected to return for an extra season of eligibility in the aftermath of injuries that hampered each of them at points in 2020-21.
 
"It is a luxury to have them back," said Wright. "Those guys know what we're doing, they're teaching our younger guys. It's the same way for guys like Brandon Slater and Justin Moore. They've been around. It makes practice a lot more enjoyable as a coach. You can be more patient with the younger guys. I think it makes it more enjoyable for everybody."
 
The Wildcats had the opportunity to work through an offseason in line with ones prior to the pandemic year of 2020. There were regular workouts along with strength work that wasn't possible under the COVID restrictions of '20.
 
"We're further ahead than we were last year, and I credit our upperclassmen and coaching staff for that," Wright stated. "I left July 2 and saw where the team was. When I got back in August and saw where the team was, I could see a big difference. You could see the job our upperclassmen and coaches did in teaching our concepts to the younger guys."
 
Gillespie returns in 2021-22 after earning a BIG EAST Player of the Year award before a knee injury suffered on "Senior Night" vs. Creighton on March 3 brought his campaign to a premature end.
 
"I feel really good," stated the Archbishop Wood High School graduate. "The summer was a grind of lifting and rehab, just getting back into shape. It was tough not really being able to play basketball but having to do all the other stuff to get back. In early August I was able to start working out again so that was good.
 
"I'm 100 percent."
 
Samuels, meanwhile, suffered a fractured finger on his right (shooting) hand in an early season game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut and played through it for the remainder of the season. He underwent surgery to correct that in April.
 
"It was my right pinky," Samuels explained. "Last year it affected me but over time I learned how to get better with it.
 
"It feels great now."
 
Wright also provided an update on forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, who missed all of 2020-21 after tibia surgery last December.
 
"It's not looking good but we're not giving up on it yet," stated Wright. "If he was in a great spot, I'd probably tell you that we're making a decision to go with him. Right now, it's not looking good but we're not giving up on him for this season."