In the latest installment of the Nova Notebook, we connected with Wildcats' incoming freshman guard Jordan Longino as he settles in to his first fall semester at Villanova.
 
For Jordan Longino, the acclimation to college, which began in June, has kept him on his toes.
 
"It's been action packed," said the 6-5 guard in his first sit-down interview as a Wildcat. "There's been a lot on my plate but that's what I expected coming to such a touted school like Villanova. With our team being older and the coaches helping me, that's really been a smooth transition."
 
Of course, Longino's journey has been shorter than most if measuring strictly by the odometer. He grew up not far from Villanova in Furlong, Pa., and attended Germantown Academy, the alma mater of Wildcats' legend Alvin Williams. That was where he first attracted the notice of college recruiters, though in his case some of that early attention was focused on his exploits as a quarterback.
 
"Football was my first love probably up until my sophomore year of high school," said Longino, who threw 16 touchdown passes and rushed for six more as a junior at G.A. and heard from several Big Ten schools interested in him as a signal caller. "Then I started playing AAU basketball for Philly Pride organization. When I got a taste of the basketball community, college coaches recruiting me, offers, it made an impression."
 
Indeed, Longino had played plenty of basketball as a youth too. His father, Eric Longino, played collegiately at SMU and brother Evan-Eric plays at Kutztown University.
 
"I found a passion for basketball when I was a sophomore," stated Jordan Longino.
 
From his earliest days, Longino says, sports were a part of his life.
 
"Pretty much since I was in the crib, my Dad had a ball in the hands of me and my brother," Jordan Longino states. "I played a little bit of everything."
 
Around the age of 12, Longino and his brother began to play in local YMCA leagues. By that point, football and basketball were the primary focus. A growth spurt helped push the needle in favor of basketball too.
 
In the summer of 2019, Longino received his first basketball scholarship offer. As he settled into basketball mode, more offers began to accumulate that fall, including ones from Villanova, Virginia and Maryland.
 
"I got a taste of talking with coaches who I had watched on TV," he says now. "Having Jay Wright text you was pretty surreal for me. That's when I wanted to work even harder to just give me options."
 
Longino began his Germantown Academy basketball career playing for longtime athletic director Jim Fenerty before his retirement from coaching in 2019. Fenerty – who shared a neighborhood with the Longino family – died in May.
 
"I've known Coach Fenerty since I was six years old," states Longino, who first enrolled at G.A. in its pre-K program. "He lived right down the street from me and has been a mentor since I was young. It was tough to wrestle with when he passed away. He's definitely a guy that I took mentorship from, I really love and was a part of my family."
 
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut much of daily life down in March 2020, Longino was nearing the end of his junior year of high school. Fortunately, his recruiting offers were already plentiful and firm.
 
"I went to school about 20 minutes away, so I knew the community," stated Longino of Villanova. "Alvin Williams played a huge part in the process for me. I've been at his camps since I was eight or nine. I've taken mentorship from him and know how the program still stays in touch with him, many years after he graduated.
 
"Covid played a part since I couldn't take visits to other schools. But I felt like I had a great relationship with all the coaches, and I really sensed that family aspect at Villanova. No other school I was considering had that family aspect, so it was pretty much easy for me to make my decision."
 
After his spring 2020 commitment, Longino did not have the opportunity to take a traditional official visit to campus. Instead, he stayed in touch via text and Zoom calls. He formed a special bond with his three fellow summer of 2020 verbal commitments – Angelo Brizzi, Nnanna Njoku and Trey Patterson. The group often communicated via text chain, especially once the Wildcats opened the 2020-21 season.
 
"It was a little strange to watch games on TV knowing I would be playing in that uniform in a matter of months," Longino says. "But in Covid, all the recruits were going through it."
 
Like most of his peers, Longino has been doing all he can to absorb the nuances of Villanova Basketball in team workouts. He joins an experienced roster led by a pair of fifth-year seniors, Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels.
 
"I think I can bring versatility," he states. "I just like to do a little bit of everything Coach asks me to do. I want to be a hard worker so I can help the team on the court and off the court. I'm just a guy who is going to compete, work hard and do whatever is asked of him."
 
It is not lost on Longino that two of his predecessors on the wing, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, are part of teams (Phoenix and Milwaukee) that met in the NBA Finals.
 
"Donte and Mikal are two of the reasons why I committed here," says Longino. "Coach Wright loves versatile guards. Josh Hart was another. Looking at guys like that definitely gives me some hope about what's possible. It's more reason to work hard."