The Nova Notebook Summer Series checks in with graduate student Brandon Slater who will step into a new role as a leader alongside Justin Moore, Caleb Daniels and Eric Dixon for new head coach Kyle Neptune and the 2022-23 Villanova Wildcats.
 
                On a sun-splashed spring morning, Brandon Slater takes a seat on a bench in front of the Davis Center. The clock has yet to strike 9 a.m. yet the native of Centerville, Va., has already completed a voluntary 6:15 a.m. yoga session and later will join his Wildcat mates' for the third team workout of June.
 
                But in the relative quiet of a warm morning, Slater has ample time to reflect on a rise that has lifted him into a new realm as both team leader and on-court centerpiece. Slater capped the academic year 2021-22 off when he received his Villanova diploma in May.
 
                "Graduation meant the world to me and my family," he says of that May afternoon when he donned cap and gown. "For all my friends and family to see me receive that degree from such a prestigious University is something I think we'll always cherish. When I go out into the real world, I will have a lot of connections that will think highly of me because of this great institution."
 
                Slater's breakthrough 2021-22 basketball season saw him start all 38 games, averaging 30.1 minutes per outing for a unit that posted a 30-8 overall record, claimed a BIG EAST Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the fourth time since 2009. It also marked the end of a four-year arc that would have concluded his college career under normal circumstances. But the NCAA's decision to not count the 2020-21 COVID 19 pandemic season against a student-athlete's graduation clock, opened a window for Slater to return.
 
                "It was a decision I had to make," said Slater, who will work towards a certificate in Education as a graduate student. "I'm happy to be back for my fifth year at Villanova. I love it and I want to be part of Villanova as much as I can.
 
                "It was definitely a difficult decision to make. You have to think seriously about your choices. I'm just so glad I have this opportunity. It allows me to develop, it allows me to be with my teammates and coaches for one more year."
 
                Slater averaged 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game after serving mostly as a reserve in his first three seasons in the Blue and White. He began the season shooting better than 60 percent from the field before a left ankle injury sustained in a November victory over Tennessee began to become an issue. That was the same ankle he had injured in the final game of the 2020-21 campaign, a Sweet 16 matchup with eventual NCAA champion Baylor.
 
                "I was battling through that for three or four weeks, getting my mobility back in that ankle when I hurt my other ankle at home against Creighton (Jan. 5)," he states. "So, the rest of the season I was playing with those."
 
                There was also a left (shooting) wrist injury sustained at Baylor on Dec. 12 that hampered him for a stretch, though Slater won't use that as an excuse for a shooting slump that plagued him in the early stages of BIG EAST regular season play. After connecting on 15-of-32 from beyond the 3-point arc over the first eight games of 2021-22, the 6-7 forward was just 3-of-27 from deep through the next 13 games (.111). He ended the season 34-of-101 from distance (.337).
 
                "I don't want to say the injury had anything to do with my shooting slump," he said. "I always have to work on my form and I'm nowhere near a perfect product. I was definitely dealing with some things, but I was so glad to be able to play for my teammates and give everything I have. I am so blessed to be in this position now, continuing to get healthy ready for what comes next."
 
                Of course, with plenty of firepower in the lineup in the person of Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, Moore, Daniels and Dixon, scoring was not Slater's primary duty last winter. His long arms and quickness have always been an asset at the defensive end. His import there was on display in a clear way in a 63-60 BIG EAST Tournament win over Connecticut. He rose from seemingly out of nowhere late in the second half to block a Husky shot that shifted momentum to the Wildcats.
 
                That was one highlight in a series of them at the BIG EAST Tournament.
 
                Another came a night earlier against St. John's. Slater drained two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to help Nova complete a comeback from a 17-point first half deficit to down the Red Storm 66-65. Villanova captured the crown with a 54-48 win over Creighton in a pulsating final.
 
                "Other than graduation the Big East Tournament was one of the biggest things that's happened in my life," he stated. "As a team, we had been in some of those late game situations earlier in the season and messed some of them up. We kept at it and when we got to New York, we had that chemistry where nothing really bothers you or affects the confidence that all of you have. That's when we felt like we had a special team."
 
                Indeed, the Wildcats won their three BIG EAST Tournament contests by a total of 10 points, using rallies to down both the Red Storm and Bluejays. Slater's skill as a versatile defender with length was an essential ingredient. And with Gillespie and Samuels having moved on and Moore recovering from a torn achilles tendon, the onus now falls on Daniels, Dixon and Slater.
 
                "I have to give credit to Collin, Jermaine and Da Da (Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree)," Slater stated. "Being a leader in this program is not easy. Everything is on you. It's your job to carry on what the guys before us did. It's a challenge and we're excited to take it on. This will be great for me, Caleb, Justin and Eric to move into leadership roles."
 
                Of course, Slater will do so without the head coach with whom he spent the last four seasons with Jay Wright now serving as the University's Special Assistant to the President. Slater said he and many of his teammates were resting in their dorm rooms early on the night of April 20 when the news began to break.
 
                "I was just chilling on my bed," Slater said. "The first person who banged on my door was Collin Gillespie."
 
                Gillespie held his phone up to Slater and asked if he had seen the news.
 
                "I hadn't seen it and at first I thought he was joking. Why'd you wake me up like this?"
               
                A few minutes later, "it all became real".
 
                "I'm so happy for Coach," said Slater. "He has done so much for this program and this University. He deserves this. Whatever he wants to do in life, I'll support him. I thank him so much for this opportunity."
 
                After the tumult of those first few hours, however, a calm has returned thanks in no small part to the return of Neptune after a single season at Fordham University.
 
                "Coach Neptune was with us for my first three years," notes Slater. "He's helped lead guys in so many ways and he's helped build character in so many of the guys in his time here. I'm so glad that he's back so that he can do that for our program in his new role."
 
                This week, Neptune led his initial workouts with the Wildcats in the Davis Center. Slater hardly noticed the switch.
 
                "It feels like he never left," Slater states. "It feels pretty much like the same coaching staff I had two years ago. I can't say that it's any different than it was before, but it shouldn't be. We're Villanova and we have our own specific way we do things here. Coach Nep believes in that, and he truly feels it's the best way to play basketball. He's a different coach than Coach Wright and he isn't going to be on the same path as Coach Wright. But he is doing a great job."
 
                As for Slater himself, he hopes only to replicate the significant step forward he took between the end of 2020-21 and the start of 2021-22.
 
                "I want to become a better leader," he stated. "I want to learn how to take on these challenges without Collin and Jermaine here. I have to learn to get better at that and realize that it will just elevate my game. I'm trying to get better with my shooting particularly and defensively. Anything I can do in practice to help push myself and my teammates.
 
                "Hopefully, by the end of this year, I can sit back and be proud of what I accomplished."