Villanova opens its 2025-26 Men's Basketball regular season on Monday, Nov. 3 vs. No. 8 BYU at the Hall of Fame Las Vegas event at T-Mobile Arena (9:30 p.m. eastern/TNT and the Villanova Sports Radio Network). The Nova Notebook checks in with senior transfer forward Duke Brennan (Grand Canyon) with the opener exactly one week away.
 
His formative years were spent in Oregon before a relocation to Chandler, Az., in his teens changed the Brennan family's home address. Prior to June, Duke Brennan had lived all his life – including college - in the western part of the United States. Since then, he has been at Villanova, a four plus hour plane ride away. Now, as he and his teammates get set to board a flight headed west this weekend ahead of a season opening battle with No. 8 BYU at the Las Vegas Hall of Fame Series, Brennan took some time to reflect on the most recent portion of his hoops journey.
 
"I'm super excited," Brennan said while seated in the cinema inside the Davis Center following a recent morning weightlifting session with Strength Coach Justin McClelland. 'I haven't seen my mom and dad in a long time. I'm looking forward to seeing them and a ton of family after the game."
 
As a fourth-year college player, however, Brennan understands this isn't any mere pleasure excursion despite his eagerness to see parents Bill and Michelle Brennan.
 
"There is a sense of urgency about this week, preparing for the game," Brennan stated. "You'll always have that sense of excitement to see family, but I have a sense of the focus needed to prepare for a big game Monday."
 
Brennan is not unfamiliar with Las Vegas. Last March Grand Canyon captured the WAC Tournament title with an 89-82 victory over Utah Valley.
 
"Hopefully," he added with a smile, "we bring that winning spirit to Vegas."
 
William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach Kevin Willard and his staff identified Brennan, who averaged 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season while earning second team All-WAC honors, as a priority for the interior in the transfer portal. The Hillcrest Prep (Az.) product began his college career with a year at Arizona State before playing two productive seasons at nearby Grand Canyon. He picked the Wildcats in the spring and has been a fixture on campus since the summer session began in June.
 
"This is a very prestigious program," said Brennan. "I'm really liking it. I have been to a (few) different colleges. I would say this is my favorite place to be, and favorite coaching staff (to work with). Every program runs differently. I am enjoying how it's going."
 
Brennan was in the starting lineup for both of VU's exhibition contests last week. In a 70-51 win over VCU on Oct. 19 at Finneran Pavilion, he connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts in 25 minutes, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. On Friday evening, Brennan chipped in with four points and five rebounds in 26 minutes in a 75-72 loss at Virginia.
 
In the aftermath of Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena, Willard spoke about the level of physicality the Cavaliers played with, especially in the game's opening moments. Brennan certainly felt that.
 
"That's good for me, and really all of us, to experience in the preseason," Brennan stated. "Over the last two days I was watching (video) of teams we are going to play in the Big East and even some of the ones we will play before that, like BYU, Michigan and Wisconsin. (Virginia) will be great for us to watch on film as we prepare for BYU. Film is great for me and great for the guys.
 
"It was a good test for us. We got to see where we are at and understand where we need to be on Monday night."
 
As one of this team's elder statesmen – an "unc" (uncle) in locker room parlance – Brennan has a very clear appreciation for how quickly time moves.
 
"Being older, being a senior, being at Nova, I have a much better understanding of the urgency than I may have earlier in my career," said Brennan. "The staff brought me in to help influence a winning culture here. I put that (responsibility) on myself. We have to prepare urgently for this next game.
 
"We had two exhibition games to pinpoint what we need to work on. I have watched those games and when I do that, I go through A-Z what I need to do better."
 
Last season, injury sidelined Brennan for the Lopes' season opener – he didn't debut until Nov. 22 – and he concedes he has no strong memories of the openers in his first two seasons.
 
"But it is wild to think that this is my fourth opener," he stated.
 
In his post-game remarks Friday night, Willard was asked about his team's rebounding heading into '25-26.
 
"Rebounding is going to be an issue for us because we're not super athletic or big," Willard said. "We've just got to keep the rebounding margin close. We just can't get demolished on the glass. If we keep the glass close, with the tempo we play at and the intensity we play at, we'll (be fine)."
 
Front and center in that quest will be Brennan, who has already established a presence on the backboard at his previous stop.
 
"That's been on my mind, especially in the last few days," he said. "I take a lot of that analysis on myself. I need to be that guy. Rebounding is a super-big skill, so you have to be tuned in on all that. It's not very easy to practice. You've got to track the ball well and be locked in on all the little cues of where the shot may be coming off the rim. I would like to be one of the top rebounders in the Big East and I'll find ways to crash the boards a little bit harder."
 
For all the excitement about the opener, Brennan understands it will be set aside come tip-off against the Big 12's Cougars.
 
"When I pass those lines to get on the court," he stated, "I give it to God to put my best food forward to see what I can do. I want to go out there to help the team win. Whatever that takes, I'm in."
 
Las Vegas is closer to Brennan's home, but it is only the first of 31 regular season contests. Brennan aims to ready not just on Monday night, but for every one of the games that follow that.