Best Villanova basketball players: Wildcats all-time starting 5 – From Ed Pinckney to Jalen Brunson

Villanova basketball has become a recent powerhouse, but the history of the program is full of star players who make up the Villanova basketball all-time starting lineup.

Thanks to Jay Wright, Villanova basketball has become one of the blue blood programs in the country. The Catholic university in Pennsylvania has been prominent on the national stage winning two of the last four NCAA championships. However, it is not like the school popped up out of nowhere. They were members of the original Big East and founding members of the Big 5, which still holds relevance in Pennsylvania today.

Before Wright, Rollie Massimino was the most famous coach in Wildcats’ history. From 1973-1992 he was the university’s head coach and helped make the program into something that could even make it to the level they are at now.

Every player who has starred for Villanova basketball is a certified legend in the area now. The tight-knit community has helped the Wildcats rise from underdogs to elite status. With the spotlight even brighter on them now, it is important to remember where the school came from and what players helped build the path for them to get to where they are now.

Some of those players did not make the cut on this fictional five-man grouping. There isn’t space for everyone in these mock lineups but it would be criminal not to mention some of the other greats and legends in the Wildcats past who missed out on this honor. These 10 names stretch throughout Villanova’s basketball history and some could argue that others — (see: Jenkins, Kris) — should be on here instead of others but that’s the beauty of these exercises: the debate that comes with it.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Arcidiacono, Mikal Bridges, Chris Ford, Randy Foye, Wali Jones, Kyle Lowry, Bill Melchioni, Allen Ray, Tim Thomas, Doug West