Josh Hart, Villanova Wildcats
Class: Senior
Age: 21 (3/6/1995)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’5.5″, 204 pounds, 6’8.5″
2015-16 Slash Line: .513/.357/.752
2015-16 Season Averages: 31.4 MPG, 15.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.4 3PM
The Villanova Wildcats shocked the college basketball community by winning the 2016 NCAA championship. One could easily argue that the best player on the Wildcats in 2015-16 was starting shooting guard Josh Hart.
With Ryan Arcidiacono now with the San Antonio Spurs, Hart will have a chance to prove that his game truly is NBA-caliber.
Hart has a comparable skill set to one of the players who most recently played shooting guard for the New York Knicks: Arron Afflalo. He plays inside-out rather than outside-in, utilizing his fundamentals rather than his athleticism.
That’s an old school approach to the game, but if anyone is going to appreciate it, it’s Knicks team president Phil Jackson.
Having established that, Hart has made 107 3-point field goals on 40.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc over the past two seasons. He’s more than comfortable stepping outside, and should continue to excel in that regard in 2016-17.
Hart is a champion, a leader, a big-game player, and a deceptively athletic player with a 38.5″ max vertical leap. He has a profile that the Knicks could covet in the first or second round.