Top-50 commit could bolster Villanova’s class
It’s not often that Villanova beats Duke out for a top-50 recruit and even more amazing is that Cole Swider did not need to make an official visit to choose the Wildcats over Duke, Syracuse and Xavier.
A couple of unofficial visits were enough to convince the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward from St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I. that Villanova was the school for him. St. Andrew’s is the same school that produced Michael CarterWilliams, the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year while with the Sixers.
Swider announced his decision during a news conference in the gym at his high school Friday afternoon.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming and I want to announce that I will be attending Villanova University,” Swider said at the start of the news conference.
With that, Swider stood up and put on a Villanova baseball cap to a round of applause.
“Everything just felt right,” Swider told the Providence Journal. “I know it’s going to sound a little corny, but I just felt it in my heart when I went down to campus and talked with Coach (Jay) Wright.”
Swider took official visits to Duke, Syracuse and Xavier in the last two weeks. He also considered Michigan, Miami, Indiana and Providence before cutting his list to four teams June 18. He is the second top-100 player from the Class of 2018 to commit to the Wildcats. Brandon Slater, a 6-6 guard out of Virginia, announced in May that he will attend Villanova.
“They always say I’m my own player,” Swider said. “Villanova has had a lot of undersized guys. They’ve finally got a guy with great size for their position. I think I’m going to carve my own path at Villanova.”
A pure shooter, Swider was the 2016-17 Gatorade Player of the Year in Rhode Island. He averaged 26.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game while leading the Saints (209) to the semifinals of the New England Prep School Athletic Council Class AA semifinals. A two-time team MVP, Swider earned first-team d NEPSAC Class AA honors as a junior. He enters his senior season with 1,962 career points. He also carries a 3.33 gradepoint-average, according to the Player of the Year release.
“He helps out tremendously on the boards both offensively and defensively,” St. Andrew’s coach Mike Hart said. “But he’s a wing player — they’re going to get a guy who can really score and cover a wing.”