Big 5’s Gillespie, Samuels, Hall agree to free-agent deals
Villanova’s Collin Gillespie did not hear his name called in the NBA Draft Thursday night. Neither did Villanova teammate Jermaine Samuels or Jordan Hall from Saint Joseph’s.
However, their dreams of playing in the NBA did not end there.
Shortly after the draft ended, Gillespie agreed to a two-way free-agent deal with the Denver Nuggets. Several hours later, Hall signed with the San Antonio Spurs and Samuels with the Indiana Pacers, according to multiple reports.
“Extremely grateful and excited for this opportunity,” Gillespie wrote on Twitter followed by a prayer emoji. “Nothing new to us!. Ready to get to work! @nuggets.”
Each NBA team has slots for two two-way players. It expands the NBA roster to 17 and gives players freedom to move between the NBA team and its G-League affiliate. However there are some restrictions.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this month that the amount of the deal will be half of the rookie minimum salary, which is expected to top the $1 million mark for the first time. Also, two-way players are limited to 50 appearances with the NBA team in the regular season and are not eligible for the playoffs, though they could be transferred to a full roster spot in order to take part in the playoffs.
Gillespie closed out his career as one of the most celebrated guards in Villanova history. He was a freshman reserve on the 2018 national championship team and guided the Wildcats to the Final Four last season as a fifth-year senior.
Along the way, the Wildcats won three Big East tournament titles and three conference regular-season crowns. Gillespie appeared in a program-record 156 games and averaged 11.9 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds a game. He tallied 1,858 points, 482 assists and 449 rebounds.
Gillespie was a two-time Big East Player of the Year, a two-time AllAmerican and the 2022 recipient of the Bob Cousy Award as the top point guard in the country.
Samuels was there every step of the way with Gillespie over five years. He averaged 15 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists while leading the Wildcats to the Final Four for the third time since 2016. He also was a freshman on the 2018 national championship squad and closed out his career with 1,296 points, 790 rebounds and 221 assists.
The 6-8 Hall played two seasons on Hawk Hill under Billy Lange. He averaged 12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists for his career and 14.1 points, 6.8 boards and 5.8 helpers as a sophomore. Hall, who spent two seasons at Cardinal O’Hara before finishing his high school career at Neumann-Goretti, was a first-team All-Big 5 selection and the Atlantic 10 co-Rookie of the Year in 2020-21.