’Nova’s Gillespie doing his part from the side
Collin Gillespie continued to be a leader after he went down for the season with a torn left MCL against Creighton in the next-tolast game in the regular season.
Villanova’s 6-3 senior co-captain served as a defacto assistant coach and cheerleader from the bench in the days after the injury and in the regular-season finale against Providence.
Gillespie had surgery right before the Big East Tournament and did not accompany the team to New York or to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament, where the fifth-seeded Wildcats (18-6)
are slated to take on top-seeded Baylor (24-2) in Saturday’s South Region semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse (5:15 p.m., CBS).
Yet Gillespie continues to be a leader from afar.
“We talk to him probably every day in our group texts, facetime and social media,” sophomore forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl said in a Zoom call Wednesday. “We’re communicating all the time and he does a great job coaching us up and leading us after games and going into games. He’s been doing all he can.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright even gave Gillespie a task to help in preparation for Bears. Wright
asked Gillespie to put together a scouting report on Baylor and gave Gillespie until Wednesday to file his report. Gillespie had no problem meeting that deadline.
“I got it the night before last at 2 o’clock in the morning,” Wright said. “He did an outstanding job. We’re going to try to get him and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, our other senior captain, out here Saturday for the game.”
Cosby-Roundtree has been out all season following surgery in late January to address a tibial stress fracture in his left leg.
“It’s going to be great having them out there this weekend,” Robinson-Earl said.