‘Nova’s Antoine enters transfer portal
The first defection of the post-Jay Wright era has hit Villanova. Guard Bryan Antoine has entered the transfer portal, a source confirmed on Friday.
The news was first reported on Twitter by VerbalCommits.com. Players have until May 1 to enter the transfer portal for this academic year.
The news of Antoine’s departure comes one day after incoming recruits Cam Whitmore, Mark Armstrong and Brendan Hausen posted on social media that they were sticking with the Wildcats in the wake of Wright’s sudden retirement last week and the naming of former assistant Kyle Neptune as the head coach.
Antoine was a five-star recruit and a McDonald’s All-American at the Ranney School in New Jersey, where he scored more than 2,500 career points and led the Panthers to the Tournament of Champions title as a senior in 2019. He was ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2019 by ESPN.com and No. 17 by 247sports.com.
Big things were expected of him, but his career has been plagued by injuries.
The start of his career was delayed when he underwent surgery on May 31, 2019, to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right (shooting) shoulder. He appeared in 16 games as a freshman. A shoulder injury that did not require surgery limited him to 10 games as a sophomore, and a knee injury kept him out of action until December last season.
The 6-5 junior appeared in a career-high 20 games for the Wildcats this past
season, averaging 10 minutes and 1.5 points per game. He was a valuable reserve on the team that advanced to the Final Four for
the third time in the last six NCAA Tournaments. Antoine will have two years of eligibility remaining.