Kyle Neptune is entering a pivotal season at Villanova. The Wildcats have missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years after dealing with key injuries to players like Cam Whitmore and Justin Moore. I caught up with Neptune this week in Philadelphia to discuss last season’s loss to Marquette in the Big East Tournament, what he’s learned since becoming Villanova’s head coach, and much more.
Jon Rothstein: You’ve been a head coach now for three years. Where do you rank the loss to Marquette in last season’s Big East Tournament among the toughest defeats that you’ve had as a head coach?
Kyle Neptune: I don’t know if you can differentiate losses. They’re all tough. It’s not like after one loss you’re okay with it and another you’re not okay with it — they’re all really, really tough.
Rothstein: One of the constant themes during your first two seasons at Villanova has been a lack of continuity due to injuries. Two years ago, you dealt with it with Cam Whitmore and last season you dealt with it with Justin Moore. What is it like to go through that as a head coach?
Neptune: It is what it is. We’re a problem solving, goal driven type of program. Whatever happens, we know that we were right there in so many games last year, but unfortunately we didn’t get it done. Injuries are things that happen during the season. You either get it done or you don’t. That’s how we look at it.
Rothstein: What’s the biggest differences in this team that you’re about to coach versus the last two?
Neptune: I think we have guys that really fit what we do. I like our point guard play with Jhamir Brickus, who transferred from La Salle. Eric (Dixon) is another year older and has really improved. Enoch (Boakye) gives us a threat who can roll to the rim at a high level — we haven’t had that recently. We’re pretty different in terms of the types of players that we have so we’re excited.
Rothstein: What’s the biggest thing that you know now about being the head coach at Villanova that maybe you didn’t know two years ago when you got the job?
Neptune: I think every coach is a teacher and if you’re a teacher then you’re a lifelong learner. You learn so much year-to-year. The guys teach you so much. The game teaches you so much. To pick out one thing is hard. I think you grow in dog years as a head coach.
Rothstein: How does this program get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2025?
Neptune: One thing that we’ve always talked about here is trying to continue to improve. We want to be the best team that we can be at the end of the season. In terms of our goals, we feel like that if we’re in the mix to win a Big East title and are competing to win a Big East title then we can also compete on the national stage as well. That’s the way it’s been at Villanova. That’s what we feel our guys and our fans deserve.
Leftovers
- The Breakfast Buffet: Cooper Flagg and Duke visit Arizona, Baylor stuns St. John’s, Pitt begins a big stretch
- The Breakfast Buffet: Alabama, Baha Mar Bahamas Hoops Championship, Memphis head to West Coast
- The Breakfast Buffet: The curtain comes up for Illinois against Alabama, Zhuric Phelps, top of ACC feels like a mystery after Duke and North Carolina
- The Breakfast Buffet: Kam Jones against Braden Smith, Cincinnati hits the road, Speedy Claxton
- Episode 473 — Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd
