Collin Gillespie knew his time was coming.
After last season saw the departures of four Villanova icons in Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman for the NBA, the only ones left to mind the store were seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. And Villanova, it was reasoned, would go as far as that senior duo could carry a young Wildcats team.
And while Booth and Paschall have been everything Villanova could want - savvy players on the court, brilliant leaders on and off of it - the gnawing question surrounding the defending national champions was this: Who else was going to step in and fill the void and help keep Villanova, well, Villanova?