Donte DiVincenzo’s journey from Villanova scout team’s lock to one of the NBA’s most wanted players

As a freshman on one of the best teams in college basketball, Donte DiVincenzo was the best player his own team faced all season.

The scarlet-headed young player had just suffered a broken foot that forced him to redshirt after just nine games and was now allowed to practice as Villanova prepared for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. In the days leading up to a Final Four game against Oklahoma and soon-to-be Player of the Year Buddy Hield, DiVincenzo was part of the Wildcats’ scout team. This week, it was DiVincenzo’s responsibility to emulate Hield – his style, his moves. In the games in which the Sooners went for Hield, the Villanova coaches went for their freshman against their starters.

This week DiVincenzo was Buddy. But he was anything but friendly.

“He played so well as a buddy that we couldn’t guard that guy,” Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard said by phone last month.

Bucket after bucket rained down on the heads of DiVincenzo’s teammates, some of whom went on to play in the NBA, including Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. To call DiVincenzo unprotectable would be disrespectful to what he actually did. DiVincenzo has dented his own team’s confidence.

“If we can’t protect Donte, we’re not going to be able to protect Buddy Hield,” Howard remembers other coaches saying. “I know Donte is really good, but he just destroyed us in training. I didn’t know if we were ready for Oklahoma.”

Villanova beat the Sooners by 44 points en route to a national championship. Hield, who was named the nation’s top college player a day later, scored nine points.

“Everyone praised Donte in the locker room after the game because he prepared us for this game,” Howard said. “Donte could have done just about anything, but he went into the first team.”

This is DiVincenzo. A player and preparer behind the scenes. A winner. He is a two-time high school champion in Delaware, a two-time national collegiate champion and, at 27, already an NBA champion.

DiVincenzo has spent much of his NBA career coming off the bench only to show he’s worthy of being a starter. Last month, he was part of the biggest move of the offseason, moving from the New York Knicks to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In New York, he set the franchise record for most three-pointers in a game and helped create the most anticipated season in over 20 years. In Minnesota, he’ll have to raise the bar higher than it did during last year’s trip to the Western Conference finals.

“Getting a player of (Karl-Anthony Towns’) stature is huge, but you don’t get a player that good without giving up good players, so we had to do that,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Teams that move on from DiVincenzo usually regret losing him and teams that get him are thrilled. It influences winning. It’s always been that way.

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Similar to many Villanova recruits before him, DiVincenzo was not a major high school prospect. According to 247Sports, he was a four-star guard and ranked just outside the top 100 nationally. The summer before DiVincenzo joined the Wildcats’ program, some thought it would take a while for him to develop into a true contributor.

“The story everyone was talking about was that the summer before he came to Villanova, he didn’t play well in the circle,” Villanova assistant coach Mike Nardi said. “And not that anyone was upset with him, but everyone seemed to realize he had a lot of work to do. We all thought he had a lot of talent. I don’t think we thought it would happen so quickly.”

Before his foot injury in his freshman year, DiVincenzo played in every game he was available. There were no memorable performances. Most nights he didn’t even break double-digit minutes. Overall, he looked like your average college basketball freshman.

Like Brunson, DiVincenzo wasn’t guaranteed that he would immediately come to campus and make a meaningful contribution. In fact, it was the work the two young guards did together in the offseason and behind the scenes that helped them earn the trust of their head coach. If you’re wondering where DiVincenzo is after practice, just look for Brunson. If you were wondering where Brunson was, look for DiVincenzo.

Together, they completed additional reps after practice with Brunson’s father, Rick. Brunson came into the Villanova program as one of the most heralded recruits in a long time. He was destined to go to the NBA. He prepared at Villanova with the goal of reaching the top of the sport. This relationship had a great influence on DiVincenzo.

Then there was DiVincenzo’s foot injury, which many in the program viewed as a blessing for the young guard. He was forced to observe. He was forced to work on his body. And when he was able to practice again, DiVincenzo returned with the freedom to explore who he was as a player. The pressure of a newcomer, which contributed to the win and the loss, was not there.

In a championship and high-stakes environment, he was able to absorb everything while preparing against the best without facing any consequences.

“I think the Jalen effect really helped him, as did sitting out,” Nardi said. “(Jalen’s) work ethic was exceptional. These guys have developed a really close bond with Jalen taking Donte under his wing and bringing him to the gym at night. I really think that highlighted Donte’s competitiveness. It’s not that he wasn’t competitive, but it brought out another edge, another level.

“He gained a lot of confidence on the scout team. You could just let people like that go and figure it out because you couldn’t rely on them in games.”

The week that DiVincenzo made Buddy Hield better than Buddy Hield created a lot of excitement about what the rookie could be in his second season. Villanova players tend to improve each year. The existing program, no matter what’s in the water, tends to produce players who are never satisfied, players who always appear prepared when the path becomes clear, allowing them to move forward freely.

“Donte came in and had something to prove, was coachable and had to learn to be tougher and braver, and our drills helped with that,” Nardi continued. “But he brought the talent, the athleticism and the confidence by putting in the work. When he had to be Buddy Hield, we said, “Holy shit!” We expect you to come back next year and be a stud. He did that and played an important role in the country’s top team.”

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DiVincenzo, who left Villanova after his junior season to turn pro, spent most of his college career sitting on the bench with a loaded backcourt, but was still one for the major leagues as a redshirt sophomore of the better college guards in the country. Ranking program. His best performance this season came in the NCAA Tournament when he scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Mount St. Mary’s. However, the Wildcats’ season ended in the next game. A three-point loss to Wisconsin halted the program’s run to consecutive national titles.

The next year, however, Villanova was the most dominant college basketball team in recent memory. Only three games were lost in the regular season. En route to a national championship, the Wildcats’ average margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament was 14.3 points. For DiVincenzo, a college career full of ups and downs culminated in the championship game, a 79-62 victory over Michigan. He scored a game-high 31 points while hitting 10 of his 15 field throws. DiVincenzo accounted for 37 percent of the Wildcats’ baskets in the contest. He did this while sitting on the bench 37 minutes into the game.

“I said to Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, ‘Protect this guy!’ You have to protect the guy!’” former Michigan head coach John Beilein said by phone last month. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m right in his jam. Check it out. I’m here!” Donte got into a zone. If you watch those shots, no one could guard those shots unless you were a 6-9 winger.”

Early in the game, Beilein believed the Wolverines might be able to exploit DiVincenzo defensively. Beilein believed his team could use ball screens to eliminate DiVincenzo. That wasn’t the case. DiVincenzo was in the jersey of every player in front of him. This Villanova team featured some of the most talented and disciplined defenders in the country. The Wolverines had little room to maneuver.

“I feel better now because I see Donte and Bridges as elite defenders in the NBA,” Beilein said with a laugh.

DiVincenzo’s college career wasn’t always rewarding from an individual perspective. He was often overshadowed, playing behind some of the best guards the program has ever produced. The same applies to the professionals too. He was injured in the playoffs the year his Milwaukee Bucks team won the championship. He played behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the Golden State Warriors. Last season in New York, for the first time, it felt like DiVincenzo had gotten his flowers on the national stage.

However, that’s obviously not what motivates him. It wins. He always found a way to make an impact on the game – whether it was preparing the starters for a national title run, while playing as Hield, he ended Michigan’s championship hopes with a Curry-like shooting performance, with the same quality as Hart and Bridges defended or deviated from it. In a pinch, he’s the favorite to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year and a legitimate starter.

DiVincenzo is the player every team wants. However, you don’t want just one. You want several. There’s just something about these Villanova guys.

“These guys have all had the experience of being outsiders and doubting,” Nardi said. “But they have proven that they belong. They will do anything to win. Each individual has goals, but when your team wins and you do something together, you have the best chance of receiving your individual awards. That’s what’s inherent in them.”

(Photo by DiVincenzo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)