“Disappointment,” Neptune said. “We’re at Villanova. There’s a certain standard that is expected here and we didn’t meet that mark, and there’s just no way around that. There’s no excuse that can dispel the fact that we didn’t meet the mark. Me being the head coach here, me understanding that, being part of this place for so long, it just motivated me and it’s motivating our staff to go out and rectify it.”

A better roster?

He thinks the issues have mostly been rectified. Villanova got all-conference big man Eric Dixon back and its transfer portal class includes La Salle point guard Jhamir Brickus, Miami wing and Philadelphia native Wooga Poplar, Fresno State center Enoch Boakye, and Penn guard Tyler Perkins, who, unlike the other three, has multiple years of eligibility left. Villanova also lost several players to the portal. Two of them, TJ Bamba (Oregon) and Brendan Hausen (Kansas State) are continuing at high-major programs, and two others, Lance Ware (Texas-Arlington) and Trey Patterson (Rice) are not. There were other departures, too. Justin Moore exhausted his collegiate eligibility, and Mark Armstrong entered the NBA draft.

The Wildcats briefly had VCU transfer Max Shulga, one of the highest-rated players in the portal, committed. But Shulga returned to VCU because the school came up with more money and offered an easier path toward graduation.

Neptune thinks Brickus, despite being undersized, is a transformational player. Villanova hasn’t had a traditional point guard with high-level decision-making abilities in two seasons under Neptune. The Wildcats haven’t had a center capable of protecting the rim like Boakye since Daniel Ochefu left campus after winning the national title in 2016. Poplar is a two-way player looking to prove he can play in the NBA. And Perkins is a tough guard who should give Villanova a jolt off the bench as a sophomore. There’s a three-player recruiting class — Neptune’s first real high school class — that Neptune is excited about, too.

Most predictions and power rankings won’t have Villanova at the top of the Big East before the season starts. UConn has become the class of the conference while Villanova has fallen back in the conference’s pecking order since Wright’s departure. Torvik, an analytics site, has Villanova as the 28th-best team in its 2024-25 projections.

Villanova was among the best defensive teams in the country last season but struggled offensively for long stretches. Brickus being a true point guard could help change the tide, as could new assistant coach Jamie Young, who Neptune called a “breath of fresh air.”

Hiring a new coach, Neptune said, was his choice and didn’t come from above him.

“100 percent yes,” Neptune said when asked if he felt his roster was better today than it was on March 20.

Neptune likes the balance of experience and youth, and 28th is good enough to be in the NCAA Tournament after missing it the last two seasons. But Villanova entered each of the last two seasons ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and the Wildcats are a combined 35-33 over that stretch.

Tournament or bust?

The idea that another missed tournament could mean he doesn’t get the chance to coach the team beyond this season hasn’t crossed his mind, Neptune said, and the 2024-25 season is not the final season of his contract, he said.

In the past, Neptune has talked about understanding the pressures and all that come with participating in high-level sports in a job like the one he has. And even despite the disappointment of the first two seasons, he said he’s not feeling any more pressure today.

“I don’t feel anything different than I felt the first day I came to Villanova,” Neptune said. “I feel the same because I know the responsibility. I didn’t look at it as less important at that time, and I look at it in just as high of a reference as I do today.”

The boos and detractors? He understands those, too.

“Guess what?” Neptune said. “There’s no one that’s more frustrated about how last season went than me. No matter what, there’s no one on earth more invested in this place being what it should be than Kyle Neptune. Period. Sometimes I feel like I could go up there and boo with them. I don’t blame our fan base for being upset because we deserve more.”

The clock is ticking. While he may not admit it publicly, Neptune knows he has to deliver more, and soon. Another season that ends in disappointment might leave him no choice but to watch Villanova games from the stands.

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