We Got Cheek

Dominic Cheek announced at a press conference that he will attend Villanova University. Cheek is ranked by ESPN as the #11 player in the class of 2009 and the #3 shooting guard. He chose Nova over defending champions Kansas, Memphis, Pitt, and Rutgers. This is a huge get for Jay Wright and Nova, especially after losing out on Tyreke Evans last year. Cheek may be a better recruit than Evans because Cheek is expected to stay in school for more than one year.

Cheek is from St. Anthony High School in New Jersey. Here is a great video that documents his life from growing up on the streets of Jersey City to becoming a basketball star.

Cheek joins Maalik Wayns (ESPNU #22), Mouphtaou Yarou (#27), and Isaiah Armwood (#35), who are already commited for the class of 2009. His decision will most likely boost Villanova's already consensus top-10 national recruiting class to #1. This a balanced class (2 guards, 2 forwards) that may turn out to be Villanova's best ever. When you throw in transfer Taylor King, it's just icing on the cake.

Looking ahead to 09-10

Nova may return to the 4-guard lineup next year because they'll have some bigger guards (Cheek 6'5, King 6'6, Stokes 6'5) who can play in the front court. The only "problem", if you can consider it a problem, is that the team will have too many weapons.

Here's a look at the projected depth chart:

PG: Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Maalik Wayns

SG: Dominic Cheek, Corey Stokes, Reggie Redding

SF: Taylor King, Isaiah Armwood

PF/C: Antonio Pena, Mouphtaou Yarou, Maurice Sutton

That is a complete team. Plenty of depth at every position. The Foye/Ray/Sumpter/Fraser class received lots of hype as well, but they struggled their first two years together. However, with Nova being a top-25 team this year and with talented veterans already on the team, they won't have to rely too much on the freshmen, which should help in their transition and development. The bottom line is that Jay Wright has done a fantastic job recruiting since the day he walked on campus, and has helped restore Villanova as a national powerhouse.