Villanova guard Collin Gillespie thought his men’s college basketball career was over and he would be cheering on his alma mater from home this March Madness.
After back-to-back seasons of poor fortune – the Wildcats missing the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 in 2020 and then Gillespie suffering a season-ending MCL injury last year – his eligibility in the sport was up.
His place in this year’s tournament changed when the NCAA instituted a bonus year for players because of the pandemic’s impact. That rule led to an influx of “super seniors” and an older brand of basketball than the sport has seen in decades.
“It was really frustrating and heartbreaking to have our postseason taken away all at once (in 2020 due to COVID),” Gillespie told USA TODAY Sports. “I never imagined that I’d still be here – in my fifth year – so it’s definitely a blessing in disguise for me coming off a major injury. Getting a year back healthy with this program, I’m just really appreciative of every day, every practice and every game.”
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Gillespie, the Big East player of the year as a senior last season, is one of hundreds in the sport who are enjoying an unexpected encore to their collegiate careers. Villanova is a projected No. 2 seed in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology – largely bolstered by the leadership of its fifth-year point guard. The Wildcats’ path to a potential Final Four berth will be unveiled Sunday when the bracket is revealed at 6 p.m. ET.
“College basketball is really special and will go down as one of the best times of my life. Who wouldn’t want another (season) to play in March Madness? It was a dream of mine growing up as a kid that I get to live out one last time.”
The impact of the “super senior” was punctuated Saturday when Iowa took down Indiana in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. Iowa point guard Jordan Bohannon, a 24-year-old sixth-year senior, banked in a game-winning three-pointer with one second left to lift the Hawkeyes into the championship game Sunday. Bohannon, an All-Big Ten performer who’s started for Iowa since 2016, got to write a final script of March Madness – with his team greatly benefitting.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey said the NCAA made a necessary choice: “We didn’t have a NCAA tournament (in 2020), which is the highlight of our sport, and then last year’s tournament just wasn’t the same being played at one location in Indianapolis. So giving these athletes a legitimate experience is something they’ve earned.”
“But it’s not just our team that’s benefitting, it’s everywhere,” McCaffrey noted. “If you look at Illinois, they get Trent Frazier back for a fifth year. He’s a big part of that team’s success and the difference in having a championship team.”
What once was a sport dominated by one-and-done teenage freshmen in the early 2000s and 2010s is now rich with 23- and 24-year-old seniors who have added a dose of maturity to the game. There is no age restriction for NCAA players.
“The quality of basketball has gone up across the country this year,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich said. “Older players have doubled or tripled how good teams can be. We’re seeing more mature teams that’ve raised the bar. It’s less about pure talent. Now there are developed players who aren’t making mistakes they used to and are benefitting younger players by imparting their wisdom.”
The extra year of eligibility paved the way for twin brothers Michael and Marcus Weathers – both sixth-year seniors – to play their final collegiate season on the same team at SMU. After the fraternal twins started their NCAA careers together at Miami (Ohio), Michael transferred to Oklahoma State and then Texas Southern, sitting out two seasons in the process. Marcus left Miami to play for Duquesne for three consecutive seasons, also sitting out per the previous transfer policy. The NCAA’s revised transfer rule that began this offseason allowed both brothers to transfer to SMU with immediate eligibility.
They are 24 now and that’s led to a six-year age gap with 18-year-old freshmen playing for the Mustangs. “It’s just funny how young and goofy the freshmen act and they take our trash-talking too personally sometimes,” Michael Weathers said.
“They’re not thinking about their 401ks yet, that’s for sure,” Marcus quips. “They’ll joke and call us eight-year seniors. But for us it’s just icing on the cake to our careers, getting to be leaders and spreading the wisdom we’ve had over the years as sixth-year seniors.”
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said the maturation across the landscape this season could be a flashpoint for bigger changes in the sport.
“There are private discussions happening in NCAA hallways about what giving players five years to play five seasons versus five years to play four seasons would look like. An extra year of eligibility,” Bilas said. “You have a more mature game and a better product this year. That’d obviously be a basketball reason in doing that. But if the NCAA is claiming that education is so important, why wouldn’t you want kids to remain in school longer to take harder classes and get a degree they can actually use anyway?”
Ripple effect of the fifth year
The extra season of eligibility hasn’t come without complications.
It has created a recruiting imbalance. High school players aren’t sure if they should attend a school and coaches aren’t sure if they should recruit a certain player.
“When the NCAA first did the COVID year, it was seen as a feel-good, nice thing to do,” Bilas said. “But we didn’t really understand at the time that an extra year could be tacked on for everyone at the end of their career. … So now, there’s a trickle down all throughout the sport when we’re benefitting the older players.
“If you look at a player like Kihei Clark at Virginia, he’s a senior but could technically come back next year. If I’m a high school point guard, I’m not sure I want to go to Virginia if I don’t know if Kihei Clark is staying or going.”
Clark, who started at point guard as a freshman on the Cavaliers’ 2019 national title team, told USA TODAY Sports he hasn’t decided whether he’ll play another season. Virginia is a longshot to reach the NCAA Tournament as a bubble team, meaning Clark could entertain the idea of coming back for a fifth year to get another shot at March Madness.
“I always tell people I’m living a dream playing college basketball, it doesn’t really get any better than right here,” Clark said. “You play in front of sellout crowds, travel to different states and represent a university to play the sport you love.
“I haven’t decided and I’m not 100% about next year yet, but I think that we are seeing a lot of older players that’s led to mature teams as a whole. It’s good for the game of basketball because now you can have older players showing younger guys how to get it done. That’s what happened for me with the (championship) team.”
The fifth year rule also has some players closing in or breaking school records with extra games played.
Part of a player-first trend
Jankovich said that while he sees recruiting being drastically affected by the extra year of eligibility, he’s already had to adjust his recruiting style over the last year because of the transfer rule.
“Now, more than ever, you’re coaching for a year-to-year roster because it’s harder to know who’s staying,” Jankovich said. “It’s not just about guys leaving for the NBA now. There’s not a lot of building for the future anymore because coaches in this sport know that rosters are going to turn over. You can’t look past the summer now.”
Belmont coach Casey Alexander knows that’s the norm in college basketball but said that’s a “180 of what we’re trying to do here.” Taking over for Hall of Famer Rick Byrd in 2019, Alexander is keeping the Belmont blueprint in redshirting players their freshman year and creating a culture where players want to stay for their four years of eligibility in five seasons. In other words, the Bruins have been playing with 22- and 23-year-olds for a while.
Nicholas Muszynski, an three-time all-Ohio Valley performer, is an example of a four-year senior who could’ve left the Bruins this year and could still leave next year to play for a power conference team. The 6-11 forward could also leave for the NBA.
“The only preventative measure you can take as a coach is to create an environment that’s difficult to leave,” Alexander said.
McCaffrey said the NCAA’s decision to give players the extra season follows a trajectory in the sport that focuses on the player first, with NCAA players now allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness – making the college experience all the more valuable for athletes who may not play professionally or profit there.
“The transfer portal was already making it better for the student-athletes and coaches have been adjusting to that,” McCaffrey said. “A lot of programs now will recruit a 22-year-old transfer instead of a high school kid. Because you’re picking a guy who’s mature and who’s played the game at a high level, it’s faster and you don’t have to develop that player.”
Gillespie said the NCAA’s decision to put the athlete first in this scenario has bigger influence than just basketball.
“I get to play for coach (Jay) Wright again and that doesn’t just help me in basketball, it helps me as a man – in life situations,” Gillespie said. “Being with the (Villanova) program one more year will be something I can learn from more and take with me forever.”
Follow men’s college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.
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