Jahvon Quinerly’s first shot drew nothing but air, a 3-pointer that didn’t come close. A few possessions later, the Villanova point guard drove, left his feet without a plan and turned the ball over.
The five-star freshman’s first few minutes on the Madison Square Garden floor were going about as well as his first two months at Villanova. But unlike a five-second cameo in a loss to Penn, when he reacted in frustration afterward with an Instagram post, the New Jersey native dealt with adversity in the right way.
“I feel like the airball kind of helped me because I knew I could just keep playing after that,” Quinerly said after the Wildcats routed Connecticut 81-58 Saturday afternoon. “Keep playing for my teammates. I can’t let it affect me at all. I didn’t lose any aggressiveness because this is a big game for us.”
He made sure it was a big win, too. Filling in for injured guard Collin Gillespie, who suffered a concussion after bumping heads with Quinerly in practice, the freshman responded to his shaky start with the best performance of his young career. He posted career-highs of 10 points and four assists in a season-best 25 minutes as Villanova (9-4) shellacked the Huskies (9-4) and new coach Danny Hurley to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2013.
“It definitely felt good being back in New York, my family coming and seeing me play,” said Quinerly, who grew up in Hackensack, N.J., and played at Hudson Catholic High School in Jersey City.“I just focused on the game, really.”
The Wildcats’ core seniors, Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, combined for 39 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. But Quinerly, the linchpin to coach Jay Wright’s ninth-ranked recruiting class, was the biggest development of this game.
His playing time prior to Saturday had been minimal at best: four games in which he didn’t play and five in which he played fewer than 10 minutes. He entered play against UConn with a total of 19 points. He didn’t get off the bench in last Saturday’s three-point loss at Kansas.
And following a home loss to Penn, Quinerly wrote on Instagram: “Was my 2nd choice for a reason” — a post he took down and followed with an apology. Saturday, he described his original post as “a big mistake on my end.” He had initially committed to Arizona before decommitting, then picking Villanova in the wake of the FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball that led to the arrest of former Arizona assistant Emmanuel “Book” Richardson.”
“I’m so happy for [Quinerly],” Wright said. “This is what college sports is all about. He came in and struggled with our system early. He got down a little bit early, but was in no way negative with the team and made a little mistake on social media.
“He learned from it. He learned a great lesson and then he responded. He showed that he’s been working at what we do. It’s so rare. It’s a great example in college sports of a young man learning and growing as a player. I’m really proud of him.”
Wright didn’t guarantee Quinerly would remain in the rotation when Gillespie returns, but he made it sound possible. After all, the freshman showed he belonged, playing an integral role in arguably Villanova’s best performance this season.
“I was just waiting for my opportunity,” Quinerly said. “I’m just learning to be a Villanova basketball player.”