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With a stockpile of pizzas and drinks on hand, Omari Spellman and his St. Thomas More (CT) teammates gathered together in the basement of the school gym to watch Monday’s NCAA championship game on a big-screen TV.
When Kris Jenkins hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, the 6-foot-9, 268-pound Spellman, like many other fans across America, jumped out of his seat.
“I jumped up, ran around, it was dope,” Spellman, who will play in the Jordan Brand Classic April 15 at Barclays Center, told SNY.tv on Wednesday by phone. “For a second, I couldn’t compute what had just happened because it all happened so fast. Marcus Paige hits the crazy, off-balance shot and then Kris comes down and hits it. It took a second for it to click that Kris really just hit that. After that, I just jumped up and down. I was screaming at the top of my lungs.”
Spellman had more than a passing interest in the game. He is headed to Villanova this summer and will attempt to help the Wildcats contend for a second straight NCAA championship in 2016-17. Bovada on Wednesday gave Villanova 8/1 odds to repeat in 2017, trailing only Duke (9/2) and Kentucky (6/1).
With point guard Ryan Arcidiacono and center Daniel Ochefu graduating, Villanova brings in Spellman and 6-10 power forward Dylan Painter next season and they figure to complement Darryl Reynolds, who will become the primary big man. Jenkins and fellow junior Josh Hart, meantime, will test the NBA Draft waters, but are expected to return to campus.
“I just want to go in there and help any way I can,” Spellman said. “It’s a great program, Coach [Jay] Wright knows what he’s doing and I know he’s going to put me in a position to succeed and I know he’s not going to tell me to do anything that’s going to hurt me or the team, so whatever he sees fit, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Spellman averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Chancellors (31-7).
The No. 2-ranked center in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com, Spellman won MVP honors at the Sharette Dixon Classic in New York in October, and was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the National Prep School Invitational in Rhode Island.
While Ochefu developed into a true low-post big man under Wright, Spellman has the ability to both play in the paint and stretch defenses with his three-point shooting ability.
“I take each game game-by-game and over the course of the season I’ve done my share of both, post work, shooting threes, mid-range, things of that nature,” he said. “I think I have a very well-rounded offensive game. So wherever [Wright] sees fit, that’s what I’m going to do because he wouldn’t tell me anything to hurt my game and I trust him completely.”
St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn, who coached Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons was in Houston for the national semifinals, says Spellman will bring elements to Villanova on the offensive end that they haven’t previously had in a player of his size, but that he has to work hard on his body and on the defensive end
“We call him an adorable 268 [pounds],” Quinn said. “They’re going to restructure his body. The weight he’ll have at Villanova in contrast to the weight he has now. If you look at Eric Paschall, it’s like my God. He looks like a man.”
Paschall, a 6-7 redshirt freshman guard from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., who transferred to Villanova from Fordham after winning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors in 2014-15 and sat out last season, played for Quinn at St. Thomas More.
“I saw him this weekend and they can’t say enough about how well he’s playing and how well he’s working,” Quinn said. “He’s a 6-7 perimeter guy who likes to rebound and can defend the post…I’d be surprised if Eric doesn’t have a pretty successful year next year.”
Back in February when Villanova was ranked No. 1 in the nation, Spellman didn’t exactly predict the Wildcats title, but he was confident they could contend.
“I wouldn’t commit to a school that I didn’t believe could compete for a national championship,” he told me at the PrimeTime Shootout at Roselle Catholic. “I think they’re going to be there and I believe in them.”
Asked to reflect on those comments now, he added: “I just had complete faith in them. Knowing those guys allowed me to have faith in them, they’re all hard workers. And I knew that they had put the time in, so once they had broke the threshold of the Round of 32 — which has been our curse — I thought we could have won it.”
Since Monday, Spellman said he’s spoken to assistant coach Kyle Neptune and several players.
“I talked to Phil [Booth], Kris [Jenkins], Darryl [Reynolds],” Spellman said. “Phil and Darryl told me to just be prepared and come in and work and don’t take anything for granted.”
“I sent a text to Coach Wright but I know his phone must’ve been blowing up so I didn’t expect much,” Spellman added.
(Wright has been busy with other things, like taking a call from President Obama.)
Next week Spellman will be one of six members of the PSA Cardinals AAU program competing in the Jordan Brand Classic. He is the only one in the National Game, but Christian Vital, Bryce Aiken (Harvard), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Travis Atson (Tulsa) and Unique McLean (UMass) were invited to the Regional Game. (Jerome is injured and won’t play.)
“I think Omari Spellman will bring a new dimension to Villanova, having the ability to score on the low block and stretch the defense out to the three-point line,” PSA Cardinals director Terrance “Munch” Williams said. “I think it was the perfect fit for Omari coming in to Villanova and having a veteran cast of young men to play with. Jay Wright has been preparing for Omari Spellman to get on campus for the past 365 days. I think Omari will be able to showcase all of his talent, but also be in a winning environment which ultimately every PSA kid needs to strive for.”
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After decommitting from UNLV, the 6-2 Vital is now considering Iowa, Louisville, Alabama, UConn and Marquette. He only has three official visits remaining after visiting UNLV and Dayton. No other visits are currently set.
