After spending the better part of five months completely shut down due to myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart caused by a bout with COVID-19, Caleb Daniels is rounding into form for Villanova.
The 6-4 redshirt senior guard has regained his shooting touch heading into Wednesday’s Big 5 showdown with Penn at the Palestra (7 p.m., ESPN+).
Over the last two games, Daniels is averaging 14 points for the sixth-ranked Wildcats (4-2, 1-0 Big 5). Best of all, he is shooting 50 percent from the field (9-for-18) and 57.1 percent from 3-point range (8-for-14).
“I can attribute it to my teammates constantly trusting me, constantly looking for me,” Daniels said. “They play Collin (Gillespie) and Justin (Moore) pretty hard, and Slate (Brandon Slater) is getting it going as well and that’s creating looks for me. I’m putting in the work. We’re putting in the work as a team so I’m just continuing to trust in my teammates trusting in me and my coaches are as well.”
It helps that he is getting back to full strength physically, after being shut down from early April until Sept. 1.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Daniels said. “I’m feeling much more in shape. The whole summer I spent trying to rest up, trying to get back right, trying to get back healthy. And I feel as though Shack (strength and conditioning coach John Shackleton), our trainer, Dan (Erickson), and Coach (Jay) Wright did an amazing job getting me back where I need to be, getting me back in shape, getting my legs back under me, just making sure I’m healthy so I can go out there and be effective for my team. I feel as though now I’m in great shape and I’m doing a way better job.”
Daniels connected on 5 of 7 attempts from deep and scored a season-high 17 points in the loss to Purdue. He logged a season-high 26 minutes and tallied 11 points as the Wildcats rolled over La Salle, 72-46, in their Big 5 opener Sunday.
“We really should be extremely impressed with where he is at this point,” Wright said. “He’s doing a really good job for us. And I do think he is getting a lot more comfortable and I think he will get a lot better as the season goes on.”
Wright hopes the same can be said for Trey Patterson. The 6-9 freshman forward put in a career-high 15 minutes and pulled down five rebounds against the Explorers. With Jordan Longino still out with a non-COVID illness, Patterson could be a valuable contributor off the bench against the Quakers (3-6, 0-0).
“A team like Penn that plays five guys out on the perimeter, you know that’s going to be a tough game for a guy like Nnanna (Njoku), being a freshman,” Wright said. “Hopefully Trey can be good in that situation, defending multiple screening actions out on the perimeter so we do look for every opportunity to get these young guys in. Trey did a really good job against La Salle.”
The Quakers have lost two in a row and are coming off a 76-60 setback to No. 13 Arkansas. Penn was without leading scorer Jordan Dingle, who fell ill during the trip and did not dress. The 6-3 sophomore guard is averaging 19.6 ppg, which is 38th-best nationally. Dingle has scored 20 or more points five times and has a 30-point game.
Penn is the last Big 5 team to beat Villanova. The Quakers pinned a 78-75 loss on the Wildcats at the Palestra on Dec. 11, 2018. That’s Villanova’s only loss in its last 29 city series games.
“They’re a tough team to prepare for because Dingle is such an explosive scorer,” Wright said. “You know he’s capable of having a huge night. … All their other guys are really smart basketball players. That’s why they always give us trouble. Any one of those guys can get it going and they’re smart enough as a team that when somebody gets it going, they find him.”
