Player Preview: Darryl Simmons II

It’s been awhile since Villanova had a player like Darryl Simmons II on its team. The 5’11” guard projects as an old-school “microwave” off of the bench who can come in and flip a game. For me, it’s been nearly two decades since a player like this has been on the team. Let’s go back in time to the 2007-2008 season.

Does anyone remember December 6, 2007? The Wildcats hosted the LSU Tigers for the Big East/SEC Invitational. Ranked 25th and undefeated coming into the game, Villanova fell down by 21 points in the second half to the unranked Tigers with only 8:51 left on the clock. Insert freshman guard Malcolm Grant, who scored all 18 of his points in that final stretch to lead The Wildcats to a comeback victory. This specific player and moment are an example of what I would expect to see from “Buddy” at some point this year, and likely on more than one occasion.

Being a smaller player for most of his career, Simmons II exudes that level of confidence that is needed to make it to this level. Having worked his way from up Gardner-Webb of the Big South, to St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic-10, to now the Big East, Simmons II is ready to prove once more that he belongs. At Gardner-Webb, Simmons II was third in the Big South in scoring at 17.4 points per game in his sophomore season. That year, Simmons II faced off against two power-conference foes on the road: Pittsburgh and No. 12 Tennessee, which was the season opener. Simmons II showed out in both contests. At the Panthers, Simmons II scored 12 points on 5/11 shooting and 2/4 from three, while only turning it over twice. But the more impressive outing was against the Volunteers, where he scored 22 points on 8/16 shooting and 4/10 from three (with only one turnover). Being able to perform against a ranked team like that, one that eventually went to the Elite 8, shows that he has no fear.

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At St. Bonaventure as a junior, the Detroit, MI native played against better overall competition throughout the year, which makes his…

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Publish date : 2026-09-28 14:00:00

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