Josh Hart (basketball)
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| No. 3 – Villanova Wildcats | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | Big East Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 6, 1995 Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.) |
| College | Villanova (2013–present) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Josh Hart (born March 6, 1995) is an American college basketball player for Villanova where he is a junior on the 2015–16 team. As a senior at Sidwell Friends School, Hart posted averages 24.3 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game and was a highly recruited prospect. In his sophomore season at Villanova, Hart was named the Big East Tournament most outstanding player. As a junior, he was named to the All-Big East first team and helped Villanova win the national championship.
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Early life and high school career
Josh Hart was born on March 6, 1995 in Silver Spring, Maryland to Moses and Pat Hart. He has two siblings, Moses Joseph Hart and Aimee Hart.[1] His father is the nephew of the baseball catcher Elston Howard. Growing up, Josh Hart gravitated toward basketball and earned a reputation as a high-energy player.[2] He attended Sidwell Friends School, where as a junior he averaged 20.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.[1] However, he was nearly kicked out of school due to poor grades until several students and parents petitioned the school to give him a second chance.[3] As a senior, Hart averaged 24.3 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game in leading the team to a 22-9 record. He was a first team All-Met selection by the Washington Post and Rivals.com's 82nd ranked prospect in the class of 2013. After considering Rutgers and Penn State, Hart signed a letter of intent with Villanova in November 2012.[1] "It's about doing the things that the coaches want me to do," he said after committing. "I might not hit the winning three but I'm going to be the one that goes and gets a rebound when we need it and goes on the floor for a loose ball, anything to win."[4] He got to know future Villanova teammate Kris Jenkins while playing AAU basketball in the Washington area.[5]
Hart was awarded Boy Scouts of America's highest rank, Eagle Scout, and became one of only three known Eagle Scouts who have played in the NCAA's Final Four (along with Princeton's Bill Bradley and Stanford's Mark Madsen) He is the only Eagle Scout to ever start on an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship team.
College career
Freshman
A 2013-14 Big East All-Rookie Team selection, Hart averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest as a freshman at Villanova. He was named Big East Rookie of the Week three times.[1] He did not shoot the ball particularly well, making 31 percent of his three-point tries, but possessed "amazing confidence," according to assistant coach Baker Dunleavy.[6] In the second game of his collegiate career, a 90-59 win over Mount St. Mary's, Hart posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.[7] He scored a season-high 19 points in a 88-67 win over Rider on December 21, 2013.[8] Hart had 18 points and eight rebounds in a loss to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.[5]
Sophomore
Hart and teammate Darrun Hilliard both scored 20 points in an 85-62 rout of Temple on December 14, 2014.[9] Hart scored 21 points in a December 20 game against Syracuse. The Wildcats never led in regulation and were down by 14 points in the second half, but managed to pull out a 82-77 overtime win.[10] On February 28, 2015, in the second half of a game against Xavier, Hart was hit in the mouth during a scramble for the ball, requiring stitches on his lip.[6]
As a sophomore, Hart was named the Big East's sixth man of the year at the conclusion of the regular season. "He's the perfect sixth man because he can come in and play any position except probably point guard," head coach Jay Wright said.[11] Hart was the most outstanding player of the 2015 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, the first bench player to receive the honor. He was the tournament's leading scorer at 17.7 points per game,[12] including a 20-point performance in a 84-49 quarterfinals victory over Marquette.[13] He improved his three-point shooting to 47.3 percent, forcing opposing teams to guard him more on the perimeter.[6] He improved his season averages to 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.[1]
Junior
Hart's 2015–16 Wildcats were the unanimous coaches preseason selection to win the conference.[14] In the NIT season tip-off, Hart scored a career-high 27 points to help Villanova defeat Akron by a score of 75-56.[15] On January 2, 2016, Hart scored 25 points in a win over Creighton.[16] Hart led the Wildcats to reach number one in the AP Poll by climbing to the top of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings on February 8.[17] He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy on February 11.[18]
At the conclusion of the regular season, Hart was unanimously selected to the First Team All-Big East.[19] He then helped Villanova win its second national championship in school history, and first since 1985.
References
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