Arcidiacono, God Bless Ya

Ryan Curran Arcidiacono (born March 26, 1994) is an American college basketball player for Villanova. He is currently a junior on the 2014–15 team. He attended Neshaminy High School, where he averaged 20.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior to lead Neshaminy to the PIAA playoffs. He missed his entire senior season due to suffering a lower back injury in the summer of 2011. As a freshman at Villanova, he was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. Arcidiacono was an honorable mention all-Big East selection at the conclusion of his sophomore season.

Early life

Arcidiacono was born on March 26, 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has three older siblings, Sabrina, Nicole, Michael; and younger twin siblings, Christopher and Courtney. His parents, Joe and Patti Arcidiacono, met at Villanova University, where Joe was an offensive lineman on the football team. When he was young, his father installed a 6-foot plastic hoop in the family living room. Ryan would often practice shooting jump shots and hitting layups on the small hoop before progressing to an actual basketball court. At one AAU game, Arcidiacono scored 50 points. At another, he hit eight three-pointers in a row. When he was in 7th grade at a basketball camp, Villanova coach Jay Wright said he would one day play for the Wildcats. Growing up, his favorite athletes were the 76ers' Allen Iverson and the Eagles' Brian Dawkins.

High school career

Arcidiacono attended Neshaminy High School, where he was coached by Jerry Devine. Arcidiacono led the team to a PIAA Class AAAA tournament as a sophomore. He averaged 18 points per game and was named to the Class AAAA second team. At the end of his sophomore season, Arcidiacono travelled with his AAU team, the PA Playaz, to North Carolina for the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. In the first game of the tournament, he crashed into the floor face-first, an injury that required eight stitches. Despite the avice of doctors, he decided to play in the following game, and responded with 35 points. He continued to score at the same pace for the remainder of the tournament, and major college programs took notice. Arcidiacono received recruiting offers from Syracuse, Florida, Texas, and Villanova, among others. In October 2010, after attending Villanova's Hoops Mania event, he committed to play for the Villanova Wildcats.

As a junior, Arcidiacono guided Neshaminy to a 22–7 record while averaging 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.2 steals. He surpassed the 1,000 point mark in a game against Pennsbury, scoring 29 points in a 83–52 win. The Neshaminy Redskins reached the state quarterfinals in 2011 before losing to Penn Wood. At the conclusion of his junior season, he was named the Bucks County Courier Times player of the year. The Philadelphia Inquirer selected him to the first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania.

He began to feel pain in his lower back shortly after the end of his junior season. In May 2011, while attending a basketball camp at the Deron Williams Academy in Chicago, Arcidiacono complained of poor mobility and soreness. He was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back, forcing him to miss his senior season. Arcidiacono had surgery to repair the disk on December 21, and he could not leave his house for two weeks thereafter. Arcidiacono finished his career at Neshaminy High School as the program's all-time leading scorer. He tallied 1,498 points, 449 rebounds, 378 assists, 178 steals, and 160 three-pointers. Despite missing the season, ESPNU ranked him among the top 50 seniors in the country. During the fall of 2011, while still recovering from injury, Arcidiacono was beat by Dan Mattioli in a game of P-I-G.

College career

Freshman

Arcidiacono began his freshman season not fully recovered from his back injury. He made his collegiate debut scoring 11 points against the University of the District of Columbia. In the following game against Marshall, Arcidiacono became the first Wildcat freshman to score 25 points since Scottie Reynolds. Arcidiacono garnered his first Big East rookie of the week honors on November 18, after an 18-point six-assist performance in an overtime win against Purdue. He was again named Big East rookie of the week on December 31 after a 17-point performance against NJIT. He had a career-high 32 points on January 2, 2013, to propel Villanova to a 98–86 overtime victory over St. John's. This performance earned Arcidiacono Big East rookie of the week honors for the week of January 6. In the January 26 contest against third-ranked Syracuse, Arcidiacono made a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 61. The Wildcats ended up defeating Syracuse in overtime 75–71. Arcidiacono earned his fourth rookie of the week honors in the last week of the regular season.

Led by Arcidiacono, Villanova enjoyed a 20–14 season and reached the NCAA Tournament where they were seeded ninth and matched up with eight seed North Carolina in the first round. Arcidiacono had 10 points, but his Wildcats lost to the Tar Heels 78–71. He posted averages of 11.9 points, 3.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game. Arcidiacono started all 34 games and played an average of 34.0 minutes per game, which led the team. He was named Philadelphia Big 5 rookie of the year and was selected to the Big East All-Rookie team.

Sophomore

Coming into his sophomore campaign, Arcidiacono focused on improving his footwork and shooting mechanics. Arcidiacono hit a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds left in a November 29 matchup against Kansas despite not making a shot until that point. The Wildcats held on to upset the second-ranked Jayhawks 63-59. Arcidiacono had his first double-double with 20 points and 11 assists in a 94–85 overtime win over Marquette on January 25, 2014. He recorded a season-high 21 points in the February 18 game against Providence. With 3.1 seconds left in double overtime, Arcidiacono completed a three point play to help the Wildcats to a 82–79 victory.

He was an honorable mention all-Big East selection at the conclusion of the regular season. He joined teammate Darrun Hilliard on the All-Big 5 Second Team. He posted averages of 9.9 points, 3.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds per contest. Arcidiacono started 33 games and played an average of 31.1 minutes per game, leading the team.

Junior

Arcidicono was selected to the preseason second team All-Big East. In its preseason top 100 college basketball player rankings, ESPN ranked Arcidiacono #84. Arcidiacono was named to the 36-man Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List. On November 14, Arcidiacono scored 16 points in his season debut, a 77–66 victory over Lehigh.


Position Point guard
League Big East Conference

Personal information
Born March 26, 1994 (age 20)
Nationality American / Italian
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)

Career information
High school Neshaminy (Langhorne, Pennsylvania)
College Villanova (2012–present)Position Point guard
League Big East Conference


Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)