Everything changed for Malcolm, Etan wrote, when Villanova’s Eric Dixon, a 6-foot-8 forward like Malcolm, withdrew his name from the NBA Draft in May 2024 and announced he would return for a sixth season at Villanova.
“Nobody really thought Eric was gonna come back,” Etan wrote, “but he did and there was no way on earth Malcolm was gonna get much opportunity to play so we all thought it would be best for him to redshirt and take the year to learn, improve, etc., etc.”
Dixon led Villanova with 23.3 points per game.
“Eric really took Malcolm under his wing,” Etan wrote. “They worked out outside of practice a few times every week. So no it wasn’t what we planned, but he made the most of it.”
Then Villanova fired Kyle Neptune, the coach who recruited Malcolm, on March 15, two days after a loss in the Big East tournament. Villanova hired Maryland’s Kevin Willard on March 30.
“Coach Kevin Willard (has) a reputation of let’s just say not being truthful and honest and trustworthy,” Etan wrote, “but we wanted to give him a chance and not go by what everyone else says, and ... let’s just say he has that reputation for a reason.”
Villanova played three games in the College Basketball Crown tournament in the first week of April. Thomas announced April 16 he would enter the transfer portal.
“So we go into the portal and our first zoom is with Dayton,” Etan wrote. “And from the jump Coach Anthony Grant was literally everything me and my wife Nichole have prayed for in a coach for Malcolm, but we didn’t want to jump to conclusions. We had a lot of schools who were interested and were planning on taking our time and going through the whole process. But then we took a visit to Dayton and they knocked it out of the park. The entire coaching staff just felt genuine, not like you were being sold snake oil or being hustled by a used-car salesman. There was an immediate connection.
“They made no promises but their offense is geared to someone like Malcolm succeeding. They broke down to us how they see him in the (Obi Toppin) mold and how much they would value him. You know when you have that feeling that something is right for you from the beginning and everything that transpires after keeps re-confirming that? Well, that’s how this was.
“We met the President of Dayton, Eric Spina, who was the Vice Chancellor at Syracuse while we were there and the excitement was literally reflecting off of him. Dayton may not have been on our radar before, but now, we are excited to join the Dayton family.”
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