Jordann Dumont

Hometown: Montreal, Canada
High school: Hamilton Heights Christian (Tenn.)
Height: 6-8
Weight: 200

Jordann Dumont player preview:

After looking at the one-man Bench Mob, it’s time to look at the one-man freshman class.

Jordann Dumont is the Wildcats’ lone freshman this year. He didn’t get much love from recruiting services, with On3 and Rivals rating him as a three-star prospect, while he wasn’t even on 247 sports and ESPN’s radar.

While it may be a cause for a concern to some fixated on rankings, or a beacon of hope to others when looking back at recent players like Collin Gillespie and Darrun Hilliard, who were initially undervalued by recruiting services in high school before blowing up into stardom in college, it could also be because he had limited time in the United States basketball scene.

After all, recent Villanova commit Matt Hodge was a relative unknown when first moving in from Belgium, before becoming one of the biggest stockrisers this past offseason, amassing 17 Division I offers and getting elevated to four-star status.

Dumont moved from Canada and went to play his final two high school seasons at Hamilton Heights Christian (Tenn.), where he averaged 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game as a junior, at the time of his commitment.

He finished his senior season with 19.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks through 22.0 minutes per game.

Dumont believes his versatility is his greatest asset, which could make him an ideal fit for Villanova’s position-less schemes.

“I can guard one through five, bring confidence, toughness, rebounds, and score the ball,” Dumont said of his strengths. “I shoot a lot of threes and make a lot of threes. I’m going to help bring a lot of wins and versatility at Villanova.”

Dumont’s recruitment with Villanova occurred quickly, with him committing back in November 2022 to the Wildcats. He declared his intent two weeks after first meeting coach Kyle Neptune.

“I saw the culture, how coaches and players are building relationships, everything really is a family,” Dumont told VU Hoops after his commitment. “Everyone was happy, just everyone seemed happy to be at Villanova. Everybody seemed so happy to be at work. I just knew it was a great spot, great vibes, and everything is really good.

“Honestly, the difference from other coaches was I just feel like (Neptune) didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear, he just told me the truth. Everything he said, I felt it came from his heart. It was just real. With him, I know I can get better. He’s a young, great coach, and I feel that I fit the system at Villanova.”

While he has the athleticism to finish inside, he loves shooting the three-ball. Dumont represented Team Canada twice in his high school career, including his first national team nod in the U-18 FIBA Americas Cup, where he took more than half of his shots from beyond the arc and finished with a 36.0% clip from long range.

Best case scenario: It might be tough to crack the rotation given the experience across the roster, but perhaps Dumont is able to carve out a role for himself and get some burn in games as a player towards the end of the rotation. Whatever action he can get on game day or in the practice gym only helps him evolve for the future.

Worst case scenario: Minutes may be tough to come by early, especially as the only freshman on a team loaded with experienced returning Villanova players and incoming veteran transfers. Given Villanova’s light slate to begin the season, there’s a chance he gets to see some playing time if Villanova is able to get out to lopsided leads over the likes of American and LeMoyne. While it’s not necessarily terrible, Dumont does most of his development behind the scenes and waits his turn through this year.