Villanova got its third commit from the transfer portal on Friday in Max Shulga, who’s coming off of a career year at VCU. He opened up on his decision to go to ‘Nova with VUHoops.com
After helping VCU land the knockout punch on Villanova’s 2023-24 season in the opening round of the NIT, Max Shulga is now a Wildcat.
“Crazy how life works, who would’ve thought?” Shulga said. “That’s what it is now.”
Shulga had 10 points, three rebounds, six assists and one block in that Mar. 20 postseason game against Villanova. VCU eventually reached the NIT quarterfinals, and Shulga later entered the transfer portal.
A native of Ukraine, Shulga played three seasons at Utah State (2020-23), before playing at VCU last year.
On Friday, the 6-foot-4 guard committed to Villanova and will be serving his final year of eligibility as a Wildcat.
“I was just looking to find the same type of role that I had at VCU, just at the biggest stage in college basketball and that’s what I found in this opportunity,” Shulga said. “That’s what it’s all about, playing the best college competition, the best conference. Non-conference and in-conference, just competing against the best.
“Villanova is a program with a very rich history, with a winning culture. There’s great people in the program, on the staff, and I’m just excited to be a Wildcat and keep that going.”
He’s more than ready to get to work.
“I’ve learned how hard winning is, what it takes,” said Shulga of his biggest lessons learned from past experiences. “It takes a whole unit to win, and it’s not going to happen just by magic. You gotta put in the work, you gotta work every day and do the winning stuff now, so it learns to winning in the actual season.”
Shulga is coming off of a career year. He averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season, while shooting 44.6% overall and 41.5% from deep.
He is the third player to join Villanova from the transfer portal, the latest in a group of incoming arrivals who are all guards that coincidentally played against Villanova at one point or another. Aside from Shulga, there’s Tyler Perkins (Penn) and Jhamir Brickus (La Salle).
His skillset will bolster Villanova’s perimeter presence, but he also adds a playmaking element. Shulga is also a good rebounder for his size.
“I think I’m a pretty good three-point shooter, so I bring shooting, playmaking, defense,” Shulga said of his strengths. “I’m very good in pick-and-roll, just reading the defense, finding the open guy and exploiting advantages of pick-and-roll.
“(This year,) everything that I just mentioned, I want to take it to the next level. Defense, too. Defense is a huge part of the game, and you can’t play offense if you can’t play defense.”
Last year, Shulga made multiple three-pointers in 25 of 37 games.
He also scored in double figures in 31 of 37 outings, including a season-high 26 points against Saint Louis on Feb. 16, a 25-point game where he shot 6-of-9 from deep in a win over St. Bonaventure, and a crucial 25-point performance where he shot 10-of-11 in a 66-60 win over Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 semifinals.
Shulga hasn’t officially visited campus yet, but everything is still fresh from playing against Villanova in Finneran Pavilion.
“I didn’t visit, but I was there literally a month ago, so I feel like I’ve seen enough for me to know that’s where I want to be,” Shulga said. “The campus is beautiful.
“There was no other schools (I was considering). I was considering UConn earlier, but then they got a commit. Villanova guys — Coach Nep and Mike Nardi — have been reaching out to me since I’ve been in the portal really. … Coach Nep, I like him because apart from being a good person on the court and off the court as a coach, he lets the players play, as long as we play together. Whether it’s pick-and-roll, the post, or whatever we’re doing, there’s a lot of freedom in the play and just playing off concepts rather than running stationary plays.”
With Shulga’s commitment, there are now four scholarship spots remaining on Villanova’s roster, but two of those hinge on Mark Armstrong and Eric Dixon’s future plans, as they meander through the NBA Draft process.
His message for the fans?
“Just wait and see,” he said. “It’s a long summer, we’re going to get better over the summer. We’re going to gel well together, learn together and by the time the season comes, it’s going to be an exciting season for sure.”