Jermaine Samuels Jr. is an American college basketball player for the Villanova Wildcats of the Big East Conference. Samuels attended The Rivers School and averaged 17.5 points per game as a senior, earning First team All-USA Massachusetts honors. He was highly recruited and committed to play at Villanova over several other schools. Samuels did not play much as a freshman on the team that won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. As a sophomore, he had an expanded role and averaged 6.4 points per game. Despite a foot injury during his junior season, he averaged 10.7 points per game.
High school career
Samuels is the son of Taihish and Jermaine Samuels Sr. and grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts. He began dunking the basketball at age 13 after growing from 5'9 to 6'3. Samuels attended The Rivers School, where he was coached by Andrew Mirken, as well as playing basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union for Expressions Elite. In his freshman season, he averaged 19 points per game for The Rivers School. As a sophomore, he had a knee injury which required surgery and six months recovery. Samuels averaged 17.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior and was named First team All-USA Massachusetts by USA Today. Samuels committed to playing college basketball for Villanova in November 2016, turning down offers from Indiana, Duke, Kansas, UConn, Georgetown, Arizona State and California. ESPN ranked him the 52nd best recruit in his class. He picked Villanova after visiting the campus in August 2016 and feeling very comfortable around the campus and coaches.
College career
Samuels had a season-high 11 points in a 103–85 win against DePaul on December 27, 2017. However, he fractured his left hand in the game and missed several weeks of playing time. He rejoined the rotation in February 2018 but struggled to receive consistent minutes and did not play in NCAA Tournament victories over West Virginia and Texas Tech. Samuels averaged 1.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game as a freshman on a team that won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game. On February 27, 2019, Samuels scored a career-high 29 points in a 67–61 win against Marquette. He had 12 points and seven rebounds in a NCAA Tournament win over Saint Mary's. Samuels helped Villanova achieve a 26–10 record and win the Big East Conference. He averaged 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Coming into his junior season, Samuels was named to the Preseason Second Team All-Big East alongside teammate Collin Gillespie. Samuels scored 15 points in a 56–55 win against top-ranked Kansas on December 21, 2019, including a three-pointer with 20.5 seconds remaining. On January 18, Samuels scored 19 points including a crucial three-point play in a 61–55 win against UConn. He had 20 points in a 76–61 win over Butler on January 21. On January 28, 2020, Samuels missed a game against St. John's with a sprained foot. Samuels made the game winning three-point play in a 70–69 win over Georgetown on March 7, finishing with 13 points. As a junior, Samuels averaged 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Big 5.
