5-Star SF Cam Whitmore Commits to Villanova Over UNC, Illinois

Highly touted wing Cam Whitmore committed to Villanova on Thursday.

The 6'6" small forward sits sixth at his position and 24th nationally in 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also the best player from the state of Maryland in the 2022 class.

In terms of what to expect from Whitmore, he offered a telling comment to Inside Carolina's Sherrell McMillan last August.

"My first priority is to attack the basket," he said. "I believe whoever is guarding me, there's no way they can stop me from getting to the basket. I'm working on shooting off the dribble and that's been getting better. Overall, I think I defend pretty well. I can block shots, and I'm versatile enough to really defend all positions."

If he sees a path to the paint, Whitmore won't hesitate to put his head down and go. His attacking instincts extend to when he's away from the ball as well since put-back dunks are one tool in his arsenal.

Eric Bossi of 247Sports also described Whitmore as the "basketball version of a heat-seeking missile whose target is attacking the rim and causing as much destruction as possible once he gets there."

There's a good chance the dynamic forward will put somebody on a poster as a member of the Wildcats.

Of course, athleticism and dunking ability only goes so far at the college level, at least for players who want to reach an elite level.

Whitmore acknowledged to McMillan he has some room to grow as a shooter. He can't afford to have opponents sag off him on the perimeter, thus cutting off his angles for drives into the paint.

As long as he can make defenders respect his jumper, Whitmore will be a terror on offense for Villanova.

He joins 4-star combo guard Mark Armstrong in Villanova's incoming 2022 class.  Armstrong is 46th overall in 247Sports' composite rankings.

Beyond getting the program back to a place where it could contend for national championships, Jay Wright has been excellent at developing talent. Saddiq Bey, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart all maxed out in college en route to solid pro careers so far.

That probably didn't go unnoticed by Whitmore, considering how much his ceiling will rise if he can flesh out his offensive repertoire.