Villanova, Notre Dame Men’s College Basketball: All-Time Starting 5

As Villanova and Notre Dame prepare to meet in the Eternal City Tip-Off Nov. 1 in Rome, Italy, both men’s basketball programs are in peculiar spots. The Wildcats haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since their 2022 Final Four run. For the Irish, it’s been almost 10 years, as their last deep March Madness run was a 2016 Sweet 16 appearance. The days of legendary head coaches Jay Wright and Mike Brey are gone. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are now NBA veterans who just added an NBA championship ring to their decorated résumés. It’s been almost 50 years since Bill Laimbeer led the Fighting Irish to a Final Four. Villanova and Notre Dame men’s basketball look different in 2026-27, but the illustrious history remains. Here’s a look at the all-time starting five between the two programs, decided upon based on NCAA and NBA achievements, regardless of position. Villanova Wildcats: Brunson became the 14th player to win two college basketball national championships and an NBA title when he led the New York Knicks over the San Antonio Spurs this past June, ending the franchise’s 53-year title drought. Brunson averaged 32.6 points per contest over the five-game series to win Finals MVP. He provided the same steadiness he did as the Wildcats’ point guard in 2016 and 2018. Despite that success in college, Brunson was a second-round selection in the 2018 NBA Draft. He quickly proved doubters wrong, ultimately earning a long-term deal in free agency with the Knicks in 2022. In New York, he turned into a superstar, with an underdog story the city rallied behind. Arizin starred for Villanova in the late 1940s. He made his mark in the NBA as Arizin won a title with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1956. He was officially selected as one of the players on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, coming in at No. 66 in the exclusive honor. Arizin was a 10-time All-Star, who led the NBA in scoring in 1952 and 1957. Bridges was a freshman on the 2016 national title team and left for the NBA after winning his second NCAA championship as a junior. He joined forces with former Villanova teammates Brunson and Hart to win an NBA title in 2026 after a blockbuster trade sent him to the Knicks in the summer of 2024. Bridges holds the legendary stat of never missing a game in college or the NBA. Hart won one national title with Villanova as a junior in 2016. He went on to win the NBA Finals with former Wildcats teammates Brunson and Bridges 10 years later. His role in that series, and for the Knicks in general, is as a hustle-player and culture-setter. At Villanova, though, he was the leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points per game as a senior. Hart was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the final pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft. He was later sent to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a 2019 blockbuster trade for superstar Anthony Davis and then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for CJ McCollum in 2022 before ultimately landing with the Knicks in 2023 via trade. Pinckney led the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA championship in 1985, as the 8th-seeded Wildcats upset Patrick Ewing and vaunted Georgetown. Pinckney scored 16 points in the title game and led Villanova with 15.6 points per game that season. The Phoenix Suns selected Pinckney with the No. 10 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. His best NBA season came in 1989-90, when Pinckney averaged 12.3 points per game after a midseason trade to the Sacramento Kings. Notre Dame: Carr was the type of college legend that fans pass lore about from generation to generation. The dynamo scorer still holds the record for the most points in an NCAA Tournament game when he dropped 61 against the Ohio Bobcats in the 1970 NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Irish made it to the Sweet 16 that year. After averaging 34.6 points per contest across his collegiate career, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Carr with the No. 1 pick in the 1971 NBA Draft. Carr’s NBA career didn’t live up to expectations, but he played nine seasons in Cleveland and averaged 16.2 points per game. Paxson was the definition of “steady.” A solid point guard, who played all four years at Notre Dame, turned into the engine for offense with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ first three-peat. The Fighting Irish made the Sweet 16 in Paxson’s sophomore season. After two years with the San Antonio Spurs, who selected him in the first round of the 1983 NBA Draft, he landed with the Bulls and fit right into their championship culture. Dantley averaged 30.4 points per game as a sophomore at Notre Dame in a season where the Fighting Irish fell to the Maryland Terrapins in the Round of 32. Dantley was selected by the Buffalo Braves with the No. 6 pick of the 1976 NBA Draft and won Rookie of the Year honors. But he was traded to the Indiana Pacers the next season. Dantley then had a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers before landing with the Utah Jazz, where he led the NBA in scoring in 1981 and 1984. Dantley finished as a six-time All-Star. Ellis spent four seasons at Notre Dame from 1988-92 and is the only player in Fighting Irish history to lead the team in blocks for all four years. He finished his time in South Bend with 200 blocked shots and ultimately had his jersey retired. The Denver Nuggets selected Ellis with the fifth pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. Laimbeer spent three years in South Bend, helping the Fighting Irish reach the Final Four in 1978. Notre Dame was defeated by the Duke Blue Devils, who lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in the national championship. Laimbeer spent one season in Italy before going to the NBA, where he became a legend. His tough-nosed style was a fixture for the “Detroit Basketball” “Bad Boys.” Laimbeer averaged a double-double in the Detroit Pistons’ first NBA championship run in 1988 and helped them go back-to-back the next season.