Villanova: Ryan Arcidiacono goes scoreless in his Philly pro debut

Now a member of the Chicago Bulls, Villanova great Ryan Arcidiacono made his professional debut at the Wells Fargo Center in a scoreless outing.

The boys are back in town!

Well, at least one boy was back in town.

On Wednesday, January 24th in front of an incredibly receptive crowd, all-time Villanova great Ryan Arcidiacono made his triumphant return to the city of brotherly love, but unfortunately for many fans in attendance, he wasn’t wearing blue.

After going undrafted following the Wildcats’ Cinderella run to their first National Championship of the 21st Century, Arch went undrafted and spent his entire first season in the NBA as a member of the Austin Spurs, before signing a two-way contract to play with the Chicago Bulls for the 2017-2018 NBA season.

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And in the Bulls’ first game of the season in South Philly, Chicago gave him an extended look in a blowout loss.

With second-year starting point guard Kris Dunn currently taking part in NBA concussion protocol, Arcidiacono became the team’s backup point guard and got to face off against the likes of Ben Simmons, Justin Anderson, and Larry Drew II for much of the evening.

And unfortunately for Arch and the true blue Wildcats in attendance, it didn’t go quite as well as he may have hoped.

While no one in Philadelphia wanted to see a Bulls victory per say, as this is still very much the Sixers city, many wanted to see their former golden boy doing well in the NBA and continuing to develop into an NBA caliber player.

But it simply wasn’t meant to be.

In 18 minutes of action, Arcidiacono went 0-1 from the floor, while recording a pair of assists and a single rebound. Though these numbers aren’t good by any means, they aren’t exactly indicative of his performances so far this season.

Archie has only appeared in three games for the Bulls this season, and while he went scoreless in the two most recent contests, he actually played really well in his NBA debut, recording a respectable eight points, and four assists in a 113-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

While he may never become an NBA All-Star or even a full-time starter, Arch still has the potential to develop into a solid NBA player, and have a long, successful career in the league.

And hey, even if the Bulls decide not to retain the Wildcat great when his contract expires, Arcidiacono could always find his way back to Philly, and become a solid contributor for the Sixers for years to come. Wouldn’t that be something to see?

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