Former Villanova basketball star Cam Whitmore has found a new home with the Houston Rockets, but the journey to that destination was anything but smooth sailing.

Whitmore was a projected lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft, with many experts expecting to see him in the top-10. But on draft night last Thursday, Whitmore tumbled all the way down to the 20th pick when the Rockets selected him.

While it was initially reported as lingering injury concerns for the reason he slid so far down the draft board, new information in the following days pointed to behind the scenes chatter about character and effort issues.

It is rumored around the league to go even deeper than that, as detailed by Ryen Russillo on the Bill Simmons Podcast.

“The Villanova coach [Kyle Neptune] wasn't exactly talking him up, which is a no-no especially if you are a first year coach,” Russillo revealed on an appearance with Bill Simmons.

“I think the Nova family was more pissed about that. And it's not great for recruiting because people can use it against you later on,” Russillo elaborated.

The fanbase was certainly disappointed to hear that their head coach was not hyping one of the team's star players to NBA scouts and franchises, as it reflects poorly on the University.

Villanova basketball has a proud tradition and extremely passionate fanbase. They won the NCAA National Championship twice in three years in 2016 and 2018 under Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright.

Kyle Neptune took over the program after Wright retired after the 2022 season, and had a tumultuous first year to say the least. The Wildcats had appeared in the NCAA Tournament 14 times under Wright, and Neptune did not live up to that pedigree in year one.