Meet the Italian Wemby: Villanova freshman Luigi Suigo faces tall task of living up to early hype

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — The Villanova freshman billed as the “Italian Wemby” wants to clear the air that, no, he never actually compared himself to San Antonio sensation Victor Wembanyama.

It's just a nickname that has seemed to stick to 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo.

“I mean, I don't call myself that,” the 19-year-old Suigo said with a laugh. “I'm nothing like him right now. It's funny they call me that. It's an honor for me to be called the 'Italian Wemby' because he's one of the greatest players ever in basketball.”

Villanova would gladly take one elite season from Suigo. The Wildcats are still working to regain the status they enjoyed when they won national championships in 2016 and 2018, and they’ll be looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year.

Suigo is one of the more prized prospects to sign with the Wildcats in recent seasons. His unique size and touch make him as much of a fit around the 3-point line as he is as a traditional low-post big.

Suigo will make his debut in a familiar setting, against Notre Dame on Sunday in Rome in an event that has been dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off. Suigo, who is from a town outside Milan in northern Italy, expected some family and friends to travel several hours and attend the game. Who knows, Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus, might even be in the house for college basketball’s opener.

As for any excitement at playing in his home country? It’s sort of like asking a New Yorker if he’s excited to play a game in San Francisco. Right country, sure. Just enough geographical distance from where he was raised in Tradate, Varese, not to make it feel like a complete homecoming.

“It’s nothing crazy for me,” Suigo said. “I came here to play college basketball in a college arena. It’s not even close. It’s like seven hours from my home. If it was in Milano, it would be different.”

Suigo helped lead Italy to a FIBA U17 World Cup silver medal and played last season for Mega Basket in Serbia’s Adriatic League, where he averaged 18.3 minutes, 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26 games.

Villanova basketball general manager Baker Dunleavy and second-year coach Kevin Willard traveled to Serbia earlier this year to meet with Suigo and sell him on the Wildcats. And yes, spend on him. Many of the best bigs in college basketball can receive in the range of $3 million to $5 million in NIL money, per season.

“I think his biggest adjustment, and he's getting used to it now, is there's a different speed from the league he played in in Serbia to this," Willard said. “It's a different speed in the American game. But skill-wise, hand-wise, understanding the game, he's ready for the next jump. Can we catch him up with the speed, I think, is our biggest challenge for his year.”

The Wildcats also caught a bit of a break when Suigo pulled his name from the 2026 draft after he suffered a sprained ankle days before the NBA combine. He skipped the combine and instead worked out with a handful of NBA teams and received feedback that he would fare no better than a late first-round pick.

The real Wemby, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman, went No. 1 overall in 2023.

“I didn't want to get drafted under the top 20,” Suigo said.

Suigo said he believed that one year at Villanova could help him make the jump into a lottery pick and join a list of Villanova stars in the NBA such as Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

“I have great hopes that the people over there are that good and working me out and making me better and I could be a lottery pick next year,” Suigo said.

Suigo started playing basketball before he was 10 but he took several years off because of growth plate issues with his feet. He essentially couldn’t play basketball again until he was 12 when he grew into his body.

“For being a 6-year-old kid, I was too tall and my bones were like kid bones,” Suigo said. “They were not formed all the way. It was scratching my heel when I would run, jump, everything. So it was painful for my heel.”

Oh, and about those nicknames and comparisons: Suigo says his game is more comparable to the “Greek Freak,” Miami's 6-foot-11 star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I liked how he was 7-foot whatever and could dribble the ball up and go straight and dunk the ball every time,” Suigo said.

He might try and show off a mix of Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama in the opener against Notre Dame. His father, Massimo, will be in the stands. He already traveled to the United States to watch his son play in an exhibition game against Rutgers.

Suigo’s mom died when he was 11 and his father has been the constant pillar of support for him through his teen years. Massimo also passed down some of his cooking skills to his son. Suigo cooks when he has the time — pasta amatriciana is his specialty -- and he's ready for some native food back in Italy.

“You will know that it's just better,” he said.

Can Suigo turn his unusual physical tools into an NBA-caliber game during his year at Villanova? Much like the food he craves from home, the Wildcats hope they'll find out he's just better.

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