Antoine solid in first full practice
RADNOR » Bryan Antoine looked surprisingly fresh as he walked off the court in the Finneran Pavilion following his first full practice as a Villanova Wildcat Thursday afternoon.
That’s not what the highly touted 6-5 freshman guard expected after sitting out more than five months following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right (shooting) shoulder on May 31.
“I kind anticipated it to be, the first five minutes I would be out of breath and I wouldn’t be able to breathe,” Antoine said. “But just playing out there with the guys and have them pushing me, it was just great to be out there.”
Antoine’s long wait to finally resume full basketball activities ended earlier in the day when he was told by the medical staff that he was cleared to practice. He didn’t exactly jump for joy when he received the news, though.
“I’m going to be honest,” Antoine said. “I was kind of nervous and also happy to be on the court with the guys. But I was nervous because just being out there playing college basketball. I’ve been sidelined for three or four months. I haven’t played basketball in a while so it’s kind of crazy that I’m playing in the beginning of the college basketball season.”
Antoine went through the full two-hour workout, taking normal breaks and even made a free throw in a drill at the end of practice.
Wright was concerned when Antoine left the court at one point until he was told by an assistant coach that it was a normal sub rotation.
“I thought he looked surprisingly good,” Wright said. “He doesn’t know a lot of what we’re doing, but to be out for that long and to come back and play with that much intensity is a real tribute to how hard he worked. It’s a real tribute to (trainer) Jeff Pierce and (strength coach) John Shackleton getting him in shape because he went up and down and he didn’t look spent. He hasn’t played basketball since April so I was pleasantly, pleasantly surprised.”
Antoine also gave Pierce and Shackleton credit for helping him get back on the court.
“Oh my goodness, those are my guys,” Antoine said. “… I feel like for three months I kind of spent my time at ‘Nova in Jeff’s office, just doing rehab, talking to him, getting to know him. Jeff’s an amazing person, great guy.
“Shack pushes me very hard. He’s a funny guy. Every time we have a lift, he’s always energetic. He’s always the loudest one, always screaming something. Those two guys really mean a lot to me.”
It’s still going to be a while before Antoine, who was ranked in the top 20 in all the major recruiting services for the Class of 2019, sees game action. Wright said in a text earlier in the day that he will monitor him closely and won’t consider evaluating a return to game action until after Thanksgiving. Antoine is fine with that time table. “Everyone knows that I’m eager to go out there and play, but it’s also an injury that could happen again if I’m not taking it carefully,” Antoine said. “I mean, I played my whole senior year season with it and it was not a good feeling so I don’t want to go into college basketball with the same injury happening again after I just had surgery. From now on I’m just taking it day-by-day.”
Antoine was expected to be a major part of the rotation from the start. He was a McDonald’s All-American who averaged 21 points per game and led Ranney High School to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title as a senior. The shoulder injury, though, delayed those plans.
“We’re all excited to have him back,” Wright said. “The next step is to get Antoine up to speed on the Villanova way.
That’s the biggest hurdle, especially now that I saw him today. Physically and in terms of conditioning, he was better than I thought he would be so that’s not a hurdle. The hurdle is he doesn’t know anything. He hasn’t done anything. We just got to get him watching film as much, spend extra time with him and get him acclimated as soon as we can.”
ON THIS DATE IN DELCO ...