Injuries a concern as season approaches
As if navigating the intricacies of trying to play a college basketball season in the middle of a global pandemic wasn’t tough enough, Villanova coach Jay Wright has had to deal with a more familiar problem two weeks ahead of the season starting: Injuries.
The third-ranked Wildcats are banged up and have been for a while.
“We’re starting to come back,” Wright said during a Zoom call Thursday.
Guard Collin Gillespie missed nearly two months with a hamstring injury, Wright said. The 6-3 senior, who is on the Bob Cousey watch list given annually to the top point guard in the country, returned to practice a week ago.
Gillespie isn’t the only hobbled Wildcat. Guard Justin Moore practiced Monday after being sidelined for close to a month with a bone bruise. The 6-4 sophomore is on the Jerry West watch list as one of the top shooting guards in the country.
“It was something that when it happened it looked serious and we were real conservative with it, and thank God it was just a bone bruise and we’ve been careful bringing him back,” Wright said. “We’ve been very conservative because it happened right after our quarantine.”
Guard Bryan Antoine had been sidelined since September with an injured right shoulder, Wright said. That’s the same shoulder Antoine had surgery on more than a year ago to repair a torn labrum.
“It doesn’t look like he’s going to get back real quick here,” Wright said. “I really feel for him. He’s keeping a great attitude and that’s the one that concerns me.”
Although it’s the same shoulder, Wright said it is not the same injury that limited the five-star recruit to 16 games last season.
Forward/center Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree has been slow in his recovery from off-season surgery on his right shin. The 6-9 senior had screws and a plate removed from a surgery he had back in high school.
“He’s still struggling with that leg,” Wright said. “He’s been out for a long time, practiced for about a week. In fact, he’s going to get an X-ray again (Thursday). He’s kind of having problems with it again so not in great shape physically right now.”
Walk-on senior Kevin Hoehn suffered a torn Achilles tendon and most likely will miss the season.
Wright said all the injuries except for Cosby-Rountree’s happened in early October, shortly after the
Wildcats returned to practice from a more than twoweek quarantine, when several members of the program tested positive for COVID-19.
“We tried to come back slow and easy, but it still happened,” Wright said. “It’s one of the things we all have to keep an eye on during the season. If you’re team gets shut down it’s not just those 14 days, it’s coming back and getting yourself into practice because they can’t workout or practice during the quarantine.”
What this means for the rotation remains to be seen. When healthy, Gillespie and Moore will be in the starting lineup along with senior Jermaine Samuels and sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Samuels is on the Julius Erving watch list for the top small forward in the country. Josh Hart and Saddiq Bey are the last two winners of the award. Robinson-Earl is up for the Karl Malone Award given annually to the top power forward in the country.
The remaining spot in the starting lineup will go to either 6-8 junior swingman Cole Swider, who started 15 of the 31 games last season; 6-4 junior guard Caleb
Daniels, a transfer from Tulane; 6-6 junior swingman Brandon Slater; or possibly redshirt freshman forward Eric Dixon out of Abington.
“We’re looking at just who could be more impactful as a sixth man, that guy that can come off the bench and fill any role,” Wright said. “He can substitute for any position. All four of those guys have entered into that conversation. Cole and Caleb probably are right there and both of them would probably play the same number of minutes. It’s just a matter of which one could be more versatile coming off the bench.”
Wright is high on the 6-8, 260-pound Dixon, who would give the Wildcats a physical presence in the post that they haven’t had since Daniel Ochefu graduated after leading Villanova to the national title in 2016.
“He’ll play for us this year, Wright said of Dixon. “I don’t want to place any limits on him. He could go as far as become a starter at some point and he could be a ninth man this year, just based on his conditioning and his ability to get up and down the floor in game situations. This kid is talented
and he’s got a great mindset, really coachable and a really great basketball IQ.”
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NOTES » Villanova will be limited to less than 15 percent of spectator capacity for games at the Pavilion, according to guidelines implemented by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for indoor gatherings. That means the maximum number of people in the 6,500-seat facility is around 900 and includes the teams, officials, support personnel and fans. Wright said that Villanova has come up with a way to determine who gets into the games.
“A really cool dynamic here,” Wright said. “All of our season ticket holders and all of our major donors, who pay a lot of money to get the seats at the Pavilion and the Wells Fargo Center, they have volunteered to give up their seats so the students on campus can have an opportunity to come to games. My wife, Patty, likes to call it the COVID blessings. It’s one of the COVID blessings to see everybody’s generosity and concern for the students and that’s how we’re going to try to do it.”