The Big East held its annual media day at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, and we'll recap all the Nova-related tidbits here throughout the day. But perhaps the biggest news for the Wildcats was Jay Wright acknowledging that a redshirt for five-star freshman Bryan Antoine is a "possibility."
Wright said Antoine's torn labrum wasn't correctly diagnosed until he got to Villanova, when he had surgery to correct the issue on May 31. Wright noted that Antoine hasn't been able to "do anything" yet and doesn't expect him to practice until mid to late November.
Wright said the goal is to "get him through his rehab first" and then see "how much the layoff has affected him." One positive is that Wright said the rehab is "going well" but even so the timing puts his season in question.
It's disappointing news for the Cats, who were excited to have one of their top recruits on the court and contributing this season. It appears that we'll probably get a decision sometime in December, but the signs aren't encouraging at this point.
We'll dig into the ramifications of the ultimate decision once it is made, but one thing that comes to mind immediately is whether Wright's knowledge of the situation has played into how he's approached recruiting this summer. Is it possible Wright has been expecting a redshirt for some time and is essentially considering Antoine a 2020 recruit at this point? We don't know for sure, but it would help to explain how this past summer played out. For now, we'll continue to monitor the Antoine situation and update as we learn more, but it appears we won't see him for at least the first six weeks of the season and possibly not until next season.
Wright said Antoine's torn labrum wasn't correctly diagnosed until he got to Villanova, when he had surgery to correct the issue on May 31. Wright noted that Antoine hasn't been able to "do anything" yet and doesn't expect him to practice until mid to late November.
Wright said the goal is to "get him through his rehab first" and then see "how much the layoff has affected him." One positive is that Wright said the rehab is "going well" but even so the timing puts his season in question.
It's disappointing news for the Cats, who were excited to have one of their top recruits on the court and contributing this season. It appears that we'll probably get a decision sometime in December, but the signs aren't encouraging at this point.
We'll dig into the ramifications of the ultimate decision once it is made, but one thing that comes to mind immediately is whether Wright's knowledge of the situation has played into how he's approached recruiting this summer. Is it possible Wright has been expecting a redshirt for some time and is essentially considering Antoine a 2020 recruit at this point? We don't know for sure, but it would help to explain how this past summer played out. For now, we'll continue to monitor the Antoine situation and update as we learn more, but it appears we won't see him for at least the first six weeks of the season and possibly not until next season.