NCAA Basketball: Champions Classic, NCAA Tourney bubble lead Sunday Mailbag
By Bryan Mauro
4. Any Information on the severity of Bryan Antoine’s new shoulder injury? – Mike H. (@mikeHydraulics)
Villanova was my pick to win the national championship this year and I am not going to waiver from that as even the players they have available are still better than most teams in the country. Villanova has been through the ringer this offseason with injuries though. In early September they were shut down to positive Covid tests on the team and then after the shutdown happened the Wildcats started to experience a rash of injuries.
The starting guards both got injured Collin Gillespie with a hamstring and Justin Moore had a knee ailment. Those players are fine and healthy now and contributing to the Wildcats. Bryan Antoine was another player who was injured in that time frame, as he reinjured the shoulder that he had surgically repaired last offseason. The Wildcats camp has been very hush about the injury and its severity overall.
It is something to worry about if you want to see Antoine play. Coming out of high school he was one of the best guards in the country and there were very high hopes for him while at Villanova. However, he had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum before he arrived in Philadelphia and while he did play last year, the guard could never get himself fully up to speed and he struggled to see the floor.
Entering this season Antoine was supposed to be healthy and ready to make an impact and then before the season started, he reinjured the shoulder causing him to miss a ton of time. The guard has not practiced since September and it doesn’t look like he is going to in the foreseeable future. Coach Jay Wright and coaching staff have been “hush hush” as to extent of the injury but have not yet ruled him out for the season.
The Wildcats have plenty of talent and are going to be able to absorb his loss as they are on a quest for their third national title in the last six years. When the guard comes back, he is going to help them, and once he gets up to full speed and can go 100% that is going to make Villanova that much better.
It is just unfortunate that a talented kid and a good kid’s career has taken the path that it has, but Antoine will come back stronger and further reinforce the Wildcats as my title winner.