City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Villanova’s frontcourt took a hit just a week into practice. Freshman forward Tim Delaney will undergo hip surgery, the team announced Friday, and there was no timetable given for his return.

Delaney was rated as three-star recruit by both Rivals and 247 out of Pitman, N.J. and, at 6-foot-8.5, he would give the Wildcats depth in the post. The team said the diagnosis was a torn labrum in Delaney’s left hip, and he would have surgery performed by Dr. John Salvo.

“I’m disappointed for Tim,” head coach Jay Wright said in a statement. “Tim had a great summer and preseason. He’s a very coachable young man and was picking up everything we do. The good news is that the doctors tell us this is an injury that can be fixed and we know Tim will be fully committed to his rehab.”

Villanova returns just two players – Daniel Ochefu and Darryl Reynolds – who are 6-8 or taller and played more than 100 minutes last season. Ochefu started in all but two of the Wildcats’ 36 contests and averaged 9.2 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game. Reynolds appeared in 27 games and connected on 15 of his 21 field goal attempts while scoring 38 points last season.

Delaney spent his first three high school seasons at Pitman High School before playing his senior year at Blair Academy. He also played on the AAU circuit for We R 1.

It was a long wait to get to Villanova for Delaney, who verbally committed to Wright’s program in June 2013. Unfortunately for the freshman, he will have to wait longer to get his collegiate career started.