It looks as though Villanova’s most heralded recruit in some time might not see the court again the rest of the season.
Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports, among others, is reporting that Yarou will have to sit out the year due to some kind of viral infection. The infection is not life-threatening, but that is really all the information that we have on it right now.
First and foremost, Yarou’s health is the most important thing here, and we certainly hope he makes a full recovery. Everything I’ve read, while cryptic about the actual illness, says that he should make a full recovery and be ready to go next season.
As for the affect this will have on team in 2009. Yarou was supposed to be the difference maker in the middle to go up against the opposing team’s big man. With him out, Mo Sutton is going to have to contribute big minutes, Taylor King will likely have to play a lot of PF and Isaiah Armwood might have to grow up faster than expected. Reggie Redding will also be counted on to defend some bigs when he returns.
Certainly not a season-killer, but it will make the road for a repeat Final Four trip a lot more difficult.
The 6-0 Wildcats are up to #3 in the country and play Drexel and #22 Maryland this week. I’ll likely do a post about the Maryland game, which will be their biggest test of the year so far.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
What are the rules for redshirting a season? I know Yarou played in maybe 1 or 2 games to start the season. Is he eligible for a readshirt season?
chris-
he will absolutely be eligible for a redshirt. not sure what the specific rules are, but I know he will qualify.
Pete I thought so too until I read this:
By normal redshirt rules he wouldn’t. They have to apply for a medical hardship waiver with the NCAA and get that approved.
My understanding is that there are guidelines for medical redshirt consideration. A player who has only been in 1-2 games and then suffers a season ending medical condition would fit in there easily. It might get hairy if he recovered quickly enough so that he could perhaps come back late in the season.
Mouph would definitely get a medical redshirt. Preseason, this event would devestate me. I figured we could lose a guard or forward and be ok with the depth the team has, but assumed the one guy we couldn’t lose would be Mouph. However, after the previous 6 games this isn’t that bad in my mind (nowhere near the Sumpter knee injuries were). Pena is looking like he’s going down the “Dante Cunningham Improvement” road, Sutton plays balls to the wall and gives you exactly what you need from a backup center: 4 pts 4 boards, almost 2 blocks, and 3 fouls, King is playing bigger than he actually is with those long arms, and Armwood reminds me of Sumpter. When Redding comes back this team will be fine down low, as he may be our “toughest” forward. Also, expect Cheek to see some minutes at the 4 depending on who they’re playing. I can guarantee he’ll get minutes there against WV and Ebanks.
Maryland ain’t 22 anymore and should never have been there in the first place. They live and die with Vazquez obviously and when he’s not on they’re more like a 35-50 team.
Oh and it would not shock me to see Mouph pull a Tyler Zeller and play at the end of the year and in March. If you have a shot to win a national championship, contribute, and are most likely a 3 year player anyway then a redshirt could be worthless.
looks like he has Hepatitis B. I am not a doctor of any kind, so I have no idea what that means for his possible return.
I still havent caught a game yet.(no more DVR)
I really want to see sutton play. Im so used to nova having the charles barkley sized centers/forwards. That sucks for Mouph, but the team is still bigger despite him out. Pena, sutton and a tall guard should still give nova its best frontcourt since Ive seen them play.