Cosby-Roundtree won’t play another season for Villanova
Leg injuries, which have beset Cosby-Roundtree throughout his time at Villanova, will keep him off the court in 2021-22 and perhaps longer.
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Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Villanova’s top big man reserve on its 2018 NCAA championship team, beset by leg injuries throughout his college career, had an extra year of eligibility available this season, but won’t be playing for the Wildcats.
“I kind of had to make a tough decision, where I had to think about my physical and mental health and just evaluate that,” Cosby-Roundtree said in a phone interview Wednesday, explaining that he’d been having what he termed “tough conversations” with coaches, teammates, his family, and his doctors, all talking about moving forward.
“Trying to think about what moving forward is,” Cosby-Roundtree said.
Jay Wright talked this week about the leadership role Cosby-Roundtree has offered the team, even when sitting out last season after surgery to repair his left tibia.
“He’s had so many surgeries,” Wright said.
“I’ve had four surgeries in the past five years,” Cosby-Roundtree said, explaining that two were on each leg -- first the right tibia, then the left -- and the injuries went back to high school.
“I felt I wasn’t really competing against other people, against my teammates, and the opposition,” Cosby-Roundtree said. “I was really competing against my own body. Every day, I felt like, was a battle with my own body. It was really depressing. It was very hard.”
His most productive season was in 2018-19, when the 6-foot-9 power forward averaged 5.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes. One memorable game, against Texas Tech in the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight, he got a quick four points and 7 rebounds in just 12 minutes after Omari Spellman got into foul trouble.
“I participate any way I can,” Cosby-Roundtree said of still being part of the team. “Just being there, being the oldest person on my team, who has won a national championship, a Big East championship. I can still offer advice and wisdom. I’m at everything, every day, with the team. I still live with the team.”
As for whether his future includes playing basketball, Cosby-Roundtree said, “I don’t know what the future holds. I feel like, again, I’m still working on my body, still trying to be the best I can be. I don’t think as of right now -- I don’t see playing in my future, as of right now.”