Villanova gets Mouphtaou Yarou back
The freshman center will be back just in time for the Wildcats' Big East opener.
Greetings from courtside at McGonigle Hall, where I'm watching Temple's women's team play No. 8 Duke quite close - it's tied at 35 just over three minutes into the second half.
But the big news this afternoon is coming from Villanova, where freshman center Mouphtaou Yarou has been cleared to "resume all basketball activities" by physicians. Yarou was diagnosed with Hepatitis B last month and hasn't played since before the Wildcats' trip to Puerto Rico on November 19.
The timing couldn't have been much better, as 'Nova begins Big East play on Saturday. And it's not just any opener - the Wildcats will visit a Marquette team that is far better than its No. 12 ranking in the preseason conference poll.
"The doctors tell us he has responded well to treatment," Jay Wright said in a press release. "We'll see where he's at once he is back practicing with us and then make a determination on when he's ready to return to game action."
How soon do you think he'll be on the floor? And how do you think this impacts the Big East title race?