Villanova signee, Ryan Arcidiacono has opted to have back surgery, ending any chance that he would play basketball during his senior season in high school. The point guard described the surgery as a "minor procedure" that will take place later this month. He had been experiencing lower-back discomfort, due to a herniated disc, since May, and tried to play through it, but ultimately missed most of the summer AAU season.

Archy has accumulated 1,498 points, 449 rebounds, 378 assists, 178 steals, and hit 1603 -pointers in his high school career.

The injury itself is far more troubling than the time missed on the court. A number of other Villanovans have missed a year of basketball before joining the Villanova team as freshmen, including JayVaughn Pinkston this season and Chris Charles, who joined the program in 2001-02. Charles' story is one of the more interesting of the three; his original high school chose to de-emphasize athletics and when Charles attempted to transfer to Milford Academy in Connecticut, that school ended up closing its dormitories prior to the basketball season for for safety reasons.

Arcidiacono will have to undergo rehab for between 6 and 8 weeks after recovering from the surgery. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"I tried to be optimistic going into this, but it turned out to be a little more serious than I thought it would be," Arcidiacono said. "I guess this was bound to happen."

"It's disappointing, obviously, but this is something that will speed up the process of me getting back to playing basketball," he said. "I'm excited about that part of it."

Villanova's basketball staff was reportedly consulted about the injury and surgery and has been supportive of Arcidiacono's decision to go under the knife.