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Dylan Ennis injury: Villanova prepares for Atlantis with help from the Rice transfer

After sitting a year out due to his transfer from Rice and then recovering from a broken hand, Dylan Ennis is anxious to finally play a game with the Wildcats.

By Brian Ewart
Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

After breaking his hand before the season started, it was expected that former Hoops Mania slam dunk champion Dylan Ennis would be sidelined for a while. The cast is off of his hand, however, and finally, the sophomore point guard has returned to the practice court.

He was a full participant in practice, starting on Sunday, according to Philahoops.com.

More: The Dylan Ennis Dilemma

He is feeling good about his hand and where he is at, but that doesn't mean that Ennis will play in Thursday's game against Southern California. Even with a healthy hand, Wright still may need time to re-integrate Ennis with the team's offensive and defensive flow -- and to ensure that he is otherwise ready to play in his first college game since Spring 2012.

"I think he’ll be able to play, I just don’t know how much we can use him yet," Wright said. "We’ll just have to monitor him." -Philahoops.com


Part of the problem is their schedule. The 'Cats are taking off for Paradise Island today, and won't get another practice in until they are settled in at the Atlantis resort. That means that Ennis will have only taken part in two or three practices since getting the all-clear from doctors to return to the hardwood, before the 'Cats launch into the Bahamas tournament -- and with games on back-to-back-to-back days, don't expect much practice time after Wednesday.

The decision over playing time won't be made until sometime tomorrow night, and even if Wright does use the transfer guard in the Bahamas, his minutes could be limited by default. Putting the untested guard onto the court in a close game isn't an easy call to make, especially without seeing Ennis play with these teammates in a competitive game. Putting him in with a big lead, however, seems like a no-brainer -- there is no better time to work on integrating him into the line-up.

If he does get in, he won't have the green light to shoot.

"I'm going to have to convince him he's going to have to rebound and play defense first," Wright told Philahoops' Aaron Bracy. "He's not going to jack up shots right away. We'll see how that goes."

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