Phil Booth out indefinitely with broken bone in shooting hand

Villanova Wildcats guard Phil Booth had been on the comeback trail after missing most of last season with knee tendinitis. Unfortunately for Booth, this effort has hit a major setback. In Tuesday night’s win over the Providence Friars, he broke a bone in his shooting hand that now has him out in definitely, per the program.

Booth was fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game this season. He also put up marks of 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point land. His eFG% of 62.1 percent is the second-best mark on the team and so is his TS% of 64.8 percent.

Needless to say, he has been a significant role player and a big reason why Villanova is 19-1 at this point.

Without Booth, the easy option for Villanova to turn to is Collin Gillespie. Gillespie has been getting back into the swing of things after suffering an injury himself. He and Donte DiVincenzo will likely be relied upon to complement Big East and National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson in the backcourt.

Best of luck to Phil Booth in the recovery process. And after last year, hopefully this process goes a lot quicker for his sake.