UCLA sophomore men’s basketball player Josh Shipp
underwent a successful arthroscopic right hip procedure on
Wednesday to repair a torn labrum and remove bone spurs.
Shipp, who injured the hip sometime during summer while playing
in a local summer league, was originally scheduled to have the
surgery on Sept. 23 at UCLA, but opted to get a second opinion from
his family physician Dr. Carlos Guanche, who performed the
procedure in Van Nuys.
Guanche, who performed a similar surgery on Josh Shipp’s
older brother Joe nearly a year ago, also confirmed that there was
no arthritis or degenerative condition in the Bruin
sophomore’s right hip.
“I’m very pleased that the outcome was a successful
one and we’re looking forward to having Josh back as soon as
he is completely healed,” UCLA men’s basketball coach
Ben Howland said in a statement. “His rehabilitation will
hopefully begin on Monday and we will proceed with caution and be
patient with his recovery.”
The procedure carries an expected recovery time of 8-12 weeks,
pitting the sophomore’s return anywhere from the middle of
the Bruins’ non-conference schedule to the team’s
Pac-10 opener against Stanford on Dec. 29.
That means the 6-foot-5-inch Shipp, who will spend the first
month of recovery on crutches, will miss the beginning of practice
on Oct. 14, and UCLA’s Preseason National Invitation
Tournament games, which start on Nov. 15.
Because Shipp, one of four returning starters from last
year’s NCAA Tournament team, is expected to miss a prolonged
period of time, redshirt senior Cedric Bozeman or incoming freshman
Mike Roll appear likely candidates to assume his spot in the
starting lineup.
Replacing Shipp’s productivity in the time being, however,
will be a tall order. In his freshman campaign, Shipp was
UCLA’s second-leading rebounder (5.2 rebounds per game) and
the team’s fourth-leading scorer (9.3 points per game), and
exhibited the court awareness of a seasoned veteran on the
floor.