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Josh Shipp underwent a successful arthroscopic right hip procedure Wednesday. He is expected to m

Shipp won’t sail on the court for weeks

Starter rests after hip surgery, team prepares to go it without him

Seth Fast Glass
Published: Thursday, September 29, 2005

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.