Villanova 5-star freshman Spellman ruled academically ineligible

Villanova forward and five-star freshman Omari Spellman will be an academic redshirt for the 2016-17 season, a school spokesperson told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Wildcats head coach Jay Wright acknowledged Spellman's ineligibility in a statement obtained by ESPN's Jeff Borzello soon after the news broke:

We are extremely disappointed for Omari. While we don't agree with the NCAA's decision, we are members of the association and respect it. We understand why the NCAA felt it had to rule this way. We will make a positive out of this for Omari. He will concentrate on his academics and individual development this season. In the long run Omari will be a better student and player for this experience.

Spellman's academic eligibility became a subject of concern over the summer, when the Wildcats were forced to sit him during their Spain tour. The issue is related to when he began ninth grade.

"Once you start (high school), you have four years to complete it," Wright told ESPN's Dana O'Neil at the time. "When they started counting his four years, that's what's at question."

Spellman was expected to make an instant impact for the defending national champions, who lost key forward Daniel Ochefu to graduation at the end of last season.

With Spellman out for the year, Villanova will likely insert returning senior Darryl Reynolds into the starting lineup. He averaged only 3.6 points per game last season, but stepped up in the three games Ochefu missed, averaging nine per night.