Villanova's Chennault granted hardship waiver

VILLANOVA GUARD Tony Chennault has been granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA and will be eligible to play for Villanova this season.

Chennault decided to transfer from Wake Forest this spring so he could be near his family in Philadelphia. He will have 2 years of eligibility.

"The Chennault family has been dealing with so much this year," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said in a statement. "Tony's mom has faced health issues and his brother, Mike Jay, died tragically earlier this month. We are grateful that the NCAA has taken these unique circumstances into account and I know Tony is excited about the opportunity to be on the court with us next season."

The 6-2 Chennault averaged 9.2 points and 2.8 assists in 2011-12 at Wake Forest. He played high school basketball at Ss. Neumann-Goretti.

Former Quakers standout Ira Bowman has been hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater. Bowman returns to Penn after 4 years as an assitant at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Bowman played for Penn for two seasons (1994-96) after transfering from Providence. He also had two stints with the Sixers, playing 11 games in 1999-2000 and three games in 2001-02.