LAWRENCE, Kan. — One by one they have fallen by the wayside, each of them with their own individual story, but all of them having the same effect on the West Virginia men’s basketball program.
First it was 6-foot-8 center Sagaba Konate, who has missed the last 16 games with a right knee injury.
Then came junior guard Beetle Bolden, who battled through multiple arm and leg injuries throughout the season, only to succumb finally to a high ankle sprain.
Will they play again this season?
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Huggins said Thursday. Later, on his radio show, Huggins said it was unlikely Bolden would play at 4 p.m. Saturday, when the Mountaineers (10-14, 2-9 Big 12) travel to play No. 14 Kansas (19-6, 8-4).
The Mountaineers added two more to the list earlier this week, when the school announced Monday that forwards Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris were dismissed from the team for a “violation of athletic department policies.”
Between the four, West Virginia will be without a combined 334 games worth of experience, including a combined 217 starts.
Left to finish out the season is a roster of nine healthy scholarship players and two walk-ons who have all combined for 84 starts over their careers.
“I think it is a completely different roster we have now,” Huggins said.
No kidding.
Huggins’ plan moving forward is not complex.
“I don’t think we’re going to make drastic changes, we’re just going to have different people doing it,” Huggins said. “It’s hard to make drastic changes on a couple days of practice. We’ll just have other people step up and do what those other guys did.”
In an odd sort of twist, the Jayhawks, too, are dealing with their own roster adversity.
Ranked No. 1 at two different times early in the season, the Jayhawks have played without star center Udoka Azubuike since the start of January, after he had surgery on his hand to repair torn ligaments.
Like Bolden, sophomore guard Marcus Garrett is dealing with his own high ankle sprain and has missed the last four games and senior guard Lagerald Vick — the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game — left the team this month to deal with personal issues.
“I think it’s been definitely one of the more challenging years we’ve had,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Really, it’s been no fault of anything, but just some misfortune.
“I don’t think it’s been as challenging with the different lineups as much as the different lineups have created ways you have to play differently. We’ve had enough depth to plug guys in, but when you plug those guys in, it totally changes our style and what we’ve been practicing and those sorts of things.”
One big plus for Kansas has been the development of freshman point guard Devon Dotson.
A five-star recruit out of Charlotte, Dotson has averaged 19 points and 5.8 rebounds over the last four games. he recorded a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s 82-77 overtime win against TCU.
On the season, Dotson is averaging 12 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He had nine points, one rebound and one assist in Kansas’ 65-64 loss to the Mountaineers last month.
“To be candid, Devon has really come into his own since our first game,” Self said. “He’s had a terrific freshman year and we anticipated him being our starter, but I don’t know if I anticipated him being this consistently good.
“The last three or four games, he’s averaging almost 20 points, which is tremendous. He’s been good and probably as consistent a performer as we’ve had all year long. I do think his ceiling is high.”
Huggins is now forced to evaluate the ceilings for players like Jordan McCabe, Brandon Knapper, Jermaine Haley, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Trey Domes.
All of them will be thrust into a spotlight of added responsibilities since Ahmad and Harris were dismissed from the team.
“I don’t think we had a discussion about it, but they’ve been good,” Huggins said. “Practices have been good and enthusiastic.”
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