MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Taz Sherman admits there was some early doubts whether or not he was back to full strength after suffering a groin pull before West Virginia played at Texas Tech on Feb. 9.
“I guess the weirdest thing was getting back on the court again and feeling confident again and being able to move,” the WVU senior guard said. “At first, I was very timid in the way I moved, just so I wouldn’t injure it again.”
Sherman said that’s exactly what happened during pregame warm-ups that night against the Red Raiders, just a day after a freak injury in practice where he first injured the muscle while jumping.
“I was going to try and play,” Sherman said. “We put a wrap on it and took some medication and I was feeling OK, but I injured it again during warm-ups.”
In the two weeks that have followed, Sherman has quickly gotten back to full speed.
He sat out against Texas Tech, but came off the bench four days later to play against Oklahoma. He was limited to just 16 minutes in that double-overtime loss to the Sooners.
Since, Sherman scored 14 in a win against Texas and then added 23 more during Tuesday’s 74-66 victory against TCU.
“I’m doing better, so I can play freely,” Sherman said. “I don’t have to worry about getting myself back from the injury anymore.”
Sherman’s scoring against the Horned Frogs was timely.
Starting guards Deuce McBride and Sean McNeil were a combined 7 of 18 shooting, but Sherman picked up the slack from the outside.
“That was dramatic,” WVU forward Derek Culver said. “I know my guards are always going to heat up. Sometimes it takes them a little longer.”
Help at the foul line
Among WVU players with at least 50 attempts, Sherman’s 86% at the free-throw line is tops on the Mountaineers.
As a team, WVU is seventh in the Big 12, converting on 69.4% of its free-throw attempts.
Sherman said he’s put in a little time after practices with teammates Gabe Osabuohien and Derek Culver, who are a combined 54% (99 of 184) at the line.
“I talk to Gabe all the time and Gabe’s follow through isn’t bad,” Sherman said. “It’s just sometimes his hands shake. I call it breaking through the wall, which means you have to follow through. You’ve got to get your fingers pointed at the rim. I tell Gabe that all the time. It’s hard to change someone’s shot.
“D.C. is going to get back to making more, but I try to give a few pointers here and there when I can.”
Accumulative effects
West Virginia begins a four-game home stand Saturday by hosting Kansas State, but the Mountaineers will cram those four games into a span of eight days.
With a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament, WVU would get four days off before playing in the quarterfinals on March 11 in Kansas City.
“I guess you wonder about the accumulative effect, in terms of the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “That would be my only concern. Can we play four games in (eight) days, yeah we can. It’s how does that effect us the next week, and more importantly, the week after that?”
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