It was just a few days ago when Joe Toussaint said all the right things.
He had fallen on the sword and taken the blame for West Virginia’s second-half collapse against Xavier.
“That loss is on me,” he said.
“I don’t mind taking the blame for that,” he added.
In terms of what basketball people want to hear from a point guard, Toussaint covered the verbal bases that day.
In terms of getting back out there and doing all of the right things, well, that came Saturday night, in front of 12,182 fans inside the Coliseum, as the Mountaineers ran past UAB 81-70.
There were so many moments for Toussaint, but truthfully, you only need to hear about one of them.
It came with 6:59 remaining and with WVU running its lead out to 69-58 at that point.
The ball had made its way to the floor, as did UAB’s big man Trey Jemison, who is listed at 6-foot-11 and 260 pounds.
UAB guard Ledarrius Brewer was also getting into the mix from behind.
And while there were three other WVU players in the area, only one of them — Toussaint — had enough guts and heart to go battle for the loose ball against a guy three times his size.
You could argue the extra possession didn’t mean much at that moment with an 11-point lead.
It meant something to Toussaint.
Which is sort of the point to the play of the Iowa transfer against the Blazers.
While there were a number of different highlights in WVU’s latest win, beginning with Kedrian Johnson’s offense and defense, as well as Emmitt Matthews Jr. going for 16 points and nine rebounds, it was hard to avoid the plays Toussaint was making, too.
Like the blocked shot he had with 11 minutes left in the game.
UAB guard Jordan Walker, the nation’s leading scorer coming into the game, was right at the basket and had a lay-up.
That was until Toussaint just came out of nowhere and basically grabbed the ball as it left Walker’s hands.
Toussaint then saved the ball before it went out of bounds and it turned into a 3-pointer at the other end for WVU, when Tre Mitchell scored to give the Mountaineers a 58-51 lead.
That one play ended up being a seven-point swing that basically sealed the game for WVU (8-2).
“That’s the head of the snake,” Matthews said of Johnson and Toussaint. “When it came down to the matchup, we knew we were playing against the No. 1 scorer in the nation. If you look at the box score, he didn’t shoot the ball very well and had a lot of turnvers. They took him out of the game.”
When it looked like Toussaint had no business driving into the lane, he did it anyway and generally found a way to finish.
He didn’t miss a free throw attempt.
His one assist was on another drive to the rim that he passed off to Jimmy Bell Jr. for a dunk.
Most of these plays didn’t come early in the game or with just a few minutes left with the game decided.
Once UAB grabbed a brief 47-45 lead with 14:33 remaining, this is when Toussaint’s play came at its best.
“How many times was he down on the floor hustling?” WVU head coach Bob Huggins asked. “He was terrific.”
By the end, Toussaint had 14 points in a game that saw four WVU players in double figures in a balanced effort.
So, yeah, there were a few heroes this night for the Mountaineers.
But, there’s only one Joe Toussaint, and he’s quickly developing into a great story.
Not just for his actions off the court, but also for the leadership he’s shown off it.
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