We must precede this information with a cautionary tag, which is to simply say there has been no official word from WVU on the future of men’s basketball guard Tucker DeVries.
He is out “indefinitely,” with an upper body injury, which can mean any number of things.
What we do know is the last time we got an up-close look at DeVries, he had about a dozed suction-cup marks on his right shoulder and a pretty nasty scar left behind from surgery he had last March.
A day later, he played 37 minutes and scored 15 points against Georgetown.
He’s been out ever since, with WVU head coach Darian DeVries saying they are following the medical advice from team doctors.
There is an option for a medical redshirt for Tucker, and there is still a little bit of time before that deadline passes.
The rule is simple, a player can’t play in more than 30% of a team’s regular season and the games missed must happen in the first half of the season.
In WVU’s case, the Mountaineers play 31 games, so DeVries can’t play in more than nine games. He’s played eight so far.
The first half of the season doesn’t conclude until the Jan. 12 road game at Colorado.
So, between now and Jan. 12, WVU would have the option of possibly trying to get DeVries as healthy as possible and see how he’s responding to treatment. The option is open to let him play another game to see how he responds.
If it doesn’t look good, the school could still apply for a medical redshirt at the end of the season.
Each conference — in this case, the Big 12 — rules on each request for a medical redshirt. Historically, medical redshirts are rarely denied.
No Small vote
Not a single Big 12 men’s hoops game will be played until Dec. 30.
When it’s all said and done in the regular season, 320 league games will be played.
Has WVU point guard Javon Small already become the front runner for Big 12 Player of the Year?
Let’s take a look at the numbers. He’s tied with Utah’s Gabe Madsen as the conference’s top scorer at 19.8 points.
Small is 11th in the league in assists, 12th in 3-pointers made, seventh in steals and second in minutes played.
For added measure, Small is also the second-best free-throw shooter in the Big 12.
His role will only increase with the absence of Tucker DeVries, and after scoring 27 last week against Bethune-Cookman, Darian DeVries joked Small should have pushed for 30.
There is a plan in place, DeVries said, to try and get more from Small moving forward.
“Over the next 20-some games, we’ve got to find a way to get him off the ball and then get it back to him,” DeVries said. “We need to create more movement and have more guys making plays.
“We would like to get K.J. (Tenner) at the point. That’s one of the things we’d love to do, to free up (Small) for more opportunities, as opposed to letting him come down every time and letting defenses load up on him. That’s how we’re going to get him to 30.”
Concerns and otherwise
Until we know for sure the status of Tucker DeVries, this is kind of a moot point, but the Mountaineers aren’t exactly the best straight shooters.
WVU’s team field-goal percentage of 43.9% is 14th in the Big 12, and isn’t much better than last season’s team, which was horrid, but still shot 43%.
The difference has been on defense. A season ago, the Mountaineers couldn’t stop anyone and opponents shot 44.6%.
This season, opponents are shooting 38.1%, which is fourth in the Big 12.
