West Virginia will be without their senior point guard Kedrian Johnson against No. 3 Kansas Saturday, and they will miss more than just his presence on the court.
Beating Kansas is no easy feat for anyone, but it will get even tougher for West Virginia without their starting point guard Kedrian Johnson.
West Virginia head coach announced on his radio show Thursday Johnson would be out against the Jayhawks due to a concussion.
“I’ve said from the beginning I think he’s the best on the ball defender in our league which says a lot,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “That puts a lot of pressure on the guys that are going in for him.”
One of those guys going in for Johnson is Joe Toussaint. The Iowa transfer has been valuable at times, but through the first two games in Big 12 play Toussaint has been far from himself.
Toussaint has not started a game for West Virginia this season, but will most likely be thrust into that role Saturday night. In 14 games this season Toussaint is averaging 9.8 points per game, while shooting about 40 percent from the field.
In the past two games Toussaint has not looked like the previous version of himself the Mountianeers saw in non-conference play. Against Kansas State and Oklahoma State, Toussaint had a combined eight points, shooting 30 percent from the field in those two games.
“I’m not too concerned about [Toussaint],” fellow guard Erik Stevenson said. “Obviously he hasn’t been playing the way he’s been wanting to play. We’re just trying to keep him as confident as he can be in himself.”
Huggins said he believes Toussaint can fill Johnson’s role and doesn’t expect there to be much drop off.
“I haven’t seen [Toussaint] run out of gas in practice or a game,” Huggins said. “I wouldn’t expect him to do it now.”
Stevenson could also have an expanded role due to Johnson’s absence. West Virginia’s two-guard, Stevenson might have to slide up to the point guard if the Mountaineers find themselves needing to give Toussaint an extended break or if Toussaint runs into foul trouble.
“If he gets in foul trouble or needs a break then I can slide to the one and handle that or Kobe [Johnson], Kobe could play the one [guard],” Stevenson said. “It’s just a matter of our guys believing in themselves and confident in themselves that they can make plays and be smart out there.”
Kobe Johnson has played in all 14 games for West Virginia this year and has experience in the Big 12. The sophomore has been used off the bench in multiple ways, but has also started four games this season. Johnson is averaging 3.4 points per game, while seeing just under 13 minutes of action on average.
In West Virginia’s past two games Johnson played a combined total of 21 minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds.
The loss of Johnson though goes deeper than just the on-court performance. Huggins said Johnson is one of the leaders on this team and is highly regarded among his teammates.
“Keddy (Johnson) is the one guy that every single guy on our club respects,” Huggins said. “They respect what he’s done in the past. They respect that here’s a guy that could’ve left and said ‘this is my school, this is my team, I want to help fix this.’ You can’t imagine the respect that the guy has from our other guys.”
On the year Johnson is playing just under 26 minutes per game while averaging 9.1 points per game and 3.4 assists per game. Johnson also has 23 steals on the season, but is only shooting 33 percent from the field.
West Virginia and Kansas tip off from the WVU Coliseum at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, with the game being televised on ESPN+.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
