MORGANTOWN - Bob Huggins couldn't - or more to the point wouldn't - shed any more light on the status of star forward Devin Ebanks Friday during his scheduled meeting with the media.
MORGANTOWN - Bob Huggins couldn't - or more to the point wouldn't - shed any more light on the status of star forward Devin Ebanks Friday during his scheduled meeting with the media.
Four days before West Virginia is scheduled to play The Citadel in Charleston and six before the start of next week's 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., Huggins was short and to the point when asked about Ebanks, who has not even been practicing with the team.
When asked if he had any update on the sophomore's status, he said no. When asked if he expected to have Ebanks available for any of next week's games, he simply said, "I don't know.''
Ebanks, who along with senior forward Da'Sean Butler is the primary reason the Mountaineers are ranked No. 8 in the country, was suspended by Huggins prior to West Virginia's 83-60 season-opening win over Loyola (Md.) last weekend. Huggins at the time refused to say why the 6-foot-9 forward was not with the team aside from calling it "personal issues.''
"You know what I've learned? You guys are really good at trying to get guys to say things. And I'm really good at not saying anything,'' Huggins said during his postgame press conference Sunday. "So we could continue on and it could be a standoff and I could continue to say the same thing, or we can let it go.''
Butler, though, after mentioning that the Mountaineer players had held a few regular meetings of their own, seemed to indicate that Ebanks had been a part of at least some of those.
"We're still a team,'' he said.
That team, however, is a bit short-handed right now. In addition to the loss of Ebanks, reserve forward John Flowers injured an ankle against Loyola, projected starting point guard Joe Mazzulla still has not suited up for an exhibition or regular-season game because of lingering shoulder problems, and freshman forward Deniz Kilicli was suspended until February by the NCAA for playing on a team in his native Turkey that included a professional.
On Flowers, Huggins said the 6-7 junior is practicing. "He's not a hundred percent, but he's practicing,'' Huggins said.
MORGANTOWN - Bob Huggins couldn't - or more to the point wouldn't - shed any more light on the status of star forward Devin Ebanks Friday during his scheduled meeting with the media.
Four days before West Virginia is scheduled to play The Citadel in Charleston and six before the start of next week's 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., Huggins was short and to the point when asked about Ebanks, who has not even been practicing with the team.
When asked if he had any update on the sophomore's status, he said no. When asked if he expected to have Ebanks available for any of next week's games, he simply said, "I don't know.''
Ebanks, who along with senior forward Da'Sean Butler is the primary reason the Mountaineers are ranked No. 8 in the country, was suspended by Huggins prior to West Virginia's 83-60 season-opening win over Loyola (Md.) last weekend. Huggins at the time refused to say why the 6-foot-9 forward was not with the team aside from calling it "personal issues.''
"You know what I've learned? You guys are really good at trying to get guys to say things. And I'm really good at not saying anything,'' Huggins said during his postgame press conference Sunday. "So we could continue on and it could be a standoff and I could continue to say the same thing, or we can let it go.''
Butler, though, after mentioning that the Mountaineer players had held a few regular meetings of their own, seemed to indicate that Ebanks had been a part of at least some of those.
"We're still a team,'' he said.
That team, however, is a bit short-handed right now. In addition to the loss of Ebanks, reserve forward John Flowers injured an ankle against Loyola, projected starting point guard Joe Mazzulla still has not suited up for an exhibition or regular-season game because of lingering shoulder problems, and freshman forward Deniz Kilicli was suspended until February by the NCAA for playing on a team in his native Turkey that included a professional.
On Flowers, Huggins said the 6-7 junior is practicing. "He's not a hundred percent, but he's practicing,'' Huggins said.
As for Mazzulla, he has been practicing all along, but is apparently still bothered by problems with the shoulder that was injured early last season and forced him into surgery and out for the season.
"We're just trying to be as careful as we can with him,'' Huggins said of the junior.
If there is an up side at all to the diminished roster it is that Huggins is being forced to give more playing time to freshmen like Dan Jennings. With Ebanks, Kilicli and Flowers all out of the game against Loyola, the 6-8 post player made his college debut with a 12-rebound effort.
"Danny probably wouldn't have gotten the minutes he got [had the others been available],'' Huggins said. "And now we need to get [freshman shooting guard Dalton Pepper] some more minutes.''
On Tuesday night at the Civic Center, the Mountaineers will be facing a Citadel team that was 1-1 in its first two games and on Friday was scheduled to play Eastern Michigan in the first of three straight games in the Hispanic College Fund Challenge at Missouri State. The Bulldogs were 20-13 last year - their first 20-win season in 30 years - and made the first postseason appearance in school history, losing in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Joe Wolfinger, a 7-foot senior transfer from Washington, averaged 15 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Bulldogs in the first two games, which included a win over Division III Kenyon and a 61-60 loss to Charleston Southern.
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
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