Bill said:

Good point Alli, however, I think we would all love to at least have a hint of what’s going on….at least know if he is done for the year or will come back. Knowing that small little nugget will make me feel a lot better.

CASAZZA – I hope you are planning on a little more basketball coverage this week? I know its still really early, but since I haven’t seen our first two games, can we get some more insight aside from Jennings being a beast? How is practice going? What’s up with Mazzula? How is Truck looking? Any news on Tobias Harris? You haven’t even commented on the 7-footer who signed with us the other day out of Mountain State Academy.

Let’s start with Mr. Ebanks …

I understand the demand for information and the outrage that appears when none is provided. If the absence was because of a more concerning or serious cause, perhaps you’d see more digging. If what I believe to be true is true — or close — I don’ think it’s something that’ll keep you worried for too long. Does that mean he misses the 76 Classic? Perhaps. I don’t know. But what’s more important?

Practice: I barely get to see any of it. Sorry. The things I hear are good, though. The players feel they score better and easier than last year and like the progress of the newcomers and,  in particular, the struggles. What that means is the new players are discovering the game is more complicated than it first appeared in pickup games. They realize they deserve a spot, but have to do and learn a whole lot more to improve it or keep it. It’s a totally different game at this level, but while they’re struggling, they’re coming along. It’ll be interesting to see how the team develops defensively if Ebanks is out and Casey Mitchell, Dan Jennings and Dalton Pepper play a lot.

Mazzulla: He could have played in the exhibition game or the Loyola game, but Huggins didn’t want him to. Really, that’s all the explanation you need. Joe knows the system. He’s going to play hard and avoid losing at all costs when he returns. Is there a need to accelerate his return/recovery in games the team doesn’t really need him? Probably not. Could he have played eight, 10, 12 minutes in one or both just to get that out of the way? Probably. WVU has had a plan from the beginning with his rehab and this seems to be part of it. I think you’ll see him against The Citadel just so his first game isn’t in the 76 Classic.

Truck: He looks really good. I’ve been impressed with his low turnovers and the fact he’s passing out of shots. He might be their best shooter right now, but he’s more interested in scoring quickly or in transition and, if that’s not there, getting the ball to Butler or Mitchell to get them going. Point guard stuff.

Harris: Remember, he’s the kid who was photographed on the Tennessee campus not long ago in front of a rock that had a Tobias Harris painting on it. No one said a word about that, even though it seems pretty suspicious. Anyhow, he’s supposed to pick a school tomorrow and it’s between WVU, Kentucky, Syracuse, Louisville and Georgia Tech, among others. Tennessee, Louisville and Kentucky are thought to be the leaders, but he seems to like WVU for a reason many others do.

David Nyarsuk: Here’s your center for the future, if things go according to plan. Nyarsuk is a raw, though promising 7-1, 230-pound Sudanese native who’s been in the States for two years now, but has crafted a nice little reputation. He needs to “knock out his test score,” according to his coach, but his GPA is good enough that a strong ACT/SAT should satisfy the eligibility requirements. He seems typical of a lot of guys his type: Raw, long, athletic, lean, can block shots and rebound, but is still plain offensively without much of a jump shot and is still learning the nuances of the American game. His guardian, by the way, is former Syracuse star Kueth Duany. I don’t know of a player before or after Duany who was more respected by his peers. That’s a good thing.