Give Esa Ahmad some credit: He’s not played particularly well lately, and a lot of people wrote about that today. Players don’t have to talk to reporters during the media sessions, but Ahmad took a seat off to the right of Bob Huggins while his coach finished and spoke for several minutes about his team and about his struggles. This is not always the case.

I’m not sure how severe this is for the Mountaineers, who are now ranked No. 18. This is a team without a talisman, and he’s not the entirety of WVU’s offense or defense. I’m also not sure how complex it is, either.

He’s not been himself, and we’ve heard his coach, his teammates and now him explain as much. So if you, like others, wonder what’s happened to a truly valuable piece of the puzzle, it’s refreshing to learn the solution is easily understood and perhaps even attained.

“He’s got to play hard,” coach Bob Huggins said. “Everybody watches film. He’s got to play hard.”

Ahmad is shooting 33 percent the past four games — 4-for-10, 0-for-2, 2-for-6, 1-for-6 — after shooting 55.9 percent in the first 15 games. He’s also 5-for-9 at the foul line in the last four after averaging roughly five attempts through the first 15 games.

“I thought we had an advantage, or we would have an advantage, maybe other than this game, because everyone plays guards,” Huggins said following Saturday’s 79-75 loss to Kansas State. “I thought we could post him up a little bit.”

Ahmad didn’t make a shot against Texas and matched a career-high with five turnovers. WVU was outscored by 12 points when Ahmad was on the floor for a season-low 15 minutes. He’s 3-for-12 the past two games and made late contributions to both losses.

“I wouldn’t say it’s his confidence,” guard Tarik Phillip said. “He always has confidence. I’d say he’s having a rough couple of games.”