The WVU men’s basketball team took a big hit to its roster for the first half of the season when it announced forward Esa Ahmad would be ineligible for that time period. So what does that mean for the Mountaineers?

Nothing good until January.

To begin, the Mountaineers lose a veteran starter. The junior has started 66 of the 68 games in which he has played. It also could change the way Bob Huggins formulates his lineup. For most of last season, his starting five included two guards and three forwards. When Ahmad went down with a back injury in the end of February, WVU switched to a three-guard lineup — Jevon Carter, Tarik Phillip and Daxter Miles. Phillip has graduated, so if Huggins goes that route again in Ahmad’s absence, he has to find another guard worthy of joining the lineup with Carter and Miles.

But would WVU want to work a three-guard lineup for half a season and then switch to two guards for the other half? A three-game solution is one thing, but 15 or 16 games? That might mean another forward gets the call. The Mountaineers already are looking for two more starting forwards now that Nate Adrian graduated and Elijah Macon left early to go pro. Now all three of last year’s starting forwards are gone until early January. And Ahmad was last season’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder.

Who steps into Ahmad’s place? Looking at the minutes played last year, that could be Lamont West, who is a more prolific 3-point shooter and less prolific rebounder. Sagaba Konate is WVU’s top shot blocker, but will need to play more than 11 minutes a game. Expect D’Angelo Hunter and Wesley Harris to be counted on early. That’s why teams bring in junior college transfers in the first place.

None of this puts WVU in a great position. Ahmad won’t be available against Texas A&M, Virginia, Pitt or the first three games of the Big 12 schedule. Huggins meets with the media Thursday, and it will be interesting to see if any more light gets shed on his lineup plans for the first part of the 2017-18 campaign.