Wright State began a three-game road trip last night without its leading scorer as junior forward JT Yoho missed his second straight contest after severely bruising his knee last week versus Cleveland State.
WSU head coach Billy Donlon said before last night’s game versus Milwaukee that Yoho will likely be out for a month, and potentially longer. Donlon is not certain Yoho will return at all this year.
“It is major, significant bruising on his knee,” Donlon said. “The entire MRI came back white, which is all bruising on an MRI.”
After Donlon suspended Yoho the first three games of the season, Yoho has become one of Wright State’s most consistent scorers. He was leading the team in scoring with 16.1 points a game. He scored in double figures in 12 of his 15 games played.
Yoho was sixth in the league in scoring.
“JT was a great facilitator of the ball, he moved the ball so quickly,” Donlon said.
While Yoho is on the bench, Donlon hopes to keep him active with the team.
“JT has a great mind for the game,” Donlon said. “He has a lot to offer. We have to figure it out, but we’re going to give him a role on the bench; something to chart, something to do, something to look for. Haven’t decided yet but I want him involved.”
Yoho’s absence came at a bad time for WSU. Sophomore Steven Davis missed his sixth straight contest last night after injuring his leg against Ohio State on Dec. 27. Without Davis and Yoho means the WSU has just two healthy forwards remaining on its roster.
Losing confidence?
After Wright State has lost its last three games and six of eight overall, Donlon is hoping that his squad has not lost its confidence.
The Raiders lost to arguably two of the top three teams in the Horizon League last week by close margins.
“My job is to give them great confidence to play, and their job is to play with great confidence,” Donlon said. “It stinks to lose and it especially stinks to lose at home, there is no getting around that. It is not a fun experience, but the good thing is younger people have quick memories. That is how you have to play and you have to remind them to play with that fight.”
New players in changing roles
With the injuries to Davis and Yoho, Donlon has been forced to change his lineup. What that has meant is playing a lineup that relies on first-year Division I players.
“It is a huge mental wall for all of our guys right now,” Donlon said. “There has been a different role every week all year long and with a younger player, that is hard. I think they’re handling it well. Our defense is finally getting to where it needs to be to be competitive and win the league.”
Center Michael Karena, a transfer product from the junior college level, has had to step up the most in recent games. In both home contests last week, Karena played in over 30 minutes for the first times all year.
Wright State has also benefited from guard Kendall Griffin returning to the lineup after suffering from a concussion in the season opener. Griffin made his first start of the year since the injury last Saturday and played 33 minutes.
He started in Tuesday night’s game before leaving two minutes into the contest with a head injury. Donlon said after the game that he did not think Griffin’s injury was nearly as severe as the one that cost him 14 games earlier this year.
