Sore foot of Kansas Jayhawks’ David McCormack could be tested in Big 12 Tournament
David McCormack’s sore right foot will be monitored closely by Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self, as well as the team’s trainers and medical personnel during the upcoming Big 12 Tournament.
“The whole thing is he hasn’t had a back-to-back yet this year where we played and the next day he had to go hard,” Self said Tuesday at a news conference held in advance of the Wednesday-Saturday event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
McCormack, a 6-foot-10 senior power forward from Norfolk, Virginia, had surgery last spring to repair a broken bone in his right foot. That foot has bothered McCormack much of the season. He’s coming off a big game in which he scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 70-63 Senior Day victory over Texas.
“I guess Orlando he did,” Self added of a Thanksgiving week tourney in which KU played three games in a four-day period. “We’ve had maybe a game and the next day we had a walk through. We practiced yesterday. He participated in half court some. We are not going to practice today. We’re just going to (have a) walk through. We will practice tomorrow. He’ll participate in that.
“Wednesday, Thursday … those are two pretty good days. I wouldn’t be surprised Friday he may be limited if we’re fortunate enough to win Thursday. We are certainly not going to put him out there and risk the next week (NCAA Tournament). I anticipate if we are fortunate enough to play (Friday in semis) he’ll play. I just don’t know how limited he’d be.”
KU will open the tournament against Kansas State or West Virginia in a 2 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday. A win would put the Jayhawks in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinals against either TCU or Texas with the finals set for 5 p.m. Saturday.
Self said senior guard Remy Martin, who has been bothered by a bone bruise in his right knee the past several weeks, “looked better yesterday (at practice) than I’ve seen him. He told me he felt good.
“Bobby is obviously out,” Self added of freshman Bobby Pettiford, who had surgery recently to to repair a core muscle in his pelvic area.
“David right now would be our biggest concern. It’s not concern of him not playing, but it’s concern of him being sore when he does play.”
Self said he envisions former Arizona State guard Martin being a “big factor” in the postseason.
“We are set with who we are starting. That’s not going to change,” Self said of the set lineup of Dajuan Harris, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Jalen Wilson and McCormack.
“I do think Remy could be a factor especially with different teams and lineups and those sorts of things. One thing that’s become pretty evident, like against TCU for instance, (playing) Remy and Juan together is tough because (Damion) Baugh as a two-guard is 6-6. There are some things like that but I think Remy can certainly play a huge role down the stretch.”
Self was asked about Wednesday’s first-round game between K-State and West Virginia.
“K-State to me has played so much better than their record,” Self said. “They are right there against so many teams. A 6-12 team could easily be 10-8, 11-7. I do believe that. One of the wins they could have gotten was against us.”
K-State (14-16, 6-12) squandered a 17-point second-half lead and fell to KU, 78-75, on Jan. 22 in Manhattan.
“West Virginia … to me Huggs (Bob Huggins) always comes there (KC) and it seems to me they always play well. It’ll be a competitive first game. Very competitive,” Self added.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 4:02 PM.
