MORGANTOWN — West Virginia will be without starting point guard Kedrian Johnson for Saturday’s game against No. 3 Kansas at the WVU Coliseum due to a concussion.
“It’s going to be different, for sure,†WVU fifth-year guard Erik Stevenson said. “Obviously he’s been our strongest point guard all year, he’s played a lot of minutes for us. He’s a great defender for us, he keeps us in our offense, but it is what it is — he’s got a concussion, we’re obviously a man down going into probably the biggest two-game stretch of the season so far. We’ve got plenty of guys who can step up and play.â€
Johnson had started all 14 games this season for the Mountaineers (10-4 overall, 0-2 Big 12). He is averaging 9.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists to 1.8 turnovers per game. The 6-foot-3 fifth-year point guard is shooting 33.3% from the field, 27% from 3-point range and 80% from the free throw line.
He’s also one of the top defensive players in the Big 12.
“I’ve said from the beginning, I think he’s the best on-the-ball defender in our league,†WVU coach Bob Huggins said. “That says a lot. That puts a lot of pressure on the guys that are filling in for him.â€
He played 33 minutes in WVU’s last game on Monday — 67-60 loss at Oklahoma State. He had four points, a rebound, an assist and two turnovers, and shot 0-of-8 from the field.
Johnson is in his third season at WVU after coming from Temple College in Texas. He played in 26 games his first season with the Mountaineers in 2020-21 and made 32 appearances with 30 starts last season.
“Keddy, without a question — and Keddy is not a rah-rah guy, he’s not a big talker — he is the one guy that every single guy on our club respects,†Huggins said. “They respect what he’s done in the past, they respect that here’s a guy who could’ve left and said, ‘This is my school, this is my team. I want to help fix this.’ You can’t imagine the respect that the guy has from our own guys.
“What kind of amazes me, is even the guys that just came in that are basically one-year guys, the respect they have for him, and that’s a lot to do with that as well. They have a lot of respect for the guy, a lot of respect for the guy that he’s stayed the course.â€
Without Johnson, Joe Toussaint will likely go from being one of WVU’s first off the bench to the starting lineup. The 6-foot point guard has come off the bench in all 14 of the Mountaineers’ games this season and averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and three assists.
Toussaint is in his first season at WVU, after playing the previous three seasons at Iowa.
“I’m not too concerned about it, the team’s not too concerned about it. He’s a veteran point guard, he’s played in the Big Ten, he’s played on some really good Iowa teams and he’s beat some really good Big Ten teams that seemed almost unbeatable,†Stevenson said. “He knows how to win.
“Obviously he hasn’t been playing the way he’s wanted to play. We’re just keeping him as confident as he can be in himself because that’s what this game is all about — just being confident, being confident that you’re going to step up to the free throw line and make a great free throw or make a shot or be confident that you can rotate on defense and your teammates can have your back. Just trying to instill confidence in everybody.â€
WVU also has guards Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson who have seen significant action off the bench. Johnson has played in all 14 games and saw two recent starts when starting forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. missed games with a left knee injury. He’s averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds, while Wilson has averaged 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 14 games.
The Mountaineers are confident Toussaint will be able to move into the starting role and give WVU significant minutes Saturday — he’s averaging 22.6 minutes off the bench this season already.
“I haven’t seen Joe run out of gas, have you? I honestly haven’t,†Huggins said. “I haven’t seen him run out of gas in practice or a game. I wouldn’t expect him to do it now.â€
Saturday’s game is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
