Kansas State ready for West Virginia's press, with or without Kamau Stokes

Kamau Stokes favored his left ankle as he walked onto the basketball court for practice at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday, but the sophomore point guard is hopeful that won’t be the case when Kansas State faces No. 7 West Virginia on Saturday.

Since spraining his ankle in the final minutes against Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Stokes received treatment from K-State trainers on Thursday, told K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber he felt good Friday morning and jogged throughout warmups Friday afternoon. All signs point to him playing against the Mountaineers.

“He is better,” Weber said. “We will try to get him today to shoot a little bit and do the walk through. We will see how he progresses tomorrow at the shootaround, but we probably won’t have a definitive answer until the shootaround and maybe not until we get into the game and see how how feels.

“Not only is it difficult to play basketball (with an ankle sprain), but to play basketball against West Virginia and their style with cutting and moving. They force you into moving all the time. But if we can have him even part-time, it would be better than none at all.”

The Wildcats hope to have the services of their starting point guard against an opponent so well known for its full-court defense that it goes by the nickname Press Virginia.

K-State stumbled to a 4-8 finish last year after Stokes suffered a season-ending knee injury. It is a better team with Stokes than without. But the Wildcats are more confident in their supporting cast this time around.

Senior guard Carlbe Ervin will likely move into the starting lineup if Stokes is unable to play, but K-State has plenty of options. The team could also slide senior wing Wesley Iwundu to point guard and insert freshman Xavier Sneed into the lineup. Or maybe sophomore guard Barry Brown will handle the ball.

Perhaps the Wildcats will explore all options.

“It has got to be a team effort, whether Kamau plays or not,” Weber said. “That has been our strength and that has got to be our strength in this game.”

K-State has used several ballhandlers this season. Though Stokes is the squad’s truest point guard, Ervin and Iwundu have both led the offense. Because of his experience, Iwundu has handled primary ballhandling responsibilities in several close games, even with Stokes on the floor.

“We have tons of guys who can bring the ball up and create things on offense,” Iwundu said. “I think we have done a good job handling that, but we are always ready to adjust no matter what happens. It’s not a problem. I will do it if I need to do it. It’s something I have been doing for a while now.”

It’s difficult to simulate a basketball game against West Virginia, but Oklahoma State helped the Wildcats by pushing the ball and speeding the game up at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys got off to a hot start and led 54-51 at halftime, but the Wildcats won with defense in the second half.

K-State was hapless in fast-paced games a year ago, but it seems well-equipped to run this season.

“There’s not much thinking involved in a game like that,” Iwundu said. “Either you are going to go to the rim or you or going to shoot the ball. There isn’t time to set up offensive plays or think so much. In games like that, we play more freely and we are able to score the ball better when it is fast paced because we have so many guys who can do so many things. That favors us.”

The Wildcats are ready for another high-octane game against West Virginia, with or without their starting point guard.

“He should be good to go,” Iwundu said, “but we will adjust (without him) if need to be and find ways to get through it.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Kansas State ready for West Virginia's press, with or without Kamau Stokes."