K-State basketball loses starting forward for season because of ‘total health issues’
Antonio Gordon’s future with the Kansas State basketball team is up in the air following his absence from the Wildcats’ 61-56 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Gordon, a sophomore forward who was averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while making 12 starts this season, was nowhere to be found at tip-off and will almost certainly miss the remainder of the season for reasons that K-State coach Bruce Weber described as “total health issues.”
“He has had a lot of health issues,” Weber said. “It has just kind of taken a toll on him. For his sake we thought it would be best that (he sit out). Right now, it looks like he will be done for the season. But Antonio has given us great effort. He has played his butt off and dealt with a lot of different things. It will be tough to be without him, but we have just got to make do and make the most out of what we have got.”
When pressed for more details, Weber said Gordon was dealing with a combination of both stress and injuries.
“Just total health issues,” Weber said. “He has had a bunch of things he has endured. We wish we had him, but the season has taken a toll.”
Without Gordon in the lineup, K-State turned to a smaller look that mostly featured four guards and one center. Mike McGuirl, Nijel Pack, DaJuan Gordon and Selton Miguel played on the perimeter, while Davion Bradford and Kaosi Ezeagu rotated inside.
That group played well enough for the Wildcats to defeat the Cyclones and to close out the regular season by winning three of their final four games. K-State will head to the Big 12 Tournament with as much momentum as any team in the conference.
But the team will also be limited in the paint without Gordon, who was already playing more minutes than Weber would like because sophomore forward Montavious Murphy is also out for the season.
Their absences leave K-State without a true forward at the four spot, leaving Weber to play DaJuan Gordon and Miguel, who are both guards, at that spot.
Fans can expect more of that moving forward.
“There’s no doubt that we will continue that,” Weber said. “We did get beat on the boards pretty soundly today, but a lot of that was in the second half when we didn’t shoot the ball very well. ... I just hope we make the most of it. They are troopers, they haven’t quit, and I hope they come with high expectations to Kansas city and they play at a high level.”
Antonio Gordon won’t be available for the Wildcats when they play their next game, on Wednesday. It seems unlikely he will even travel with the team to Kansas City. It’s fair to wonder if he will return to the team next season. For now, though, Weber said he remains part of the program.
“He has got health issues and he can’t help us right now,” Weber said. “We will keep helping him and hopefully he can get through some of this.”