Kansas freshman backup forward Zuby Ejiofor, who injured his foot during Saturday’s 77-68 win at Kentucky, will not need surgery, but he will be missing “a long time,” said l ‘coach Bill Self on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show.
“Zuby will be out for a while. We got a great report today as that’s what they (the doctors) thought he was – he’s got a pretty banged foot, a sprained foot,” Self said. of the feet.
“It’s going to be out for a long time. Certainly that beats the alternative of having surgery and sitting out six or seven months.
He estimated that Ejiofor “could be out two or three weeks depending on how quickly his body can recover.”
Of Ejiofor not needing to have surgery on his injured foot, Self said, “This is great news for Zuby and for us.”
Ejiofor, 6-9, 240 from Garland, Texas, is averaging 1.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in limited duty. He played in 19 games, averaging 5.6 minutes per game for the Jayhawks, who host Kansas State at 7:00 pm Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Meanwhile, senior guard Kevin McCullar, who pulled his ankle in the Kentucky win, practiced Monday and plans to play against K-State on Tuesday, Self indicated on Hawk Talk.
“He trained today. He’ll be ready to go tomorrow unless something unforeseen happens,” Self said.
KU forward KJ Adams, who was Hawk Talk’s guest player, said McCullar “was everywhere at practice today. He never gets tired. He always helps people with tasks they don’t understand. He does everything for us that people might not see.
Jalen Wilson on Wooden’s end-of-season watchlist
Kansas senior forward Jalen Wilson was named one of 20 candidates on the “end of season watchlist” for the John R. Wooden Award, which goes to the top college basketball player.
Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell were among the 20 players on the list, ESPN and the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday.
Others on the list: Armando Bacot of North Carolina, Antoine Davis of Detroit, Kendric Davis of Memphis, Zach Edey of Purdue, Kyle Filipowski of Duke, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana, Jaime Jaquez of UCLA, Mike Miles of TCU, Brandon Miller of Alabama, Jalen Pickett of Penn State, Kris Murray of Iowa, Marcus Sasser of Houston, Terquavion Smith of NC State, Drew Timme of Gonzaga, Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, Azuolas Tubelis of Arizona and Isaiah Wong of Miami.
Voting for the 2023 Wooden Award and Wooden Award All-America Team will open before the NCAA Tournament with the announcement of the All-America Team during the Elite Eight round and the player of the year award announced after the NCAA Championship April.
