Houston basketball forward J’Wan Roberts got honest about how serious his ankle injury was after leaving mid-game against Colorado. While the Cougars advanced to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, but all eyes will be on the health of their All-Big 12 star for the rest of the week. Houston basketball is having another fantastic season under Kelvin Sampson, which seems to be the norm now. The Cougars have run through the Big 12 again like a buzzsaw and have virtually clinched their third straight No. 1 seed.
But to win its first national title in school history, Kelvin Sampson’s team needs its starting power forward healthy. In the postgame, J’Wan Roberts revealed his concern level over the left ankle injury that forced him to sit out the rest of Thursday’s game.
“It’s painful for sure, but I should be good. I should be good to go tomorrow…(on taking a more cautious approach) Definitely, knowing that March Madness starts next week. But I want to play every game that leads up to that. But these next couple of games that are coming up, I definitely want to be cautious and be 100%.”
The Cougars have to be extremely cautious with J’Wan Roberts’ health this week
The response from J’Wan Roberts is indicative of why he’s such a valuable player. The Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands native is a relentless overachiever who has been an instrumental part of the Cougars’ identity and culture over the past few years. Because of this, Houston basketball needs to be extra cautious with this injury. Kelvin Sampson’s team will not win the national title without Roberts healthy.
The Cougars know all about late-season injuries in their recent history. Former star guard Marcus Sasser suffered a very scary groin injury in the American Athletic Conference tournament two years ago, which had every Houston fan holding their breath. And last season, in the Sweet 16, the Cougars lost their best player, point guard Jamal Shead, to an ankle injury against Duke that led to their elimination.
This is basically the first time in maybe three to four years that Houston basketball is mostly healthy. And this group’s strength is its depth. There’s something to be said about losing the battle but winning the war. If the Cougars need to keep J’Wan Roberts out of his last Big 12 Tournament to give themselves a better chance in The Big Dance, so be it. This group and program deserve to be healthy heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Overall, two future No. 1 seeds must monitor their star bigs’ ankle injuries over these next few days. Duke star Cooper Flagg also had to exit his conference tournament game with a health setback. Houston basketball cannot take any chances over these next few days. This is the kind of history the program does not want to see repeat itself.
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