Remy Martin sits, Zach Clemence likely out and other Kansas basketball injury updates

By Matt Tait     Jan 14, 2022

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Remy Martin, right, sits on the bench with an injury next to reserve guard Michael Jankovich during the second half on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said Friday that senior guard Remy Martin remains “day to day or week to week” as he continues to sit out of practice with a sore right knee.

KU was off on Wednesday. Self said Martin did not practice on Thursday. And it was not yet known at the time of Friday’s press conference whether Martin would be able to practice on Friday.

All of it puts Martin’s status for Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against West Virginia up in the air.

The 6-foot senior transfer who has started 12 of the 13 games he has played in during his first season with the Jayhawks, sat out of Tuesday’s win over Iowa State.

He played 12 minutes in last weekend’s loss at Texas Tech and showed flashes of both being hobbled and being able to impact the game. Particularly on offense.

But he missed the George Mason game prior to that and has now been dealing with the injury for more than two weeks after initially injuring the knee on a drive to the basket in KU’s Dec. 29 win over Nevada.

In the days after the injury occurred, Self said team doctors checked out the knee and saw no structural damage. But soreness, swelling and tightness have left Martin unable to get back to 100%.

On the bench in street clothes during KU’s 62-61 win over Iowa State on Tuesday night, Martin routinely was up off the bench offering instructions and encouragement to his teammates.

In other injury news, Self said freshman forward Zach Clemence did not practice on Thursday and that he did not anticipate Clemence playing against West Virginia.

Self also said that sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu, who did not play against Iowa State, had been dealing with a “turned ankle,” but that he “looked good” in Thursday’s practice.

Freshman guard Bobby Pettiford, who just recently returned to action after nursing an abdominal injury and battling COVID-19, is back practicing full speed. Self said Pettiford was still being watched closely to make sure the injury does not resurface, but he was excited to have him back in the rotation.

“I think he’s going to be one of the better guards that we’ve had,” Self said, repeating a statement he has said throughout the season. “I still feel that way. And, if he hadn’t been hurt, he would already be showing that.”

KU and WVU are slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse on CBS.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.