Nick KrugKansas University junior forward Perry Ellis, who only played 17 minutes in the Jayhawks’ 76-69 win over West Virginia Tuesday night, had an MRI after leaving the game for good in the first half of an overtime thriller, won by Kansas, 76-69.
KU coach Bill Self said after the long night and comeback that Ellis had sprained his knee and added that the results of the MRI looked “very positive.”
Ellis, who missed the entire second half, returned to the bench late in the game decked out in KU warm-ups. He did not appear to have crutches and walked to and from the huddle during timeouts under his own power.
Self said it was unlikely that Ellis would play in Saturday’s season finale — 3 p.m. vs. Oklahoma in Norman — and added that the team did not see any reason to rush Ellis back when doctors dubbed his potential return to the lineup in time for the Big 12 tournament “realistic.”
Asked about finding a way to pull out the victory without the team’s leading scorer in the lineup for the second half and overtime, freshman guard Devonte’ Graham said it was a proud moment for the young team.
“It just tells you about how much heart we have,” Graham said. “All teams go through injuries and we (didn’t) have Perry or Cliff. People just gotta step up. Hunter (Mickelson) stepped up. Jamari (Traylor) stepped up big time. We made plays when we need to make plays and we got stops when we needed to get stops.”
Added Traylor, who scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 30 minutes: “I knew somebody else was going to have to step up. I wanted to be more vocal and just (do) a little more of everything for my teammates.”
