The Bulldog basketball depth chart was already a bit thin, and now there is one more player in a sweatsuit on the bench after junior forward Kodi Augustus was suspended for two games.
Augustus is being punished for his outburst after the opening loss to Rider in which he questioned coach Rick Stansbury on a number of issues — particularly the amount of time Augustus spent on the court. Stansbury said this was his first issue with Augustus in recent months and believes he will learn from his mistake.
When Augustus apologized in front of the media, he made a point of not only expressing remorse towards his coach, but also to his team and all Bulldog fans. He said his teammates were not upset with him, and they understand he was frustrated after a disappointing loss.
“I apologized to the team,” Augustus said. “I told them I was sorry, and I was very remorseful and it was immature. I wanted to help. I felt like I wasn’t out there as much as I should have been. But like I said, it’s over now.”
The loss of Augustus for two games only makes depth problems tougher for Stansbury’s squad. The team has stated sophomore guard Twany Beckham is out for the year, as are junior forward Elgin Bailey and freshman guard Shaun Smith. Junior guard Riley Benock is back in action, but Stansbury said he is not in game-shape and “hasn’t done anything for 10-12 weeks.”
However, given the current situation, Stansbury said it is possible Bailey may be called on for action. Stansbury also added sophomore point guard Dee Bost to the injury list. Bost tweaked his knee in the loss against Rider, and then Stansbury said he pulled his groin in practice on Monday.
On the non-injury list, 7’1″ freshman John Riek is still serving his eight-game suspension as mandated by the NCAA.
Of course, the Bulldog with the biggest buzz around campus is highly-touted freshman Renardo Sidney, who has still not been cleared to play by the NCAA.
However, Sidney’s amateur status was changed Wednesday to “under review” by the NCAA after months of a stalemate, meaning the question of his eligibility is closer to a solution.
With so many players on the bench, is Stansbury concerned?
“What do you think?” Stansbury asked. “Like I say, you’ve got to find a way. There’s no excuses. No one feels sorry for you. No one’s going to cancel any games.”
Even before the Augustus suspension, it seemed the Dawgs were struggling with fatigue due to lack of bench minutes.
Stansbury said Bost and Barry Stewart were exhausted against Rider and all All-SEC center Jarvis Varnado was “absolutely worn out.” Varnado said he was tired, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to help his team.
“We just gotta do what we can with what we have,” Varnado said. “If I have to play 40 minutes, that’s what I’ll do.”
Stansbury said the lack of depth puts his team at a sincere disadvantage, particularly in relieving starters.
“Everybody knows those first five [starters],” he said. “The key to the team’s success is six, seven, eight and nine.”