When NC State junior point guard Markell Johnson went for a block and came crashing down, it was quick to assume it wasn’t good Saturday.
Johnson didn’t return to the Pittsburgh game, but NC State found a way to pull out the 86-80 win, with two starters essentially not in the mix. NCSU redshirt junior center Wyatt Walker was ejected from the game with 18 minutes left in the first half.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts still isn’t sure what the prognosis will be for Johnson two days later. He said he’d hold him out of Monday’s practice and then see how he feels prior to tip off Tuesday against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.
“He will be a game-time decision,” Keatts said. “He’s sore. He fell on his left hip on the left side of his back. He took a pretty nasty fall. I won’t know anything until game time. I may possibly let him go through warmups to see how he feels.”
If Johnson is unable to play or is limited, the Wolfpack aren’t lacking for depth at point guard. Sophomores Braxton Beverly and Blake Harris would handle running the show if Johnson is affected.
“I feel better, but obviously any time you have one of the better guards in the ACC or possibly the country, I think it is always a bad situation when he can’t play,” Keatts said. “That being said, we’ve been through this a little bit before. We’ve got guys are more than capable to play his position.”
Beverly filled in for Johnson during his suspension last year, and Harris started at Missouri and has settled into a backup point guard role in his first season with NC State.
“He brings leadership and he brings a lot of talent,” said Beverly on Johnson. “I think he is one of the best point guards in the country. Everyone else on the team has to be ready to step up.”
Harris didn’t play in the second half against Pittsburgh, and also has some aches and pains.
“Blake is starting to get better and understanding what we are looking for,” Keatts said. “Those two guys would obviously have to step up if he doesn’t play.”
Keatts said he saw the replay of Walker’s ejection and wasn’t going to discipline him any further. A desponded Walker approached him after the game to apologize for trying to trip up Pittsburgh freshman guard Xavier Johnson.
“What an incredible kid and I kind of wanted to see how he would react,” Keatts said. “He said ‘Coach, I feel so sorry. I feel like I let the team down. I overreacted and I shoudn’t have done it. It will never happen again.’ I accepted what he said and I know who Wyatt Walker is.”
Wake Forest is starting three newcomers, including two freshmen, and are off to a 7-8 overall start and 0-3 in the ACC.
“I look at each game as an individual game,” Keatts said. “Very seldom when we talk about an ACC team, do we ever discuss their record. I think it would be unfair to do that.”
Beverly mentioned playing a winless Pittsburgh team in the ACC last year, and the Panthers led deep into the second half before NC State rallied for the road win.
“Honestly, I didn’t know they were 0-3,” Beverly said. “There is so much talent in this league that you can’t look at the record.”
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