With destiny in their control, Bobcats face new obstacle

Danny Kaspar’s never experienced anything like this. 

At least not in his 28 years as a head coach and especially not during his five-year tenure at Texas State

It all started after last Thursday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. Sophomore forward Quentin Scott came down with the flu then senior forward Alex Peacock caught it as well. 

Fast forward to Tuesday’s practice, where guards Tre Nottingham, Nijal Pearson, Shelby Adams and Marlin Davis, who’s redshirting this season, were out due to illness. 

“I’ve never seen any team that’s been hit this hard,” Kaspar said. “We’ve had five guys out of 15 — one-third of our team. I don’t know where this came from … It’s unexpected. We took flu shots and we do every year. But every now and then, I have one guy get the flu. One. Some years I have nobody. Now, I have (five players).”

Texas State (22-6, 11-4 Sun Belt) has control of its own destiny as it heads into its final stretch of the season. The Bobcats hold a one-game lead in the conference standings over Georgia State as  they head to Alabama to take on Troy (11-15, 4-10) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and South Alabama (13-14, 6-8) on Saturday at 7 p.m. 

The illness going around the team is another obstacle Texas State will have to overcome in its quest to win its first Sun Belt championship. 

“I just feel like every game is another challenge,” junior forward Eric Terry said. “I feel like we’re up for it. You know, there’s nothing that we can’t do. So, it’s another challenge, another obstacle that we’ve got to get through.” 

Troy comes into Thursday’s matchup on a three-game losing streak. The Trojans have been without their leading scorer, senior forward Jordan Varnado, who’s been sideline with concussions this season and was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. It’s unclear if Varnado will play against Texas State but Kaspar called Troy a good team without him and a very good team with him. 

Kaspar highlighted Trojan senior forward Alex Hicks and senior guard B.J. Miller as two guys the Bobcats will have to slow down. Hicks averages 12.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while Miller records 9.1 points a game. 

“I’ve always thought Hicks and Varnado are very good,” Kaspar said. “Miller, the point guard, is back ... I wouldn’t count on it but I’m hoping they’re mentally down because of their record.” 

When the Bobcats take on South Alabama, they’ll have to watch out for redshirt junior forwards Josh Ajayi and Mitchell Trhae, senior guard Rodrick Sikes and graduate senior guard Kory Holden, who all average double-digit scoring. 

The Bobcats have been successful on the road this season, going 9-3 so far. Kaspar said he isn’t sure why his team has been good this season away from San Marcos. But Terry believes it’s because of the Bobcats’ bond. 

“I think that’s the mentality that we’re the takers, we’re all we got,” Terry said. “We’re all we got. We’re away. The people on the bench is all we got and that’s basically what it is.”

With uncertainty abound because of the illness surrounding the team, Texas State hopes it’s able to recover and put together a strong performance in Alabama. 

“We’re all hoping that (the players who have been sick) bounce back and are ready to play,” Kaspar said. “We all know that Nijal is important to us. Tre is important to us. Shelby, even though he only plays about 10 minutes a game, he does provide a valuable service to us … Offensively, we need them to bounce back and be ready to go.”