KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The plastic jewelry on J’Wan Roberts left wrist tells a story. The beads arranged to spell “Beast Mode” resemble those Taylor Swift friendship bracelets.
The adornment was a gift a couple of years ago from Autumn Shedd, sister of former teammate Jamal Shedd. Whatever mode Roberts, Houston‘s bulky sixth-year forward, is in these days, it certainly isn’t beast. And the most prominent piece of plastic is actually attached to his leg, protecting a sprained right ankle.
“It was fun, actually,” Roberts said of sitting out watching his teammates defeat BYU 74-54 in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday night. “Me not playing, I try to coach them up a lot too.”
Fun, for now. Roberts is the latest key Houston piece to go down with an injury that has impacted the NCAA Tournament the last three years. The Cougars don’t want Roberts’ injury to make it four years in a row.
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X-rays on Roberts’ ankle injured Thursday in a quarterfinal win vs. Colorado were negative. After initially talking bravely about playing Friday night, Roberts wisely sat. There was nothing to be gained…
