FORT COLLINS — It was empty-the-bench time for the Colorado State men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena.
The Rams’ lead over Air Force was hovering around 30 points in the closing minutes, a perfect time to look far down the bench and grant playing time to seldom-used reserves.
Problem is, CSU doesn’t have any such players. When the calendar flips to Jan. 17, the Rams will be down to seven players. That’s not seven rotation players with additional walk-ons available to soak up mop-up duty minutes. That’s seven players, period.
“It’s going to be really tough,” said senior forward . “But we just have to fight through it and get the job done.”
Three players — juniors , and — have been ruled academically ineligible for games after Jan. 17 as a result of failing to meet minimum NCAA academic requirements during the fall semester. The NCAA requires athletes entering their third year to maintain a minimum grade-point average of 1.9 on a scale of 4.0. The other five players on CSU’s 15-man roster are sitting out this season as transfers.
Rams coach Larry Eustachy has been planning for his new reality. Bob and Jackson didn’t play against Air Force, and Butler logged only two minutes. They have played sparingly since CSU learned of their academic status in late December.
The Rams, who are 11-6 overall and tied for second at 3-1 in the wide-open Mountain West, appear to have the talent to compete for a championship in a conference with no clear favorite. But can a roster of only seven players survive the demands of the league schedule that has 14 games remaining before the Mountain West Tournament begins?
“We would be picked last under these circumstances,” Eustachy said. “There will be some situations where it could cost us. Say somebody gets sick, say two guys get sick; I’ve got to pull (a local reporter) out of his redshirt year. But we’ll move forward and have fun with it.”
In Omogbo and senior , the Rams have a one-two punch that can match up with just about any combination in the Mountain West. Keeping them on the court will be paramount. Omogbo picked up his third foul early in the second half against Air Force, but he quickly motioned at the coaching staff not to take him out of the game, which the Rams won 85-58.
For a team that loves to play physical, walking the line between being aggressive and staying out of foul trouble will be a major key.
“We’ve got to guard without fouling,” Omogbo said. “We just have to live with it.”
“Look, we’re going to miss the guys,” Clavell added. “They are great players. They bring something different to the table. But at the end of the day, it’s seven guys. Everybody is in shape. We run every practice. We’re going to miss them, but we have to move ahead. We can’t look back.”
The focus for the Rams is finding a way to survive with a thin roster. CSU football coach said last week he would allow players on his team to join the basketball team if they would actually receive playing time. It’s a move other schools have made when facing unexpected roster shortages.
Eustachy, though, hasn’t announced any plans to seek reinforcements. His focus is on guiding the short-handed Rams through the rest of the season while also helping the three ineligible players get back on track.
“These young men will not only become eligible for next year,” Eustachy said of Butler, Bob and Jackson, “they will become graduates.”