Gonzaga forward/guard/dude Corey Kispert will play limited minutes against the Washington Huskies tonight, Jon Rothstein reported.
Gonzaga's Corey Kispert (ankle) will play tonight against Washington, but is still limited, per Mark Few.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 10, 2017
Kispert went down with an ankle injury against Incarnate Word on Nov. 29, and has been hobbled ever since. In his absence, Zach Norvell has stepped in to provide some fine offense, in a different way than Kispert does. Norvell scored 21 points against Creighton, and 22 points against Villanova.
Although none of Kispert’s stats will ever jump out during the box score, he is one of those players whose intangibles aren’t measured. Kispert, still having a beyond fantastic freshman campaign, is averaging 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Most importantly, he leads the Zags in offensive rating at 140.9 because he never turns the ball over. The kid has a knack for heads up plays, and being in the right place in the right time.
During his absence, it isn’t Gonzaga didn’t exactly struggle that badly. The Zags picked up a win over a ranked Creighton squad at home, but then travelled to New York City for a beatdown at the hands of Villanova, one of the best teams in the country.
In his place, Norvell has finally been able to demonstrate what makes him such a dangerous player. Although his shooting has been a bit streaky, Norvell has shown his long range threat, hitting four threes against both Creighton and Villanova.
The biggest issue, overall, during Kispert’s absence has been the depth of the squad. The Zags haven’t been able to get consistent, meaningful minutes from much of the bench this season. Kispert was growing into a stablizing force on this sometimes herky-jerky squad, and any minutes he can provide will be welcome.