West Virginia's Darryl "Truck" Bryant Has Surgery On Fractured Foot

Darryl “Truck” Bryant was unable to play in the Mountaineers’ final three NCAA Tournament games, including the Final Four, due to a fractured foot. Wednesday he got surgery to repair the injury and a good prognosis on his return next season.

WVU basketball spokesman Bryan Messerly says the surgery was performed Wednesday on Bryant’s fifth metatarsal at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

Randy Meador, WVU’s coordinator of athletic training services, says Bryant’s recovery time will be two to three months.

Truck Bryant's status has gone from hopeful, to questionable, to doubtful, and now to out.  ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting that Bryant, West Virginia's starting point guard, will not play in tonight's game against Duke:

West Virginia's Darryl "Truck" Bryant won't play in Saturday night's national semifinal against Duke, the sophomore guard told ESPN.com Saturday.

Bryant broke his right foot March 23 in a practice leading up to the Sweet 16. Bryant missed the regional wins against Washington and Kentucky in Syracuse, but was hopeful that with a specially made sneaker, he would be able to play against Duke.

But Bryant said Saturday, while he was still wearing a boot on his foot, that he had been having trouble moving from side to side and cutting.

Bryant said he was just hoping the Mountaineers would win so he can try to play Monday in the national championship against Butler or Michigan State.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he wouldn't play Bryant unless he practiced.

Bryant broke a bone in his foot in practice on March 23 and has not played since.  West Virginia will face Duke in tonight's national semi-final in Indianapolis in the second game of the evening. 

Stay up to date with all West Virginia updates this weekend at The Smoking Musket.

West Virginia's Darryl "Truck" Bryant continued his descent down the ladder of playing statuses for Saturday's Final Four game against Duke.

Originally listed as "very doubtful," head coach Bub Huggins said on Thursday that it is "highly unlikely" that his point guard will be available.

The sophomore had hoped a specially-designed shoe would ease some of the pain in his broken right foot. But in a news conference Thursday, Huggins said he would be shocked if Bryant played.

Bryant originally broke his foot in practice after the opening weekend has missed WVU's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.

West Virginia will likely continue to be without starting point guard Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant when it takes on Duke in the Final Four.

Head coach Bob Huggins told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that Bryant, who suffered a broken bone in his foot in a second round win over Missouri, is ‘very doubtful’ and has not been practicing with the team.

While Huggins did not completely rule out Bryant’s return to the floor, he did say that, “if he can’t practice, he’s not going to play.”

“We’re not going to throw him out there without knowing what he’s going to do,” Huggins said. “I think it’s a whole lot different walking, or jogging on a treadmill, than it is coming out here and cutting and doing the kind of things we have to do out here.”

In the wake of their unexpected win over top-seeded Kentucky, West Virginia was awash in celebration when they got even better news from their medical staff: starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant, thought to be lost for the tournament with a broken bone in his foot, has been cleared to play in the Final Four:

Bryant, who broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during practice Tuesday, was cleared by team doctor's Friday to play in the Final Four if West Virginia advanced.

"I will be wearing a special shoe and in pain," Bryant told FanHouse after the Mountaineers' 73-66 win over Kentucky, "but I can't hurt it anymore.

This is sensational news for the Mountaineers; the only time Kentucky was even mildly competitive in the second half was late in the game, after backup point guard Joe Mazzulla fouled out of the game. Without a primary ball-handler on the court, West Virginia struggled against an active press defense. Getting Bryant back, even in the inevitably limited role he'll fill, is exactly what Bob Huggins and his backcourt need.

With Darryl Bryant officially lost for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament, West Virginia must now rely on Joe Mazzulla to carry the load at point guard. Our ’Eers blog, The Smoking Musket, has the three keys to this new line-up being successful:

— The health of Joe Mazzulla. By all accounts, his shoulder is healed and is not a lingering problem. That theory will be tested severely, considering the increased minutes headed his direction in the coming games.

— Keeping Mazzulla out of foul trouble. With no point guard on our bench, this is an absolute must. In what has become a staple of Joe’s game, the attempted charge may not be the best strategy in the coming game(s). Even if he has firmly established position, all it takes is a referee with a slight difference of opinion to force him to the bench for extended periods of time. Mazzulla must avoid fouls at all costs.

— The performance of our point forwards. Again, without another point guard on the bench, both Devin Ebanks and Da’Sean Butler will see their ball handling duties to dramatically increase. Mazzulla can’t play 40 minutes, so these two must deputize in his absence. Both have shown they are capable of doing exactly that, but when the stakes are this high, the element of doubt starts to rear its ugly head. We must protect the basketball, because at this stage of the tournament, the teams will punish careless mistakes swiftly.

Point guard was already the biggest flaw on this WVU team, which may actually help them overcome the loss of Bryant. They haven’t had great, consistent play from that position all season, so they know how to win in other ways. Although certainly the lack of depth they now face will be an issue if Mazzulla gets into foul trouble.