San Jose State was desperate for bodies for its Saturday night game against Seattle after head coach Dave Wojcik suspended five players indefinitely before the game, including the team’s four leading scorers.
According to Jimmy Durkin of the San Jose Mercury News, Wojcik suspended Rashad Muhammad, Jordan Baker, Frank Rogers, Jaleel Williams and Matt Pollard indefinitely. Durkin reports that the length of the suspension was not disclosed but the group is expected to be out until at least the Dec. 21 game at Washington State.
“I’m not going to put up with that,” Wojcik said of the suspensions in the post-game press conference Saturday night.
So to add players to the Spartan roster -- which was already missing starting point guard Jalen Jones (season-ending ankle injury) and freshman center Leon Bahner (foot injury) -- Wojcik turned to San Jose State football coach Ron Caragher for help this week.
Caragher and the football team were able to help as sophomore wide receiver Tyler Winston and redshirt freshman tight end Andrew Vollert both played Division I basketball for the first time during the Spartans’ Saturday night loss to Seattle.
Winston, an All-Mountain West second-team selection this season, played 21 minutes off the bench at guard and made a three-pointer on his way to four points. Vollert played 30 minutes as a reserve forward and had two points and two rebounds. Vollert also played the second most minutes on the team on Saturday.
The suspension of five players, four of them major contributors, has completely gutted a San Jose State program that is already 2-9 with no Division I wins on the season. For two football players to come up on the basketball team this week and earn major minutes despite never playing a college basketball game -- and with limited practice time -- says how desperate times are in San Jose right now.
Winston and Vollert’s status on the basketball team will be determined on a game-by-game basis, according to Durkin, and it doesn’t look like this season is going to turn around for the Spartans anytime soon.