‘Sunday Joe’ Involves the Rescue at Cincinnati – West Virginia College Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Veteran West Virginia College broadcaster Tony Caridi took to calling senior guard Joseph Yesufu “Sunday Joe” throughout yesterday’s 63-50 victory at Cincinnati.
 
The Bolingbrook, Illinois, resident got here off the bench to make all six of his shot makes an attempt, together with 4 from 3-point distance, to assist the Mountaineers snap their three-game convention shedding streak yesterday afternoon.
 
Yesufu had one other excellent Sunday efficiency final month when he poured in 18 factors on six-of-nine capturing in West Virginia’s 78-70 win over Colorado. He pulled down three rebounds and made a pair of steals in that high-elevation, highway triumph.
 
Yesufu’s different double-digit scoring efficiency this 12 months, a 14-point effort towards North Carolina Central, got here on a Tuesday evening, which demonstrates that he’s able to producing on days apart from the Sabbath.
 
For a West Virginia crew struggling to search out second and third scorers with Tucker DeVries nonetheless on the mend, Yesufu may very well be the complementary participant the Mountaineers desperately must take a number of the load off the Large 12’s main scorer, senior Javon Small.
 
Javon was excellent as soon as once more towards Cincinnati, hitting his season common of 19 factors whereas handing out a season-high 9 assists, a few of these kick outs to Yesufu on the perimeter.
 
Sunday Joe’s first 3 of the sport got here on the halfway level of the primary half to offer the Mountaineers a nine-point cushion. His second forward of the halftime buzzer put West Virginia forward by 15.
 
“It is at all times nice to have just a little momentum going into the locker room,” West Virginia coach Darian DeVries stated afterward.
 
The actually large ones got here throughout a three-minute stretch on the halfway level of the second half to offer the Mountaineers their commanding 22-point lead.
 
Then, when Cincinnati was frantically attempting to get again into the sport, Yesufu put an finish to that together with his brief jumper with 1:39 left, which wound up being the ultimate factors scored by both crew.
 
“I believed Joe got here in and gave us an enormous prompt the bench,” DeVries stated. “He gave us that different scorer we’ve not had as persistently the previous few video games.”
 
West Virginia’s main scorer was actually happy to be getting some assist. Seeing two and generally three guys converging on you each time the basketball is in your arms has a method of getting tiresome.
 
“Joe got here in and gave us an additional spark,” Small stated. “(He’s) one other offensive participant who can put the ball via the basket, and he made some actually large photographs down the stretch, particularly going into halftime. He is a extremely good participant, and he does regardless of the crew wants him to do. At this time, we would have liked him to place the ball into the basket, and that is what he did.”
 
Certainly, he did, and if West Virginia desires to gather sufficient wins to get again to NCAA Match, it’s going to want comparable performances from its veteran gamers like Joseph Yesufu.
 
That is Yesufu’s sixth season of faculty basketball after spending two with DeVries at Drake, two with Invoice Self at Kansas and a 12 months with Kyle Smith at Washington State.
 
Added up, that is 137 sport’s value of faculty basketball expertise.
 
“I have been in faculty for six years so I am sort of outdated, so simply having these experiences enjoying in other places, totally different teaching, totally different arenas … I am sort of used to every little thing, and my teammates gave me all the boldness I must exit and play the way in which I play,” Yesufu stated.
 
Yesufu admitted yesterday that he does not recall ever having a sport when he did not miss a single shot.
 
The six he made yesterday at Cincinnati helped get West Virginia out of its hardest stretch of the season.
 
“I really feel like I acquired us going, and I used to be pleased to offer a prompt the bench,” he stated.
 
Hopefully, “Sunday Joe” can now flip into “Wednesday Joe” later this week at TCU.