The status of star forward Devin Ebanks continues to remain an mystery unspoken by those close to Ebanks. WVU head coach Bob Huggins and his team remain careful to not divulge any details on what has caused the absence of Ebanks. 

“I don’t know,” Huggins said quietly inside the WVU Coliseum, on Friday.

Sophomore Kevin Jones, whose role on the team has become far more integral in Ebankss absence, said, “I don’t know what’s going on with Devin. It’s a personal issue. I’m not sure how long he’s going to be out, but definitely we’ll welcome him when he comes back.”

By those indications, no one outside the the program know how long the Mountaineers will likely be forced to play Ebanks-less. And so the No. 8-ranked 'Eers (1-0) march on. Next up is a non-conference game on Nov. 24, in Charleston, W.Va., against The Citadel.

“I’ll just try to do the best I can and try to fill his shoes a little bit,” Jones said of replacing Ebanks, who last year was a Big East All-rookie team member averaging 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.

News first broke on Ebanks just prior to tip-off of last Sunday’s season-opener, an 83-60 win, over Loyola (Md.).

Like nearly everyone else, Jones was taken off guard by what was transpiring. “Yeah, I was shocked,” he said. “I didn’t know the situation of what was going on.”

But Jones pushed his initial reaction to the side and took the floor with focus. He contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, six of which were offensive boards, two blocks and a steal, as a starter.

“Kevin is certainly not the problem,” Huggins said. “He was one of our five best players anyway … probably one of our three best players.”

While glad to contribute to the blowout win, Jones remarked, “I think I could rebound it better and maybe score a little bit more.”

Jones spoke with Ebanks following the game last Sunday. “He just congratulated me,” Jones said. “He told me to keep on playing hard. We always try to encourage each other. That will keep on going on throughout the season.”

Ebanks and Jones are close friends and roommates off the court, who share an apartment with point guard Truck Bryant and shooting guard Casey Mitchell. Jones explained his tight bond with Ebanks and how Ebanks has handled things lately: “He’s been fine as far as I know. We talk a lot. He’s a very confident kid, so I’m sure this won’t pull his confidence down in the end. We’ll just keep on moving forward and can’t wait until he returns.”

Jones did play in all 35 games last season and averaged 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, but did so coming in off the bench. Of his new role, Jones said, “It’s just a new feeling for me. I just got to take my time, be more relaxed out there and I’ll be fine.”

Huggins sees little difference in whether Jones starts or not. “It’s not important who starts a game, it’s important who finishes a game,” said the coach.

As black and white as that may be, there are still some cerebral differences in starting and coming off the bench, or at least it’s that way for Jones. “Now you’re out there in the fire,” he said. “When you’re on the bench, you can see where other people made mistakes. Now you got to go out and set the tone yourself.”