Yesterday, Jeff Goodman from FoxSports.com reported that WSU point guard Reggie Moore, who has missed the first five games with a fractured bone in his left (non-shooting) wrist, was "very likely to play" against No. 5 Kansas State tomorrow night.
As Brian and I chatted about it, we wondered how in the heck Vince Grippi could get beaten by Goodman on this story. Who was Goodman's source?
The short answer: Grippi didn't get beat at all, because Goodman seems to be making some very liberal assumptions, according to Vince:
Expected to play by whom? Sitting at practice I watched Moore go through drills and thought back to my conversation earlier in the day with coach Ken Bone. Bone made it clear then Moore would see how the splint felt, how much he was able to do with it, then a decision would be made when or if he could play with it. At the time Goodman was telling everyone he was "expected to play" no decision had been made.
Does Moore want to play? Sure, he's a competitor, a tough son of a gun who wants to help his team in one of its biggest games of the season. Should he play? That's a decision WSU's medical staff and Moore will have to make together. Will he play? That's Bone's decision, and though he expects DeAngelo Casto to play against the fifth-ranked Wildcats, he's not at all certain about Moore. He doesn't want to put him into a situation he's unprepared for.
So, unless something changes between now and Friday, saying Moore is expected to play is pretty damn premature.
There you go. If I were a betting man, I'd say Moore is going to play. But that's just a completely speculative gut instinct based on Moore's obvious desire to compete and the Cougs' need for him in that game. I'd honestly be a little surprised if he didn't at least try to give it a go.
But trust Vince on this one -- it is far from a sure thing.