‘Sunday Joe’ Comes to the Rescue at Cincinnati – West Virginia University Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Veteran West Virginia University broadcaster Tony Caridi took to calling senior guard Joseph Yesufu “Sunday Joe” during yesterday’s 63-50 victory at Cincinnati.
 
The Bolingbrook, Illinois, resident came off the bench to make all six of his shot attempts, including four from 3-point distance, to help the Mountaineers snap their three-game conference losing streak yesterday afternoon.
 
Yesufu had another outstanding Sunday performance last month when he poured in 18 points on six-of-nine shooting in West Virginia’s 78-70 win over Colorado. He pulled down three rebounds and made a pair of steals in that high-elevation, road triumph.
 
Yesufu’s other double-digit scoring performance this year, a 14-point effort against North Carolina Central, came on a Tuesday night, which demonstrates that he is capable of producing on days other than the Sabbath.
 
For a West Virginia team struggling to find second and third scorers with Tucker DeVries still on the mend, Yesufu could be the complementary player the Mountaineers desperately need to take some of the load off the Big 12’s leading scorer, senior Javon Small.
 
Javon was outstanding once again against Cincinnati, hitting his season average of 19 points while handing out a season-high nine assists, some of those kick outs to Yesufu on the perimeter.
 
Sunday Joe’s first 3 of the game came at the midway point of the first half to give the Mountaineers a nine-point cushion. His second ahead of the halftime buzzer put West Virginia ahead by 15.
 
“It’s always great to have a little momentum going into the locker room,” West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said afterward.
 
The really big ones came during a three-minute stretch at the midway point of the second half to give the Mountaineers their commanding 22-point lead.
 
Then, when Cincinnati was frantically trying to get back into the game, Yesufu put an end to that with his short jumper with 1:39 left, which wound up being the final points scored by either team.
 
“I thought Joe came in and gave us a huge spark off the bench,” DeVries said. “He gave us that other scorer we haven’t had as consistently the last few games.”
 
West Virginia’s primary scorer was certainly pleased to be getting some help. Seeing two and sometimes three guys converging on you every time the basketball is in your hands has a way of getting tiresome.
 
“Joe came in and gave us an extra spark,” Small said. “(He is) another offensive player who can put the ball through the basket, and he made some really big shots down the stretch, especially going into halftime. He’s a really good player, and he does whatever the team needs him to do. Today, we needed him to put the ball into the basket, and that’s what he did.”
 
Indeed, he did, and if West Virginia wants to collect enough wins to get back to NCAA Tournament, it is going to need similar performances from its veteran players like Joseph Yesufu.
 
This is Yesufu’s sixth season of college basketball after spending two with DeVries at Drake, two with Bill Self at Kansas and a year with Kyle Smith at Washington State.
 
Added up, that’s 137 game’s worth of college basketball experience.
 
“I’ve been in college for six years so I’m kind of old, so just having those experiences playing in different places, different coaching, different arenas … I’m kind of used to everything, and my teammates gave me all the confidence I need to go out and play the way I play,” Yesufu said.
 
Yesufu admitted yesterday that he doesn’t recall ever having a game when he didn’t miss a single shot.
 
The six he made yesterday at Cincinnati helped get West Virginia out of its toughest stretch of the season.
 
“I feel like I got us going, and I was happy to provide a spark off the bench,” he said.
 
Hopefully, “Sunday Joe” can now turn into “Wednesday Joe” later this week at TCU.