Men's Basketball at Western Michigan: Dealing with the loss of Jimmy Hall

A difficult task became even harder for Kent State tonight when Jimmy Hall was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

The Mid-American Conference player of the year candidate will miss this week, be reevaluated by team doctors next week, and beyond that is anyone's guess. Based on my experience, you never know what to expect in the recovery process from mono. It's different for everyone.

In the meantime, as Rob Senderoff said in his video blog today, all of the team's frontline players are going to have to step up to pick up the slack. In reality, so too will the backcourt ... which won't be easy with Kellon Thomas expected to miss even more time following surgery this week.

Gary Akbar is expected to get the start at forward next to Chris Ortiz. That should mean Akbar handles the four offensively while Ortiz plays the four on defense. Beyond that, expect Marquiez Lawrence and Raasean Davis to see extended minutes, along with Blake Vedder potentially being worked into the rotation to provide another look that could force adjustments from opponents during this stretch.

The Flashes remain upbeat and concerned first with Hall returning to full health before bringing him back. And while they are upbeat, the simple fact is that is all happening at a difficult time. Akron adjusted to the loss of its player of the year candidate and has retooled, but Keith Dambrot had the time to tinker and teach as roles changed and confidence could build in a non-conference schedule.

An earlier Hall absence would have allowed Kent State to consider lifting the redshirt off of Marvin Jones. The athletic 6-foot-10 junior college transfer could have filled a big part of the void while Davis would have found more playing time to develop. Unlike Akron this season, Kent State has three scholarships locked up by players who are redshirting. There aren't as many bodies available to take over Hall's 30 minutes per game, and most of the scoring slack from the missing 17 points per game will have to be taken up by a backcourt that is a three-man rotation of Derek Jackson, Devareaux Manley and Kris Brewer – the only three healthy guards available who are on scholarship.

There's no doubt Kent State can stay at or near the top of the Mid-American Conference standings, but it's going to be a difficult task. The margin for error is thin, and with what is now a similarly thin roster, there are not a whole lot of options to change things up. Pressuring and trapping all over the court would be a wrinkle that this team is capable of adding, but that's difficult with three available guards for an extended period of time.

We'll start to figure out tonight what Senderoff and his assistants will attempt to lessen the impact of Hall's absence. Hopefully, that absence won't be all too long.

NOTE ... Due to travel issues, I am not in Kalmazoo, Mich. for tonight's game between Kent State and Western Michigan, but I will be watching from home and updating the blog with some comments. Any thoughts, feel free to share them here and we can discuss.

1st HALF UPDATE... The Flashes take a 1-point lead into the break thanks to a Dev Manley three just before the buzzer.

Derek Jackson's 12 points on some clutch three-point shooting has helped to fill in for the loss of Hall. This game feels a bit like last season with a reliance on the three. But Kent State has been more aggressive defensively than last season, carrying over this year's hard work on that end of the floor.

Love the effort. Keep it going in the second half and steal a difficult win on the road without the top player.