The pain still lingers, but Wes Johnson can’t do anything about it. In his swollen right hand, he can feel the aftermath of a hard elbow that he received during the Connecticut game Wednesday. In other parts of his body, the effects of a hard fall against Providence on Feb. 2 are still present. He’s fighting through the injuries.

‘Honestly, I try not to think about it that much, but still, pain was there. But I felt like I had to play through it,’ Johnson said of his hand injury following Louisville’s 66-60 win over Syracuse (24-2, 11-2 Big East). ‘It wasn’t going to get any worse. It wasn’t going to get any better throughout the game. So I just have to play through it.’

Though he hasn’t missed a game due to injuries, the various ailments are catching up to Syracuse’s star. Since his initial injury against Providence, Johnson’s numbers have declined across the board, including his worst shooting day of the season against Louisville (16-9, 7-5) Sunday.

Johnson shot just 5-of-20 against the Cardinals, registering 14 points. Since the Providence contest, Johnson has shot 10-of-35 (.286), while scoring 32 points (10.7 points per game) and hauling in 20 rebounds (6.7 rebounds per game). Before Providence, Johnson was averaging 17.1 points and 9.2 rebounds and shooting 55.1 percent from the field.

‘It’s very frustrating not to be 100 percent. I really just feel like I’m cheating my team of my ability,’ Johnson said. ‘I’m not playing like I should be playing, and my body’s not agreeing with me of what I want to do when I’m out there. I feel like I just need to take it day by day, get the proper treatment, take the proper rest, and really just go out there and hope for the best when I’m out there.’

While Johnson led Syracuse in scoring with his 14 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said he had plenty of good opportunities for shots. He said he thinks Johnson’s timing and rhythm is a little bit off, which could be a result of Johnson not practicing fully until a few days ago.

Right out of the gate Sunday, Johnson did not have the stroke he usually displays during games. He missed his first three jumpers in the first half, before finally connecting on a 3 from about 2 feet behind the line to give Syracuse a 14-8 lead early. He finished 2-for-9 in the first half.

Despite the cold shooting, Syracuse continually went to Johnson in the second half, even giving him a chance to be the hero. As SU trailed 62-60 with 28 seconds left, Johnson drove baseline and got caught underneath the hoop. He said he tried to go up on the left side of the hoop but couldn’t. He then tried right and missed the shot, No. 15 on the night. Louisville’s Jerry Smith grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws to ice the game. Johnson’s high in missed shots was eight coming into the game.

‘Wes, I’ll take those shots, he got great opportunities’ Boeheim said of Johnson’s shot choice. ‘He’s struggled since the fall, he’s been bruised up pretty bad and I think he’s better. I think his hand was probably twice the normal size two days ago. There’s no question that hasn’t affected him. I think he’s a tough kid to be able to go out there and play and get through it, but I didn’t think he released the ball as well as he can.’

Despite the fact that Boeheim cited the injuries as a reason for the struggles, Johnson’s teammate Kris Joseph said he thinks Johnson’s ‘fully cured’ from the injuries. Joseph feels Johnson’s struggles have been the result of opposing teams’ growing knowledge of Johnson’s talent. He said Johnson isn’t the ‘best-kept secret’ anymore and teams are scouting him and devising plans specifically to shut him down.

Sophomore point guard Scoop Jardine had nothing but compliments for Johnson, who logged 37 minutes against the Cardinals.

‘It’s the Big East, it’s going to take tolls on your body,’ Jardine said. ‘I think Wes did a great job tonight as far as just giving us his all, and you can’t ask nothing more, nothing less from a player that’s playing hurt. Whatever he gave us tonight I just respect, and I’m happy he’s going to get better.’

The big rematch against No. 7 Georgetown is just three days away, but Johnson isn’t worried. He’s going to get treatment from trainer Brad Pike, and he’s looking forward to inching closer and closer to full health. His game might be slipping a little recently because of it, but he’s remaining optimistic.

‘I’m really just trying to battle through all these injuries from the flip to (the hand),’ Johnson said. ‘It’s a lot of stuff at once, but I think slowly I’m getting better through time. I think I need a lot of rest, and I’ll be all right by Thursday.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on February 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm