Pitt got some bad news on the injury front today as Woodall will miss the next 5 weeks to recover from groin and ab injuries. Fortunately for him, he will not require surgery. If we're looking ahead, Pitt should expect him back around the first weekend of January, meaning Tray will miss this weekend's game against Tennessee as well as games against VMI, Oklahoma State, South Carolina State, St. Francis, Wagner, Notre Dame, and Cincinnati. If we're looking at a calendar, five weeks should put him back in the lineup for when Pitt heads to Chicago to face DePaul on January 5th or the home game against Rutgers on January 11th.
Obviously, this is a big loss for Pitt. It's not Ashton Gibbs big like last season, but Tray is still a significant part of this starting lineup and we hope he has a speedy recovery. In the meantime, the obvious question is who replaces him?
My guess is as good as yours, but I would think that true freshman John Johnson, who has been receiving a good portion of the minutes coming off the bench, will slide into the starting role. People say Jamie Dixon doesn't start freshman, but he could potentially have two doing jusa\t that on Saturday.Johnson is currently one of the best three-point shooters in the conference, shooting 66% (8-12) from beyond the arc this season, including making his last five attempts. Yes, it doesn't mean much considering he was coming off the bench, but he still has shown he can hit shots. It'll be interesting to see how he handles being in the starting lineup. This in no way should affect Tray's status as starting point guard when he returns from injury, but it'll be interesting to see, especially if Johnson performs at a high level during these next five weeks, how this affects things for next season with both Woodall and Johnson coming back.