MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota senior forward Rodney Williams is still dealing with a shoulder injury, and Gophers coach Tubby Smith said that it will be a game-time decision whether Williams will play Wednesday at Ohio State.
"His shoulder's still bothering him," Smith said of Williams after the team's practice Tuesday. "We'll see how it goes, whether he'll be able to play tomorrow night or not. He did some dummy stuff today, but I'm really concerned about his shoulder."
Williams was not made available to the media after the team's practice Tuesday. He played just 10 minutes of Minnesota's game on Sunday, a 72-51 loss to Iowa. Williams scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds one game earlier in a win over Wisconsin but did not play four days before that against Illinois. He suffered the shoulder injury while trying to fight through a screen in practice leading up to Minnesota's game against the Illini.
When Williams was sidelined against Illinois, center Elliott Eliason started in his place. That gave Minnesota a bigger lineup, as 6-foot-8 senior Trevor Mbakwe moved from center to Williams' spot at power forward.
Now, there's a chance the Gophers will again have to account for Williams' absence.
"I think everybody has to pick it up," Mbakwe said. "Rodney's a great player. He covers up a lot defensively. Offensively, he's a focal point of our offense. I think everybody, not just with Rodney out, has to raise the level of play just because it's a tough game and it's a tough stretch and we need to finish strong in the Big Ten.
"Hopefully we'll have Rodney available, but if not, we have some guys who've been playing great."
Williams is second on the Gophers in both scoring (11.4 points per game) and rebounding (5.3 rebounds per game). Minnesota lost the only game he didn't play in this season, a 57-53 defeat at the hands of Illinois on Feb. 10.
Follow Tyler Mason on Twitter.
