WEST VIRGINIA 2005-2006 TEAM PROFILE

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS

2005-2006 Team Roster from Official Team Site: ROSTER.

The west Virginia Coaching Staff: WVU Staff.

Home Court: WVU Coliseum: Coliseum.


OVERVIEW: The 2004-2005 season is one that West Virginia Mountaineer fans will not soon forget. WVU, under the guidance of head coach John Beilein roared out of the gates last season with a 10-0 record and entered the top 25 rankings. However, that stay in the rankings was short and the Mountaineers were drubbed in their Big East opener 84-46 at Villanova. WVU seemed to lose the confidence they built up with their early success as they then dropped 6 of their next 7 after a tight win over St John’s. Included in those losses was a shocking loss to in-state rival Marshall.

But, as quickly as things went south on West Virginia, they seemingly turned on a dime once again, by storming back from a 15 point deficit to upset highly ranked Pittsburgh in the Coliseum. This set the Mountaineers on another run that saw them win 6 of their last 8 in the conference, make the Big East tournament finals and their season did not end until a heart-breaking Elite 8 loss to Louisville.

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The stunning turn around for WVU was orchestrated from the bench by third year coach John Beilein. Beilein took over a bleak situation in Morgantown in April of 2002 and in less than three years, he had his WVU program knocking on the door of the final four. Beilein has coached at nearly every level in the NCAA and has won at every level, always as a head coach, he has taken Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia to the NCAA tournament. He has also taken all three teams to five NIT appearances, including the 2003-2004 season at West Virginia.

TEAMWORK: It is still a mystery to many who watched West Virginia in early January and February that it was the same team knocking off top Big East foes as the season ended and made their run to the Elite 8. WVU had nobody who averaged more than 12 PPG and had six in all average 8 PPG or more. They had nobody make more than 70 3-pters, yet, they had 7 players make 19 or more. Everyone seemed to know their role and play unselfish in that role. WVU used changing defenses, mostly a 1-3-1 zone to confuse opponents and spread out the floor allowing strong ball handlers like Mike Gansey, Tyrone Sally and Joe Herber break down defense and find open men. When WVU was going well, it seemed like everyone was knocking down the 3-ball right when they needed it. They were not a strong (individually) defensive team or very good on the boards, but, they did a little bit of everything when it was needed. The outside observer was left scratching their head, but the fans and staff at WVU watched with pride as the whole team came together to greatly surpass the sum of the parts.

Much of that excellent teamwork returns as 7 of their top 9 players return, 5 of which will be seniors. This is again, an experienced group that might not be among the most athletic or deepest groups of talent, but they will be the one’s that play the smartest and with the experience of players that have been through it. An excellent group of free throw shooters that very rarely turn the ball over, they are perfect for the style of play Coach Beilein has employed.

RETURNING: As I mentioned, WVU returns 7 players, 5 of which are seniors and will be lead by their senior group of Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle, Joe Herber, JD Collins and the coach’s son, Patrick Beilein. Gansey was a transfer from St Bonaventure that became one of the most valuable players in the conference and assumed a team leadership role in the post season that has him poised for a big senior year. Gansey is the leading returning scorer at 12 PPG and lead the team in rebounds and steals last year and also handed out 3 assists/game. Gansey parlayed his success to a spot on the gold medal winning USA World University Games squad this past August. The other leading scorer returning is Kevin Pittsnogle, who made it fashionable for a 6’11 guy to be bombing away from downtown. The turnaround in the WVU season can be clearly traced back to the Pittsburgh game in which Pittsnogle got the start for an ailing D’or Fischer and never gave back his starting spot from there on. After struggling and getting limited playing time the first half the season, Pittsnogle exploded on the national scene with uncanny 3-pt shooting ability and finished the season averaging nearly 12 PPG in just 19 minutes, shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Joe Herber also returns to the WVU team after competing in the World University Games for his native Germany. Herber is a do-everything player that uses his size on the perimeter to overpower opposing guards on dribble penetration and to run down loose balls. He may have averaged just 8.6 PPG but his impact defensively and in running the offense was a much bigger impact. The designated long range bomber was Patrick Beilein. The coach’s son lead the Mountaineers with 70 made 3’s and contributed steady ball-handling and 8.3 PPG in his 21 minutes of action each night. The point guard is also a returning senior in JD Collins. Collins knows his role and that is not one of a scoring role. Collins led the Mountaineers in assists last season at 3.3/game and scored just under 4 PPG. Back-up point guard Darris Nichols also returns and wing forward Frank Young, who contributed impressively late in the season when Tyrone Sally missed some action also returns and it is Young that might be playing a very important role this coming season as WVU will need to replace some scoring and athletic ability on the wing.

INCOMING: Speaking of athletic ability on the wing, freshmen recruit Joe Alexander also could be in the mix for that role. The 6’6 200 lb Maryland native prepped last season at Hargrave Military Academy. Not much nationally is known on him, mostly because he played in a reserve role for one of the top prep schools in the country, but early reports have him turning heads on the WVU campus with his athletic play. The only other recruit in the class is 6’6 F Alex Ruoff from Florida. Ruoff is another player in the WVU system that is slightly under the radar who brings excellent shooting skills to Coach Beilein’s system. Their recruiting class may be ranked near the bottom of the conference, but these players could play key complimentary roles to this year’s team. They also gain the serviced of Penn St transfer John Summers, a 7’0 235 lb C. His role will be much like that of D’or Fischer last season to give the Mountaineers an inside presence to compliment Pittsnogle.

LOSSES: WVU lost 2 key transfers in Luke Bonner and Brad Byerson that significantly reduce their depth in the front court. They also lose their leading scorer in Tyrone Sally, whose athletic ability really seemed to make their offense go at times and their lone inside scoring and defensive presence in D’or Fischer who teamed perfectly with Pittsnogle last season down the stretch.

SCHEDULE: As far as the contenders go, West Virginia caught a bit of a break as they do not have to face Villanova, Connecticut, Louisville or Syracuse in home and homes. They get UConn and Louisville at home as well. For a Big East team projected to begin the season ranked among the top 15 or 20 teams, that is a break. They do have home and homes with Cincinnati, Georgetown and Pittsburgh, so that is an upgrade from the Big East schedule of last season that saw them go 8-8. They have also upgraded their out of conference schedule, highlighted by the Guardian's Classic with Kentucky, Iowa and Texas.

OUTLOOK: There is alot of excitement in Morgantown for the WVU Mountaineers as the 2005-2006 season approaches, and rightfully so, after their tremendous run in last year's postseason. Returning 7 of their top 9 players from that team, confidence and optimism is at a very high level. However, there are some questions, most notably, does the team find a replacement, probably between Frank Young and Joe Alexander, for the athletic scoring ability of Tyrone Sally and, with a tougher conference schedule, do they finish better than 8-8? Well, I do think this is a likely 10-win conference team. They will still have some trouble with teams that are athletic and deep at the wings. WVU will still be a team under Coach Beilein that will not beat themselves, hit their free throws and the open shots that their offensive system is designed to create. They also have a loyal fan base that makes the Coliseum a tough place to play and their style on offense and defense is unique to many teams. It will be interesting to see how teams adjust this year to playing West Virginia and if WVU can get through a tough out of conference schedule with confidence intact to continue to play as effecient as needed to overcome some shortcomings. In the end, I expect this to be a solid NCA tournament team and with their style and strengths, as shown last March, anything can happen in the tournament. From a last second 1st round win against Creighton to nearly pulling off the win against Louisville for a trip to the final four. It should be an exciting basketball season in the state of West Virginia!