West Virginia Recruiting Report

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Wellington Smith, F (Blair Academy, NJ)

Projected 2006-2007 Roster
Seniors: Frank Young (SF)
Juniors: Darris Nichols (PG), Rob Summers (C), Jamie Smalligan (BF/C)
Sophomores: Joe Alexander (SF), Alex Ruoff (WF)
Freshmen: Joe Mazzula (PG), Cam Thoroughman (F), Wellington Smith (F)

Previous West Virginia Recruiting Reports: August 22 Report, July 11 Report and 7/24 Round-Up.

The Mountaineers and coach John Beilein have added a third verbal commitment to the mix as Wellington Smith joins Cam Thoroughman and Joe Mazzula in the WVU class. Butler transfer Jamie Smalligan is currently enrolled at West Virginia and will also be eligible to compete for WVU in the 2006-2007 season.

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Wellington Smith is a nice recruit for Coach Beilein and his WVU staff. Smith has always been a skilled front court player and in the last year, he has diversified his game to be able to transition to the wing full time at the college level. Smith is 6'7 and 195 lbs and has the ability to play inside and out and is an adequate ballhandler and passer for a player his size. He actually reminds me a lot of Tyrone Sally from last years WVU team.

With the Smith commitment, WVU now has 4 scholarships open for the 2006-2007 season. I have a sense they will at least land two more players in this class. With just one senior on their projected 2006-2007 roster and high expectations for the 2005-2006 season, it is probably a wise move to hold a couple scholarships for the spring of 2006 or next fall. With a program slated for a major boost in television exposure this coming season and early season hype and expectations for a big year in Morgantown, their recruiting success should begin to catch up with their on the court success, it usually takes a little time for the exposure and success to sink in with recruits.

WVU is in a precarious situation with this recruiting class as they are going to be turning over a large portion of their scoring and rebounding this coming season. Five of their projected top 7 players in 2005-2006 will be seniors (Herber, Pittsnogle, Beilein, Gansy and Collins), so they will be in need of a group of players that can add an infusion of talent ready to contribute. Right now, projecting down the line, it is probably assummed that Smalligan and Summers will attempt to platoon much in the way of Pittsnogle and Fischer last year. Frank Young moves into the Tyrone Sally role with Wellington Smith backing him up. Joe Alexander is a player to watch on the wing, he has the athletic ability to make an early impact, needs to tighten up his skill level. Ruoff and Thoroughman would be wing players adding depth and Darris Nichols and Joe Mazzula would team at the guard slots. So, they would defenitely be looking for additional guard help and another big man that can play the "4" position.

With the commitment of Smith, I am not sure on how that will impact the decisions of Desean Butler and Jejuan Brown. Butler has narrowed his choices to DePaul and West Virginia. Based on need, I would think he would lean towards DePaul, especially with the commitment of Smith and the presence of Alexander at WVU. However, I do think he has been a lean to WVU for much of the process. The interesting thing is DePaul has just one scholarship remaining and Devan Bawinkel is set to decide on his destination in the next week or so. Bawinkel is visiting Georgetown this weekend and will decide between WVU, DePaul and Georgetown. Michigan St has also been in the mix with him. He is from Winnebago, IL and is a close friend from AAU ball with DePaul PG commit Will Walker, so, he could pull the trigger for DePaul, where he has seemed to be leaning for some time. However, again, if you look at best fit and the chance to play PG in the future, WVU would probably be the right call for him as a player. So, it will be interesting to see how the Bawinkel and Butler recruiting sagas end. WVU would be adding a quality player in either scenario. JeJuan Brown, from Biloxi, MS, is a quality athlete, much in the mold of Smith. Smith has a little better face-up game at this point and should be more successful in the WVU system. Smith's decision might now influence Brown, but I would not be surprised if it did.

Besides Bawinkel, WVU has shown interest in versatile wing guards such as Earl Pettis, Kashif Pratt and Vernon Teel. All three would add a different element to the wing guard position that would help the Mountaineers. At this point in time, I am not sure if any three of them would be on the verge of a commitment to WVU or anyone at this point. However, as more and more players make decisions and scholarships get tight, you never know who will pull the trigger when. Also, Hargrave Military Academy point guard Devin Carter has also been monitored by WVU. Carter can play on or off the ball at the next level, so far, he has gotten most of his interest from the A-10 and CAA level schools.

The other front court recruit that WVU has been linked to the most is Casey Crawford. As we discussed yesterday, Crawford visited Wichita St last weekend and will be visiting Texas A&M soon. I think he would be a nice fit at West Virginia, but getting the Kansas native to come east might be a tough task for Coach Beilein and staff.

The news around John Summers, younger brother of PSU transfer Robert Summers, has been quiet and I am not sure if he is on the WVU radar at this time. We will continue to monitor the WVU recruiting story as they head towards the November signing period, there should be more activity shortly.