2006-2007 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 15) WEST VIRGINIA

September 23, 2006


In a conference with 16 teams as strong as the Big East, someone has to lose games. After an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16 in the last two seasons, the Mountaineers graduated 83% of their offensive production from last year's team. Only Cincinnati saw more production leave their program since the end of last season. One important piece to the WVU puzzle does remain and that is head coach John Beilein, although he almost high-tailed it out of town with his graduating class.

Placing West Virginia this low in our preview might lead many to think we are down on the program. That definitely is not the case. We still feel as though West Virginia is a program that is on the rise, but this season will be a definite rebuilding effort. Teams in the #10-#15 range are all VERY close to call this year, however, WVU lost a little too much and has the biggest unknown, outside of Cincinnati, in the upcoming season as to who is ready to play in the Big East. The returning players were not very productive, although in limited minutes, and the new players will have to learn an intricate system that coach Beilein utilizes.

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There will be eight new faces on the West Virginia team this year, seven of which are freshmen and one transfer, Jamie Smalligan, from Butler University. Smalligan is a 7'0 center that will remind many of how Kevin Pittsnogle played for WVU. In other words, he is not much to mix it up inside and on the boards, but he can step out beyond the arc and hit the 3-pt shot to spread the defense so WVU's fluid offense has room to work. That is an important ingredient to the Beilein system. However, judging from his time at Butler, do not expect the same quantity of a threat from beyond the arc. Smalligan started 30 games in his 58-game career at Butler, including 12 as a sophomore in which he contributed 5.2 PPG and 3.1 rebounds in 16 minutes a game, shooting 40% from 3-pt range (21-53). He did have a season-high 20-pts against Richmond. Smalligan is not the only 7-footer on the roster as Rob Summers returns for his senior season. Summers played somewhat sparingly last season after transferring from Penn St. At PSU, Summers started 41 games in two seasons and averaged 4 pts and 4 rebounds a game. Summers is athletic, but still needs to add weight and strength to be a factor in the Big East. Last year WVU was a very experienced team that excelled in a system that took advantage of their heady play and outstanding shooting. Their weakness was rebounding and interior defense. This year, the vast majority of their experience is gone, their shooting is questionable and they do not look to be improved on the interior...yet. Incoming freshmen Jacob Green is a 6'8, 200 lb athlete that has some nice upside. He will have to spend the season getting stronger and might be in line for a redshirt, but in a couple seasons, he could be a player that people look back and wonder where he came from!

There is some promise to this WVU team. However, it took a couple seasons for the system and roles to click with the players that have left the program the last couple years. Pittsnogle, Joe Herber, Patrick Beilein, JD Collins and Mike Gansey were seniors last year and Tyrone Sally and D'or Fischer graduated from the Elite 8 team the prior season. All of these players had different skills, but learned to play their roles perfectly in a system that some coaches have compared to the offensive style you see with the International teams. How long will it take the new faces to have their roles defined and accept those roles? Shooting is a VERY important part of this system and freshmen can definitely be inconsistent when shooting from the perimeter. I do think this group will begin to gel, but it might not be until later in the season and then we start to see a faster ascent in the standings next year.

Frank Young is the only starter to return. As a junior, Young struggled in Big East play, averaging just 7 PPG in 26 minutes of play. His shooting slumped as he hit just 29% from beyond the arc in conference play. As their most experienced starter, WVU will need a MUCH better effort from Young this season. Sophomore Joe Alexander is a good athlete at 6'7 and could push young for some of his time and play a role similar to that of Tyrone Sally a couple seasons ago. Another player I expect to also excel in a similar role is 6'7 freshmen Wellington Smith. Smith is a classis inside/out guy and when he figures out his role and Beilein's system, he could really become a weapon. Another freshmen, Cam Thoroughman, adds size and a shooting touch, but would likely see limited time this year.

The role of Mike Gansey was a big one the last couple years. Gansey did a little of EVERYTHING for the Mountaineers. He defended, passed, shot, hit the boards and was a very underrated and underappreciated player. I think Beilein landed the perfect replacement in Desean Butler as an incoming freshmen. Butler is an unselfish player that will rebound and hit the boards. His scoring skills are there, he just needs to be more aggressive with them and that will come, however, it might take some time to get him to assert himself into that role. Sophomore Alex Ruoff also will factor into the mix this season on the wing. Ruoff has deep shooting range and is a smart basketball player. He will need to expand his game to demand the majority of playing time at the position, but he can definitely shoot the ball and there is always a place for that in the WVU system. If he shows he can defend and rebound at the position, he will get more and more time.

At shooting guard, WVU had a 'glue' player in Joe Herber and their designated strak shooter in Patrick Beilein the last couple years. This season, they look to attack the position by committee, but watch for freshmen Devan Bawinkle to eventually earn the position. Bawinkel is a versatile gaurd with good size, similar to Herber, he just needs to mature physically to bring the different aspects of the game that Herber did on the boards and defensively. Bawinkle is a smart player that can shoot and pass, again, he is another player that fits this system to a T. Another freshmen that could find some minutes, but it might be a redshirt season instead, is Jonnie West, the son of basketball legend Jerry West. The younger west is an excellent shooter, but will need to get stronger and better ready defensively to play early on in the Big East.

At the PG position WVU had JD Collins running the show the last few years. He was effectively spelled by Darris Nichols the last two seasons. Nichols showed his potential by replacing Collins as a freshmen in the NCAA Tournament 2nd round upset of Wake Forest two seasons ago. To make this system work, it needs a PG that keeps everything on track. It is a major responsibility, WVU does not turn the ball over and that is a key to make up for their lack of rebounding, because they will not get a lot of extra possessions, so Nichols will be under the microscope, but the early signs are very good, his assist to turnover ration last year was nearly 4:1 (51:13)! He will need to pick up some scoring slack with the lack of experience around him, but that really is not the hallmark of his game. Freshmen combo guard Joe Mazzulla and Bawinkle also could play some PG, but look for Nichols to man the position for the vast majority of time.

The West Virginia newcomers have a lot of learning ahead of them. The WVU system is set-up to allow shooters to find open spaces and let the 3's fly. It also depends on players making the right decisions and not turning the ball over. Areas that freshmen sometimes struggle in is their perimeter shooting until they find their comfort zone in the flow of an offense and making the decisions quicker against better players at this level. So, shooting and turnovers are more of a concern this year than with their experience-heavy team of the previous couple seasons. However, with a tremendous teacher like John Beilein guiding them, look for this group to make some big strides going forward. Their lack of interior play in terms of defense and rebounding will likely not improve over last year, so their backcourt inexperience will not be able to cover that defeciency as well. WVU is still a very unique team to play against and have one of th ebest homecourt advantages in the conference with an intense and passionate home crowd in the Coliseum. With their 1-3-1 zone defense that excels in trapping the opposition and fluid offense, they will catch some teams in a trap and come out with the win. However, it will take some time for the players to learn this intricate system and in the meantime, this is an unforgiving league that can be merciless on freshmen. With eight newcomers and limited experience returning this is a rebuilding year for the Mountaineers, their recruiting is not quite ready to reload, even with their unique system, but they will be back sooner, rather than later, it just will not be this season.


Predicted Big East Record: 4-12

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