2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 9) WEST VIRGINIA

October 12, 2008


The toughest position to place a team in the Big East preview is ninth place. Every team from here on out is a legit top 25 caliber team with realistic NCAA aspirations. An argument can be certainly made for any team placed here to be several spots higher, but when it came down do it, with every team here on out returning top players, bringing in high quality recruits, the difference for me comes down to new starters at point guard and a loss of their go-to top scorer from the previous year.

West Virginia is just one of two teams in the top nine that graduated their starting point guard from last season as three-year starter Darris Nichols has moved through the program. Also, Joe Alexander developed into their go-to offensive threat under Bob Huggins and he has moved on to the NBA after his break-out season. Now, coach Huggins, in his second season at his alma mater, must break in a new point guard and find a new source of consistent offense, there are quality options at his disposal to get the job done, we will watch closely this season to see how those options develop to new roles.

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Comings:

Bob Huggins certainly made his presence felt on the recruiting trail by out-recruiting other Big East schools to secure early signings from Daryl ‘Truck’ Bryant and Kevin Jones from traditional Big East recruiting grounds. He waited until the spring to land his biggest coup when former Indiana commitment Devin Ebanks chose to commit to the Mountaineers after being allowed out of his signed letter of intent when Kelvin Sampson and IU parted ways. Ebanks is a versatile scoring threat with immense potential that can combine size and athletic ability to make an early impact and increase WVU's College Basketball Odds of making the Big Dance in March. Also, JUCO Dee Proby adds much needed size to the roster and offers a skilled big man to the mix.


Goings:

As noted earlier, Joe Alexander parlayed a breakout junior season into a winning lottery ticket as he jumped into the NBA Draft. Alexander led WVU in scoring and rebounding and was second in blocked shots last season. Steady Darris Nichols, a three year starter at point guard, also graduates as does Jamie Smalligan, who played a key role in their 8-man rotation. Athletic big man Jacob Green left the program in December of last season.


Net Impact:

A trio of Ebanks, Jones and Bryant are a much more impressive recruiting class than the fanfare that Alexander, Nichols and Smalligan brought John Beilein when he brought those players to West Virginia. In the long-term, they should have a bigger impact on the program as well, but for next season, replacing the winning mentality and experience of those veterans, especially with Alexander and Nichols will be tough. Over the last 11 games of last season Alexander averaged 23 points and nearly 8 rebounds a game. He produced four double-doubles. Nichols had a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio, which coaches crave from their primary ball handler. No matter how you slice it, it is going to be a little bit of an adjustment for WVU to replace Alexander and Nichols.


2008-2009 Backcourt Outlook:

The man in the spotlight in the Mountaineer backcourt becomes junior Joe Mazzulla. The 6-foot-2 native of Rhode Island has been a favorite of Bob Huggins since the day he came home to WVU to be the coach of his alma mater. Mazzulla displays the toughness that coach Huggins loves in his players. Last season, Mazzulla averaged about six points, three rebounds and just over two assists a game. Modest numbers for sure (and his assist to turnover ratio was just 1.3:1) and Mazzulla is not regarded as a true point guard, maybe more of a super sub at the guard slot. However, Mazzulla showed his importance to his team with a 13-point, 11-rebound and 8-assist performance against Duke in a 2nd round NCAA Tournament upset of the Blue Devils. Was this just the perfect storm for Mazzulla or a sign of things to come. Not quite sure, afterall, in the previous seven games leading up to that career performance, Mazzulla had a total of 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists! Mazzulla also went over a month on two occasions last season without hitting a three-pointer. So, the jury is still out as to what kind of full-time point guard the Mountaineers have.

WVU’s likely point guard of the future looks to be the freshman, Daryl ‘Truck’ Bryant who comes out of St. Raymond’s in the Bronx (NY). Bryant is another tough guard, hence his nickname, and is similar to Mazzulla in that he is not a full-time point guard as of yet. He is getting better at running the show and will have some time to learn the ropes.

Senior Alex Ruoff returns for his final season. The three-point marksman averaged nearly 14 points a game last season and hit 41% from the arc on 239 attempts (98-239). Ruoff has shown the ability to get his shot off nearly on anyone at anytime in the Big East and has the confidence to hit shots when needed.

The Mountaineer guard corps is not the deepest in the league. Seldom-used Jonnie West, son of WVU legend Jerry West, and sophomore Will Thomas complete their guard line-up. West, as expected, is a tremendous shooter, but needs to show other skills. Thomas was a late addition to WVU in the spring of 2007 for last year’s roster and only saw 35 minutes of action in the season, he has physical tools that could be very useful in Huggins’ system with experience.


2008-2009 Frontcourt Outlook:

The deepest part of the Mountaineer line-up is at the forward position. The Mountaineers are stacked deep with versatile forwards who can play on the perimeter as small forwards and match-up against most hybrid ‘fours’ of the Big East. However, they are not very tall or strong to battle inside against the beef that other teams roll out regularly in the Big East, and that is an area of concern for coach Huggins.

While many outsiders believe Devin Ebanks will be the key player in replacing Joe Alexander’s production, it might actually be junior Da’Sean Butler who replaces the more important role that Alexander provided. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Newark (NJ) did average 13 points and 6 rebounds a game last year. How consistent was Butler, he averaged 13 a game without scoring more than 19 in any one single game. Butler is not one to force any of his offense, but WVU may look to encourage him to be a little more aggressive for his own offense later in games as he could emerge as their go-to-performer in the clutch.

Ebanks will most likely step into Alexander’s position and the thin 6-foot-8 forward has the ability to play inside and out, handle the ball and score in a variety of ways creating offense for himself. Alexander really took off last season after learning the physical way to play in the big East to get himself in position to score. With Ebanks, there will be a learning curve at how physical the Big East is and gaining position to score your points takes hard work and a willingness to be physical. It will be quite an adjustment for Ebanks. His points and rebounds will come naturally, but his efficiency will be something to look for as he tries to step into Alexander’s shoes.

Fellow freshman Kevin Jones of Mount Vernon (NY) is also in the mix at the forward positions. Jones is a very solid all-around talent that will always put in an honest effort on the court and in practice. Jones is not an elite athlete, but has very good skills for a forward and a high basketball IQ that will make him a solid contributor early and a top player before he is done at WVU.

Also returning this season are a pair of long and athletic forwards in Wellington Smith and John Flowers. Smith, a 6-foot-7 forward out of New Jersey, played about 20 minutes a game last year and led WVU in blocks. The physical tools of Smith has you believing he could really take off under Huggins, but he just has not put it together yet. Flowers, another 6-foot-7 forward with solid athleticism and a willingness to play inside and out, was productive in his minutes last season and is another with a ceiling that if he begins to approach, will be a nice surprise for WVU fans this season.

Another 6-foot-7 forward on the roster is Cam Thoroughman. Known as a power forward with a nice shooting touch coming into WVU, injuries and need of a bruiser has seen Thoroughman play a different role under Huggins. He is more likely to go into the game and bounce a few people around for a few minutes than spot up for a few jumpers on the baseline. Rounding out the frontcourt is JUCO transfer Dee Proby. Proby comes to WVU from Angelina CC in Texas where the 6-foot-9, 250 pound forward showed a perimeter game. The Mountaineers may need his big body (as the biggest Mountaineer on the roster) to try and battle inside in the Big East, which would be an interesting development for Proby.



2008-2009 Team Outlook:

Bob Huggins has his second season as head coach of West Virginia ready to tip-off and there are high expectations for his club. A promising recruiting class to combine with five key returnees is enough to put the Mountaineers into discussions of a top 25 team for this season and a possible NCAA Tournament club, and you never want to ignore a Huggins coached team when you plan your March Madness Betting of teams to make the tourney. There is no doubt that WVU has a deep pool of quality athletes at their disposal, but finding replacements for the leadership and intangibles provided by Darris Nichols and Joe Alexander will key the success of their season.

The biggest question will come at point guard for the Mountaineers where Joe Mazzulla is poised to take control of the team, but his effectiveness as a full-time point guard is still a question mark for this club. Their lack of size and physical strength in the post will also be an area to keep an eye on this season once the Big East conference schedule rolls around. There is no doubt this is a very good team that could, and would not surprise us, if they match last year's success, but a couple questions need to be answered first if that is to happen.






2008-2009 Big East Prediction: 9-9