BASKETBALL PREVIEW

By Matt Whitfield


When looking at this years West Virginia basketball team I think of my favorite NFL team the New York Jets. West Virginia like the Jets has a talented, but not the most talented group of players. In the offseason the Jets lost former 1st round draft pick John Vilma and starting QB Chad Pennington. However the loss of Pennington led to the signing of old, but new QB Brett Favre. Even before Favre’s signing the Jets picked up a slew of All Pro lineman to better their production to hopefully offset the loss of Vilma.

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West Virginia, like the Jets, lost it’s leader Joe Alexander to the NBA Draft, as well as strong-handed PG Darris Nichols. Just before the draft was held however they picked up another potential NBA Lottery pick in 6-8 Devin Ebanks. Ebanks would be added to a recruiting class that included four star recruit in Kevin Jones, and 2 three star recruits to form a solid freshman class. Once the season started the Jets started off playing mediocre football as Favre and the new players were gelling together, but once things started to mesh the Jets caught fire in the 2nd half winning five straight. West Virginia, which is a team with a mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen, should also have its growing pains as it looks to find its new leader and identity. However with the players on that team and a coach like Bob Huggins mediocrity will only last so long.

This season Bob Huggins said he feels his team is ahead of were they were last year. Problem is “when you’ve got four teams in the top 10 and you play two of those twice in our league it’s a much harder schedule then what it was a year ago,” said Huggins. This years schedule includes more teams that play a different variety of basketball and thus Huggins chimed, “We’re putting more things in. We’re going to have to have more things and we’re going to have to be prepared for more things. We’re going to see zone early. People are going to press us early. There will be a lot of things to put in.” This is perhaps why many people picked West Virginia to finish 8th in the Big East. However if history continues West Virginia will finish higher in the Big East, as each of its past four seasons they have finished at least two places higher than their preseason ranking.

Joe Alexander became the first Mountaineers in years to be drafted and his successor may be the next. Bob Huggins received West Virginia’s biggest basketball commit in years when they snagged 6-8 phenom foward Devin Ebanks. Ebanks a McDonalds All- American had committed to Indiana last spring; however, after the Kelvin Sampson scandal he was released from his commitment and then joined Huggin’s team. Like Alexander, Ebanks isn’t expected to be a star right away however, if the ball handling wing hits the gym hard and packs on the extra pounds we could see the next coming of Rudy Gay. Returning from last season joining Ebanks at forward on the court is Junior Da’Sean Butler. Butler was an integral part of last year's tournament team that knocked off Duke and Arizona. Butler at times was the catalylst of the West Virginia offense and showed a knack for rebounding. Look for Butler to seize control even further this year. Also seeing time as a starter and possibly as a 6th man is forward Wellington Smith. Smith’s hard offseason workouts have yielded him twenty more pounds of muscle, which is a good thing as he’ll be asked battle with the big boys of the Big East. Smith, who averaged 5.2 points a game last season will be asked to increase his offensive output while decreasing his foul trouble, which held him to an average of 20 minutes a game last year.

Alex Ruoff leads the way for the Mountaineers at guard. Ruoff who shot 41% behind from the 3 point line this season will most likely improve on his 13.8 points per game average. Ruoff who is the lone senior on this years team will be asked to show his fiery leadership again this year in hopes his team can make a tournament run for the third time in his career. Joe Mazzulla will also take the floor as a starter. Mazzulla, who many consider to be the perfect player for Bob Huggins should be the most improved Mountaineer. Mazzulla showed a lot of promise last year averaging a near triple double in the teams NCAA tournament win over Duke, and had a summer “as good as you can have,” according to Huggins. Muzzula who is tough on and off the court will be handed the task of taking Darris Nichols place as a starter.

On the bench the Mountaineers have a few players that should average a fair amount of playing time. Kevin Jones and Darryl ‘Tuck’ Bryant two recruits from New York should get their fair share of experience as freshman. Tuck, a guard, is the all-time leading scorer at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx and is expected to see playing time behind Mazzulla. While Jones, a forward, is thought by some to be a better option than Ebanks. The two competed over the summer in the Pittsburgh Basketball club Pro-Am summer league, in which Jones won the leagues Rookie of the Year award. Fan favorite Jonnie West, son of West Virginia alum Jerry West, will see all the fans support as the guard looks to try and continue his fathers legacy. Big men Cam Thoroughman and Dee Proby will also see some action, especially in games against bigger opponents.

West Virginia has shown thus far this year's team is not nearly the same as the one last year that went to the Sweet 16. Do they have the potential, yes, but potential might not cut it in a conference that is supposed to be the strongest possibly ever, lessening the college basketball odds of success for a team with several new parts. Right now eight teams from the Big East are in the Top 25, and many experts have projected over half the conference getting into this years tournament. This doesn’t spell good news, but the fact the Bob Huggins has always made a lot out of a little should give Mountaineer fans hope.

Conference Play Projection 9-9

Confrence Ranking Projection: 7th

Bracketology projection: First Round NCAA Tourney loss