2007-2008 Big East Conference Preview- #11

#11- West Virginia Mountaineers

WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV.

Last season: 27-9 (9-7). NIT Champions.
Head coach: Bob Huggins, 1st season. 0-0 at West Virginia.
Assistant coaches: Billy Hahn, Erik Martin, Larry Harrison.

New additions: John Flowers (3 star PF), Jacob Green (3 star PF), Cameron Payne, Josh Sowards, Will Thomas (3 star SG), Cam Thoroughman (2 star SF), Jonnie West (3 star SG).

Losses: Frank Young (15.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.8 apg), Rob Summers (4.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.9 apg), Devan Bawinkel (1.9 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.6 apg).

Roster: (#, Ht/Wt, Pos., Class, Hometown, last year’s stats)

11 Joe Alexander 6-8/230 F Jr. Mt. Airy, MD (10.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
1 Da’Sean Butler 6-7/225 F So. Newark, NJ (10.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
41 John Flowers 6-7/195 F Fr. Waldorf, MD
34 Jacob Green 6-9/220 F Fr. Clinton, MD3 Joe Mazzulla 6-2/210 G So. Johnston, RI (3.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.0 apg)
14 Darris Nichols 6-3/200 G Sr. Radford, VA (10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.6 apg)
25 Cameron Payne 6-4/200 G Fr. Charleston, WV
22 Alex Ruoff 6-6/215 F Jr. Spring Hill, FL (10.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.3 apg)
43 Jamie Smalligan 7-0/265 C Sr. East Grand Rapids, MI (5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.6 apg)
35 Wellington Smith 6-7/215 F So. Summit, NJ (2.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.1 apg)
21 Josh Sowards 6-7/205 F So. Scott Depot, WV
32 Ted Talkington 6-2/200 G Jr. New Martinsville, WV (0.7 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)
24 Will Thomas 6-5/205 G Fr. East Cleveland, OH
2 Cam Thoroughman 6-7/215 F Fr. Portsmouth, OH
4 Jonnie West 6-3/175 G Fr. Memphis, TN

Backcourt:

To me, West Virginia is one of the most confusing teams in the nation. How will the players react to John Beilein leaving? Will Beilein’s players adjust to Bob Huggins and his different style of play? How will they replace Frank Young? Those are the key questions for this year’s version of the Mountaineers. They return a talented point guard in senior Darris Nichols (10.9 ppg, 4.6 apg). Nichols, also a great free throw shooter, will anchor WVU’s offense. Look for him to have a big time year. West Virginia really doesn’t have any other guards that will see significant time other than Jonnie West, the son of legendary NBA man Jerry West. Like pops, Jonnie is a great shooter. He should contribute after being red shirted last year. Other than that, West Virginia has a few walk ons and is really stacked with forwards.


Frontcourt:

Here’s where it gets interesting. Can Joe Alexander, often called one of the most athletic players in the nation, duplicate or surpass his level of success from last year? Same goes for junior Alex Ruoff who averaged over five assists per game last season. Ruoff and Alexander are tall, but they play mostly on the perimeter and act as quasi-guards. A key to WVU’s success this year will be uber sophomore Da’Sean Butler. A lights out shooter and a great slasher, Butler brings an athletic game to the table and is a matchup disaster for many teams in the Big East Conference. He averaged 10 ppg as a freshman and I expect that total to go up this season. After that, WVU has only two guys 6-9 or taller on the roster and that is precisely where they will get beat. Senior center Jamie Smalligan returns, but he’ll need a lot of help in the frontcourt. He is not capable of playing 30-35 minutes a game. Huggins’ only other hope is to quickly develop freshman Jacob Green, a 6-9/220 power forward. He’ll need to contribute right away if WVU wants to finish higher than 11th in this brutal league. Still, I expect them to have a very nice season but ultimately falling short of the NCAA Tournament because of the issues in the frontcourt.

Schedule:

11/16- vs. Arkansas Monticello
11/18- vs. Prairie View A&M
11/23- vs. Tennessee (Newark, NJ)
11/24- vs. Texas or New Mexico State (Newark, NJ)
11/27- vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
12/1- vs. Winthrop
12/5- vs. Auburn (Birmingham, AL)
12/8- vs. Duquesne
12/15- vs. Maryland Baltimore County
12/19- at Radford
12/22- at Canisius
12/29- vs. Oklahoma (Charleston, WV)
1/3- at Notre Dame
1/6- vs. Marquette
1/10- at Louisville
1/13- vs. Syracuse
1/17- vs. St. John’s
1/20- at South Florida
1/23- vs. Marshall (Charleston, WV)
1/26- vs. Georgetown
1/30- vs. Cincinnati
2/2- at Providence
2/7- at Pittsburgh
2/14- vs. Rutgers
2/17- vs. Seton Hall
2/20- at Villanova
2/23- vs. Providence
2/27- at DePaul
3/1- at Connecticut
3/3- vs. Pittsburgh
3/8- at St. John’s

Projected record: 19-12 (8-10).
Postseason: NIT.