West Virginia Mountaineers Basketball Preview

Another preseason Big East favorite tips off this afternoon at four: the West Virginia Mountaineers.  Alex Ruoff is gone, but oherwise their roster is largely intact.  They have already had some off-the-court issues swirling around two of their top guards, but coach Bob Huggins elected to keep both on the team and they are ready to go to open the season.  Some pick this team to win the conference because of their experience and the frontcourt duo of Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks; others pick them second or third because Villanova and Connecticut bring in recruiting classes that are superior on paper.  Few pick them to do much worse than that.  Whispers of "Final Four" can be heard in Morgantown...and they may not be too ambitious.  If this team does manage to put the troubles of Darryl Bryant and Joe Mazzula behind them they will be extremely talented both up front and in the backcourt.  I trust Huggins to get a lot out of his players on the court, but I don't trust him to keep his players out of trouble.  Still, it's hard to imagine this group of kids having an unsuccessful season whatever happens off the court.  There's no team in the country that should be capable of running away with a game against them.  A team that often flies under the radar is finally getting a lot of preseason attention, and today they take their first step in proving they deserve it.


Team Info

Head Coach:
Bob Huggins, 3rd season

'08-'09 Results:
23-12 Overall, 12-9 Big East
NCAA Tournament opening round (6 Seed)

Departing Players:
F Dee Proby
G Alex Ruoff
F Josh Sowards
G Will Thomas

Returning Players:
F Da'Sean Butler (Sr.)
F Wellington Smith (Sr.)
F John Flowers (Jr.)
G Joe Mazzula (Jr.)
F Cam Thoroughman (Jr.)
G Jonnie West (Jr.)
G Darryl Bryant (So.)
F Devin Ebanks (So.)
F Kevin Jones (So.)
G Cam Payne (So.)


Newcomers:
G Casey Mithcell (JUCO)
C Danny Jennings
F Deniz Kilicli
SG Bryan Lowther
SG Dalton Pepper
G Kenny Ross

(Full Roster)

Nonconference Slate:  Loyola (MD), Citadel, @ Long Beach State, Duquesne, Coppin State, @ Cleveland State, Mississippi, @ Purdue, Marshall, Ohio State

Big East home-and-home:  Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Villanova

Big East Home Opponents:  Marquette, Rutgers, Syracuse, Louisville, Cincinnati, Georgetown

Big East Road Opponents:  Notre Dame, South Florida, DePaul, St. John's, Providence, Connecticut

76 Classic:  This stacked tournament opens for the Mountaineers against Long Beach State.  They will then play Texas A&M or Clemson, and finally one of Minnesota, Butler, Portland, or UCLA.  A win of this event would go a long way toward cementing West Virginia's resume from the outset.

Coaches' Pick: 2nd, Big East


Outlook

The Skinny:

This team's frontcourt is extremely talented, and deeper than you might know.  Butler, Ebanks, and Kevin Jones are all scorers who play great defense and can grab boards.  John Flowers and Wellington Smith are also capable of competent minutes if someone gets in foul trouble, and there are two freshmen who may be able to contribute off the bench.  There are criticisms out there of their backcourt, but it too is at least solid - making the Mountaineers not only a talented team but a balanced one.  Darryl Bryant is a very talented point guard, and while Mazzula isn't flashy or special he is competent.  They bring in the 2009 JUCO player of the year, and no one seems to be talking about that.  Casey Mitchell probably won't start but is an excellent third guard to have.  Their highest-rated recruit is a guard by the name of Dalton Pepper, and his play could be a major x-factor.  Even though the rest of the roster is not likely to play a major role, that's nine players with significant talent ready to make some noise.  They're set up to handle an injury or suspension, which is part of what makes a team likely to fare well in a tough conference.  Bob Huggins is not particularly well-liked by fans across the nation, but he is a proven winner with a talented squad so failing to take them seriously would be a mistake.

Best Case:

How else can one say it except Final Four?  This team could sweep the league titles, lose just three or four games, and march their way to Indianapolis without surprising anyone.  The out of conference schedule is ambitious, with guaranteed games against Mississippi, Purdue, and Ohio State and likely games against Clemson and Butler.  Even if the 76 Classic goes a little differently, Texas A&M, UCLA, and Minnesota are other possible opponents.  So there is probably one loss at least in the mix if only because of the high level of competition.  They face three pretty talented teams twice, but winning five of six is possibly in the cards.  A perfect mark at home doesn't stretch credibility, either.  There's probably one road loss out of Notre Dame, St. John's, and Connecticut.  Still, that's looking at a possible record of 27-3, 16-2.  They could get to thirty wins if they win the conference tournament, and that might impress enough for a one seed in March.

Worst Case:

I honestly don't find their worst case, even if someone gets into trouble, as very bad at all.  They're a lock for the NCAA Tournament as long as nothing miraculously bad happens.  That noncon is ambitious enough that I suppose three losses could happen, but 9-3 against that slate is respectable.  All three of their repeat opponents might be capable of beting them once, but no more than two will.  Then again, Villanova is extremely talented so they could win both, putting the worst at 3-3 either way.  They host most of the remaining good teams, so 5-1 and 4-2 in the other two-thirds one way or the other is probably the worst they'll do.  That sums to 21-9, 12-6 and still puts them in great position in both the league and national tournaments.  I know that this doesn't exactly sound like a worst case, but they have enough players to make me confident that it is.

My Best Guess:

25-5 Overall, 14-4 Big East (2nd place) though I don't know what to expect in the league tournament.  This is probably good for a 2-4 seed depending on the rest of the nation.


Mountaineer logo from collegefinancialaidguide.com
Bob Huggins with Mountaineer image from letsgomountaineers.net

Devin Ebanks image from realcollegebasketball.com
76 classic logo from events.pe.com