With Basketball season fast approaching, I will be taking a look at the upcoming season for Big East Basketball. Check out the first preview with the West Virgina Mountaineers...
West Virgina Preview
Outlook
Bob Huggins put together an impressive year last year with a limited amount of talent. Joe Alexander is now in the NBA and Darris Nichols is gone as well leaving the team with some holes to fill in. Huggins did a nice job recruiting landing projected starter Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones at the forward position but failed to land an impact point guard. While the backcourt is a little thin this year, the front court has a ton of depth and will carry this team. The Mountaineers will be a top 25 team for most of the year, but with the Big East as deep as it is, some tough road losses will have this team looking at a 6th or 7th seed come March.
Projected Starters
G Joe Mazzulla 6-2 Junior
5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Mazzulla will have to fill the large shoes of veteran point guard Darris Nichols. Mazzulla has the ability to make plays and has the unique ability to create scoring for himself off the dribble. This left handed point guard will be a key in leading the Mountaineers deep into March.
G Alex Ruoff 6-6 Senior
13.8 ppg
Ruoff is the leading returning scorer for the Mountaineers. Ruoff has the ability to shoot the jumper from any point on the court, especially from deep range connecting on 98 3-pointers last year. Ruoff does struggle in creating his own shots which may pose a problem when playing some of the good defensive teams in the Big East
F Da'Sean Butler 6-7 Junior
12.9 ppg 6.2 rpg
Da'Sean Butler is a multi-dimensional player who is capable of backing down the defense or shooting the long ball. Butler is better when playing on the perimeter and looks to have a similar style as recent WVU star Joe Alexander. Butler is the offensive key to this team because his ability to make plays
F Devin Ebanks 6-9 Freshman
Incoming Freshman
Ebanks, a top recruit out of high school, is one of the most talented incoming freshman in all of the country. Rated the No. 2 small forward by rivals, Ebanks is a star on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Ebanks has the potential to be a lottery pick in the future, but right now his goal is to lead this team to the final four.
F Wellington Smith 6-7 Junior
5.2 ppg 3.9 rbg
Smith will likely be the last starter on this mountaineer team, but his job is no where near safe. True freshman Kevin Jones and Junior College transfer Dee Proby have the skills to start at the division 1 level but it looks like Smith will hold them off to start the season. Smith led the team in blocks last year with 1.6 per game.
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