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September 9th,
2006
By Joel
Welser
Broadcast Basketball
West
Virginia Mountaineers
Overall Rank:
#64
Conference
Rank: #9 Big East
2005-06:
22-11, 11-5, 3rd
2005-06
postseason: NCAA
 Of the seven
players who averaged over five minutes for West Virginia last
year, only two are returning. That means the Mountaineers have
tons of question marks with 83 percent of its scoring and 78
percent its assists leaving. The youth and inexperience will
provide some growing pains of Mike Seaver proportions, but by
March, Coach John Beilein will turn this group of unknowns into
a somewhat dangerous team.
Who’s Out:
With
apologies to returning senior Frank Young, WVU has lost its best
five players. Assist men J.D. Collins and Johannes Herber,
super shooter Patrick Beilein, do-everything Mike Gansey and
everybody’s hero Kevin Pittsnogle are gone.
Who’s In:
Of the
incoming freshmen, small forward De’Sean Butler has the best
chance to contribute dramatically. His strength, or lack there
of, has been an issue, but the 6-7 Bloomfield, New Jersey native
has a nice stroke and can get to the basket. Cam Thoroughman,
Wellington Smith, Devan Bawinkel and Jonnie West will add more
depth on the wings. Thoroughman and Smith have the height to
move to the four if needed, Bawinkle is a tremendous scorer and
West is a smart player with some quality family lineage being
the son of legend Jerry West. By the time the season starts,
Coach Beilein will probably find a player or two out of that
group to redshirt. Lefty point guard Joe Mazzulla is a smart
player and will need to learn the system quickly and become a
quality backup. Power forward Jacob Green lacks the strength
and scoring presence to be too effective early in his career,
but the Clinton, Maryland product has plenty of potential and is
expected to become a significant contributor before his career
in Morgantown is over. A newcomer that is ready to hit the
floor running is Jamie Smalligan. The 7-0 center made 30 career
starts during his two year stint at Butler. Smalligan is a
Pittsnogley (I can make up words about Pittsnogle too) type of
player who can hit the long ball with regularity.
Who to Watch:
Young
will get the chance to be the star for the Mountaineers. The
6-5 small forward started 32 games last year, averaging 7.4
points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists and will be asked to be the
upperclassman leader of the squad. Young is a decent shooter
and, like we’ve come to expect from WVU, can hit the long ball.
Darris Nichols will step into the point guard spot after coming
off the bench last season. As a sophomore, the 6-2 Radford,
Virginia product averaged 3.1 points and 1.5 assists per
contest. The two guard spot doesn’t have many options. Alex
Ruoff, ideally a small forward, didn’t see much action as a
freshman, but will get the first shot at the starting job.
Final
Projection:
Joe Alexander
and Rob Summers didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard last
year. Alexander, who saw action in just ten contests, averaged
1.3 points. At 6-8, he’s a big man that can step out and hit
the long ball. Summers, who saw his first action for WVU last
season after transferring in from Penn State, has some
experience in the system and will get the opportunity to make a
big impact in the paint. This isn’t the same WVU team we’ve
seen for a while and a trip to the NIT should be the obtainable
goal. An NCAA season means Coach Beilein is stockpiling talent
and nobody knew about it. After a tough few months getting the
youngsters comfortable, the Mountaineers will be able to compete
with the mid-level teams in the Big East and make an NIT run.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected
Starting Five:
Darris Nichols,
Junior, Guard, 3.1 points per game
Alex Ruoff,
Sophomore, Forward, 1.0 points per game
Frank Young,
Senior, Forward, 7.4 points per game
Joe Alexander,
Sophomore, Forward, 1.3 points per game
Jamie Smalligan,
Junior, Center, DNP last season
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