--West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said he doesn’t have much not to like right now. The team has been working hard and paying attention and doing what they’ve been asked to do. They’ve thrown a lot at them early and they have been really good to date.
--Huggins gave Derek Culver things to work on in the off-season such as his free throw shooting. He got fouled down the stretch a lot last year and he’s worked at that. He is the best rebounder on the team and does it in his area as well as outside of his area. Culver will go from one side of the floor to the other to pursue the ball on a rebound.
--West Virginia has the most guys at the wing spots. Taz Sherman has been a wing for the majority of his career, Sean McNeil has been an off-the-ball guy and a lot of others such as Emmitt Matthews, Jalen Bridges and Taj Thweatt. There is a lot of competition there.
--West Virginia hasn’t had any player approach opting out this year because the players believe that they have a chance and want to be a part of it.
--On the added year of eligibility for all players, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said he doesn’t know who wouldn’t take back Taz Sherman and Gabe Osabuohien back if they wanted to come. He hasn’t talked to them, but he doesn’t know why they wouldn’t do that unless a really big opportunity comes their way to make a bunch of money professionally.
--If you look at the players they have inside Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe are going to eat up minutes, Osabuohien will do the same, while Isaiah Cottrell is a lot more skilled at that position. That is four guys that are going to see minutes there so it’s hard to fit in Seny Ndiaye. He likes what he is doing now but he is the guy down the road that is going to be a very good player for then.
--Huggins said that what they learned is that they are so much better having them here than allowing them to go home. They’re not alone very often and they are playing against each other a lot. The team enjoys being around each other and appreciate one another. They are friends off the court as well.
--The first thing they have to get those big guys to do, especially Culver and Tshiebwe, is finish around the rim. They missed 22 shots inside of four feet against Oklahoma last year and that can’t happen. Culver has spent more time than he’s spent at any time in his career, Tshiebwe is working on getting on shots as well. When you roll and replace, one of them is going to get a good shot. That’s also what makes Isaiah Cottrell so excited because he can make those 16-foot shots.
--The Purdue game was going to be played at the Mohegan Sun, but now it won’t be played because of the changes to the schedule.
--Juwan Staten has been playing across the pond but decided that he wanted to come back and finish his master’s degree and two get his feet wet in the coaching profession. So, they have him as a graduate assistant and he was able to learn more playing overseas. The team thinks the world of him.
--Huggins thinks the decision not to have a scrimmage or exhibition is a tremendous detriment to the student athletes on the team. Those opportunities where they can get out and play and learn and not be scrutinized by fans or media are tremendous. It’s also an opportunity for guys to get in the game. It allows you a chance to evaluate them and them to evaluate themselves.
--In-state recruiting is important. Everybody wants you to offer eighth graders now and it’s gotten a little out of control, but they will have guys come up that they think can play in the Coliseum. The guys they have on the team right now are very capable and they just lost a couple. He said that he’s in favor of recruiting those guys and points to the contributions two exiting seniors in Chase Harler and Logan Routt had on the program over their years with the program. They also help develop that sense of pride of what West Virginia means to the people in the state.
--They have athletes at Fairmont Senior. It goes in cycles where the better athletes are in different spots. Huggins likes it better when the best athletes are right down the road. They’ve had a great run of athletes and some of them have a chance to play for a lot of money in the future.
--Huggins thinks McBride has improved tremendously and has really studied being a point guard and getting others involved. He is a guy that is probably the best guy at creating his own shot. From a standpoint of calls and interests from people at the next level, he is the first name out of their mouth. He has really made a name for himself in basketball circles.
--Culver has grown up quite a bit during his time at West Virginia. He is not an unintelligent person and has been on the academic honor roll the last two years. Sometimes you’re influenced by the people around you and getting here was one of the great things that happened for him.
--The perimeter shooting has been refreshing. Sean McNeil has had days where he’s looked unbelievable and Taz Sherman has as well. Deuce McBride and Jordan McCabe also have shot the ball well with the latter over that slump he was in last year.
--The Big 12 Conference schedule will not be given for a while. In their defense, all of the leagues are all coming down at the same time and everybody is having issues, so it’s been rough. They’re going to be the first game on television. It will be the first one on T.V. against Texas A&M and the second one will be a game that most people will watch before they cut into their Thanksgiving turkey.
--Kedrian Johnson is a talented guy and it’s important that they keep everybody ready because of the threats of COVID-19 throughout the course of the year which could force lineup changes.
--Huggins gave Derek Culver things to work on in the off-season such as his free throw shooting. He got fouled down the stretch a lot last year and he’s worked at that. He is the best rebounder on the team and does it in his area as well as outside of his area. Culver will go from one side of the floor to the other to pursue the ball on a rebound.
--West Virginia has the most guys at the wing spots. Taz Sherman has been a wing for the majority of his career, Sean McNeil has been an off-the-ball guy and a lot of others such as Emmitt Matthews, Jalen Bridges and Taj Thweatt. There is a lot of competition there.
--West Virginia hasn’t had any player approach opting out this year because the players believe that they have a chance and want to be a part of it.
--On the added year of eligibility for all players, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said he doesn’t know who wouldn’t take back Taz Sherman and Gabe Osabuohien back if they wanted to come. He hasn’t talked to them, but he doesn’t know why they wouldn’t do that unless a really big opportunity comes their way to make a bunch of money professionally.
--If you look at the players they have inside Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe are going to eat up minutes, Osabuohien will do the same, while Isaiah Cottrell is a lot more skilled at that position. That is four guys that are going to see minutes there so it’s hard to fit in Seny Ndiaye. He likes what he is doing now but he is the guy down the road that is going to be a very good player for then.
--Huggins said that what they learned is that they are so much better having them here than allowing them to go home. They’re not alone very often and they are playing against each other a lot. The team enjoys being around each other and appreciate one another. They are friends off the court as well.
--The first thing they have to get those big guys to do, especially Culver and Tshiebwe, is finish around the rim. They missed 22 shots inside of four feet against Oklahoma last year and that can’t happen. Culver has spent more time than he’s spent at any time in his career, Tshiebwe is working on getting on shots as well. When you roll and replace, one of them is going to get a good shot. That’s also what makes Isaiah Cottrell so excited because he can make those 16-foot shots.
--The Purdue game was going to be played at the Mohegan Sun, but now it won’t be played because of the changes to the schedule.
--Juwan Staten has been playing across the pond but decided that he wanted to come back and finish his master’s degree and two get his feet wet in the coaching profession. So, they have him as a graduate assistant and he was able to learn more playing overseas. The team thinks the world of him.
--Huggins thinks the decision not to have a scrimmage or exhibition is a tremendous detriment to the student athletes on the team. Those opportunities where they can get out and play and learn and not be scrutinized by fans or media are tremendous. It’s also an opportunity for guys to get in the game. It allows you a chance to evaluate them and them to evaluate themselves.
--In-state recruiting is important. Everybody wants you to offer eighth graders now and it’s gotten a little out of control, but they will have guys come up that they think can play in the Coliseum. The guys they have on the team right now are very capable and they just lost a couple. He said that he’s in favor of recruiting those guys and points to the contributions two exiting seniors in Chase Harler and Logan Routt had on the program over their years with the program. They also help develop that sense of pride of what West Virginia means to the people in the state.
--They have athletes at Fairmont Senior. It goes in cycles where the better athletes are in different spots. Huggins likes it better when the best athletes are right down the road. They’ve had a great run of athletes and some of them have a chance to play for a lot of money in the future.
--Huggins thinks McBride has improved tremendously and has really studied being a point guard and getting others involved. He is a guy that is probably the best guy at creating his own shot. From a standpoint of calls and interests from people at the next level, he is the first name out of their mouth. He has really made a name for himself in basketball circles.
--Culver has grown up quite a bit during his time at West Virginia. He is not an unintelligent person and has been on the academic honor roll the last two years. Sometimes you’re influenced by the people around you and getting here was one of the great things that happened for him.
--The perimeter shooting has been refreshing. Sean McNeil has had days where he’s looked unbelievable and Taz Sherman has as well. Deuce McBride and Jordan McCabe also have shot the ball well with the latter over that slump he was in last year.
--The Big 12 Conference schedule will not be given for a while. In their defense, all of the leagues are all coming down at the same time and everybody is having issues, so it’s been rough. They’re going to be the first game on television. It will be the first one on T.V. against Texas A&M and the second one will be a game that most people will watch before they cut into their Thanksgiving turkey.
--Kedrian Johnson is a talented guy and it’s important that they keep everybody ready because of the threats of COVID-19 throughout the course of the year which could force lineup changes.