--West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said that he has a lot of guys on this year’s roster with 15 but that is the case around college basketball this year. The last time Huggins had 15 he was at Walsh College. Players are going to want to play but he doesn’t anticipate any attitude problems. Huggins isn’t sure if they will redshirt anybody this season.
--He doesn’t know what to think about the NIL deals. He said them going out and talking to successful business people is good for them and give them a lot of things to think about. He thinks they have a clear idea of what they want to do. They’ve had various people talk to the players about the situation. The guys that are involved the most are seniors and they are grown up. Huggins was concerned about using the flying WV because that is trademarked when players are doing these things.
--Sean McNeil could come back next year but he would count against the scholarship limits.
--Huggins said they’re probably going to end up playing four-out. Trying to spend a good deal of time with those bigs to see if they can get one of them to score it inside. They rebound and block shots but they want to get them to score around the goal.
--If Isaiah Cottrell is out there it could essentially be five out and will open up driving lanes. He is a skilled big that can step outside and make shots. He is not Taz Sherman or Sean McNeil but he might be the third best shooter. He can draw bigs away from the goal. There have been no problems with him getting back on the court. They did a great job of having a progression for when he got healed up.
--Huggins said that they don’t need a traditional point guard because they have a lot of guys that can handle the ball and are getting better with their ball skills. It will come down to what the matchup is as to where they put players around the circle.
--Huggins believes they’re going to have enough people and James Oknokwo is playing well and is the quickest off the floor. They were going to redshirt him to get him bigger and stronger but he is playing really well and is possibly changing that line of thinking. Pauly Paulicap is quick off the floor and Dimon Carrigan was one of the best shot blockers nationally last year. They don’t have a Derek Culver that they can get the ball into to score close so they are working on that.
--West Virginia is smaller than what they were but they are shooting the ball better than they did.
--Huggins said they have to keep working to become a better passing team. Time and repetition will help there. They’ve got to pass it better without question but they can make shots.
--Deuce McBride gave them somebody that they can ISO but they’re going to miss Derek Culver more than they will miss Deuce because he got big rebounds and hard rebounds. They will miss Deuce but they don’t have a big strong guy that can rebound and score in the post.
--Huggins thinks that Seth Wilson is much better off the ball than on the ball and Kobe Johnson handles it much better than they thought he would with his ball security and with passing it well. Johnson brings a physicality to the guard position and he is the best they have on that front.
--Huggins said that Big 12 expansion brings good basketball schools and good coaches. The coaching in the Big 12 is very good and the guys that are coming in are joining those ranks. Most leagues don’t play a round robin schedule so Huggins doesn’t anticipate it being an issue.
--Jalen Bridges is going to play on the perimeter and his ball skills are a lot better because he’s worked at it and put the time in. He has to be able to score the ball better off the bounce and Huggins wanted to see them get in more situations where they get mismatches with smaller guards on the block.
--The schedule has a lot of recognizable teams for the fans.
--Malik Curry has got really good foot speed and has shot it better than when he first got here.
--Huggins said he couldn’t pick out the top eight or ten guys right now.
--He doesn’t know what to think about the NIL deals. He said them going out and talking to successful business people is good for them and give them a lot of things to think about. He thinks they have a clear idea of what they want to do. They’ve had various people talk to the players about the situation. The guys that are involved the most are seniors and they are grown up. Huggins was concerned about using the flying WV because that is trademarked when players are doing these things.
--Sean McNeil could come back next year but he would count against the scholarship limits.
--Huggins said they’re probably going to end up playing four-out. Trying to spend a good deal of time with those bigs to see if they can get one of them to score it inside. They rebound and block shots but they want to get them to score around the goal.
--If Isaiah Cottrell is out there it could essentially be five out and will open up driving lanes. He is a skilled big that can step outside and make shots. He is not Taz Sherman or Sean McNeil but he might be the third best shooter. He can draw bigs away from the goal. There have been no problems with him getting back on the court. They did a great job of having a progression for when he got healed up.
--Huggins said that they don’t need a traditional point guard because they have a lot of guys that can handle the ball and are getting better with their ball skills. It will come down to what the matchup is as to where they put players around the circle.
--Huggins believes they’re going to have enough people and James Oknokwo is playing well and is the quickest off the floor. They were going to redshirt him to get him bigger and stronger but he is playing really well and is possibly changing that line of thinking. Pauly Paulicap is quick off the floor and Dimon Carrigan was one of the best shot blockers nationally last year. They don’t have a Derek Culver that they can get the ball into to score close so they are working on that.
--West Virginia is smaller than what they were but they are shooting the ball better than they did.
--Huggins said they have to keep working to become a better passing team. Time and repetition will help there. They’ve got to pass it better without question but they can make shots.
--Deuce McBride gave them somebody that they can ISO but they’re going to miss Derek Culver more than they will miss Deuce because he got big rebounds and hard rebounds. They will miss Deuce but they don’t have a big strong guy that can rebound and score in the post.
--Huggins thinks that Seth Wilson is much better off the ball than on the ball and Kobe Johnson handles it much better than they thought he would with his ball security and with passing it well. Johnson brings a physicality to the guard position and he is the best they have on that front.
--Huggins said that Big 12 expansion brings good basketball schools and good coaches. The coaching in the Big 12 is very good and the guys that are coming in are joining those ranks. Most leagues don’t play a round robin schedule so Huggins doesn’t anticipate it being an issue.
--Jalen Bridges is going to play on the perimeter and his ball skills are a lot better because he’s worked at it and put the time in. He has to be able to score the ball better off the bounce and Huggins wanted to see them get in more situations where they get mismatches with smaller guards on the block.
--The schedule has a lot of recognizable teams for the fans.
--Malik Curry has got really good foot speed and has shot it better than when he first got here.
--Huggins said he couldn’t pick out the top eight or ten guys right now.
