Rush The Court

This team preview is part of the RTC Big 12 microsite’s preseason coverage.

Burning Question: Can the Mountaineers get back to the NCAA Tournament without Juwan Staten? 

West Virginia alumnus Bob Huggins returned to Morgantown in April 2007 to take over as head coach of the men’s basketball program. He made his presence immediately felt by getting the Mountaineers back into the NCAA Tournament during his first season. The school would go on to make five straight appearances in the Big Dance and produce one of my favorite tournament moments along the way. In the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, a Mountaineers squad led by Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks upset a Kentucky team keyed by John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, 73-66. The game itself wasn’t all that interesting, but I’m a sucker for a bit of showmanship combined with just the right amount of taunting. So when I later stumbled across video of West Virginia players celebrating the victory by doing the John Wall dance on the podium, the moment became forever etched in my mind. It was peak college basketball — young kids without much an NBA future enjoying their victory over a roster full of NBA talent on the sport’s biggest stage.

Unfortunately, West Virginia’s fall from that peak was rather precipitous. Sure, the Mountaineers made the NCAAs the next two seasons, but they failed both times to get past the first weekend. In 2013 and 2014, the school missed the NCAA Tournament altogether, and after a 2014 trip to the NIT, two of Huggins’ top three scorers transferred out of the program. Things in Morgantown appeared to be in a downward spiral, as the Mountaineers were picked to finish tied for sixth in the Big 12 going into last season. Last year’s team, though, would end up exceeding those expectations. Behind All-Big 12 point guard Juwan Staten, West Virginia stormed out of the gates to a 12-1 record in non-conference play before finishing 11-7 in the Big 12, good for a fourth place tie with Baylor. The catalyst to that run was a decision by Huggins to employ a fast-paced, high-pressure full-court press that forced opponents to make very difficult decisions. The change worked. The Mountaineers returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years and made the Sweet Sixteen where they ran into a Kentucky team stacked with NBA talent once again. Despite the successful season to that point, there was no celebratory John Wall dance this time as the Mountaineers were pummeled by 39 points.

The question now is whether Huggins can keep his program’s momentum with a second straight trip to the NCAAs, but it will have to come without the services of their star point guard. Juwan Staten is now trying to find a spot on an NBA roster, and while his per game numbers dipped somewhat last season, his per 40 minutes statistics suggest that he was still West Virginia’s key piece. He’ll be replaced by a pair of rising sophomores in Daxter Miles Jr. and Jevon Carter. Miles is known nationally for guaranteeing a victory against the Wildcats last March and then hiding in a bathroom stall after his team’s brutal defeat. Before that blunder, he was instead known as the talented freshman who had forced his way into the starting lineup and knocked down five threes to push Kansas to the brink at Allen Fieldhouse. He’s a 36 percent three-point shooter, aggressive defender, and his decision-making (at least on the floor) will improve with experience. Carter, meanwhile, is a player tailor made for Huggins’ new defensive system. His aggressive defense sometimes leaves him looking silly, but he ranked fourth in steal rate nationally last season. While he didn’t show it as much last season, Carter has the ability to score and could grow into a perimeter option without Staten around.

While Miles and Carter will fill in nicely on the perimeter, it’s inside the paint where the Mountaineers could have a budding Big 12 star. Last season, sophomore Devin Williams finished among the honorable mentions for all-Big 12. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him climb into the discussion for a slot on the second team this year. At 6’9″, Williams is an impressive rebounder — he led the conference in defensive rebounding rate last season, grabbing 30 percent of available chances when he was on the floor. He’s strong and forces the issue on offense, drawing 7.2 fouls per 40 minutes, resulting in over one-third of his points coming from the free throw line. If he can develop some post moves to go with a decent mid-range jumper, Williams should be a nice offensive threat for the Mountaineers this season. And his improvement could be just what the Mountaineers need — without Staten, West Virginia is once again picked to finish sixth in the Big 12, but if Miles, Carter and Williams have their way, there will be more dancing in Morgantown this season.