REVISED: Early look at the 2016-17 WVU hoops season
Twelve days ago, West Virginia took an early exit from NCAA Tournament by dropping its first round game to Stephen F. Austin. The year ended with disappointment, but in the big picture West Virginia had a successful season finishing with an overall record of 26-9 and a Big 12 conference record of 13-5.
Earlier this week, WVSports.com took an early look at the 2016-17 campaign, but since the outlook for the program has changed. Yesterday, junior forward Devin Williams declared early for the 2016 NBA Draft after he initially told reporters he would stay West Virginia for his senior season.
Anyway, with the change in Williams’ plans, here’s a way too early glance ahead at what West Virginia will look like when it takes the floor in November. The roster is broken up into three pieces – the starting five, second wave and rest of the bench.
The majority of its 2015-16 roster returns for the 2016-17 season. Aside from Williams leaving early, only Jaysean Paige, Jon Holton and Ricky Romeo III graduate.
“I believe this team can still do great things,” guard Jevon Carter said, after West Virginia’s season ended at the Barclays Center.
Projected Starting Five:
G – Jevon Carter – Junior
G – Daxter Miles Jr. – Junior
F – Esa Ahmad – Sophomore
F – Nate Adrian – Senior
F – Elijah Macon – Redshirt Junior
There isn’t anyway around the obvious - the departure of Williams directly impacts the starting five. Williams was a lock to start in 2016-17 and West Virginia would have relied on him for scoring and rebounding.
Williams averaged more than 13 points and more than nine rebounds per game as a junior.
Before Williams announced his plans to go pro, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was already tasked with the replacing the scoring production of Paige and offensive rebounding production of Holton. Now Huggins is forced to replace Williams’ production on top of the output West Virginia gained from Paige and Holton.
Anyway, Elijah Macon steps in for Williams as a starter at forward alongside Esa Ahmad.
Upon Ahmad's arrival at West Virginia, Huggins suggested that the Cleveland native was capable of providing instant scoring as a freshman, but it didn’t happen. As a redshirt sophomore, Macon was expected to provide Williams with help in the post, but after a strong start to the 2015-16 season, Macon tapered off at the end of the season. Macon averaged just 2.5 points per game over the final ten games.
The offseason is critical for both Ahmad and Macon.
“Going into the summer, I know I need to have good workouts to completely change myself,” Macon said. “I need to keep my work ethic strong to become a better player.”
Another certain starter is guard Daxter Miles Jr. He will play off the ball. During his sophomore season, Miles Jr. averaged more than nine points per game.
The other two starting spots are not as certain because the team has unknowns at point guard.
Huggins has to figure out whether or not James ‘Beetle’ Bolden is a legitimate option to run the offense. From there, Huggins and his staff can evaluate and debate of the three potential points guards - Carter, Bolden and Tarik Phillip - who is the most viable option to start.
Throughout the 2015-16 season, Phillip preferred coming off the bench, so it’s possible he remains in that role even if he ends with more minutes than Carter or Bolden at the one.
If Huggins feels comfortable enough with Bolden at point guard and decides to start either Bolden or Phillip at the position, West Virginia has the option to move Carter off the ball. Then the team could go with a three-guard look of Bolden or Phillip plus Carter and Miles Jr. off the ball. That would push Nate Adrian from the starting lineup to the second wave.
Because the guard spots are unknowns, it is hard to assume some of those changes. For now, Carter, Miles Jr. and Adrian alongside Ahmad and Macon is the most sensible lineup to project.
Second Wave:
G – Tarik Phillip – Senior
G – James ‘Beetle’ Bolden – Redshirt Freshman
G – Teyvon Myers – Senior
F – Maciej Bender – Freshman
F – Brandon Watkins – Senior
There are plenty of reasons to keep Phillip in the second wave regardless of whether or not Bolden emerges as a potential point guard. Phillip can score the ball and proved he was capable of doing so throughout the Big 12 schedule, averaging better than eleven points per game during league play.
With the second group, Huggins is going to need someone to drive the lane in order to create shots for himself or his teammates, a lot like Paige and Phillip did throughout the 2015-16 season. Phillip is most capable of creating offense and could provide West Virginia with instant scoring off the bench as a senior.
Teyvon Myers improved a great deal from his late arrival to the end of the season. With a full offseason in Morgantown, Myers can work with his teammates and Huggins. The former junior college scoring champion, Myers has the potential to help West Virginia score the ball next season.
At forward, senior Brandon Watkins and newcomer Maciej Bender are ideal candidates to help provide depth behind Macon, Adrian and Ahmad.
Coming off an ACL injury, Watkins saw ten minutes of playing time or more, only five times throughout the entire season. If healthy, Watkins needs to be a valuable rim protector for the program.
The Poland native, Bender stands at six-foot-ten and is viewed as an athletic big man, who is expected to help the team in multiple ways.
“He brings the ability to stretch the defense beyond the line and also score with his back to the basket. In addition, he gives us a big man capable of running the offense because of his ability to pass the basketball,” Huggins said upon signing Bender last November.
Rest of Bench:
G – James Long – Redshirt Senior
G – Chase Harler – Freshman
F – Lamont West – Redshirt Freshman
F – Sagaba Konate – Freshman
F – Logan Routt – Redshirt Freshman
In addition to playing on the scout team throughout his first year at West Virginia, Lamont West was groomed to eventually play Holton’s spot within the pressing defense. At six-foot-eight, the Miller Grove High School product must be able give Huggins some quality minutes of playing time in the press defense.
The pieces to keep an eye on are freshmen Sagaba Konate and Chase Harler.
Earlier this month, Konate 17 points and 22 rebounds to lead Kennedy Catholic High School to a PIAA Class A State Championship. At six-foot-eight, Konate will fit somewhere amongst the forwards. Harler, the Gatorade high school player of the year in West Virginia averaged better than 24 points per game as a senior.