The game is slowing down for Ahmad

Basketball isn’t a game full of mysteries.

In the case of freshman Esa Ahmad, the prized recruit came into the West Virginia basketball program with lofty expectations after selecting Bob Huggins’ program over a number of high-profile suitors.

Expectations are one thing but turning those into results is another altogether and 24 games into his first season on campus the Cleveland native had started all but the one game that he didn’t see action in and only managed to reach double figures once.

So Ahmad went back to the lab putting more and more time into practice and it started to show on the floor starting with a nine point effort against Iowa State, including two highlight reel dunks.

“An amazing thing happened. Esa was in the gym early and stayed late. It’s amazing how that happens,” Huggins said about his development.

From there things started to slow down on the court and his confidence started to grow. While he was overly passive at first, particularly on the offensive end, Ahmad started to flash more of the offensive skill set that was expected of him when he signed with the Mountaineers.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t harder than he thought it would be.

“Esa is a little slow sometimes. He’s been playing well and he’s being more aggressive and looking to score more,” senior guard Jaysean Paige said. “When it’s there, it’s there and when it’s not, it’s not.”

Accustomed to double and triple teams at the high school level, Ahmad quickly found out that scoring at the college level was an entirely different animal as the athleticism had evened out across the board.

Ahmad also used his time in practice to take advantage of the fact that he could go against players such as Jonathan Holton and Devin Williams to refine his skill set. He’s also taken the advice of those upperclassmen to heart and gotten extra time in at every opportunity.

Given the upperclassmen on the roster, Ahmad also didn’t have the pressure of needing to perform immediately so he was able to learn feel his way out on the court without the added burden.

“I try to slow the game down in my head. That’s something Dev has been telling me. Don’t be in a rush to slow the game down but try to be in an attack mode,” Ahmad said.

The freshman put together his best performance to date against TCU with 14 points and 5 rebounds, showcasing what his ability to not only score the basketball but get his teammates involved. It’s part of a mentality that starts from the top down and Ahmad quickly realized he wasn’t going to have a choice.

“Huggs is a tough coach so you have to be tough mentally,” Ahmad said.

Huggins made it clear that Ahmad needed to put the ball in the basket so that meant creating scoring opportunities for himself by attacking his preferred spot on the baseline. But Ahmad hopes that this isn’t a one-time thing as the Mountaineers will need his efforts moving forward.

“I’m just trying to take advantage of it,” he said.