West Virginia Mountaineers
2023-2024 Result: 9-23 record (4-14 Big 12)
Projected Starting Lineup
Head Coach: Darian DeVries (1st season)
Guard: Javon Small (SR)
Guard: Sencire Harris (SO)
Guard: Toby Okani (5th year)
Forward: Tucker DeVries (SR)
Center: Eduardo Andre (5th year)
Key Additions
Javon Small (Oklahoma State)
Sincere Harris (Illinois)
Toby Okani (Illinois Chicago)
Tucker DeVries (Drake)
Eduardo Andre (Fresno State)
Joseph Yesufu (Washington State)
Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy)
Key Losses
Noah Farrakhan
Kobe Johnson
Josiah Harris
Kerr Kriisa
Seth Wilson
Jesse Edwards
Akok Akok
RaeQuan Battle
Quinn Slazinski
After a bit of a throw away season due to the Bob Huggins situation last off season, West Virginia decided to go in a different direction coaching wise. Last year’s interim head coach Josh Eilert was not brought back, but they made a big splash by grabbing one of the best coaches in the mid-major ranks in Darian DeVries. The former Drake head coach made the NCAA tournament in 3 of his 6 seasons with the Bulldogs, so he has proven he can sustain success. A big reason for the success at Drake is from his son, Tucker DeVries, who will be following him to Morgantown this upcoming season. There is typically roster turnover with a coaching change, and that is exactly what we have here as there are 0 returning starters and only 2 returning players that received playing time at West Virginia last season. This will create some uncertainty about the makeup of this team, but DeVries did a decent job overall in the transfer portal.
As for the offense, the Mountaineers will go as Tucker DeVries goes. Darian DeVries loves using his son in pick and roll and handoff actions, and Tucker is elite when operating in the half court. DeVries has the ability to create advantages in these pick and roll actions, but there are concerns about the supporting cast. Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small should provide some relief as a secondary playmaker, but there is almost zero quality shooting around these 2 to capitalize when they create their advantages. Projected starters like Sencire Harris and Toby Okani do not profile as quality shooters to raise the floor of this offense, and Fresno State transfer Eduardo Andre doesn’t necessarily bring a dominant rim presence to offset these weaknesses. The Mountaineers do have a few bench scoring options that have upside in Joseph Yesufu and Jayden Stone, but these 2 don’t project to play heavy minutes. So this offense will most likely rely on the on-ball creation of DeVries and Small, and they should at least keep this offense away from disaster, but the lack of shooting and offensive rebounding from the supporting cast creates a low floor for this group.
As for the defense, the projected starting lineup has some quality perimeter defenders in Javon Small, Sencire Harris, and Toby Okani. This perimeter group should match what coach DeVries wants to do defensively, and that includes not helping off of shooters and trusting his players to guard 1 on 1. DeVries style defenses also require a solid pick and roll defense big, as last year's Drake team allowed pick and roll in above the 90th percentile (per Synergy). They have at least an average Big 12 center in Eduardo Andre, but it is the depth in the frontcourt that has me concerned. 6’8” Amani Hansberry projects to be the backup center and after that there is no bench player on this roster taller than 6’6”, so there could be major defensive issues when Andre goes to the bench or if he happens to miss a few games. There are major depth concerns in general with this team, because as stated earlier, there is a lack of experience on the bench. Maybe there will be a surprise role player that emerges for the Mountaineers, but until then we have to assume this team is very thin. When healthy, West Virginia could be solid defensively, but 1 or 2 injuries could derail this team’s hopes of competing with any power conference competition.
It looks to be a bit of a rebuild in year one of the Darian DeVries era, but he is already building the foundation and roster that he prefers. West Virginia also has the star power with Small and DeVries to possibly steal a few games from the top of the Big 12, but overall, expect the Mountaineers to be near the bottom of the pack in a loaded conference. The lack of quality depth is too much of a concern for me, but they may be able to make some noise if they can stay healthy, especially early in the season.