What Are WVU’s Options Without Tucker DeVries?

The absence of Tucker DeVries leaves a massive hole in WVU basketball’s lineup.

WVU announced the star senior will be out “indefinitely” with an upper-body injury hours before its game against North Carolina Central on Tuesday evening.

DeVries does just about everything for the Mountaineers. He leads the team in three-pointers (26) and is second in scoring (14.9), rebounding (4.9), assists (22), steals (14) and blocks (12). No one player will replace the impact DeVries has on the court, but the Mountaineers do have some options to try and make up for his absence.

1. Jonathon Powell Starts

Freshman Jonathon Powell is probably the closest thing WVU has to a direct Tucker DeVries stand-in. He has comparable size at 6-foot-6, which makes him a viable rebounding threat and he has the potential to replace some of DeVries’s offense.

Like DeVries, Powell scores most of his points from beyond the arc, 44 of his 55 field goal attempts have come from range. He’s been cold lately, however, shooting 2-15 over the team’s last four games. He’s also never made a college start, although he averages the most minutes off of the bench this season.

2. Joseph Yesufu Starts

Senior guard Joseph Yesufu hasn’t made much of an impact lately, he’s played just five minutes in the team’s last four games, but he’s one of the most experienced players off of the Mountaineers’ bench.

Starting Yesufu would give the Mountaineers a very small four-guard lineup, although he could replace DeVries’s ball-handling duties. Fellow senior Tony Onkani would have to slide down to the four for his rebounding ability. This same scenario could work for starting freshman KJ Tenner, who is averaging 11.9 minutes off the bench.

3. Eduardo Andre Starts

This would require the most moving parts. Backup center Eduardo Andre had his best game of the season last time out against Georgetown and could potentially move into the starting lineup to give the Mountainers move size. Starting center Amani Hansberry would have to slide up to the four spot.

This could help the Mountaineers’ defense as Andre is the team’s best rim protector, but it would put a lot of stress on Hansberry’s offense. Hansberry has shown great versatility this season to play on the perimeter, already doubling his previous career-high for three-pointers in a year, but he can’t shoot at the same rate DeVries does.

This would also further shorten WVU’s already limited bench. With Andre in the starting lineup, the only backup forwards available would be Haris Elezovic, who has only played 13 minutes this season, Ofri Naveh, who is voluntarily redshirting and freshman Abraham Oyeadier, who has not appeared in a game yet this season.

West Virginia tips off against North Carolina Central inside the WVU Coliseum tonight at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.