What Happened to the 2018-19 Mountaineers

The 2018-19 basketball season was full of turmoil for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The team played poorly throughout the year, finishing with a 15-21 record, 4-14 in the Big 12. On top of that the Mountaineers had internal troubles all year long, with freshman big man Derek Culver being suspended for the season’s first 15 games, Sagaba Konate missed much of the year with an injury and declared for the NBA draft, Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris were dismissed from the team and several other players transferred away from the university.

Seven players from the 2018-19 team returned to WVU for the 2019-20 season with all the others moving on. Where did all those players end up and what happened to them this season?

Sagaba Konate

Konate played in only eight games due to a knee injury and declared for the NBA draft after the season, forgoing his senior season. Konate went undrafted and signed with the Toronto Raptors in July. He was assigned to the Raptors’ G-League team, the Raptors 905. He suffered an injury at the beginning of the year but returned at the beginning of the calendar year. In 18 G-League games, Konate averaged 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 7.7 minutes. The G-League is currently suspended from play due to the coronavirus outbreak.

James “Beetle” Bolden

Bolden averaged 12.2 points in 18 games for the Mountaineers in 2018-19 but decided to transfer to following the season, landing at Alabama. The Tide went 16-15 this season, 8-10 in the SEC. Bolden came off the bench for Alabama, scoring 8.2 points per game in 28 games. Bolden is out of eligibility.

Esa Ahmad

Ahmad and Harris were dismissed from WVU’s team in February. The team’s lone senior, Ahmad was out of eligibility and did not play college basketball in 2019-20. He averaged 12 points per game in 23 games in his final season.

Lamont West

Like Bolden, West decided to transfer from WVU after the 2018-19 season, ending up at Missouri State. The Bears went 16-17 this season, 9-9 in the MVC. West played 33 games, averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds. In his final season at WVU West averaged 11.1 points per game. A senior, West is out of eligibility.

Wesley Harris

After being dismissed form WVU, Harris landed at Tennessee State for the 2019-20 season. The Tigers finished 18-15, 10-10 in the OVC. Harris started 28 of 29 games, averaging 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. He averaged 6.3 points in two seasons as a Mountaineer.

Andrew Gordon

Gordon transferred to WVU after two years at Northwest Florida State College. He played just one season at WVU before transferring to Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs finished 2019-20 with a 22-8 record, 13-5 in Conference USA. Gordon averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 29 games off the bench. A redshirt junior, Gordon should have one year of eligibility remaining.

Trey Doomes

A true freshman, Doomes originally planned to redshirt at WVU in 2018-19. He ended up playing in 12 games, averaging 2.2 points. After the season, Doomes transferred to Chattanooga with three years of eligibility remaining. Chattanooga went 20-13 this season, 10-8 in the SOCON. Doomes averaged 3.5 points and 1.1 assists in 29 games.

Taevon Horton

WVU’s lone walk-on in 2018-19, Horton also decided to transfer following the season. Horton played 11 games with the Mountaineers, making one surprise start. He scored 10 total points, including one three-pointer. Horton transferred to Missouri State University, where he averaged 13.1 points in 29 games. He shot 43.1% from the floor and 37.4% from three.