WVU Basketball Proving to Be Better Than Preseason Ranking

WVU basketball learned a lot about itself this week, and so did the rest of the country.

Picked 13th in the Big 12 preseason poll, the Mountaineers made a massive statement at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, knocking off No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 24 Arizona and taking Louisville down to the wire in three straight days.

“I think our entire team had a ton of grit this week.,” said senior Tucker DeVries. 

DeVries was the star in Friday’s win over Arizona, scoring a game-high 26 points with eight three-pointers. He also scored the tying free throws that sent Wednesday’s game against Gonzaga into overtime.

“Three overtime games in three days with guys playing a lot of minutes and I thought as a whole, our group just stuck together,” he said.

Friday’s win over the Wildcats showed that beating Gonzaga was no fluke. It also gave a bit of a preview into what Big 12 play might look like in a couple of weeks. Arizona was picked fifth in the preseason poll, although now drops to 3-4 on the young season.

“I never looked at the Big 12 preseason rankings,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “West Virginia is a good team with a good coach and a good system. And they’ve got a couple of really good players.”

WVU’s star of the tournament was point guard Javon Small, who averaged 25 points across the three games. Behind DeVries and Small, center Amani Hansberry and guard Toby Okani finished in double figures in all three games.

“I think it says a lot about the work our guys have put in since they’ve been on campus,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said. “I know this group still feels we have plenty to grow into and we’re excited about that and they’re just eager to work. As coaches, that’s all we want and ask for.”

WVU’s starting five played huge minutes across the three straight overtime contests. All five — DeVries, Small, Hansberry, Okani and Sencire Harris — accumulated over 100 minutes on the court this week.

“I think it comes back to the team and their willingness to buy in and maybe give up a few things of their own for the good of the team,” Coach DeVries said. “This group has embraced that.”

The Mountaineers return home and get a well-deserved week off before hosting Georgetown in the WVU Coliseum next Friday. Big 12 play begins on Dec. 31 and West Virginia’s performance in the Bahamas could have onlookers thinking very differently about their chances in the conference by then.

For now, however, that’s not something Coach DeVries is worrying about.

“Every night we line up and play, we’re trying to win those 40 minutes,” he said. “Where that ends up at the end of the year is where that’s going to end up. We’re not really concerned with any of that stuff right now. We’re just into what we’re doing to get better.”

For a related story, WVU basketball fans appreciate the team’s strong showing in the Bahamas.