College Basketball
WVU’s Javon Small Named Sporting News Midseason All-American

WVU’s Javon Small has been named to The Sporting News Midseason All-American second-team, released Wednesday.
Small is the leading scorer in the Big 12, averaging 19.5 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals.
“Small took a detour from ECU through OK State on his way to Morgantown, and he averaged better than 15 points in each of his past two years. But nothing suggested heโd rank among the best guards in the Big 12,” Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News writes. “Small is filling every category with big numbers โ and WVU has recovered beautifully from an embarrassing early season loss at Pitt.”
The accolades have been rolling in for Small this week, as on Monday he was named both the Big 12 Player of the Week and one of the the Oscar Robertson Award National Players of the Week.
Small guided the No. 23 Mountaineers (13-4, 4-2 Big 12) to a win over then-No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday, scoring 27 points with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
โHeโs just been incredible all year. I think heโs the best guard in the country right now,โย WVU coach Darian DeVries said after the game. โI wouldnโt trade him for anybody.โ
Leading 51-49 with two minutes left, Small scored 12 of the Mountaineersโ final 13 points to seal the win. That included a three-pointer with 42 seconds remaining to go up by eight and the dagger, a dunk with 21 seconds left to go up by 10.
Arizona State held Small in check during the Mountaineers’ loss on Tuesday, holding him to 14 points on 2-11 shooting.
For a related story,ย Javon Small solidifies status as Big 12 Player of the Year frontrunner.