MORGANTOWN — The glimpses of growth from West Virginia’s youth and inexperienced first-year players come and go, like headlights on a back country road in the middle of the night.
And while the West Virginia men’s basketball roster looks like one built around maturity from runs through the Big 12 and the NCAA tournament, it has quickly become anything but.
“This is now a young team. This is an inexperienced team, in terms of just how many guys we have here as newcomers, ” freshman guard Jordan McCabe said. “We have some leaders at the top who are doing everything they can. Our coaches are doing everything they can, but it’s going to take some time.”
That was not the plan back in October. Guys like McCabe, Derek Culver, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Jermaine Haley were thought to be small pieces of the puzzle, but not major parts of the game plan.
But all four will likely play major roles at noon today, as the Mountaineers (9-12, 1-7 Big 12) host Oklahoma (15-6, 3-5) at the WVU Coliseum.
Injuries and inconsistent play from upperclassmen have forced the Mountaineers’ hand, as they complete the first half of conference play today.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins confirmed through a text message that junior guard James “Beetle” Bolden (ankle) is out against the Sooners. Junior forward Sagaba Konate (knee) hasn’t played since early December.
That has opened the door of opportunity for the first-year players, which has come with mixed results.
Matthews was the latest of the bunch to step up, after coming off the bench with 11 points and four rebounds in Wednesday’s 93-68 loss at No. 20 Iowa State.
“I thought Emmitt was good,” Huggins said. “He competed on the offensive glass. We’ve just got to get him to become a more consistent shooter. He’s making a lot of strides.”
Or at least Huggins hopes. That has been the thing with the Mountaineers’ young bunch, they look great one day, but not always the next.
“You think one of them has kind of put himself in front of the other ones and then goes into practice and has a horrible practice,” Huggins said. “Then, the other guy plays pretty good. There hasn’t been enough consistency from any of them to say, ‘OK, this is the guy I’m going to go with the rest of the year.’ I, for one, wish there was. But, when one guy goes in and just kicks the heck out of the other one, and then the next day, it’s vice versa. It’s hard to figure out who is going to play well that day.”
And learning the ropes in the middle of Big 12 play is not the most ideal situation, McCabe said.
“I think we hit a lull, once other teams peg what we’re doing early and take away some passes,” he said. “It’s nobody’s fault, but ours in terms of our players. The coaches have given us multiple audibles. They tell us, ‘If they start taking this away, do this.’ That’s what basketball is all about. My job is to get us into our offense and at, at times, I don’t call those audibles at the right time or we’re not all on the same page. That’s my job, as well.”
The Sooners, too, are looking to regroup following a 77-47 home loss on Monday against Baylor, in which Oklahoma was held to just 15-of-55 (27.3 percent) shooting. The Sooners were 4-of-20 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma has lost its last three games against the Mountaineers.
“A lot of ours [inconsistencies] relate to making shots, which we’ve been inconsistent at that all year,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “A couple of times when we didn’t make shots, it seemed like it increased our energy level defensively. We should try to guard, regardless and then make some shots on occasion.”
Note
Jerry West visited with WVU players following practice Friday. West is in town for Huggins’ annual fish fry fundraiser, as well as for the 60th reunion of the 1958-’59 Final Four team that fell in the national championship game against California.
Members of that team will be recognized during today’s game.
