By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia still has one basketball scholarship left to fill for the 2020 class and that’s just fine with coach Bob Huggins.
That’s because with 12 scholarship players already on board for this year, including nine of which who are returning from last season’s team, it’s an envious spot to be in compared to many programs.
That means the Mountaineers can test the waters to see what all is out there in order to find a potential fit both on and off the floor with the current group.
“We have the opportunity to select for the first time in a long, long time,” Huggins said.
While there is certainly no rush to jump into a marriage with any prospect, there are still several options who have received interest from WVU on the recruiting trail.
Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy center Gabe Wiznitzer is one of those. The 6-foot-11 big man has seen a rush of scholarship offers of late, including the Mountaineers to muddy the waters of his recruiting process. Currently a 2021 prospect, Wiznitzer is considering reclassifying to be eligible to play this coming fall at the college level, but that is far from a certainty.
Official visits have currently been put on hold and Wiznitzer would like to see some of the schools recruiting him before he makes that type of decision. That includes WVU.
“I would like to visit West Virginia for sure,” he said.
Wiznitzer is a versatile big man who can stretch the defense on the perimeter with a pick and pop game on top of his skill set in the post.
Another prospect who already made the leap from the 2021 class to this current one is Napa (Ca.) Prolific Prep center Frank Anselem. Originally believed to be heading to LSU, the Rivals.com 4-star prospect since opened things up and many schools have predictably came calling.
WVU is one of several schools that has done a good job establishing a relationship along with Kentucky, Oregon, Syracuse, Seton Hall and San Diego State.
Anselem is a long-bodied center and, while is developing with his back to the basket, is highly valued for his energy and abilities as a rim-runner, shot blocker and rebounder, according to Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans.
“Solid back line guy that has the body and frame that should only improve as he gets older,” he said.
Of course, Huggins isn’t in any rush to fill the scholarship, if he does at all, but the right fit certainly can’t hurt. Selecting certainly isn’t a bad thing when it comes to filling holes.
