MORGANTOWN — There wasn’t much originality in coming up with Amani Hansberry’s nickname while playing his high-school ball in Silver Spring, Md.
“My nickname was the double-double machine,” the WVU forward said Thursday.
At the very least, it was to the point.
In developing himself as one of the top prep players in Maryland and into a top 100 national recruit, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward did so with plenty of dunks and rebounds in his highlight reel.
After a season of limited action as a freshman at Illinois, Hansberry made the move to WVU this summer, following former Illinois assistant Chester Frazier, now an assistant with the Mountaineers under Darian DeVries.
Hansberry also comes with an addition to his game, that being a 3-point shot.
“Amani Hansberry is an undersized big man, but he’s also going to present some opportunities for us on the offensive end with his ability to space the floor,” DeVries said. “Offensively, if you’re 6-8 and you have the ability to shoot threes, you have to take advantage of that. That is tricky to guard sometimes.”
If there is one noticeable change from previous WVU teams, it just may be Hansberry’s style of play as a big man.
He’s not a lob-catcher, as was the style of Jesse Edwards last season. He may not command as much physical attention near the basket, as WVU fans saw in the past with guys like Derek Culver or Devin Williams.
“I’m more about creating mismatches for myself and my teammates,” Hansberry said. “I’ve been doing a lot of pick-and-pop for the three. I can pass the ball and get guys the ball who need to get shots.”
Not since the days of maybe Kevin Pittsnogle has a WVU big man been counted on for scoring beyond the arc.
Hansberry won’t be launching as many of them as Pittsnogle — “Amani is going to shoot them. I hope he makes them like Pittsnogle did,” DeVries said. — but he’s also not being held back, either.
Coach DeVries, “has a lot of confidence in me,” Hansberry said. “He yells at me every time I pass up an open shot. He wants me to keep building my confidence.”
The outside shot, Hansberry said, was always a trick he had up his sleeve, but something he rarely needed in high school.
That’s changed since starting his college career, and Hansberry has spent the time in the gym in becoming a better long-range threat.
In his limited playing time at Illinois, he tinkered with the 3-point shot. Hansberry made 4 of 13, or just over 30%.
“I’ve changed my shot a little bit, made it more consistent,” Hansberry said. “I took some of the arc out, so I would stop missing short. I’m feeling confident and I’m definitely going to be better than a 30% shooter this year.”
Just how much better? Well, that was the question posed to Tucker DeVries, who connected on 250 3-pointers during his three seasons at Drake.
“Amani can really shoot it, especially when he gets his feet set,” Tucker said. “A lot of times, as a center, those shots are going to be pretty wide open, because the pick-and-pop can be so hard to guard. Amani, when he gets his feet set, he can be really good.”
There is a tricky part to Hansberry’s shooting ability. He’s still a big man and can’t spend an entire game out beyond the 3-point line.
There’s still a need to get inside and go after offensive rebounds and score baskets close to the rim, you know, the usual stuff expected of centers.
“It’s tricky a little bit, because you can’t always have him popping outside all the time,” Darian DeVries said. “You have to be able to put pressure on the rim. He’s been working through that, too, finding his spots where he can pop out and get five guys out and get those other 7-footers out in space.”
