West Virginia (9-23, 4-14 Big 12)
New West Virginia coach Darian DeVries brought his son, Tucker, with him from Drake to try to establish some cohesiveness for a team that lost nearly its entire roster. Darian DeVries led the Bulldogs to six straight 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances. West Virginia is coming off a school record for losses under interim coach Josh Eilert, who had taken over after the resignation of Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins following a June 2023 drunken driving arrest.
Players to watch
Tucker DeVries (senior, G-F, 6-7, 21.6 ppg). DeVries is a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the year and enters his fourth season playing for his father. He tied for ninth nationally in scoring average last season. DeVries might start the season with a chip on his shoulder after being left off the all-Big 12 preseason team, including newcomer of the year.
Jayden Stone (senior, SG, 6-4 20.8 ppg). Stone had three games of at least 30 points last season at Detroit Mercy.
Javon Small (senior, PG, 6-3, 15.1 ppg, 4.1 apg) was named all-Big 12 honorable mention at Oklahoma State. He was fourth in the league in free-throw shooting (86.6%).
Departures and arrivals
West Virginia’s roster got the post presence it was lacking with the signing of Eduardo Andre, a 6-11 transfer from Fresno State. Joseph Yesufu transferred from Washington State to rejoin Darian DeVries after spending two seasons at Drake. Yesufu also played two seasons at Kansas. Among other transfers are forward Amani Hansberry and guard Sencire Harris, both from Illinois. A roster with eight underclassmen includes freshman Jonathan Powell, who averaged 16 points during a three-game tour of Italy in August. Kerr Kriisa, West Virginia’s assists leader and fourth leading scorer last season, transferred to Kentucky.
Top games
The DeVries era opens Nov. 4 in Morgantown against Robert Morris. The Mountaineers start league play Dec. 31 at No. 1 Kansas, face No. 4 Houston twice in January and No. 20 Cincinnati twice in February. West Virginia has both a home and road game against Eilert, now an assistant coach at Utah.
Facts and figures
Sophomores Ofri Naveh and Aden Tagaloa-Nelson are the only players on the roster from last season. … The Mountaineers have missed three of the previous five NCAA Tournaments. … West Virginia will play a pair of rare Sunday league games on the road. …. West Virginia was picked by coaches to finish 13th in the 16-team league.
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