My Fiver on WVU's victory over Utah on Saturday...
1. Amani Hansberry at the "5". In another thread, I was called out by a couple posters for suggesting that we could thrive next season with Amani playing the "5". Well, he did so almost exclusively Saturday, and responded with 17 points (6-10 shooting), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block in 30 minutes of play. His ability to go 3-6 from beyond the arc is critically important for this team. He's not Derek Culver or Calvin Bowman, but he is a guy who plays much bigger than his 6'8" size, and can drag opposing bigs out of the paint to the perimeter so that our guards and forwards can go to work. He's getting healthy at the right time. We need him to be a factor - we'll still need Eduardo Andre - but Hansberry at his best is WVU at its best.
2. The block-and-trey sequence from Toby Okani at the end of the first half was a thing of beauty and finally blew open the otherwise back-and-forth game. There's a lot of potential with Okani on the offensive end of the floor - a 6'8" forward who can handle the ball, shoot the "3", and hit fade-aways is hard to find. He's clearly a defense-first guy, but if we can get a bit more on offense, that will go a long way for this team.
3. This team's free throw shooting woes are a mystery to me. Jevon Small and Hansberry combine to go 11-12 from the stripe...all good there. But, Jon Powell, KJ Tenner and Andre combine to go 1-9. One of fvcking nine. We already just lost a game because of free throw disparity. These guys need to hit these charity shots because we can't afford to lose another at the stripe.
4. I know he's a freshman and you shouldn't need to count on freshmen, but for Jon Powell the time is now. 11 points, 7 rebounds after finally waking up in the 2nd half. This needs to be the standard moving forward, and love his aggression on "D" in the 2nd frame. This kid is oozing with talent, and he just needs the right headspace.
5. 15-8, 6-6 in Big XII play. 8 games to go. 4-4 from this point forward puts WVU squarely "in" the Dance, which would be a fine accomplishment for Darian DeVries in Year 1. And when I look at this week, I can't help but feel we are looking at a 2-0 or 0-2 week, no in-between. BYU is an interesting bunch. On Jan. 25, they dismantled Cincinnati in Provo, Spain, 80-52. Then, Saturday, the Bearcats easily handled them, 84-66. BYU has defeated Arizona State by 20 at home, but then lost to Utah by 1 in OT on the road. It's a coin flip game again for DeVries and WVU, but boy, it would make me feel much better about getting to "19" if we bagged a "W" Tuesday night...and I'd go so far as to say that this win would springboard us to another victory in Waco Saturday.
1. Amani Hansberry at the "5". In another thread, I was called out by a couple posters for suggesting that we could thrive next season with Amani playing the "5". Well, he did so almost exclusively Saturday, and responded with 17 points (6-10 shooting), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block in 30 minutes of play. His ability to go 3-6 from beyond the arc is critically important for this team. He's not Derek Culver or Calvin Bowman, but he is a guy who plays much bigger than his 6'8" size, and can drag opposing bigs out of the paint to the perimeter so that our guards and forwards can go to work. He's getting healthy at the right time. We need him to be a factor - we'll still need Eduardo Andre - but Hansberry at his best is WVU at its best.
2. The block-and-trey sequence from Toby Okani at the end of the first half was a thing of beauty and finally blew open the otherwise back-and-forth game. There's a lot of potential with Okani on the offensive end of the floor - a 6'8" forward who can handle the ball, shoot the "3", and hit fade-aways is hard to find. He's clearly a defense-first guy, but if we can get a bit more on offense, that will go a long way for this team.
3. This team's free throw shooting woes are a mystery to me. Jevon Small and Hansberry combine to go 11-12 from the stripe...all good there. But, Jon Powell, KJ Tenner and Andre combine to go 1-9. One of fvcking nine. We already just lost a game because of free throw disparity. These guys need to hit these charity shots because we can't afford to lose another at the stripe.
4. I know he's a freshman and you shouldn't need to count on freshmen, but for Jon Powell the time is now. 11 points, 7 rebounds after finally waking up in the 2nd half. This needs to be the standard moving forward, and love his aggression on "D" in the 2nd frame. This kid is oozing with talent, and he just needs the right headspace.
5. 15-8, 6-6 in Big XII play. 8 games to go. 4-4 from this point forward puts WVU squarely "in" the Dance, which would be a fine accomplishment for Darian DeVries in Year 1. And when I look at this week, I can't help but feel we are looking at a 2-0 or 0-2 week, no in-between. BYU is an interesting bunch. On Jan. 25, they dismantled Cincinnati in Provo, Spain, 80-52. Then, Saturday, the Bearcats easily handled them, 84-66. BYU has defeated Arizona State by 20 at home, but then lost to Utah by 1 in OT on the road. It's a coin flip game again for DeVries and WVU, but boy, it would make me feel much better about getting to "19" if we bagged a "W" Tuesday night...and I'd go so far as to say that this win would springboard us to another victory in Waco Saturday.
