West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins met with the media yesterday and I've provided updates in another thread but wanted to go through the entire 40-minutes and condense it down for you.
--The plan for now is to redshirt freshman Jalen Bridges. This jives with that I have reported all along from sources, but Bridges and his inner-circle believe that this is the best move for his development. It will be interesting if this changes as I've heard he has really impressed with his length and skill set but for now the plan is to indeed sit him out this year.
--West Virginia is applying for a waiver for Arkansas transfer Gabe Osabuohien and hope to be able to have him eligible this coming fall. Obviously that situation remains up in the air but for now that is the goal. The interesting news on Osabuohien is that Huggins believes he is a four and simply plays hard and is a good fit for what they do. He is athletic enough to defend on the perimeter and can get to the basket and score.
--As of today, Tajzmel Sherman is the best scorer on the team. He has shot the ball very well and can make difficult shots from the perimeter as well as even on the block at times.
--There is still no update to the situation with the VISA for freshman Oscar Tshiebwe. The expectation is that hurdle will be cleared by the time the Mountaineers have to go to Cancun but for now there is no update on the situation which kept him from traveling to Spain. Huggins did say that he is very impressive with how hard he plays but he's still figuring things out.
--Sophomore guard Jordan McCabe had off-season surgery on his knee but Huggins said he has shown no-ill effects and isn't wearing a sleeve or anything. He has continued to be one of the most active players on the team in the gym and looks good to go.
--Sophomore Emmitt Matthews is going to play a lot at the three. Huggins joked that he can't get tired when asked about the options there but said that they could use more three-guard lineups and players like Jermaine Haley, Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman could play there if need be.
--Sophomore Derek Culver has been forced to give more effort with Tshiebwe on the roster. It's a good thing for both of their developments and the sky's the limit for Culver after a season where he almost led the Big 12 in rebounds and missed roughly half the year.
--Senior guard Chase Harler has been shooting the ball well all off-season. The hope is now that can translate into the games.
--Speaking of shooting, Huggins believes that this team is skilled enough in that department that it doesn't have to rely solely on getting two or three shot attempts each trip or forcing turnovers in order to get baskets. This is a team that can to quote him, "make shots." As for the press defense, it sounds to me that while it could be used do not expect them to go back to what they did in the past. Huggins mentioned that they have to be able to use multiple defenses to keep people honest.
--Sophomore guard Sean McNeil was sick in Spain and missed some time from the team due to his brother's wedding so he's lost some weight but overall Huggins believes that he is an elite shooter that can move around and play several positions.
--Freshman guard Deuce McBride has played very well and would be in line for big minutes if the season started today. He is a physical guard that can play defense.
--Senior Logan Routt is going to have a role on the block and has really continued to improve. He was one of the standouts in Spain.
--Huggins was asked about the effect ESPN+ could have and he said right now it obviously isn't as appealing to have a game against Kansas on there compared to ESPN or CBS but who knows what will happen three or five years down the road? The league is very excited about the platform.
--The plan for now is to redshirt freshman Jalen Bridges. This jives with that I have reported all along from sources, but Bridges and his inner-circle believe that this is the best move for his development. It will be interesting if this changes as I've heard he has really impressed with his length and skill set but for now the plan is to indeed sit him out this year.
--West Virginia is applying for a waiver for Arkansas transfer Gabe Osabuohien and hope to be able to have him eligible this coming fall. Obviously that situation remains up in the air but for now that is the goal. The interesting news on Osabuohien is that Huggins believes he is a four and simply plays hard and is a good fit for what they do. He is athletic enough to defend on the perimeter and can get to the basket and score.
--As of today, Tajzmel Sherman is the best scorer on the team. He has shot the ball very well and can make difficult shots from the perimeter as well as even on the block at times.
--There is still no update to the situation with the VISA for freshman Oscar Tshiebwe. The expectation is that hurdle will be cleared by the time the Mountaineers have to go to Cancun but for now there is no update on the situation which kept him from traveling to Spain. Huggins did say that he is very impressive with how hard he plays but he's still figuring things out.
--Sophomore guard Jordan McCabe had off-season surgery on his knee but Huggins said he has shown no-ill effects and isn't wearing a sleeve or anything. He has continued to be one of the most active players on the team in the gym and looks good to go.
--Sophomore Emmitt Matthews is going to play a lot at the three. Huggins joked that he can't get tired when asked about the options there but said that they could use more three-guard lineups and players like Jermaine Haley, Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman could play there if need be.
--Sophomore Derek Culver has been forced to give more effort with Tshiebwe on the roster. It's a good thing for both of their developments and the sky's the limit for Culver after a season where he almost led the Big 12 in rebounds and missed roughly half the year.
--Senior guard Chase Harler has been shooting the ball well all off-season. The hope is now that can translate into the games.
--Speaking of shooting, Huggins believes that this team is skilled enough in that department that it doesn't have to rely solely on getting two or three shot attempts each trip or forcing turnovers in order to get baskets. This is a team that can to quote him, "make shots." As for the press defense, it sounds to me that while it could be used do not expect them to go back to what they did in the past. Huggins mentioned that they have to be able to use multiple defenses to keep people honest.
--Sophomore guard Sean McNeil was sick in Spain and missed some time from the team due to his brother's wedding so he's lost some weight but overall Huggins believes that he is an elite shooter that can move around and play several positions.
--Freshman guard Deuce McBride has played very well and would be in line for big minutes if the season started today. He is a physical guard that can play defense.
--Senior Logan Routt is going to have a role on the block and has really continued to improve. He was one of the standouts in Spain.
--Huggins was asked about the effect ESPN+ could have and he said right now it obviously isn't as appealing to have a game against Kansas on there compared to ESPN or CBS but who knows what will happen three or five years down the road? The league is very excited about the platform.
