Eer2K's Top Ten WVU hoops individual performances from 1980-2020. I'm not using scoring as the sole indicator or factor here...it would be easy to make a top ten scoring performances list off of wvustats.com. Instead, I'm talking about performances that were impressive, clutch, important, meaningful and/or jaw-dropping. Some will be undervalued great performances, and I'm pulling these off the top of my head, as I'm sure I'll miss a few...
10. Mike Boyd, Freshman vs. Maryland, 1991. This is a true freshman starting and playing his second game in a WVU uniform with Maryland All-American Walt "the Wizard" Williams (trying to) guard him. So, how does he respond? 23 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds on 9 of 15 shooting (5/8 FT) in a 90-85 WVU victory. How effective was he running the team? WVU scored 90 and only hit three threes, 10 assists vs. 1 turnover in 32 minutes. He was electric, taking Williams to the hole and forcing Gary Williams to switch to a zone. For those of you youngsters who didn't get to see him play, his freshman and sophomore years - before his nagging ankle/tendon injury slowed him down - Mike Boyd was Miles McBride with better vision, quicker first step, and less of an outside game. He was something else.
9. Kevin Pittsnogle vs. #16 Pitt, 2005. 27 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal & one emphatic dunk after a scrum that ignited 12,000+ WVU faithful in the Coliseum, and the entire basketball program into a new era. This was the performance that caused this team to buy in...and set the tone for bigger things ahead. Pittsnogle was unstoppable against Pitt, both inside and out, and led WVU to a thrilling 83-78 OT win over the ranked Pitt Panthers.
8. Joe Alexander vs. #15 UConn, Big East Tournament Semi-Finals, 2008. On the world's biggest and most-storied basketball stage, all Joe Alexander did was score 34 points on 12 of 22 shooting, snag 7 rebounds, add one block and one steal...along with one of the most emphatic and electric dunks by a WVU player, ever. Poor Stanley Robinson of UConn...talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joe Alexander's tear to end that '08 season was one for the books, and this was probably his overall best performance on a huge stage in an important game.
7. Mike Gansey vs. Marquette, 2006. Mike Gansey had a storied career at WVU, and this may be the best overall game he played -- 11 of 14 from the field overall, 8 of 11 from "3", 33 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in a 104-85 whitewashing of Tom Crean's Marquette squad. After the game, Crean would declare that he is "President of the Mike Gansey fan club".
6. Deuce McBride vs. #23 Kansas, 2021. Kansas is the mountain we're trying to traverse within the Big 12, so any win over the Jayhawks is a great one. In this one, Deuce was the best player on the floor amongst all of their four-and-five-star blue blood diaper dandies. 31 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals on 9 of 16 shooting (4 of 5 from "3"). He led WVU to a 12-point win, in what is his best overall performance in a Mountaineer uniform.
5. Tracy Shelton vs. Pitt, 1989. 12 of 24 from the floor, 6 of 10 from "3", for 36 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds in a thrilling 96-93 WVU double-OT victory over a ranked & talented Pitt squad. I see folks on here, from time to time, saying that basketball under Gale Catlett was never any good. You must not have been in the Coliseum for this game. It was deafening, and downright euphoric when Shelton canned a huge trey in the 2nd OT to give WVU a lead we would not relinquish. It was a great game, and an all-timer by Shelton. (And in this same game, Steve Berger would set WVU's all-time record for assists, with 16 - still stands to this day)
4. Joe Mazzulla vs. Duke, NCAA 2nd Round, 2008. There's something extremely satisfying about watching WVU just physically outmuscle and out-tough Duke and their "brand". Joe Mazzulla embodied WVU's mantra of toughness on this day by going for 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in 31 minutes, coming up big time after time in a 73-67 WVU victory over Coach K., Greg Paulus, Gerald Henderson, Jon Schyer, Kyle Singler and Duke. After the game, Coach K would say that Joe Mazzulla put on the best performance by a point guard he had seen in an NCAA Tournament game since Jason Kidd beat Duke years prior.
3. Da'Sean Butler vs. #13 Villanova, 2009. 12 of 23 from the floor, 6 of 13 from "3", for 43 points from our 6'7" swingman. Villanova came in to the Coliseum ranked #13, but there was nothing that Jay Wright, Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher or Corey Stokes could do to stop Da'Sean. He was unconscious and WVU rolled to a big 93-72 win.
2. Greg Jones vs. #1 UNLV, 1983. 12 of 21 from the floor, 5 of 10 from "3", 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals in WVU's first even victory over a #1 ranked squad. Not only was Jones the best, quickest player on the floor that day from his PG position, but he shot the lights out as well. UNLV and Jerry Tarkanian did not have an answer. A WVU legend's best game of his career, on the big stage of a nationally televised game vs. the #1 team ranked in all the land.
1. Mike Gansey vs. Wake Forest, NCAA 2nd Round, 2006. In my mind, it's the pinnacle of a performance by a Mountaineer during the past 40 years. It's hard to extrapolate the individual performance from the team. Both were sensational. So much heart, so much pride, these kids laid it all out there. But, when the phrase "Mike F@%&ing Gansey" is created for an entire Wake Forest alumnus and fansbase, you know something special occurred. 29 points, 7 rebounds on 9 of 16 shooting (2 of 6 from "3", 9/12 from the line), and clutch shot after clutch shot late in this game...leads WVU to a thrilling 111-105 double-OT win over Chris Paul and the 2-seed Demon Deacons. An all-timer performance by a WVU legend on a legendary team. In my mind, simply the best.
10. Mike Boyd, Freshman vs. Maryland, 1991. This is a true freshman starting and playing his second game in a WVU uniform with Maryland All-American Walt "the Wizard" Williams (trying to) guard him. So, how does he respond? 23 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds on 9 of 15 shooting (5/8 FT) in a 90-85 WVU victory. How effective was he running the team? WVU scored 90 and only hit three threes, 10 assists vs. 1 turnover in 32 minutes. He was electric, taking Williams to the hole and forcing Gary Williams to switch to a zone. For those of you youngsters who didn't get to see him play, his freshman and sophomore years - before his nagging ankle/tendon injury slowed him down - Mike Boyd was Miles McBride with better vision, quicker first step, and less of an outside game. He was something else.
9. Kevin Pittsnogle vs. #16 Pitt, 2005. 27 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal & one emphatic dunk after a scrum that ignited 12,000+ WVU faithful in the Coliseum, and the entire basketball program into a new era. This was the performance that caused this team to buy in...and set the tone for bigger things ahead. Pittsnogle was unstoppable against Pitt, both inside and out, and led WVU to a thrilling 83-78 OT win over the ranked Pitt Panthers.
8. Joe Alexander vs. #15 UConn, Big East Tournament Semi-Finals, 2008. On the world's biggest and most-storied basketball stage, all Joe Alexander did was score 34 points on 12 of 22 shooting, snag 7 rebounds, add one block and one steal...along with one of the most emphatic and electric dunks by a WVU player, ever. Poor Stanley Robinson of UConn...talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joe Alexander's tear to end that '08 season was one for the books, and this was probably his overall best performance on a huge stage in an important game.
7. Mike Gansey vs. Marquette, 2006. Mike Gansey had a storied career at WVU, and this may be the best overall game he played -- 11 of 14 from the field overall, 8 of 11 from "3", 33 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in a 104-85 whitewashing of Tom Crean's Marquette squad. After the game, Crean would declare that he is "President of the Mike Gansey fan club".
6. Deuce McBride vs. #23 Kansas, 2021. Kansas is the mountain we're trying to traverse within the Big 12, so any win over the Jayhawks is a great one. In this one, Deuce was the best player on the floor amongst all of their four-and-five-star blue blood diaper dandies. 31 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals on 9 of 16 shooting (4 of 5 from "3"). He led WVU to a 12-point win, in what is his best overall performance in a Mountaineer uniform.
5. Tracy Shelton vs. Pitt, 1989. 12 of 24 from the floor, 6 of 10 from "3", for 36 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds in a thrilling 96-93 WVU double-OT victory over a ranked & talented Pitt squad. I see folks on here, from time to time, saying that basketball under Gale Catlett was never any good. You must not have been in the Coliseum for this game. It was deafening, and downright euphoric when Shelton canned a huge trey in the 2nd OT to give WVU a lead we would not relinquish. It was a great game, and an all-timer by Shelton. (And in this same game, Steve Berger would set WVU's all-time record for assists, with 16 - still stands to this day)
4. Joe Mazzulla vs. Duke, NCAA 2nd Round, 2008. There's something extremely satisfying about watching WVU just physically outmuscle and out-tough Duke and their "brand". Joe Mazzulla embodied WVU's mantra of toughness on this day by going for 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in 31 minutes, coming up big time after time in a 73-67 WVU victory over Coach K., Greg Paulus, Gerald Henderson, Jon Schyer, Kyle Singler and Duke. After the game, Coach K would say that Joe Mazzulla put on the best performance by a point guard he had seen in an NCAA Tournament game since Jason Kidd beat Duke years prior.
3. Da'Sean Butler vs. #13 Villanova, 2009. 12 of 23 from the floor, 6 of 13 from "3", for 43 points from our 6'7" swingman. Villanova came in to the Coliseum ranked #13, but there was nothing that Jay Wright, Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher or Corey Stokes could do to stop Da'Sean. He was unconscious and WVU rolled to a big 93-72 win.
2. Greg Jones vs. #1 UNLV, 1983. 12 of 21 from the floor, 5 of 10 from "3", 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals in WVU's first even victory over a #1 ranked squad. Not only was Jones the best, quickest player on the floor that day from his PG position, but he shot the lights out as well. UNLV and Jerry Tarkanian did not have an answer. A WVU legend's best game of his career, on the big stage of a nationally televised game vs. the #1 team ranked in all the land.
1. Mike Gansey vs. Wake Forest, NCAA 2nd Round, 2006. In my mind, it's the pinnacle of a performance by a Mountaineer during the past 40 years. It's hard to extrapolate the individual performance from the team. Both were sensational. So much heart, so much pride, these kids laid it all out there. But, when the phrase "Mike F@%&ing Gansey" is created for an entire Wake Forest alumnus and fansbase, you know something special occurred. 29 points, 7 rebounds on 9 of 16 shooting (2 of 6 from "3", 9/12 from the line), and clutch shot after clutch shot late in this game...leads WVU to a thrilling 111-105 double-OT win over Chris Paul and the 2-seed Demon Deacons. An all-timer performance by a WVU legend on a legendary team. In my mind, simply the best.
