Big 12: What 4-Star Commit Esa Ahmad Will Bring To WVU In 2015

By Cody Daniel | Sep 23, 2014

Jan 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins yells at his team during a 78-56 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats at Fred Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

West Virginia’s latest commit for the 2015 class is one that could ultimately become the face of the program in four-star power forward Esa Ahmad. For those who are unaware, Ahmad committed to West Virginia over powerhouse programs like Wisconsin and Ohio State, which shows you how highly sought after the Mountaineers prized recruit of 2015 was before becoming a Mountaineer.

With such a talent on his way to Morgantown after his final season in high school, let’s take a look at his skill set and what he will bring to Bob Huggins’ program and its efforts of becoming a formidable team once again.

Listed as a 6’8” power forward, Ahmad is far from your traditional post presence. He doesn’t get most of his point production from muscling around in the paint and playing the roll of a bruiser. Ahmad is more of what we have seen becoming the trend of big men knowing how to handle the ball, push the break in transition and knock down shots and an exceptionally high clip.

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His ability to shoot from deep and off the dribble appears to be his greatest quality, but he can attack the rim off the dribble and still has the strength to establish himself around the rim, which is why he has become such a prolific scorer. You can take a look at

some of his offensive statistics from high school here

, where he averaged 26.5 points and 11.5 rebounds at Shaker Heights in Ohio.

At only 218 pounds, Ahmad is far from the stature that would allow him to survive in the paint in such a competitive and talent-littered Big 12 Conference. This would give reason for Huggins to allow Ahmad to primarily play out on the wing as a small forward, which is where he would have most of his success in D-I basketball, unless he were able to bulk up during his senior season in high school.

Although the wing is where he will likely end up at West Virginia, Ahmad does have the size to play a stretch forward role, especially against teams who aren’t as loaded in the paint. His defensive upside will also allow him to hold his own when Huggins goes with smaller lineups.

By this time next year, there should be much more to rave about as Ahmad should develop his shot even further, bulk up some – which would be necessary if he plans on playing power forward – and make the expected improvements to his overall skill set.

As for now, one thing for sure is Huggins landed a tremendous talent who will bring some much-needed versatility and scoring to a program that’s trying to break out of the bottom of the pack in the Big 12.