Losing two of your top three offensive weapons in one summer without either of them going to the NBA or graduating is never ideal, but that’s what West Virginia faced entering the 2014-15 season.
Eron Harris and Terry Henderson, the second and third leading scorers for the Mountaineers throughout the 2013-14 season, both decided to transfer. Harris went on his way to Michigan State while Henderson opted for N.C. State. After a decent but not great season with much to be excited about for the upcoming season, losing two of your best weapons put West Virginia in a tough position.
Harris, Henderson and Juwan Staten made for a dynamic trio, but the success wasn’t quite there for the Mountaineers, who finished the season 17-16 and 9-9 in Big-12 play, good for seventh in the conference and in line for a potential at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. That bid did not come and West Virginia had to settle for an NIT berth, which lasted only one game after a loss to former Big East foe Georgetown.
Entering the 2014-15 season, nobody was quite sure what to expect from West Virginia other than Staten being a standout player. The preseason pick for Big-12 Player of the Year and a possible All-American candidate, Staten entered the year with more publicity and expectations than the Mountaineers had to offer. Because of the contrast in expectations, Staten went a bit under the radar entering the year, despite the notion he’d be the best overall player in one of the best conferences in college basketball.
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Through 13 games, West Virginia has quieted the doubters and started to play at an extremely high intensity level. With a 12-1 overall record, the Mountaineers have been running wild on the competition, using their speed, agility and Staten’s leadership to be one of the best teams in the country that nobody’s talking about.
West Virginia is making a statement this year, taking care of business on every front. The Mountaineers are winning games by an average of 18.6 points per game. One of the biggest differences this season has been all-out effort, especially on the offensive glass and on the defensive end.
After a 82-51 blowout victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday, West Virginia has out-rebounded its opponents on the offensive glass by a total of 236 to 110, leading the country in total offensive rebounds and offensive rebounds per game.
Unlike teams such as Kentucky, who are also near the top of the rankings in offensive rebounding, the Mountaineers don’t have the benefit of seven-footers making it happen. The tallest player in WVU’s regular starting five is Devin Williams, who is only 6’9″. His frountcourt partner, Jonathan Holton, is 6’7″. Length is not their difference in this success, it’s effort and being absolutely relentless going after the basketball.
Another aspect to West Virginia’s great start has been their ability to disrupt the opposing offense. The Mountaineers rank first in steals per game (13.46 per game), total steals (175) and turnover margin (11.2). Nine players on the roster average 1.0 steals per game or more, signifying that it’s not just one player doing the damage. It’s a team effort.
Not only are they forcing turnovers, but the Mountaineers are also turning those turnovers into baskets. Prior to the Virginia Tech game, WVU was averaging 26 points per game off of opponent turnovers, adding another 37 in that category against the Hokies. With an average of 78.5 points per game total, 32 percent of the Mountaineer’s offense comes from points scored off of opponent turnovers. Teams such as VCU may be getting the publicity for creating chaos on defense and turning it into offense, but the Mountaineers have been even better than they team known for this type of playing style.
Through it all, the Mountaineers sit at No.17 in the latest AP polls, entering Big-12 play as a team looking to turn the tide and give themselves a chance at taking the conference by storm. As is the case every year, Kansas seems to be the front runner to take home yet another regular season title, but there’s a lot of talented teams in this conference, meaning the Mountaineers may, again, be lost in the shuffle.
Kansas is the favorite, but Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa State all possess real threats to the Jayhawks’ reign of terror. However, with the great play of Staten, who does a little bit of everything for WVU, don’t knock the Mountaineers as a potential spoiler champion as the season goes along. Staten is currently averaging 16.1 points and 4.2 assists, both of which top WVU, to go along with 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. The lightning quick, aggressive point guard is the bread and butter, giving WVU a dominant go-to guy who’s also willing to do the little things to win.
WVU will definitely be tested as Big-12 play gets going, but their first real test will come next weekend when the Iowa State Cyclones come to Morgantown. Iowa State’s offense is prolific, ranking ninth in the country in points per game (84.5), seventh in field goal percentage (50.6 percent) and is first in assists (19.9 per game). The Mountaineers’ defense will be put to the test, and it may just be their best chance to finally get some recognition for a great season thus far.
This happens once in a while. A team from a big conference will have a great start and play tremendous basketball, but few acknowledge them until they’ve already gotten through half of their season. WVU is this year’s team, but it shouldn’t last much longer than it already has.
Staten should be a first-team All-American if he can keep up this level of play and WVU could be looking at a 3-or-4-seed in the NCAA Tournament if they keep up this defensive intensity and come away with 12 or more wins in Big-12 play. Don’t be shocked to see these Mountaineers in the drivers seat in the conference as we move forward.
West Virginia and Juwan Staten are for real, and it’s time they got some more recognition for it.