By day, those attending the academy go to school at St. Joseph Central Catholic High. By night, it's basketball at the Marshall Rec Center. In a way, it's a club team for the high school.

With much higher stakes.

Those that closely follow basketball in the Mountain State might know the man in charge of Huntington Prep is Rob Fulford, who first made a name for himself at Beckley's Mountain State Academy. He landed top-shelf Division I talent in Beckley.

Now, he's doing the same in Huntington. This season's first game for the Express is Nov. 5.

But on Saturday, Fulford is welcoming WVU coach Bob Huggins to the Rec Center. Not to watch not one or two players, but five.

"We're pretty good," Fulford said on Thursday. "He's coming down Saturday before the [Mountaineer Athletic Club sponsored] Huggfest."

Mountain State produced a couple of WVU players: Deniz Kilicli and, at least partially, Noah Cottrill. Fulford believes Huntington Prep could be another pipeline.

Apparently, the biggest prize on Prep's roster is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard named Negus Webster-Chan, a product of Toronto. Just a junior, Webster-Chan has already made an unofficial visit to Kentucky.

Fulford calls the player "a potential pro." According to recruiting service Scout.com, he's a four-star player, ranked the nation's No. 19 power forward.

Another player on the checklist is 6-5 combo guard Maurice Aniefiok, originally from Nigeria.

"He's very good," Fulford said. "Athletic, with a great body."

A player that's already been offered by Marquette and Baylor is Philip Nolan, a 6-10 power forward from Milwaukee. Fulford said Miami, Texas and Clemson are also interested. Like Webster-Chan, he's a 2012 recruit.

The fourth is Darrick Wood, a 6-4 shooting guard from Washington, D.C.  Another junior, Wood has been getting looks from Georgetown, Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati.

Another Nigerian, Gabriel Williams, is but a sophomore, but, according to Fulford, is worth a good, long look. That's because the power forward is a good, long player. "His offense is coming around," Fulford said, "but he's pretty good. He can run and jump."

One of Huntington Prep's players, 5-9 point guard Charles Lee, has committed to Cleveland State. Another point guard, Jeremiah Davis, has made a visit to Cincy and is being looked at by Indiana, Xavier, UNLV and Oregon State. Fulford compares Davis to current Mountaineer Joe Mazzulla.

"This is the best team I've had," Fulford said. "We have really good guards and big men, who rebound first, play hard and block shots.

"Last year's team was more athletic. This year's team has more pure basketball players."

While on the subject of basketball, WVU is landing visits from many four-star recruits in the very near future.

Surrounding the Mountaineers' home football game against UNLV, the West Virginia staff will play host to four such standouts: Mike Shaw, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward from De La Salle Institute in Chicago; Ryan Boatright, a 5-10, 150-pound point guard from Aurora (Ill.) East High; Trey McDonald, a 6-9, 230-pound center from Battle Creek (Mich.) High; and Michael Chandler, a 6-9 center from Indianapolis.

Then, when WVU stages its Midnight Madness on Oct. 15, four more of the same ilk will be in Morgantown: Jabari Hinds, a 5-11, 150-pound point guard from Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High; Mikael Hopkins, a 6-8 center from DeMatha near Washington, D.C.; Tommie McCune, a 6-8 power forward from Saginaw, Mich., who has already committed to the Mountaineers; and Keaton Miles, a 6-8 small forward from Dallas, Texas.

Huggins once said he's just getting started with his program in Morgantown. Appears that way.

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at http://twitter.com/MitchVingle. ;