Any time you play basketball in the Big East, you'd better be prepared for a challenge.
Any time you play basketball in the Big East, you'd better be prepared for a challenge.
If your roster is stocked with freshmen and other newcomers, well, let's just say the degree of difficulty goes up a bit.
That's the dilemma facing West Virginia as it prepares for the start of preseason practice next month with seven freshmen and a junior college transfer on its roster. The Mountaineers return just three players from last season's 21-12 squad that reached the third round of the NCAA tournament - Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant and Deniz Kilicli.
Coach Bob Huggins, who was at the Civic Center Thursday night to receive the inaugural Luminary Award from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Charleston and St. Albans, realizes what he's up against this season.
And it didn't help matters that his team's schedule, which was released Wednesday, includes some other early-season tests before the Mountaineers dig into their Big East schedule.
"Probably in hindsight, we may have overscheduled a little bit,'' Huggins said. "We've got five games on ESPN to start the season - that means they're five good games. Then you throw in Oral Roberts and Akron and people who are very capable of beating us.
"But I hope in the end, it's good for us. I hope it prepares us for the Big East season and the grind that is the Big East. The hardest thing is the grind. You've got to grind it out, and you've got to be able to go all the time.''
Huggins got an advance peek at his youthful club last month as the Mountaineers took a two-week visit to Italy. It was a playing vacation, as they interspersed five games with trips to the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Forum.
"It was huge,'' Huggins said. "We got 10 practices [before the trip]. We just didn't get to play very good competition because they start their seasons a little later.
"Culturally, it was unbelievable for our guys to see what they saw. It'll be something they remember for the rest of their lives. And just the camaraderie. A lot of places, they were the only people who spoke English, so you kind of have to bond and work things out. So I thought it was terrific for us.''
Any time you play basketball in the Big East, you'd better be prepared for a challenge.
If your roster is stocked with freshmen and other newcomers, well, let's just say the degree of difficulty goes up a bit.
That's the dilemma facing West Virginia as it prepares for the start of preseason practice next month with seven freshmen and a junior college transfer on its roster. The Mountaineers return just three players from last season's 21-12 squad that reached the third round of the NCAA tournament - Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant and Deniz Kilicli.
Coach Bob Huggins, who was at the Civic Center Thursday night to receive the inaugural Luminary Award from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Charleston and St. Albans, realizes what he's up against this season.
And it didn't help matters that his team's schedule, which was released Wednesday, includes some other early-season tests before the Mountaineers dig into their Big East schedule.
"Probably in hindsight, we may have overscheduled a little bit,'' Huggins said. "We've got five games on ESPN to start the season - that means they're five good games. Then you throw in Oral Roberts and Akron and people who are very capable of beating us.
"But I hope in the end, it's good for us. I hope it prepares us for the Big East season and the grind that is the Big East. The hardest thing is the grind. You've got to grind it out, and you've got to be able to go all the time.''
Huggins got an advance peek at his youthful club last month as the Mountaineers took a two-week visit to Italy. It was a playing vacation, as they interspersed five games with trips to the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Forum.
"It was huge,'' Huggins said. "We got 10 practices [before the trip]. We just didn't get to play very good competition because they start their seasons a little later.
"Culturally, it was unbelievable for our guys to see what they saw. It'll be something they remember for the rest of their lives. And just the camaraderie. A lot of places, they were the only people who spoke English, so you kind of have to bond and work things out. So I thought it was terrific for us.''
Kilicli, the junior forward from Istanbul, Turkey, served as the team's unofficial tour guide.
"Deniz, of course, is kind of an expert on everything,'' Huggins said. "He doesn't speak Italian, but according to Deniz, he does understand it. It was good for us. Those guys were able to bond together and spend that much time together. And you are together, because it's not like you're going to run around with other people.''
As far as the games went, WVU won three of its five games handily and lost only to Illinois 47-26 in a 20-minute exhibition at a military base.
The team's two freshman point guards, Gary Browne and Jabari Hinds, did not make the trip, which forced Huggins to get creative with his lineups. Freshman guard Aaron Brown and freshman forward Keaton Miles joined Jones, Bryant and Kilicli in the starting lineup, but everyone got playing time every game, including walk-ons Paul Herbert Williamson and Aaric Dickerson.
Huggins said none of the newcomers stood out per se, but each had his share of shining moments at one time or another.
"Depending on the game or depending on the practice,'' Huggins said. "I thought Pat Forsythe [a 6-foot-11 freshman center] may have been our most consistent guy. Keaton Miles did some terrific things at times. Tommie McCune did some nice things at times. They all had their moments. Aaron Brown had his moments, but consistently Pat was our most consistent guy.''
Huggins, like most people in the state, will keep an eye on Sunday's football game between WVU and Marshall. A veteran of four such basketball matchups with the Thundering Herd, Huggins was asked if he'd given first-year football coach Dana Holgorsen any tips on what to expect from a game with its cross-state rival.
"No,'' Huggins said. "I think Dana's well aware of what he's got to do. I think Dana's very well-prepared to do what we need done.
"I'm a fan. Football season, I'm a fan. I'm certainly not an expert. He did tell me that one of these days, I'm going to get to call a play. So I'm going to look forward to calling that play, but other than that, I'm a fan.''
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
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