NCAA Basketball Review

West Virginia: Built For the Present

July 2nd, 2010 Posted in College Basketball News, West Virginia

 

Bob Huggins and the West Virgina Mountaineers went all the way to Final Four in 2009, and should be in contention to return to college basketball’s summit in 2010. The Mountaineers are returning starters Devin Ebanks, Darryl Bryant, and Kevin Jones to Morgantown. Da’sean Butler graduated last year, but WVU should still be in the hunt for the Big East title. West Virgina finished the regular season in second place in the Big East with a 31-7 record, and lost in the semifinals to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. The valuable experience that Ebanks, Bryant, Jones, and Joe Mazzula gained in the NCAA Tournament will make the Mountaineers both a better regular season team and a better tournament team. Kevin Jones gives WVU the size and scoring option down low that is so necessary in the Big East. Huggins also signed 6′10 ft Kevin Noreen out of Minnesota (a ESPN-rated 92 recruit). When all the pre-season Top 25 lists come out I don’t know how you couldn’t put West Virginia in at least your top 5.