Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2005 6:17:23 GMT -5
West Virginia Mountaineers – Wednesday, 11.30 at the Blue Cross Arena, Rochester
24-11
RPI 34
In the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy pulls back the curtain, the great and powerful Oz yells, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” and that is exactly the way West Virginia head coach likes it. Give all the props to the Mike Gansey’s and the Kevin Pittsnogle’s, but it’s the man behind the curtain that needs to be brought out into the spot light.
John Beilein, a native of Burt, NY has had three; count them 3, losing seasons in 27 years as a head coach! And two of those happened in his first year taking over programs at Canisius and West Virginia. Beilien has a career 478-287 record for a .625 winning percentage. If this guy could ever recruit the “stud” there is no telling how far he could go.
Kevin Pittsnogle was the darling of March Madness last season when Beilein took the state of West Virginia on a magic carpet ride, yet Pittsnogle gave Mountaineer fan a heart attack when he declared for the NBA draft. Cooler heads prevailed and Pittsnogle has returned for his senior year. The 6-11 forward (11.9-3.7) is a mismatch waiting to happen. More comfortable hoisting three’s then mix it up in the paint, Pittsnogle was the team leader in 3 point shooting accuracy with a .426, in which, he took the second most on the team 141. Still, with the departures of Tyrone Salley and D’or Fischer, Pittsnogle must rebound better this year.
Even thought Pittsnogle was the media darling last year, this is Mike Gansey’s team. Gansey (12.0-5.1), a scrappy, do everything wing, spent the summer claiming a gold metal at the World University games for the USA. He is a 5th year senior that transfer to West Virginia from…heck, we all know about Mike Gansey…he’s really good and I, for one, wish him all the success in the world. Yet I find it ironic that he may find himself spending most of his time guarding the opposing power forward, something he hated at SBU.
Besides Gansey, Beilein has stocked the cupboards full with wings that can shoot the lights out. Heading this group is Joe Herber (8.6-4.1). The 6-6 German native is a senior that has started every game he has played at West Virginia. A good shooter (38% from 3), Herber is better suited for playing the point (1.6/1 As/TO) where he can use his size and passing ability to distribute the basketball.
J.D. Collins (3.8-1.4) will start along side Herber in the backcourt. The 5-10 senior was Beilein first ever recruit at West Virginia. He is a strong defender with excellent ball handling skills and is a very good distributor (2.3/1 As/TO).
Two other guards that will see significant time are Patrick Beilein and Darris Nichols. Beilein, a 6-4 senior, is an excellent shooter that came off the bench to average 8.3 points in 21 minutes of action. Nichols (3.0-1.2) is a 6-2 sophomore is the heir apparent for the point guard (2/1 As/TO) spot next year. An outstanding athlete, Nicholas does not necessarily fit the mold of a Beilein wing, in that, he is better taking his man off the dribble then being a stand still shooter. The final wing that saw action last year is Frank Young. The 6-5 junior is a good outside shooter that averaged 3.3 – 1.3 in 9 minutes of action and will be given every opportunity to take over for the departed Tyrone Salley.
So that’s the good news. Beilein has a team that can spread the floor and shoot the three, but he only has one true post player that is eligible to play this year. Robert Summers is a 7-0 junior that transferred from Penn State. He is said to be a good athlete that runs the floor well and can block shots, in two years at Penn State, Summers started 41 games averaging 3.9 and 4.2. Beilein also signed a transfer from Butler, Jamie Smalligan (7-0) who will not be eligible this year. Smalligan averaged 5.2 and 3.1 as a sophomore for the Bulldogs. You have to wonder whether Smalligan is Big East caliber since he only played 16 minutes a game at Butler.
Beilein also signed two big guards, Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff, that will find themselves buried on the bench unless they can rebound and defend the post. Rouff, who grew from a 6-3 junior to a 6-7 senior, handles the ball well and is a good shooter, while Alexander is an intriguing prospect that is said to be able to play anywhere from the 2-4. If that’s true Alexander may see time at the power forward position.
All right, now close the curtain and let the wizard go back to work, he got a lot to do. He has to find out who’s going to rebound and defend the low post. Lucky for him he has a weak OOC, it will allow him to find the answer to those questions. My bet is that he figures out exactly where to place the mirrors and finishes over .500 again. But the Mountaineers have got to be a long shot to come even remotely close to what they did last year.
24-11
RPI 34
In the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy pulls back the curtain, the great and powerful Oz yells, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” and that is exactly the way West Virginia head coach likes it. Give all the props to the Mike Gansey’s and the Kevin Pittsnogle’s, but it’s the man behind the curtain that needs to be brought out into the spot light.
John Beilein, a native of Burt, NY has had three; count them 3, losing seasons in 27 years as a head coach! And two of those happened in his first year taking over programs at Canisius and West Virginia. Beilien has a career 478-287 record for a .625 winning percentage. If this guy could ever recruit the “stud” there is no telling how far he could go.
Kevin Pittsnogle was the darling of March Madness last season when Beilein took the state of West Virginia on a magic carpet ride, yet Pittsnogle gave Mountaineer fan a heart attack when he declared for the NBA draft. Cooler heads prevailed and Pittsnogle has returned for his senior year. The 6-11 forward (11.9-3.7) is a mismatch waiting to happen. More comfortable hoisting three’s then mix it up in the paint, Pittsnogle was the team leader in 3 point shooting accuracy with a .426, in which, he took the second most on the team 141. Still, with the departures of Tyrone Salley and D’or Fischer, Pittsnogle must rebound better this year.
Even thought Pittsnogle was the media darling last year, this is Mike Gansey’s team. Gansey (12.0-5.1), a scrappy, do everything wing, spent the summer claiming a gold metal at the World University games for the USA. He is a 5th year senior that transfer to West Virginia from…heck, we all know about Mike Gansey…he’s really good and I, for one, wish him all the success in the world. Yet I find it ironic that he may find himself spending most of his time guarding the opposing power forward, something he hated at SBU.
Besides Gansey, Beilein has stocked the cupboards full with wings that can shoot the lights out. Heading this group is Joe Herber (8.6-4.1). The 6-6 German native is a senior that has started every game he has played at West Virginia. A good shooter (38% from 3), Herber is better suited for playing the point (1.6/1 As/TO) where he can use his size and passing ability to distribute the basketball.
J.D. Collins (3.8-1.4) will start along side Herber in the backcourt. The 5-10 senior was Beilein first ever recruit at West Virginia. He is a strong defender with excellent ball handling skills and is a very good distributor (2.3/1 As/TO).
Two other guards that will see significant time are Patrick Beilein and Darris Nichols. Beilein, a 6-4 senior, is an excellent shooter that came off the bench to average 8.3 points in 21 minutes of action. Nichols (3.0-1.2) is a 6-2 sophomore is the heir apparent for the point guard (2/1 As/TO) spot next year. An outstanding athlete, Nicholas does not necessarily fit the mold of a Beilein wing, in that, he is better taking his man off the dribble then being a stand still shooter. The final wing that saw action last year is Frank Young. The 6-5 junior is a good outside shooter that averaged 3.3 – 1.3 in 9 minutes of action and will be given every opportunity to take over for the departed Tyrone Salley.
So that’s the good news. Beilein has a team that can spread the floor and shoot the three, but he only has one true post player that is eligible to play this year. Robert Summers is a 7-0 junior that transferred from Penn State. He is said to be a good athlete that runs the floor well and can block shots, in two years at Penn State, Summers started 41 games averaging 3.9 and 4.2. Beilein also signed a transfer from Butler, Jamie Smalligan (7-0) who will not be eligible this year. Smalligan averaged 5.2 and 3.1 as a sophomore for the Bulldogs. You have to wonder whether Smalligan is Big East caliber since he only played 16 minutes a game at Butler.
Beilein also signed two big guards, Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff, that will find themselves buried on the bench unless they can rebound and defend the post. Rouff, who grew from a 6-3 junior to a 6-7 senior, handles the ball well and is a good shooter, while Alexander is an intriguing prospect that is said to be able to play anywhere from the 2-4. If that’s true Alexander may see time at the power forward position.
All right, now close the curtain and let the wizard go back to work, he got a lot to do. He has to find out who’s going to rebound and defend the low post. Lucky for him he has a weak OOC, it will allow him to find the answer to those questions. My bet is that he figures out exactly where to place the mirrors and finishes over .500 again. But the Mountaineers have got to be a long shot to come even remotely close to what they did last year.
