New faces, a familiar head coach, and a lot of question marks surround the West Virginia men’s basketball team heading into their 2022-2023 season opener.
The Mountaineers led by newly inducted Hall of Fame head coach Bob Huggins experienced a full shake up of their roster. Huggins went far and wide searching the junior college ranks, the transfer portal, and welcomed back a familiar face.
This team will again play in arguably the toughest conference in the country. Add in they will head to Oregon in November to take on some of the best teams in the country, as well as hosting Auburn in January, things will not be easy for Huggins and the Mountaineers as they try to be better than their 16-17 finish last year.
Roster
The Mountaineers return only five guys from last year’s team. Four of the five are true sophomores, who decided to stay after experiencing an unsuccessful year one. Kobe Johnson, Jamel King, James Okonkwo, and Seth Wilson are the four sophomores of the bunch, and they will be looked upon to provide more for this team this year.
Out of the group, Wilson and Johnson saw the floor the most last year, while Okonkwo is still developing to where the coaching staff wants him to be.
The lone returner who is not a sophomore is Kedrian Johnson. Johnson was the point guard for last year’s squad, providing ball pressure on defense and held responsibilities of helping to run the offense. The fifth-year senior played in 32 games last season, averaging 5.3 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game, and had 52 steals on the season.
Another returner (sort of) for the Mountaineers is Emmitt Matthews. Matthews spent three seasons at West Virginia before entering the transfer portal and returning to his home state to play for Washington last season. There, he averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Matthews returned to West Virginia for his final year of eligibility, as he has started 98 games, and played in 123 in his career.
On the flip side of things, there are eight guys calling West Virginia home for the first time. Three are transfers from the Power Five level, three are from junior college, while two are true freshman.
Erik Stevenson grew up playing youth basketball with Matthews. Him and his childhood friend are now reunited at West Virginia, with Stevenson transferring from South Carolina. West Virginia is Stevenson’s fourth school in five years. Stevenson spent two seasons at Wichita State, one season at Washington, and then spent last season as South Carolina. As a Gamecock, he averaged 11.5 points per game, along with 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Stevenson has the ability to create his own shot, and also has the ability to be a factor on the defensive side of the ball too, averaging just more than a steal per game in his career.
The two other Power Five transfers are Joe Toussaint and Tre Mitchell. Toussaint comes from Iowa, having spent his last three seasons with the Hawkeyes. He is known more for his defensive prowess more than his offensive game, but in a scrimmage against Bowling Green, he showed the development of his game more. Last season, Toussaint averaged 17.4 minutes per game, shooting 42.3%, but scoring just 4.3 points per game. He averaged 1.4 steals per game and will look to match Kedrian Johnson on the defensive side of the ball for West Virginia.
Mitchell is a familiar name to West Virginia fans, having spent a portion of last season at Texas. Mitchell, who is originally from Pittsburgh is in his fourth season of college basketball, spending two years at University of Massachusetts, before transferring to Texas last season. Mitchell averaged 8.7 points per game, while playing 18.6 minutes per game last season. In his career, he averages 14.7 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, and the 6-foot-9 forward will look to get healthy as soon as possible for the Mountaineers.
The three JUCO transfers will arguably be the biggest difference maker for West Virginia if they want to improve on last year’s result. Jimmy Bell, Patrick Suemnick, and Mohamed Wague, all play the forward position — an area West Virginia struggled mightily a year ago.
Since coming to West Virginia, Bell has lost 75 pounds. Bell has experience at the Division I level, spending two years at Saint Louis, before Moberly Area Community College last season. Bell is listed at 6-foot-10 and will look to provide a consistent presence on the inside for West Virginia. The Mountaineers will look to Bell to improve on their rebounding, ranking 307th in the country last season in rebounds per game.
Suemnick comes to West Virginia from Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He had previously attended Robert Morris, and in 16 games and averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Like Mitchell, Suemnick is currently injured, but will probably be a true three or four when healthy.
Wague will bring size on the interior along with experience scoring close to the basket for Huggins and the Mountaineers. Wague attended Harcum College, averaging 14.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Wague led the country in offensive and total rebounds at the NJCAA level last season. He was also third in the country in blocked shots. If he can translate any of that success to this season, he could be a major factor for West Virginia.
The two freshmen this year for West Virginia are both named Josiah. Josiah Davis and Josiah Harris will look to make an impact, although Harris has a leg up on Davis thus far. Harris was with the team during the summer, while Davis did not enroll until August. Davis attended Teays Valley Christian School in Scott Depot, West Virginia, averaging 19.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.9 blocks. He also had 34 points in the NACA National Championship game, which his team won.
The other freshman is Josiah Harris. Harris, is from Canton, Ohio, playing at Richmond Heights High School. He broke his leg in the state championship game but is all the way back, and showed is versatility as a 6-foot-7 forward against Bowling Green, knocking down two three-pointers.
Schedule Breakdown
Nothing will come easy for West Virginia. The Mountaineers play at least five non-conference opponents in the Power Five. The Mountaineers could end up playing Duke or Gonzaga in the non-conference depending on how they play against Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament over Thanksgiving. West Virginia will also travel to rival Pitt on Nov. 11, travel to Xavier on Dec. 3, and play Auburn at home on Jan. 28.
In the first Associated Press Top 25 Poll, five Mountaineer opponents rank inside the top 15, and that does not include Gonzaga or Duke. Huggins said this could be the hardest schedule in school history and he is not wrong.
Starting Five Predictions
Again, this year, it won’t be how the Mountaineers start, but how they finish. Huggins will not always have his starters in at the end of games, but will usually have his better defenders.
With everyone heathy, I think the Mountaineers will utilize Mitchell in their lineup. Without him, things change.
Projected Lineup:
G- Kedrian Johnson
G- Erik Stevenson
F- Emmitt Matthews
F- Tre Mitchell
F- Jimmy Bell
The only real thing I could see change is Wague for Bell. If Wague develops and plays at a level he did last season at the JUCO level, it is hard to see himself not work himself into the starting lineup. However, Bell’s true size is a big plus for Huggins when it comes to Big 12 play.
I could also see West Virginia utilizing a very deep rotation and being able to ride the hot hand. If the Mountaineers can get stops and not rank 168th in American in scoring defense and 307th in rebounding, they should be able to finish higher than ninth in the Big 12.
Season Predictions
This team will be a bubble team I believe, and I think they get in the tournament. The Big 12 will be a gauntlet (again) this year, but I don’t see Huggins rolling over and letting this team be bad. The Mountaineers have too many older guys to let it be as bad as it was last year. I think West Virginia finishes the year at the middle of the Big 12 and I think they will be 18-13 when it is all said and done and finish sixth in the Big 12.
Final Thoughts
This team is a bit of a wild card. A lot of new pieces means a lot of uncertainty. Add in the possible addition of Jose Perez and West Virginia could be really dangerous. On the other hand, if all these new pieces don’t mesh come January, the Mountaineers could be on the outside looking in yet again come March.
