Basketball season is just around the corner as West Virginia looks to find success under new head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries built a roster from scratch and had to consider many facets when doing so. He talked about a specific player he added through the transfer portal and his role.
“Amani Hansberry, just to get specific, he’s an undersized five-man, but he’s also going to present some opportunities for us on the offensive end with his ability to space the floor,” DeVries said.
Hansberry was a freshman last season at Illinois and followed former teammate Sencire Harris in transferring to WVU. Their decision may have. been impacted by DeVries hiring former Illinois assistant Chester Frazier as his associate head coach in Morgantown.
The 6-foot-7 product of Baltimore was a four-star and the No. 1 player in the class of 2023 from Maryland according to 247Sports. Coming out of high school, he was recruited by many power-four programs including WVU.
“Offensively, if you’re going to be 6-7 and you have the ability to shoot threes you have to take advantage of that on the offensive end because that is tricky to guard,” DeVries said of Hanberry. “So for us to be successful on offense, we have to be able to utilize him out and space.”
At Illinois last year, Hansberry averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He shot 45.2% from the field and 30.8% from three, his season-high came against eventual National Champions UConn in the Elite 8 with eight points.
Photo Courtesy of WVU Athletics
