Looking at 2024 West Virginia basketball recruiting
New West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries must now turn his attention to building the roster for his inaugural season in Morgantown.
So, what's next with the roster?
DeVries inherited one player once the dust settled in forward Ofri Naveh.
The new head coach has already added his son Tucker DeVries, who is coming off back-to-back years as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee in KJ Tenner, as well as Illinois transfers and former four-star recruits guard Sencire Harris and forward Amani Hansberry, UIC guard Tony Okani, Fresno State big Eduardo Andre and Oklahoma State point guard Javon Small.
With so much that can change between now and when the dust settles on this class it's impossible to predict what the class size will ultimately look like but what we can do is examine what targets that could be on the list.
Smith started his career at Mississippi State and spent only one season there before moving onto Georgia Tech. After two years, Smith would transfer yet again to Utah where he averaged 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 28 games played with 21 starts. Entered the transfer portal yet again after the season and the Georgia native has one season of eligibility remaining at his next stop. Smith is down to a final three of West Virginia, St. John's and Washington.
Osobor spent two seasons at Montana State where he was named the 2022-23 Big Sky Top Reserve after averaging 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per league game. Then transferred to Utah State where started all 35 games and had a breakout season averaging 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game earning both Mountain West Player and Newcomer of the Year. The England native also shot 58-percent from the field. He elected to enter the transfer portal and immediately became one of the most in demand players available and has visits to Louisville, Texas Tech and Washington but the question is if the Mountaineers can get involved? One year left.
Lanier spent four seasons at North Florida but is coming off his most productive where he averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. The Tennessee native connected on 51-percent of his field goals and an impressive 44-percent of his attempts from three. Lanier entered the transfer portal in April and will have one year remaining.
Tandy spent four years at Xavier but was injured during his final two years with the program appearing in just 15 games during that span. Transferred to Jacksonville State where Tandy had a breakout campaign starting all 32 games and averaging 17.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Tandy also shot 42-percent from the floor and 39-percent from three. The Kentucky native will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Ivy-Curry spent two years at Texas-San Antonio and then transferred to Pacific for a year before coming back to play for the Road Runners. This past season Ivy-Curry averaged 17.1 points and 5.2 rebounds and shot 40-percent from the field and 39-percent from three. The Texas native has already been contacted by West Virginia and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Evans was named the SWAC Player of the Year after averaging 18.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2-percent from three. The Mississippi native spent four seasons at Jackson State including a redshirt and then entered the transfer portal to a long list of suitors including West Virginia. Evans has one season left.
Robinson spent four seasons at BYU but is coming off his best campaign where he averaged 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He also connected on 43-percent of his field goals, 91-percent of his free throws and 35-percent of his threes. The Oklahoma native has one season of eligibility remaining in his career and is considered a potential NBA Draft pick given his skill set.
Davis played two seasons at Chipola College before transferring to Northwestern State. In his lone year there Davis started 24 of 31 games and put together a solid statistical line of 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 40-percent from the field and 39-percent from three. The Georgia native has already heard from West Virginia and would have one season left in his career.
Taylor spent his first two years at Wake Forest before moving onto Georgia State. This past season he saw a significant leap in production starting 31 of 32 games and averaged 14.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 40-percent and 35-percent from three. He has one year of eligibility remaining in his career and is a native of North Carolina. Has already been contacted by West Virginia.
Mitchell started 71 of his 72 college games over his two seasons at Texas and saw his numbers take a jump this past season. This year he averaged 9.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and a steal while shooting 58.5 percent from the field. Mitchell was a highly recruited prospect during his initial recruitment and the Florida native should have plenty of suitors with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Dell'Orso was named the Big South Freshman of the Year during his first year with the program and followed that up earning second-team all-conference honors this past season. Dell'Orso averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and is an intriguing option in the portal given his size and skill set. He has two years left in his career at the next level.
The New York native spent one season at Manhattan where he averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during his freshman season. The lengthy guard has already been contacted by a long list of schools including West Virginia. Traore will have three seasons left at his next college destination.
Moore started his career at North Carolina State where he averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a team-leading 1.4 steals per game over his 25 appearances in his lone season there. Transferred to Mississippi State where he has spent the past three seasons with an average of 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The North Carolina native is an experienced guard that would have one year left and has already been contacted by West Virginia along with other schools.
Taylor spent two years at Oregon State where he played in 62 games and in his second season started 26 of 32. During that sophomore season, Taylor averaged 11.6 points and 3.7 rebounds before he elected to transfer to St. John's. This past season Taylor averaged 4.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists but reentered the transfer portal looking for a new home. Taylor has one year remaining.
Kelly has spent three seasons at Georgia Tech where he has scored 1,057 points and shot 39-percent from the floor and 35-percent from three during that span. The Georgia native is coming off a year where he averaged 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. Kelly has one year of eligibility remaining in his career and is also testing the draft waters.
Saunders spent two years at San Diego State and in the first he was primary a reserve appearing in just 16 games and averaging 0.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per contest. But the Scottsdale native took a major leap in his second year starting 21 of 37 games and averaging 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. Saunders entered the transfer portal and has two years remaining. He has already been contacted by West Virginia and a number of other high major programs.
The Massachusetts native was a highly decorated high school prospect but was limited to just an average of seven minutes per game over his 26 appearances as a true freshman. Power averaged 2.1 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game while shooting 33-percent and 35-percent from three. The versatile forward has three years of eligibility remaining and has already heard from a long list of schools including West Virginia that are banking on his pedigree in a new location.
Patterson started his career at Missouri State where he appeared in 57 games and even started the final 26 of his time there. Moved onto Charlotte where started 56 of the 67 games he appeared in during that time. The Minnesota native put together a strong second season in the Queen City where he averaged 14.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 44-percent from the field and 35-percent from three. Patterson has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Hawkins spent four years at Illinois and improved during each of those. The California native appeared in 126 games during his time with the Illini and started 82 including all 68 over the past two seasons. Hawkins averaged 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 45-percent from the floor and 37-percent from three. He has one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer option.
James spent four years at Tulane and started all but 7 of his 114 appearances over the course of his career. James is coming off his best season production wise where he averaged 14.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 51-percent from the floor and 38-percent from three. The Georgia native has one year left.
Hatton started his career at William & Mary before transferring to Bellarmine. This past season Hatton started all 31 games and averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 48-percent from the field and 33-percent from the field. Hatton has one year of eligibility remaining and is a center option that could help.
Council spent two years at Monroe College where he scored 1,400 points. Moved onto Wagner where the New York native averaged 14.9 points and 3.5 assists in his lone year in the program. Has one season left.
A Toronto, Canada native Allette appeared in 19 games during his freshman season and led the Monarchs in scoring with 17.4 points per game. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 45-percent from the field and 35-percent from three. Allette was dismissed from the team in late January but entered the transfer portal with three years remaining in his career.
Jalen Speer - Florida A&M
Speer spent two years at FAMU where he was named to the MEAC All-Freshman Team in his first year with 11.9 points and 2.4 assists per game and followed that up with 10.5 points and 2.8 assists per game the following season. Then spent a year at Santa Fe College, before returning and averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 assists on 38.8-percent from three. Speer is a native of Florida and would have one year remaining. West Virginia has made contact with the talented guard.
Darnell Evans - Caldwell
Evans spent two seasons at Caldwell where he started all 59 games during his time with the program. After a freshman season where he averaged 18.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game he followed that up by hitting 23.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He also shot 46-percent from the floor and 32-percent from three. The New York native has two years left in his career and is a craft 6-foot-0 guard that has shown the ability to score the basketball.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan
