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In a season that’s been darker than many expected, the play of true freshman Derek Culver has been at least one bright spot at the center of it for West Virginia.

And the most exciting part? There is still plenty of room for improvement.

After being indefinitely suspended for the first ten games of the season, Culver has quickly rewritten his story from a player potentially on the brink of even remaining with the program to perhaps its best. With junior forward Sagaba Konate sidelined with a knee injury since December, the Ohio native has quickly emerged as really the only option for the Mountaineers when it comes to posting up.

Culver has played a grand total of a baker’s dozen games for head coach Bob Huggins this year but already has proven his mettle with five double-doubles. In four other games he has surpassed double-digits in scoring as he’s carved out a sizeable role.

The most recent game against Texas Tech, Culver was the lone bright spot recording 23 points, the only double figure effort on the team, and 12 of the team’s 27 rebounds. It’s been quite the ascension.

Even to the surprise of his head coach.

“Derek doesn’t have a clue. It’s amazing he gets done what he gets done,” Huggins said.

That’s because for as impressive as Culver has been at times he is still a sizeable difference away from what he could potentially be down the road if he puts forth the effort. Huggins compared the development of Culver to what Konate had undergone during his time in Morgantown by developing a jump hook, fighting pressure and going away from it to score the ball.

Those things take time and commitment, something that Konate was willing to give towards making himself into a complete post player. If Culver gives the same, the potential is endless.

“If Derek will do those things then Derek will be a special kind of player,” Huggins said.

Culver seems willing to learn as he’s already had the game taken away from him once and now understands that it takes more to be productive at the college level. Never was that more apparent than after his performance against the Red Raiders, he didn’t highlight his effort instead his mishaps.

“I had a couple turnovers and left my teammates high and dry,” he said.

The road-map is there is Culver wants to take the next steps in his development, it’s now up to him to see if he can follow it to become a better player.

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