Eduardo Andre developing quickly as WVU is preparing to rely on him
With a roster that lacks depth at the forward and center position, the means the pieces in place are going to have to step up.
For West Virginia, that piece is Eduardo Andre.
Andre, a 6-foot-11 center comes to the Mountaineers from Fresno State, but according to head coach Darian DeVries, the summer has been great for his development.
"I feel like Eduardo has made tremendous strides in the last six weeks. I thought his last two weeks, you can really see him doing some good things and that’s been critical. We are a little undersized but he’s the one guy that length that you need and gives us some rim protection. I like the production he’s been giving u the last few weeks. He’s certainly finding his way al little bit on both ends of the floor and getting more comfortable," DeVries said.
Andre seems to be in a position to feast in DeVries' system especially with guys like Javon Small and other guards who can penetrate towards the rim, leaving many opportunities for Andre.
"If he’s in the dunker spot and his man stepped up, I was always able to throw him a lob, he was always a lob threat. It’s more about me and [Andre] getting more reps together, like we’ve only been together, this is our second month. I feel like it will continue to increase and get better the more we play with each other," Small said.
Andre is the only player taller than 6-foot-8 on WVU's roster, making his ability to protect the rim as well as rebound the ball that much more important.
In addition, Andre will be used away from the ball, something his athleticism helps him do. DeVries said he wants his bigs touching the ball outside the paint, giving him opportunities to make plays elsewhere but at the rim.
"We’ve told both of our bigs here in practice, I want you to take some chances. On game night, let’s be a little more careful, but right now, I want them to see that they can throw it and complete it. They’re going to have to throw a couple away for us to get better at that. Because such a big part of what we do is getting five guys and getting that paint lifted, getting some backdoor opportunities, creating some driving lanes. And the more they can put pressure on people to protect back cuts and stuff is going to open up shooters and things like that, DeVries said.
"For right now, that’s a big piece of our offense is those two being confident and comfortable making those type of plays and passes because we do a lot through them. We like to go through them with some of our pressure release stuff where in this league it eliminates some of the traps and things because now they have a live dribble, so you can eliminate some of the double teams and things that maybe a ball screen offense would bring. So, the more comfortable they can get there, the better our offense will be."
Andre spent two seasons at Nebraska before spending two seasons at Fresno State. He has improved each year and knows how to score at the rim, rebound the ball as well as being a proven shot blocker.
Tucker DeVries knows the Big 12 is a bigger conference in terms of size than the Missouri Valley Conference, meaning WVU will almost certainly need quality production from Andre.
"The biggest difference is size, obviously. I think that’s the most obvious one as soon as you walk in the gym, you look at a Big 12 team and you look at a Valley team and the size is different, especially at the five position. I think style of play is not crazy different. I think the valley is actually very similar to the Big 12 in style of play and the way it’s officiated," Tucker DeVries said.
"It’s the same officials, it’s the same group of officials in the Big 12 they have in the Valley. It’s officiated very similarly, it’s very physical, rebounding is a huge piece of it. So, I think as far as style of play, obviously you got to adjust to the size and the speed of everything, but I think style of play it’s fairly similar, just at another level."
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