Long makes most of senior night start

The first West Virginia player on the court for shoot around prior to Friday night’s win over Iowa State was also the first one to get things rolling shortly after tip off.

That player was none other than senior James Long.

Long, a transfer from Wofford who has seen limited action during his time as a Mountaineer, was featured in Friday’s starting lineup along with fellow seniors Nathan Adrian, Tarik Phillip, Brandon Watkins and Teyvon Myers in their final game at the Coliseum.

Less than a minute into the game, Long wasted no time and hit from long range for the game’s first points which helped jumpstart the Mountaineers to an early 9-3 lead.

“Exactly how we drew it up,” Adrian said. “Kid makes a ton of shots every day so I knew that thing was going in.”

Long’s game opening three-pointer were his only points of the night in his two minutes of action in Friday night’s win.

Though he didn’t see much playing time against Iowa State, it came as no surprise that the Charleston native made the most of his first career start and final game at the Coliseum due to his work ethic and leadership both on and off the court which has made a lasting impact on the West Virginia basketball program.

“James has meant so much to this program,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “It’s hard to put into words how much he’s meant to this program with his work ethic.”

When talking about junior guard Jevon Carter earlier this season, Huggins mentioned that Carter spends more time in the gym than anyone other than James Long. That work ethic and leadership has played a key role in pushing other players to get in the gym with him according to Huggins.

Long’s impact on the program will still be felt years down the road not only with his work ethic display but with recruiting and shaping the future of West Virginia basketball.

“Every recruit that we’ve brought on campus, he’s been involved,” Huggins said. “He wants to be involved. He believes in West Virginia University and he believes in the program and does a great job of selling it to other people.”

From here on out, Long’s leadership and role as a team player will be a necessity as the Mountaineers move on to the Big 12 tournament this week as the No. 2 seed and battle through a arguably the most competitive conference in all of college basketball.

Another thing to add is that the senior provides even more depth for this West Virginia team. Even though the majority of Long’s minutes have come late in games when the Mountaineers had a convincing lead over its opposition, he’s shown the ability to produce off the bench and be an effective player on the floor.

He scored a career-high 10 points against Manhattan and six points against New Hampshire earlier this season.

If given the opportunity, as shown in these games and against the Cyclones on Friday, it’s certain that Long will make the most out of any minutes he gets. and his senior night performance seemed to be his reward for everything he has put into the program.

“If anybody deserves to kind of get a start on senior night, James Long does,” Huggins said. “He’s gone above and beyond.”