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 inherits some players but it's unclear how much roster movement could shake out in the coming days and weeks.
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, as well as Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee in KJ Tenner.
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.
Kevin Overton is coming off a freshman season at Drake where he averaged 11.3 points per game along with 3.3 rebounds and shot 36-percent from three. Overton was recruited by DeVries at Drake and immediately becomes a name that will draw plenty of attention considering how successful he was in year one and the ties there. Overton should be a key target for West Virginia as they look to rebuild the 2024 roster with three years left.
Atin Wright is a name that makes sense on this list considering that he has already transferred once to play for DeVries. The California native started his career at California State University, Northridge where he averaged 16.7 points per game before transferring to Drake last season. Finished second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game while shooting 40-percent from three. Wright has one year of eligibility remaining in his career and is the type of transfer that makes sense.
Conor Enright is another familiar name from Drake that has entered the transfer portal and started all 33-games for the Bulldogs this past season. He would have two years of eligibility left and averaged 6.9 points and 3.2 assists this past season while shooting 44-percent from three. A veteran that has been in DeVries system and would understand what to expect out of his head coach.
Toby Okani is coming off a season where he averaged 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. That led him to declare for the NBA Draft while entering the transfer portal to explore his options. With one season of eligibility left, Okani has set an official visit to West Virginia from April 12-14 and is an intriguing 6-foot-8 wing.
McCollum started his career at Sienna before transferring to Oklahoma this past season where he averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. He shot 40-percent from the field and 31-percent from three. The Florida native entered the transfer portal after the season and has already been contacted by a long list of schools including West Virginia. He has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
Jordan Sears spent two seasons at Gardner-Webb before transferring to Tennessee Martin where he is coming off a standout campaign averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He emerged as one of the Ohio Valley Conference's best players and after entering the portal narrowed down his list to a top six of West Virginia, Texas Tech, Alabama, South Carolina, LSU and Arizona State. The Florida native would have one season of eligibility remaining in his career.
The Brooklyn native spent three years at Hofstra and is coming off his best season on the floor averaging 10.4 points, 6.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds. A true point guard, Carlos has already been contacted by West Virginia and is on the list of several different schools as he could be a asset from the transfer portal.
Jimerson had his most productive season at the college level this past year with 15.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 40-percent from the floor and 36-percent from three. The Virginia native has one season of eligibility remaining and has already heard from a long list of college programs including West Virginia.
Kaiser spent only one season at Maryland where he averaged modest totals at 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. The Virginia native was a target of the Mountaineers during his initial recruitment but elected to enter the transfer portal to test his options. At 6-foot-6, Kaiser is a versatile option with plenty of upside which has made him an intriguing fit for a long list of schools. Kaiser would have three years remaining.
Connor Hickman spent three seasons at Bradley and is coming off his most productive where he averaged 14.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He also shot 47-percent from the floor and 40-percent from three. The Indiana native would have one season of eligibility remaining in his career and the former Missouri Valley all-Freshman selection has a familiarity with current West Virginia coach Darian DeVries.
Malik Dia has entered his name into the transfer portal after an impressive campaign where he averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The Tennessee native started his career at Vanderbilt and is a familiar name considering he played in the Missouri Valley Conference where DeVries just departed. Dia is going to receive plenty of interest and is testing the waters of potentially the NBA but would be a massive pull for any program.
Omaha Biliew was a five-star prospect in the 2023 class and is a native of Iowa. However, in his first year with the Cyclones, Biliew was limited to just 7.5 minutes per game. That resulted in modest stats with 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds. Biliew has yet to enter the transfer portal but if he does would be an interesting candidate given his Iowa ties and the fact that he can guard any position and finish above the rim makes him intriguing.
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