Looking at 2024 West Virginia basketball recruiting targets
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, first-team all-state Ohio guard Jonathan Powell, 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.
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.
White spent one season at a Texas junior college before moving onto North Carolina Wilmington. The forward was there for the next three years and saw his numbers jump in each of those seasons with the program. That was capped off this past season where White averaged 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 49-percent from the floor and 39-percent from three. The Texas native would have one season of eligibility remaining and has been contacted by West Virginia.
Spent two seasons at Chipola J.C. where he averaged 8.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore before transferring to Samford. There Achor would start only one game as a junior where he averaged 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game before taking off last season by scoring 16.1 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists. The Australian native also shot 59-percent from the field and 44-percent from three last season. Achor has one season of eligibility remaining.
Patton spent only one season at San Diego where he earned all West Coast Conference Freshman team honors averaging 9.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 42-percent from the field and 33-percent from three. The California native has already heard from a long list of schools including West Virginia and would have three seasons of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Menifield started his career at Washington where he averaged 10.0 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 41-percent from the field and 33-percent from beyond the arc as a dynamic guard during his true freshman season. The Michigan native elected to leave after a season and ended up at Arkansas. However, he was initially declared academically ineligible and had to enroll as a walk-on that wasn't eligible until December. From there, Menifield appeared in just 14 games until sustaining an injury. He still was productive averaging 7.9 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 38-percent from the floor and 32-percent from three. Menifield then elected to enter the transfer portal again and would have two years of eligibility remaining in his career.
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.
Kugel was expected to enroll at Kansas but has decided to go in a different direction. The guard native spent two years at Florida and in his last year averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 39.4-percent and 31-percent from three. Kugel would have two years of eligibility remaining in his college 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.
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.
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.
Cooper appeared in just 15 games during his time with the Sooners where he averaged 1.5 points and 0.9 rebounds per contest. The Oklahoma native was a four-star prospect out of high school and is a long, athletic option. He would have three years 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.
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.
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.
Pierre spent two seasons at Southern Mississippi and made the Conference USA all-Freshman team in 2020 while he followed that up averaging 10.0 points per game as a sophomore. The Louisiana native then entered the transfer portal and ended up at Wichita State where he averaged 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 39-percent from the floor in 2022. He would transfer again and has two years of eligibility remaining in his college career.
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.
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