West Virginia was able to add yet another intriguing piece to the ever-evolving basketball roster with a pledge from international forward Ofri Naveh.
Naveh, 6-foot-7, is an upside addition at this late stage of the process given his size and skill set. A versatile forward that can play to his size but still possesses guard-like abilities, Naveh has the abilities to fill in for West Virginia at multiple spots on the roster.
That’s been a recurring theme this off-season with additions as West Virginia has targeted overall versatility in order to help address needs on the roster.
Naveh is comfortable handling the basketball and displays the ability to get it to the rim and finish. But his game isn’t just limited to what he can do off the bounce as the international forward has shown the ability to score at all three levels of the floor.
During his five-game stint at the U18 European Championships, Naveh was a reliable option scoring 10.8 points per game while shooting 55-percent from two, 46.2-percent from three and 73-percent from the line.
That’s a solid line to build upon moving forward as he transitions to the college game.
That makes him an intriguing fit for any school at this late stage and helped to generate interest from a number of suitors including Marquette, Wake Forest and others.
A solid rebounder, Naveh understands how to position himself and should be an asset in that department as well as he continues to develop and add strength.
He has good length as well which makes him an effective shot blocker for his size while he is active on the defensive end of the floor as evidenced by his numbers at the European championships.
There Naveh averaged 2.2 steals per game to go along with a block per contest.
This isn’t just an addition for this coming season either as Naveh will have all four years of eligibility remaining and given the state of the roster is going to have opportunities to carve out a role. It remains to be seen what that exactly looks like but with his size and versatility you find ways to get those types on the floor especially when possessing an offensive skill set like Naveh does.
There is clearly going to be an adjustment period but this could end up being quite the find for the program by the time the dust settles given what he brings to the table.
And that’s all you can ask for is upside at this stage of the game.
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