Osabuohien looks to play his part for West Virginia basketball

Gabe Osabuohien understands his role on the West Virginia basketball team.

For some that could be a difficult realization, but he knows that in order to have success as a team everybody has to do their part. And playing each individual part is critical to the production as a whole.

The Arkansas transfer played in 28 games last year after being declared immediately eligible and while he didn’t necessarily fill the stat sheet his impact was certainly felt. Osabuohien was the best passing big man on the roster and averaged 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

He also was a valuable weapon on the defensive end, leading the team with 148 deflections and 23 charges taken. His flexibility allowed head coach Bob Huggins to use him in a variety of ways when he was on the floor but Osabuohien understands there’s still more potential there.

“I have more knowledge of what my teammates are capable of and their tendencies. Just a better understanding of the players that I’m playing with,” he said.

Osabuohien displayed the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, but the coaches want to see him become a more consistent threat shooting the ball. That was an area that received plenty of focus during the off-season to ensure that there are offensive threats at all five spots.

He is admittedly more comfortable than he was a season ago on the offensive end and is hoping to see more than the 18 minutes per game he was used last year.

“Working on the mid-range jump shot is going to open up things for everybody else on the court with me,” he said. “It’s going to be a big factor in me getting more playing time.”

Huggins also has noticed that Osabuohien has put in the work when it comes to his free throw shooting if he is fouled on his to the basket. That would be a significant boost to his repertoire considering he only made 54-percent of his attempts last season.

During quarantine, Osabuohien did not return to his native Canada, instead focusing on his craft in Morgantown. That meant a lot of time in the gym working on improving those weak link in his game.

Osabuohien is one of an impressive group of big men on the West Virginia roster and understands that the play of that spot will be the engine of this year’s club. While many teams have gone away from the traditional bigs, the Mountaineers are doubling down on them.

“There is space for big guys in today’s game,” he said.

Osabuohien is hoping the improvements he’s made this off-season will only help to reinforce that.

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