For as long as West Virginia is without forward Tucker DeVries due to injury, it places a lot more responsibility on the shoulders of senior guard Javon Small.
And so far, he seems more than up to the challenge.
Small is averaging 19.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists on the season.
But Small is coming off a performance against Bethune-Cookman where he scored 27 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists while playing all but three minutes in the game. When the Mountaineers needed a basket or a play in that game, it was Small who often stepped up to deliver.
“Yeah, he's very efficient. I mean, he's, you know, he's been, from the moment he stepped on campus, he's about the right things. He's about winning,” head coach Darian DeVries said.
The transfer point guard has embraced his role as a leader and encouraged his teammates along the way. Yes, West Virginia needs Small to score the basketball, but he has done it within the framework of the offense and wants those around him to have success as well.
That separates him from some others.
“He's always wanting them to be more aggressive, too, because he knows on any given night that he may not get 27, and we need other guys that are ready to step up and fill that void from a scoring standpoint. So he's always encouraging guys to stay confident,” DeVries said.
Without DeVries, it’s made Small even more critical to West Virginia on the offensive end of the floor. While DeVries could take some of the responsibility as a ball handler and facilitator on offense, now it’s been a necessity to have Small on the ball. That takes away some of what the Mountaineers wanted to do with him as a spot-up guy off the ball which led to success early in the year.
That makes finding somebody who can do that essential in his absence. The Mountaineers attempted that against the Wildcats but an injury to KJ Tenner forced him to the bench.
“Just having that second guy that can create and make plays for others is probably the thing right now that we have to continue to grow and improve on,” he said.
But the focus is trying to find ways to free Small up for other opportunities to not let opposing defenses load up on him when he has the basketball.
“That's how we're going to get him to 30. We've got to find those extra three,” DeVries said.
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