West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries addressed the media prior to the road trip to Baylor. WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
--DeVries said that Baylor is very, very talented offensively and has a lot of guys that can shoot it and put a lot of pressure on the rim. They are getting a couple guys back but lost their seven-foot center this week but that's happened all year with guys in and out of the lineup for them.
--West Virginia has to prevent them from getting into the paint and kicking out for threes. They are so gifted as individual players in getting by you. They have to be really connected as a team defense.
--Baylor will run a tandem zone that looks like a 1-3-1 but will move back into a 2-3. They'll change up their defenses and switch five ways, sometimes four ways and mix in the zone for a good portion as well.
--DeVries said they are trying to get Javon Small freed up for shots. Teams are committing two people to him and there's only so much they can do. Against BYU their offense was as good as it's been and Small created opportunities for his teammates.
--DeVries said that the offense when they lost Tucker DeVries they lost some of their firepower, but in those early games it was more of their defense that carried them. In the games they've lost it's been the defense that has let them down. Against BYU, they let them shoo 55-percent in the second half and you aren't going to win those games. West Virginia doesn't have that type of margin of error to let that happen.
--West Virginia has to try to score in the broken floor to get an advantage but at the same time they don't need a track meet and have to preserve guys that have to play a lot of minutes. They still want to take advantage of the open floor opportunities as much as possible but be intentional in the half court.
--It's more being more disciplined with their effort on defense. West Virginia played plenty hard enough against Baylor, they just need to play with more discipline so they don't go by them and get downhill to create a numbers game.
--Every game will dictate itself when it comes to getting to a certain amount of points.
--V. J. Edgecombe is playing terrific and can do a lot and there's a reason he's showing up on so much draft boards.
--Norchad Omier has a knack for going to get the ball and is a physical guy and they have to keep a body on him at all time.
--West Virginia is going to continue to try to find ways to get Javon Small free but teams are going to try to limit him. The Mountaineers are getting good possessions and good looks because those other guys aren't being guarded as much. The balance has been good enough for them against Utah and BYU but the defensive breakdowns have hurt them. The team is giving great energy and going out and competing.
--For the most part West Virginia still approaches it game-by-game and DeVries says to the team that it's February and they're still playing for something. The primary focus is trying to get wins and the next opportunity is at Baylor.
--Toby Okani has given them some great versatility and some drives to the rim. It's been a nice little burst on the offensive side for them because those are the things he is capable of doing every single night.
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