Roster construction coming together for West Virginia hoops

The West Virginia basketball roster has taken its share of twists and turns this off-season but seems to be settling in now with the calendar now into August.

The 30-day transfer portal window which was triggered when former head coach Bob Huggins resigned has closed in mid-July and while graduate transfers can still enter their names into the portal the biggest concerns seem to be in the rear view mirror over retaining the roster.

Until of course, they aren’t given the fluidity of it all. You can never be sure about the roster in today’s world with how fast something can change given the freedom to move around especially with graduates.

Over that period West Virginia lost four players to transfer with forward Tre Mitchell (Kentucky), guard Joe Toussaint (Texas Tech), forward Mohamed Wague (Alabama) and forward James Okonkwo (North Carolina) all leaving for other options. It was a hit to the overall depth on the roster and has left some holes, especially in the front court, that needed to be addressed.

Another guard in Jose Perez entered the transfer portal and looked into other options such as Michigan, Gonzaga and Oregon before electing to return. It was a major pull for the Mountaineers to help round out the roster.

On the flip side, West Virginia received commitments to remain with the team from the key off-season additions in center Jesse Edwards, point guard Kerr Kriisa and guard RaeQuan Battle. The rest of the roster remained in-tact outside those four that elected to go elsewhere including forward Josiah Harris, guard Seth Wilson, guard Kobe Johnson and forward Patrick Suemnick.

All were key pieces for depth and to round out the roster.

That is a solid base to build around with Perez returning and leaves the program with twleve scholarship players and not a lot of time to address it. The transfer portal hasn’t closed though, and the program has already begun the work of trying to restructure things.

Since that window was triggered, West Virginia also has added four players to the roster in Florida State point guard Jeremiah Bembry, St. John’s forward Quinn Slazinski, Ofri Naveh from Israel and Georgetown forward Akok Akok.

Bembry did not suit up for the Seminoles during his lone year due to injuries but at 6-foot-6 he has the skill set on both ends to play multiple roles which makes him an attractive fit. Not to mention he has all four years left in his career giving him the possibility for an impact down the line, too.

Slazinski played only seven games this past season at Iona but elected to follow Rick Pitino to play for the Red Storm. Over those seven games, the stretch forward averaged 1.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game and will fit in as a big that can hit shots and spread the floor. The Texas native started his career at Louisville before Iona and will have two years remaining. He stands 6-foot-9.

Naveh is an international prospect that came onto the radar for the Mountaineers later in the process. At 6-foot-7, Naveh played for Maccabi Tel Aviv U18 this past season and has the body of a forward but plays the game like a guard with the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. He has all of his eligibility remaining and is an intriguing addition as a forward.

Akok entered the transfer portal after graduating from Georgetown where he spent only one season with the Hoyas. During that lone year he started 31 total games for the Big East program where he averaged 6.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. A versatile forward, Akok brings 6-foot-10 size and length with the ability to step out and hit jump shots. He also is a proven rim protector as well.

But the program was dinged when the waiver for Manhattan transfer Omar Silverio was denied and ended his college career in the process.

That puts the total number of scholarships at 12 for West Virginia with more work to be done leading up to the start of the school year and the deadline for when players can enroll to join the team.

It has certainly been bumpy at times, but West Virginia has been able to retain the bulk of the roster and even add some versatile pieces on top to round out the majority of the team. Work is still ongoing but for now it’s quite the turnaround after things looked dicey following a wave of departures.

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