It’s the preseason, and the wheels in Bob Huggins’ head are churning.

Piecing together this season’s West Virginia starting lineup is one of the many topics at hand, considering that the group’s versatility could make the Mountaineers a true threat with the ball in a way that hasn’t been seen in recent years.

“We’ve got guys who can make shots,” Huggins said last week. “I think we’ll be able to stretch defenses if they continue to shoot it the way they’ve been shooting it.”

West Virginia benefitted immensely from roster movement — or lack thereof — over the offseason.

The Mountaineers returned key playmakers in Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman who, despite entering their names into the NBA Draft, opted to return to Morgantown, softening the blow of the departure of Miles McBride.

McNeil and Sherman ranked first and second, respectively, last season in three-pointers attempted. They also each averaged more than 10 points per game, placing them among the team’s top four scorers.

With McBride’s departure, there is a likelihood that both of them could be on the court at the same time this year. In the past, Sherman has served as the team’s sixth man, while McNeil started 23 games a season ago.

“The hard thing is having both of them on the floor and getting in foul trouble, that’s my biggest fear,” Huggins said. “You’d kind of like to have one of them to be able to come in off the bench and make shots for you, but they both obviously deserve to start.”

Jalen Bridges is expected to start at one of the wing positions, adding a player who shot second-best on the team from the three-point line last season. He’s also played at the four spot in the past, which could allow the Mountaineers to add a third guard in the lineup.

Big man Isaiah Cottrell is seen as the x-factor for the rotation as he returns from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in December. Huggins has praised him for his shooting ability in preseason practice, and he showed no hesitation to shoot the ball during the Gold-Blue Debut on Oct. 15.

“Honestly, I think we can put five guys out there that can all make shots if we played Isaiah and JB up front,” Huggins said. “I went back and looked at our last five or six games and JB ended up playing a lot of four anyways last year. He’s a lot bigger and stronger now than he was a year ago.”

Due to the team’s depth however, the players mentioned above may not be the only ones in the fold. Taj Thweatt made 28 three-point shots during his senior year in high school. Kedrian Johnson shot 47% from the field during his sophomore season in junior college. Kobe Johnson shot 40% from beyond the arc in his final high school season.

Regardless of who the Mountaineers turn to, they have the personnel available to run a five-out offense: when all five players on the court start behind the three-point line and are seen as playmakers anywhere on the floor. Or, even a four-out offense, which is the same sans one player, who takes a more interior role.

“If we can get people spread, it would be easy,” Huggins said. “You gotta be able to spread them, but I think we can. I think they’re gonna have to guard all those guys. We had guys before they didn’t have to guard, so they could kind of leave somebody in the lane and protect the basket. I don’t know that they’ll be able to do that now.”

----------

• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.

• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @JaredSerre

•Like us on Facebook