Porter Moser made sure his Oklahoma team was well aware of what West Virginia guard Erik Stevenson had the capability to do as a scorer on the offensive end.
The head coach showed his club film of his 31-point explosion against Auburn where Stevenson nailed 7 three-pointers and then again the flex action that got him baskets against TCU on consecutive possessions. It’s safe to say that he was the focus for the Sooners defense when it came to trying to take him out of things.
After starting 3-3 from the field and scoring a career-high 34 points, it’s safe to say those efforts were unsuccessful to say the least.
“He works really hard without the ball. He can shoot off the move. Some guys can’t shoot off the move. He can come flying around, catch, rise and shoot off the move outstandingly,” Moser said. “He is strong, he has extreme confidence.”
Those 34-points are the most for a West Virginia player since Jaysean Paige in 2016 and the first player since Eron Harris to score 31-points or more twice in his career.
Stevenson helped give the Mountaineers an early 10-2 lead and outside a few moments, never really looked back as West Virginia protected their home court with a 93-61 win. The senior guard finished 13-23 from the field and 6-11 from deep, serving as the focal point on offense for a team that was desperate for a bounce back.
“He can really shoot off the move. He works hard, he cuts hard, he has a beautiful high release on his shot that he can make contested shots. And when he’s in a groove the way he is right now he’s really hard to guard,” Moser said.
Along with his shooting performance, head coach Bob Huggins has been impressed with how Stevenson has continued to mature as a teammate. That wasn’t always the case this season as the senior has continued to find his way as a leader on this club.
Some of that is the realization that his five-year college career is coming to a close and the time is now in order to reach some of the goals he has set. There won’t be a do-over.
It seems simple enough, but even his command in the huddle has improved which has helped garner the respect of the rest of the team. Not only has he become more comfortable with them but the same can be said for him.
“Erik can get on them at times. He was great with them, very encouraging with them,” Huggins said.
The tides started to turn in the Auburn game and he has only gotten better from there. So, it’s no surprise that if it wasn’t broken there was no need to fix it with a similar strategy.
“Our guys look to him more. Before he went through his gyrations and who wants to watch, who wants to pay attention? Probably the way he played the Auburn game. Let’s face it, he upset the apple cart a few times as well,” Huggins said.
Stevenson credits his teammates for getting him in position to score the basketball by setting screens and finding him when he was open. Also the confidence they each expressed in him helped to continue to propel him into the career-best performance.
But he’s never satisfied and admittedly will be focusing on what he left on the floor when it comes to film review of the performance.
“I’m not where I want to be yet, we’re not where we want to be yet. I’m not trying to make it seem like I don’t like it, I like it. But I’m trying to stay mellow with it and enjoy it but tomorrow is a new day,” Stevenson said.
Points are nice, but Stevenson is focused on the results. And, the senior is perhaps just getting started in his final act at the college level.
“We know what he’s capable of, everybody in this state knows what he’s capable of when he’s shooting it like that. Feed him the ball, have confidence in him that he’s going to pay it back ten fold,” sophomore James Okonkwo said.
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