West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge had the arduous task of rebuilding the West Virginia basketball roster.
Hodge inherited a program that had lost basically all production from the 19-13 team a season ago due to either graduation or the transfer portal. That meant a lot of work needed to be done in order to put together a roster that is capable of competing in the Big 12 Conference in Hodge’s first year atop the program.
Hodge made it clear that the Mountaineers would hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, and this is a look at all of the players that have elected to join him at this point in the off-season.
The Mountaineers first landed UNC Wilmington center Harlan Obioha out of the transfer portal. Obioha, 7-foot-0, 280-pounds, attracted plenty of interest once he entered the transfer market from schools such as Texas, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Wichita State, Wake Forest, and Rutgers, among others.
Obioha spent only one season with the Seahawks, where he averaged 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and shot 63-percent from the field while starting 23 games this past year.
He was previously at Niagara where he averaged 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in the first season in just over 9 minutes per game. Those totals saw a significant increase as a sophomore jumping to 10.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game before transferring to UNC Wilmington.
That’s a strong start given the market for big men in the transfer portal, but the Mountaineers then were able to land another highly athletic four-man with plenty of familiarity with Hodge when North Texas forward Brenen Lorient committed to the basketball program.
Lorient, 6-foot-9, 215-pounds, is coming off a standout season with the Mean Green where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and over 1.1 blocks per game across 24.8 minutes per game.
He shot 57-percent from the field and his efforts were rewarded by being named a first-team all-American Athletic Conference selection and the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.
The Ocala, Florida native started his career at Florida Atlantic where he spent two seasons. During the 2022-23 campaign Lorient appeared in 21 games as a reserve and followed that up appearing in all 31 games while averaging 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game before transferring to North Texas.
Along with those two transfers, the Mountaineers also received a commitment from Allen (Tx.) 2025 forward Deandre Thomas. The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder, initially signed with North Texas in November but requested his release once Hodge left the post.
Thomas averaged 10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as a junior and followed that up by averaging 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a senior on a high-level Allen basketball team and the familiarity and trust there was critical in the reunion occurring.
There was trust on each side of the equation and Thomas will enter the basketball program with a full complement of eligibility on top of having the versatility on both ends of the floor that Hodge wants.
The Mountaineers then added Chattanooga transfer guard Honor Huff.
Huff, 5-foot-10, 168-pounds, had previously narrowed down his options to West Virginia, St. John’s, Iowa, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt prior to selecting the Mountaineers.
A popular name in the transfer portal after entering his name in the database April 5, Huff heard from a long list of options before whittling it down.
The high-scoring guard became a priority for West Virginia in the transfer portal and is coming off a season where he averaged 15.2 points, 2.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds while hitting 42.4-percent of his shots and an impressive 41.6-percent of his three-point attempts.
Overall, Huff made a total of 131 on the season from deep and that total ranked him atop all of college basketball in terms of made three-pointers. He was an all-Southern Conference first-team selection.
The season before at Chattanooga, Huff averaged 17.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4-percent from the field and 38-percent from three. That earned him all-Southern Conference second team honors while starting all 33 games for the Mocs.
Huff started his career at VMI where he appeared in all 32 games and made 18 starts as a freshman while finishing third on the team and second among all freshmen in the league averaging 10 points per game.
Troy transfer forward Jackson Fields was the next to pick the program and gives the Mountaineers even more depth in the front court.
The Texas native spent three seasons with the Trojans and has seen his production increase in each of those campaigns. After averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman those totals jumped to 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds as a sophomore during his time with the Troy program.
Fields is coming off a season where he averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 48.7-percent from the field and 33.3–percent from three on 63 attempts. An effective roller/cutter to the rim, Fields also displays the ability to hit spot up threes and is an effective option in the pick and pop game off screens.
Hodge was then able to add another player that he had familiarity with in North Texas guard Jasper Floyd.
Floyd, 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, spent just one season with the Mean Green where he averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 42-percent from the floor and 34-percent from three.
Floyd also experienced a run over the final four games of the season where he averaged 15.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the NIT as a key piece on the North Texas roster.
The Tampa, Florida native was at Fairfield prior to that for a season where he started 35 of 37 games and averaged 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Floyd also spent a season at Hillsborough College where he started all 26 games and averaged 14.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The versatile guard started his career at Northwest Florida State where he played in 29 games and averaged 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Floyd has one season of eligibility remaining due to his time spent at the junior college level and has obvious experience running the team for Hodge.
The Mountaineers then continued to add versatility to the roster with the commitment of St. Bonaventure wing Chance Moore.
Moore, 6-foot-6, 210-pounds, entered the transfer portal March 19 and took an official visit to Morgantown April 17 which led to his commitment to the Big 12 Conference program which he announced on Instagram.
The Georgia native spent last season with St. Bonaventure where he averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while starting all but one game during his lone season with the program.
Moore started his career at Arkansas where he only played in five games and recorded five points and three rebounds before moving onto Missouri State. There Moore started 20 of 31 games and averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in nearly 27 minutes per contest during the 2023-24 season.
During his time at Missouri State, Moore played against the Mountaineers where he scored 24 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while playing 37 minutes in a 67-59 loss.
Moore has one season of eligibility remaining in his career.
Clearly there is more work that needs to be done, but the Mountaineers are piecing together what the program will look like under Hodge this coming season.
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