The West Virginia coaching staff made it a point in the days after the loss to Pittsburgh get more a more aggressive brand of basketball out of Javon Small.
Message heard loud and clear.
“This week in practice I’ve been trying to be aggressive, see the ball go in through the hoop a lot more which I know I’m capable of doing. Just making the right reads. I feel like this is definitely my best game so far,” Small said of his performance on the floor.
Small stuffed the stat sheet in the win over Iona scoring 23 points on 7-14 shooting while grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, recording 4 steals and a block with only one turnover.
“That’s the type of stat line I think he can do consistently. I really believe that. He’s that type of player,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “There’s a lot of winning numbers on that stat sheet for him.”
Small is a centerpiece to what the Mountaineers want to do on both ends of the floor and is equipped to make that type of impact with his overall skill set. A strong guard that also can rebound the basketball, DeVries has been impressed with his pace of play as well as his overall feel for the game.
“And he knows how to score,” he said.
Small was 5-9 on three-pointers in the game and at plus 40 overall, but one of his biggest plays was after an offensive lull he was able to get the basket and finish a layup through contact for a three-point play. And while the three-balls are nice, that is an element that the coaching staff wants to see more out of him.
“Jevon is a terrific cutter. He knows how to set it up, he knows how to sell it and that’s something we need him to actually do a little bit more of because he is so good at it,” DeVries said. “Sometimes he’ll bounce out a little bit more where we’d like him to stick his head down and get in the paint.”
The aggression extends further out than just his scoring as West Virginia understands that when he has the ball in his hands he can not only put the ball in the basket but get better opportunities for his teammates.
Connectivity is key for DeVries and Small is one of the guys guarding the ball and dictating communication on the defensive end, while he is typically getting things started with the actions on offense.
Overall, West Virginia moved the ball better on the offensive end and were able to hold Iona to just 24-percent shooting on defense. That defensive improvement is something that the team focused on after struggling at times against Pittsburgh the prior contest.
“I felt good about it. We were in the gaps like we usually are, we talked on defense. One thing we still need to get better at which is rebounding but take away their second chance points we hold them even a lower percentage,” Small said.
West Virginia needs Small to fill this role moving forward especially with the challenges on the schedule ahead, but if this game is any indication he’s certainly on the right path.
----------
• 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, @wesleyshoe
