Deuce McBride needed some time to recharge.

After a demanding yet productive season in his first taste of college basketball, McBride wanted to go back to his Ohio home to rest and get his body back together. So, he did that.

And once that occurred, McBride did what he could to improve by playing his brother one-on-one and improving his pull-up jumpers prior to returning to Morgantown. That’s when he started working on the fine details of what he needed to improve on to become a better player.

“Just working on my ball handling and getting stronger as well. Taking contact and not losing the ball or losing control. I think working on that is going to help a lot this year,” he said.

McBride was already perhaps the best player on the team when it came creating his own shot but has focused on some ways to make him a more effective scorer. Some of that has come by adding muscle and being smarter when it comes to going into the paint.

“You know getting smarter and picking and choosing even when to go in the paint. Watching the film and seeing I could have shot a jumper here, a floater here so it’s getting smarter and understanding the game more,” McBride said.

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has seen that improvement out of McBride and even went as far to say that out of all the players on the roster it was the sophomore that has been talked about the most in professional circles on the team.

“Deuce puts time in, as most of our guys are gym rats. He’ll continue to work on the things he doesn’t do well and will continue to get better and better at them,” he said. “I think he will continue to get better at the things he did good a year ago.”

McBride was named to the all-freshman team last season after averaging 9.5 points and shot 40-percent from the field in his first year with the program but hasn’t rested on his accomplishments. That’s because while some might be surprised by what he was able to do, McBride wasn’t.

“I came here with the goal to be successful and show I was a top player and be a top player in the Big 12,” he said. “I think I showed people who I was and I’m going to continue to work hard and keep my head down and do whatever I can to help this team win.”

McBride has developed into a leader for the Mountaineers and realizes the potential that this club has with so many returning pieces. Now it’s about putting it together.

He is capable of playing a lot of different places for this team and is excited to showcase where he has grown. That has been the case over the first 12 games with McBride becoming the primary scorer for the Mountaineers.

He scored 19 points in the second half come back win over Oklahoma State and was assertive like Huggins wants to see out of him consistently.

“We all matured a lot mentally and physically,” he said.

----------

• 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