Taz Sherman had a decision to make in the off-season.

Technically already a senior, the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it gave him the chance to come back. Still, Sherman wanted to see what was out there beyond Morgantown and entered his name into the NBA Draft Pool with the option to return.

That decision was made at the end of March and meant that Sherman now had to sit back and weigh his options both at the professional level as well as what a return to Morgantown could mean for him.

After coming off a season where he averaged 13.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 40-percent from the field and 34-percent from three there of course were reasons for him to explore his professional opportunities.

And with the rules the way they are currently structured, why wouldn’t he?

But there were plenty of reasons to return as well. Lead guard from a season ago Deuce McBride had also entered his name into the NBA Draft and was a 50-50 proposition at best to return, while big man Derek Culver was trying his hand professionally as well and eventually signed with an agent.

Those two made up the primary scoring options from last season opening the door for Sherman to play a much more significant role if he elected to come back to Morgantown. Head coach Bob Huggins hit on just that when he had conversations with Sherman about his future.

“You got a chance to have a heck of a year. You’ve got a chance to come back and be the guy. The reality is you’re not going to get drafted, you’re not on any draft board so why wouldn’t you come back and have a heck of a year and see if you can do it next year?” Huggins recalled.

After mulling over his options, Sherman made the call to return June 1 and that meant spending time over the summer working in the gym with former West Virginia players. That allowed him to see how those players, many of which play professionally overseas, worked and handled themselves.

The end result was a more confident Sherman that reminded Huggins of one of his former players at Cincinnati in guard Steve Logan. And with how he’s been playing it’s hard to imagine where this team would be without the Texas native through the early portion of the season.

“He’s bigger and more athletic than what Lo was. Just a great knack of getting himself free to get a jump shot. He’s got to be one of the better players in our league,” Huggins said of Sherman.

Sherman has seen his scoring rise drastically since the first year where he averaged 5.3 points per contest, all the way to his current production of 21.2 points per game. Already a decorated shooter, Sherman improved in other areas such as putting the ball on the floor and understanding how to play without the basketball in order to get better opportunities.

Some of that Huggins directly attributes to his work in the summer and watching those experienced veterans play the game by being versatile and without needing to dribble the ball over-and-over.

“Taz was a great student,” Huggins said.

Life is full of choices and it seems that at least in this instance, Sherman made the right call to return to Morgantown for one last ride.

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