Point guard Javon Small is comfortable taking on any role for this West Virginia basketball team on any given game – as long as it leads to his team’s success.
Small, who transferred to Morgantown from Oklahoma State in the off-season, is tops on the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game but has contributed across the board. The senior also averages 4.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game as he has filled the stat sheet.
He has shown his ability to score the basketball hitting 31 against Gonzaga and 26 against Louisville and Georgetown, but he also has found his teammates when they’re shooting the ball well scoring just 14 against Arizona but dishing out 8 assists. The point is as long as it leads to a win, Small doesn’t care.
That’s a big part of what attracted head coach Darian DeVries to him in the first place in the transfer portal. The Mountaineers made Small a priority and were able to land him.
“He’s just embracing being a part of this team,” DeVries said.
Small is accustomed to playing big roles as he averaged 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game last season at Oklahoma State. That earned him all-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
“He’s really confident, he’s a veteran point guard,” DeVries said.
The structure of the offense with DeVries being able to space the floor and line it with multiple shooters also helps his efforts when it comes to being productive.
I think one of the things that’s really helped him here too is we’re able to get him a little better spacing for him. We’ve got some shooting around him which allows him to get into spaces a little bit better so when he gets by his guy there’s not two guys waiting for him,” he said.
But the mentality of doing what’s best for the team is one that’s not always there for key players. And Small embracing what needs to be done to win instead of for himself has made him an impressive challenge for any defense to account for every trip down the floor.
“I’m not really hungry to score the ball all the time so if I see the open man or the open pass I’m just going to make the pass,” Small said. “I’ve always felt like I’ve had a pretty key role or responsibilities, but I do whatever the team needs me to do for us to win.”
----------
• 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
