The West Virginia coaching staff has been busy assembling the roster for the 2024-25 season and the Mountaineers are going to have plenty of options to sort through.
The Mountaineers are now up to 11 total scholarship players for next season with a nice mix of experienced and proven transfer portal options, transfers with potential and high school players.
DeVries has used a four-out type of look in the past and has the personnel to do that along with some very interesting lineups depending on how the Mountaineers want to deploy them. West Virginia will likely have defined positions at the one and the five, but the rest of the roster could be interchanged.
The first addition to the roster was Drake forward Tucker DeVries and he is an elite option as a scorer and can create with the ball in his hands. DeVries is likely to be a centerpiece to the offense likely at the four and the rest of the pieces should fit into the mix around what he brings to the table.
The Mountaineers have their proven point guard in Javon Small to run the offense, but he also has the ability to play off the ball allowing others to fill in there depending on the lineups on the floor. That is going to allow him to play with others in different situations to maximize what the program will be able to throw out there.
Those two players alone create a very impressive one-two punch to build around.
The backup point guard is likely set to be a player who has thrived in that role before in Washington State transfer Joseph Yesufu. He already has a history of filling that role for DeVries during his time at Drake where he put together the best season of his college career and could also play the two depending on the lineup.
The Mountaineers also have true freshman KJ Tenner who could provide minutes at the one although it’s unclear how much he will be asked to fill that role in year one.
The Mountaineers have options at the other guard spot with Detroit transfer Jayden Stone likely to see quite a bit of minutes there. A proficient scoring option who can put the ball in the basket at all three levels, Stone isn’t going to be asked to carry the offensive load he did last season but is an effective scorer who can put the ball on the floor as well as space the defense for the others to operate.
Stone, like most of these pieces, could also fill more spots depending on who is on the floor with him.
Illinois transfer Sencire Harris also is an elite defender with length as a possible two-guard and is going to be in the mix for minutes there depending on how he is deployed. Harris is developing on the offensive end but is going to be an interesting piece to the roster build given what he does bring to the table.
The final possible piece there is freshman Jonathan Powell and his size and skill set again make him a spot that also could be in the mix at other positions if need be. Still, like most freshmen, it is unclear what he will be asked to do in year one as he adjusts to the college game.
University of Illinois-Chicago wing Toby Okani will be able to fill in as a three or four and is going to pay dividends on the defensive end given his abilities on that end of the floor. That is going to allow the Mountaineers to do some different things with DeVries as he won’t be asked to defend the three position in the Big 12 Conference given the flexibility the roster has with the current roster.
The only returning player on the roster from last season is Ofri Naveh and he is likely going to fill a role at the three for the Mountaineers with what he brings to the table.
At the five spot, West Virginia will have options despite the overall lack of size at the position. Eduardo Andre was recruited as a traditional big who can score around the basket and protect the rim. The Fresno State transfer can score with his back to the basket and should see plenty of minutes there.
Amani Hansberry, the transfer of Illinois, is a highly skilled big who is likely to see the bulk of his time at the five as well although he could also play the four if necessary. Hansberry was a highly recruited high school big and is a player who has loads of potential given his ability to play inside or out.
Overall, there is plenty of athleticism and length across the board with this group which is going to allow the coaching staff to mix and match a number of different lineups that will maximize that. DeVries had a clear plan when it came to assembling this group and the fruits of that labor are starting to show.
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