Darian DeVries couldn’t have scripted a better start for his West Virginia basketball team in his first regular season game atop the program against Robert Morris.
The Mountaineers raced out to a 30-2 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and never really looked back in a convincing 87-59 debut win.
“The first ten minutes we did exactly what we’re capable of,” forward Tucker DeVries said.
West Virginia came out aggressive on the defensive end and was able to force turnovers which led to easy baskets on the other end, while the offense was running at a high level and was able to get open looks. Now, the rest of the game wasn’t as perfect but some of that is due to building such a big lead early in the game.
For the game, the Mountaineers shot 55-percent from the field and 41-percent from three while recording 16 assists on 33 made baskets. There was a total of five players in double figures.
Still, the major lesson from this game is while the start is what you want to see it’s about finding a way to maintain that level of play throughout the course of the game especially as the schedule gets more difficult.
“For us it’s how do you capture those moments where I thought we were really good and continue to maintain that for a longer period of time. That’s the part we’ve got to continue to think about and talk about in the huddles,” DeVries said. “Maintaining that high level of urgency is what we’re looking for the most.”
It wasn’t all perfect, however, as West Virginia did hold the Colonials to just 32-percent from the floor on the defensive end but gave up a total of 16 offensive rebounds. That only resulted in 12 second-chance points in this game but limiting teams to one shot is critical for the success of the undersized Mountaineers.
“It’s just a mindset. We have to do a better job hitting bodies. When we’re giving up those rebounds most of it is just a lack of executing box outs and those habits have to get better,” DeVries said.
DeVries has been consistent that West Virginia has a chance to be very good on the defensive end, but clearing those rebounds will be the major factor in allowing that to occur. The head coach expects that there are going to be some ups and downs over the course of the season, but the goal is to continue to improve.
West Virginia had a pair of freshmen that were among those double-figure scorers as guard Jonathan Powell finished with 11 points on 4-8 shooting and point guard KJ Tenner recorded 10 on 4-5 shooting.
Tenner has continued to improve in practice and has earned the trust of the coaching staff to run the show and execute. The head coach was impressed with how aggressive and confident he played in the game. Powell on the other hand continued his string of strong play that dates back to the summer tour in Italy.
Both freshmen didn’t overthink their opportunities and instead played comfortably and under control.
“I just love the confidence they play with which we love and told them to go out and be aggressive and they’re going to make mistakes and that’s ok, but I really like their potential and their ability to give us a lift off the bench right now,” DeVries 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, @wesleyshoe
