The West Virginia Mountaineers basketball program has secured a transfer big out of the portal with a commitment from UNC Wilmington center Harlan Obioha.
Obioha, 7-foot-0, 280-pounds, picked the Mountaineers over plenty of interest including Texas, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Wichita State, Wake Forest and Rutgers, among others, after he entered into the transfer portal.
Given his size and production, Obioha was a sought-after big in the transfer market but gives the Mountaineers the first known addition under new head coach Ross Hodge.
Obioha spent only one season at UNC Wilmington where he averaged 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and shot 63-percent from the field while starting 23 games this past year. That included 7 points and 9 rebounds against Texas Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to that Obioha spent two years on the floor at Niagara where he averaged 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in the first season in just over 9 minutes per game. Those totals saw a significant increase as a sophomore jumping to 10.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game before transferring to UNC Wilmington.
The Kansas native has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Obioha and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball program both now and in the future.
Fitting the program:
Obioha is a skilled big with soft hands who does his best work around the basket. Given his size, Obioha is a load when he gets the ball deep on the block and is crafty enough to create opportunities for himself as well.
Obioha scores almost 70-percent of his points at the rim and over 90-percent of his field goal attempts came from there meaning that he is going to go to work in the paint. He has good feet and understands positioning both to score the basketball and rebound on both ends of the floor. The post-up game is where he is most effective but also has proven to be a weapon in the pick and roll game.
On the defensive end, Obioha is a true five but with that is a skilled shot blocker that averaged over one per game last season and will be a fit with what he can do there.
Quite simply, the West Virginia roster is pretty barren at the moment so adding an impact transfer especially one that is topping over 7-feet is a good way to start the incoming transfer portal movement. This was a player that was in high demand and the Mountaineers were able to land a big to start building the roster around.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia currently only has four players on the roster for the time being and it’s unclear if that many end up remaining with the program when the dust settles with a new coaching staff in town. That means that there are going to be plenty of more additions at various spots on the roster in order to fill things out and construct a team that will be able to compete in year one under Hodge in the Big 12.
Still, finding quality centers is a difficult task in the transfer market and this is a good way to jump start things for the program.
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