To say Bob Huggins wasn’t happy with his team’s rebounding would be an understatement.

The frustration was obvious on the bench and rightfully so.

The Mountaineers were soundly beaten on the glass by 15 to Oakland and the Golden Grizzlies held a +9 advantage in offensive rebounding. One sequence in the first half saw the opposition gather their own miss on three consecutive chances to put it in for a layup.

“We just stand around and watch,” Huggins said. “That has to get fixed in a hurry.”

And how is that going to be accomplished?

“We’re going to rebound until we’ve got some black and blue butts tomorrow,” he said. “We’re going to block out and block out and block out tomorrow.”

West Virginia lost leading rebounder Derek Culver in the off-season and that area was one of the biggest concerns heading into the start of the season. That effort, against an Oakland team that wasn’t necessarily big, only adds to that concern.

Senior Gabe Osabuohien pulled down nine of the 33 total rebounds and recognizes the importance of improving in that department moving forward if the Mountaineers want to have success against the teams that lie ahead for them on the schedule.

The biggest portion of that is simply effort, which is something that Osabuohien clearly doesn’t lack. And the fact it’s been a calling card for Huggins’ teams over the years makes it even more disappointing.

“Be more physical with the bigs and going after the ball,” Osabuohien said. “Rebounding is just a want so whoever wants it more is going to get it.”

The good news is that West Virginia believes it has the personnel to do just that. It’s just a mental issue and making sure you are in position to get the basketball.

It’s not necessarily an option if you want to get on the floor though and will be the emphasis leading up to the Pittsburgh game.

“If they want to play they’ll learn, if they don’t want to play they won’t,” Huggins said.

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