Where could West Virginia go with final two hoops scholarships?
The West Virginia basketball program currently has 11 scholarship players in place for the 2024-25 season which leaves the door open for the coaching staff to add two more to the roster.
So, what are the primary needs and where does head coach Darian DeVries elect to utilize those open spots? There are a lot of avenues that the coaching staff could take but here is my best idea on where the final two remaining scholarships could potentially be utilized.
And DeVries is certainly aware of the needs as he told the panel of the podcast 3 Guys Before the Game with Tony Caridi and Hoppy Kercheval.
“We’ve been actively recruiting still, and we’ll continue to do that until either the roster is full, or we end up not signing someone,” DeVries said. “We’re not going to just take someone to take someone but at the same time making sure we’re very aggressive in trying to fill some needs we feel like we have yet.”
Still, with the July on the horizon time is ticking and the Mountaineers know exactly what they are trying to get and if they can find the right pieces out there to fill those needs.
“We’ve been looking for that and if we can find that right person we’re going to try to capitalize on that and if we can’t we’re just going to hang onto it,” DeVries said.
West Virginia only had one true five on the roster right now in Eduardo Andre although Amani Hansberry could and likely will fill that role as a small-ball option for the Mountaineers that can stretch the floor. So, it’s safe to say that more help could be used there to get more size on the roster.
Ideally, the Mountaineers need to find a reliable big that can score the ball with their back-to-the basket and can potentially help to provide more minutes at the position. That is a difficult ask at this stage when it comes to transfer portal options but even creating a two-man situation at the five would be a benefit to the roster.
“We could use a little more size. Everybody that looks at our roster can figure that out pretty quickly,” DeVries said. “We need a little more size. I like the guys we have, doesn’t mean we’re not there but we could use some more size for sure to balance out our roster.”
As for the final spot, West Virginia could look at an additional wing given the fact that the Mountaineers are expected to play with guard heavy lineups in a five-out offense. Both DeVries and Toby Okani are key pieces there but an additional option to round things out could go a long way toward addressing any depth concerns especially another player that can shoot the ball to space the floor along with Jayden Stone.
Still, even with many needs filled the program is staying diligent in trying to address which ones remain.
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