The WVU basketball team takes a hit prior to the 2016-17 season.
As Devin Williams recently announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft and Jonathan Holton and Jaysean Paige departing after graduation, the Mountaineers could use some more, ready to play right away, talented players.
WVU basketball head coach Bob Huggins is never against adding transfers, in fact he embraces it. Holton and Paige were both transfers. Current players Teyvon Myers, Tarik Phillip and James Long all started their careers elsewhere before coming to West Virginia.
Other recent stars like Juwan Staten, Dominique Rutledge and Aric Murray were transfer players for the Mountaineers.
Of course, Huggins has seen his fair share of player transfer out of WVU, too. Guys like the aforementioned Murray, Terry Henders, Jabarie Hinds and Eron Harris all left the Mountaineers shortly after starting their careers here.
At this point, West Virginia could use a transfer or two to bolster the talent pool and add to the depth on the bench.
Huggins showed last season how he covets a fresh lineup. With that comes a deep bench. What Huggins can promise to potential players is above-average playing time. That may not mean a starting spot right away, but with ample rotations in and out, any player has a chance to make an impact with their minutes on the court.
One player the WVU basketball team has already looked into is Merrill Holden, previously at Louisiana Tech.
Louisiana Tech transfer Merrill Holden told @CBSSports his new list is Iowa St , Illinois, Cincinnati, Jacksonville St, WVU, and UCF.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 23, 2016
Holden is the inside presence the Mountaineers will desperately need now that the production from Williams is gone. Holden stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 220 pounds.
At the age of 22, he may have already maxed out on his physical development, but Holden will have a season to hit the WVU basketball team’s state-of-the-art weight room in order to prepare for the Big 12 Conference the following season.
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Last season, Holden averaged 8.1 points per game, with five rebounds and 1.1 blocks. His highest rebounding output was 11 in a victory against North Texas.
It should be noted that West Virginia is currently at its scholarship limit for next season with three incoming freshman joining the team. So far this offseason, nobody has transferred away from the WVU basketball program.
The most likely candidate for a transfer is seldom-used Brandon Watkins, but that’s not to say he is going anywhere. Watkins, however, is a 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward that plays similar to Holden.