WVU Basketball: The return of Mr. Carter

The WVU basketball program was devastated when Jevon Carter announced he would be testing the NBA Draft waters.

After today’s announcement, you could hear a sigh of relief from the hills of West Virginia; Jevon Carter is returning for his senior season.

“I’m excited about coming back to West Virginia and playing with my teammates for my senior season,” Carter said via WVUsports.com. “The entire NBA process was a great experience for me and to gain valuable feedback that I can use to prepare for the future.”

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The NBA Draft is enticing for every college basketball player, and when the opportunity presents itself, one must check it out. That’s exactly what Carter did.

As a junior, Carter led the ‘Eers in scoring with 13.5 points per game, but was a force to be reckoned with on the other end as well.

He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in steals, and also won the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Defensive Player of the Year award. Six previous winners won the award multiple times – and with his return to Morgantown – Carter could be No. 7.

So what does this mean for WVU basketball? Everything!

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With the departure of seniors Nathan Adrian, Teyvon Myers, Tarik Phillip and Brandon Watkins, head coach Bob Huggins is losing a lot of experience. Esa Ahmad is poised for a stellar junior campaign, and Carter’s presence should help facilitate that. Incoming freshman Derek Culver could be an important piece for coach Huggins and Press Virginia too.