The West Virginia Mountaineers have seen a lot of talent suit up in the old-gold-and-blue in recent years, but over the past couple of seasons, they've lacked a truly impactful presence in the paint.
Having a player that has the natural size, strength, and inside presence to not just slide into the 5-man role is critical for any team that wants to have a successful run at the collegiate level. And one could argue that's one piece that could have elevated recent West Virginia teams from NCAA Tournament bubble teams to legitimate contenders.
Of course, the past two seasons have seen new coaches take over after the portal had already opened, which put the program a step behind when it came to roster building. And there's no tougher gap to fill in the portal than the center position, with elite players coming few and far in-between. So entering his second season with the program, that was a priority for Ross Hodge.
He ended up getting his preferred target from the beginning, landing sophomore Mouhamed Sylla – who was rated by 247Sports as a Top 5 center prospect in the portal, and was a four-star recruit and the second-best center in the country in the 2025 recruiting class. And in Sylla, Hodge could finally have that crucial big man the Mountaineers have been missing.
Mouhamed Sylla's freshman stats demonstrate an elite inside presence
For the sake of this conversation, we're going to put scoring ability aside for this conversation and show what other aspects the lengthy, 6-foot-10 big man adds for the Mountaineers – although he did average 9.6 points per game last year for Georgia Tech.
But where he really shines are numbers you're not going to see in the traditional newspaper box score. Last year, when you analyze his game a bit closer, you realize Sylla posted some jawdropping numbers that no other Power 5 player achieved, and only two other Division 1 players across the country managed to hit.
Across 16 games before his season ended with injury, Sylla posted a 10%+ offensive rebounding rate, 25%+ defensive rebounding rate, 6%+ block rate and 1.5%+ steal rate. That demonstrates high-level shot-blocking and rebounding talents that very few players posses, and it indicates he will be uniquely disruptive inside, particularly given his size.
It appears that after a couple of years in the dark without a truly dominant big man, the Mountaineers finally have a center that can truly control the game. And if he lives up to that stat line listed above once again, he could be among the best centers in all of Division 1 basketball.
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