The West Virginia Mountaineers seem to be mostly wrapping up their recruiting activity, and so far, the program has appeared to make out as one of the top winners of the offseason between their additions at the high school level and in the portal.
Now, with business coming to a close and teams preparing to enter the offseason, it's time to start taking a look at how the lineup for the Mountaineers might shake out next season. Here are our post-portal projections.
Projected West Virginia depth chart
PG: Miles Sadler, Martin Somerville, Amir Jenkins
SG: Finley Bizjack, Joson Sanon, Keonte Greybear
SF: Joson Sanon, Seydou Traore, Evans Barning Jr.
PF: Javan Buchanan, Seydou Traore, Aliou Dioum
C: Mouhamed Sylla, Amadou Seini, Aliou Dioum
Who actually plays?
We know that Ross Hodge typically runs an eight-man rotation, sometimes stretching to nine players. We listed 12 different players in a three-deep depth chart, with some players listed at a couple different positions due to their versatility in the rotation. This assumes that sophomores Niyol Hauet and MJ Feenane, who were walk-on players last year, and Max Olejasz, who signed in this year's freshman class in a similar role, are nothing more than practice squad players.
Next, you have your third-string players, who might see action in garbage team or if injuries arise but likely won't factor in. This includes the two lower-rated freshman of the four big names in the class, Keonte Greybear and Aliou Dioum, and sophomore Evans Barning Jr., who didn't see action as a freshman but starred on the Nike EYBL circuit before becoming a late addition last year.
This also includes Amir Jenkins, but he should be expected to battle for a spot in the main eight-man rotation if he is healthy and full-strength come the season. However, that's not a guarantee after undergoing two shoulder surgeries, and he'll certainly miss offseason workouts and a portion of preseason practices in the best case scenario.
That's likely why the Mountaineers splurged on another guard in the signing class as well as both Sanon and Somerville – in preparation that Jenkins might not be healthy.
So that leaves an eight-man rotation of Miles Sadler, Finley Bizjack, Joson Sanon, Javan Buchanan, Mouhamed Sylla, Martin Somerville, Seydou Traore, and Amadou Seini. While it feels like they went for Sanon for a purpose (he came late in the process and was reportedly a pricey add), it also wouldn't be surpirsing to see Hodge deviate from our projection and start Traore over Sanon.
In the same vein, it would also be reasonable to assume we could occasionally see Sanon at small forward and Traore at power forward with Buchanan coming off the bench in a smaller lineup. But all three players feel as if they could fill the Treysen Eaglestaff/Brenen Lorient combo in the starting lineup with the third assuming a Chance Moore role off the bench.
Similarly, it feels like Sanon could easily start at shooting guard with a Traore/Buchanan/Sylla front court if the Mountaineers want to optimize length. It feels like Bizjack/Sanon will handle the majority of the duties at the 2-guard spot, and Somerville brings experience at both guard spots, which provides a true backup point in Jenkins is sidelined while also adding depth on the wing.
You assume Sylla will see a lot of action, with Seini providing limited but significant minutes off the bench in a similar role to DJ Thomas or Amir Jenkins last season, albeit in a lighter role at first due to how raw of a talent he currently is.
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