The new era of WVU men’s basketball under head coach Ross Hodge will officially begin on November 4 when the Mountaineers' regular season tips off. However, fans got an early look at the Mountaineers on Sunday in an exhibition matchup against Division 2 program Wheeling (WV) at the Hope Coliseum. West Virginia was victorious by a final score of 80-54.
Independent of the outcome, it was good to see the new-look Mountaineers take the floor. With the start of the season just days away, there is a healthy buzz in Morgantown surrounding the men’s basketball program. Let’s assess the performance of the team in their exhibition game.
The Good
Harlan Obioha
If there was one notable mismatch heading into the game, it was West Virginia 7-footer Harlan Obioha matching up with a much smaller Wheeling team. In 19 minutes played, Obioha had his way with 19 points and eight rebounds while shooting 8-of-9 from the floor. The only thing he didn’t do particularly well was shoot free throws, making just 3-of-7 attempts from the stripe. Certainly, this will be something to monitor as the season progresses. Obioha is a 62.9% free-throw shooter over the course of his career.
Jasper Floyd’s Pace and Control
While his stats weren’t jaw-dropping, in just 20 minutes played, you could tell just how important Jasper Floyd will be to the team’s success this season. As the starting point guard with one year of experience in Ross Hodge’s system at North Texas, Floyd controls the pace and holds the keys to the offense. His veteran leadership will be vital this season; you could see it even in the small sample size against Wheeling.
Brenen Lorient’s Versatility
If you have kept up with the WVU basketball program throughout the off-season, you’ve likely heard about Brenen Lorient’s impressive athleticism for a 6-foot-9 forward – and it was on display against Wheeling. Lorient looked rather comfortable on both ends of the floor. He posted 14 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal in 25 minutes while making 7-of-9 shot attempts.
The Not So Good
Turnovers
West Virginia turned the ball over 13 times, and honestly, it felt like even more. While it is common for turnovers to be higher in October scrimmages and November non-conference matchups, this sloppy play is a bit of a concern for WVU.
There were a couple of spurts in this game where Wheeling took advantage of West Virginia’s struggles offensively and defensively. Wheeling began the second half on a run of their own, forcing Hodge to call a timeout in the first few minutes. In one sense, this is why you play these exhibition games as you work out the kinks for an entirely new roster. Hopefully, West Virginia will be able to seal things up over the next week of practice and play a cleaner game in the season opener.
Treysen Eaglestaff Struggling in a Foreign Role?
Make no mistake about it, Treysen Eaglestaff was “the guy” for North Dakota team last year. Not only did he average 18.9 points per game, he had 149 more shot attempts than the next closest on the team. Now, at West Virginia, he is surrounded by high-level talent and may see his shot attempts decrease due to the balance of the roster.
Now, we’re not going to blow things out of proportion after a Sunday exhibition in October, but watching how Eaglestaff finds himself in this offense will be something to monitor. He had limited ball-handling opportunities in his 23 minutes played, making just 1-of-7 three-point attempts, and he did not attempt a shot inside the arc.