Ross Hodge put a lot of work in this offseason to bring a formidable roster into his second season at the helm of the West Virginia Mountaineers. And amid some of the flashier transfer portal additions and freshman class signees, West Virginia added a veteran guard with Power 5 starting experience that could sneakily be one of the glue pieces to West Virginia's lineup this coming season.
Martin Somerville will likely be important piece of West Virginia's lineup
Among the six transfer portal additions the Mountaineers made this offseason was Martin Somerville, who initially began his career with UMass Lowell before transferring to the Florida State Seminoles last season. And on Monday's edition of Country Roads Confidential, EerSports reporter Mike Casazza mentioned Somerville's name as one under-the-radar player will likely play an important role on this team.
"Somerville for basketball. I really like him as an addition, and I think (EerSports reporter) Andrew Corbett has done online [highlighting him]...and 'capital P' people have pulled me aside asking, have you seen this? I'm like yeah, he works for us," Casazza said.
"He's done some good stuff and shared some clips on our site, and I think he's a good addition. Is he going to start? No. Is he going to be a double-digit points scorer? Probably not. But he's going to give you good minutes, and he's going to be a good benefit for Miles Sadler in the backcourt...I had him under-the-radar, and now he's right in the middle of the radar."
Somerville's signing seemed to come out of nowhere, without much leaking about a connection between the junior guard and the Mountaineers until the news broke he would be coming to Morgantown. He also started a handful of games for Florida State last season, but was mainly used in a reserve role.
But that does not mean you should be counting Somerville out. During his freshman season at UMass Lowell, he averaged 13.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and also knocked down 75 three-pointers at a 40.5% clip. He was also a solid role player for the Seminoles last year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals while appearing in every game.
So it's seems very possible that Somerville could occupy a very important role for the Mountaineers this coming season, something similar to Chance Moore's role last season as a bench player who helped hold the lineup together. He will be one player worth watching closely when the season gets under way this November.
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