WVU basketball opened its 2025 season with a home win over Mount St. Mary’s in a 70-54 win on Tuesday, and is set for action again tonight against Campbell. And one player on the current roster made a huge impact in the opening win, and showed similar shades of a former fan favorite in one big aspect of his game.
WVU forward Brenen Lorient is new to the program, but some might have feel like they've seen a version of him (albeit less offensively effective) in for WVU star Gabe Osabuohien. Lorient finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, one assist, one block, and shot 55.6% from the floor on Monday.
Lorient transferred to WVU from North Texas, following his head coach Ross Hodge from North Texas to Morgantown. During Tuesday’s game, the former North Texas forward and current Mountaineer showed signs of a relentless defense with long arms that disrupted the passing lanes for Mount Saint Mary’s. Lorient's play looked similar to the play of Osabuohien, who played for the Mountaineers from 2019-2022 and made a name for elite effort on the defensive side of the ball. Struggling to impact the game on the offensive side of the game, Osabuohien did everything he could to impact the game defensively game in and game out for the Mountaineers, and found a crucial role in the program with that play.
Lorient does add more value on the offensive side of the ball than Osabuohien did during his tenure for the Mountaineers, but they both used their tall frames and long arms to affect the passing lanes for opposing teams. Lorient during his career is averaging 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game over his 89 game career. For the former WVU forward, Osabuohien averaged 2.9 points, one steal, 1.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game over his 142 game career.
It is only a one-game sample size, but if Lorient can continue to bring that disruptive presence on defense for WVU, Lorient might also find himself as a fan favorite by the end of the season.