It's been just over a couple weeks since West Virginia men's basketball starter Tucker DeVries was ruled out indefinitely with an injury. With no new word on DeVries -- who is one of the most critical pieces to WVU roster this year -- and Big 12 action set to kick off with a trip to Kansas on December 31st, let's take a look at the keys to success in Big 12 play for the Mountaineers without DeVries.
Finding Another Consistent Scorer
It's probably best to look at WVU’s performance against their relatively small sample size of power conference opponents and Top 25 opponents to attempt to best predict how Big 12 play might go. And the Mountaineers have performed best against those opponents this season when being able to put forth at least three double-digit scorers in a game -- and one of those was usually Tucker DeVries.
WVU has had five matchups with opponents that are either currently ranked amidst the AP Top 25 or play in a power conference -- they are 3-2 in those games. In two of those wins over Arizona and No. 14 Gonzaga, the Mountaineers had four double-digit scorers. In another win over Georgetown, they had three double-digit scorers but a combined 41 points from DeVries and Javon Small.
Meanwhile, the loss to Pitt saw the team have just two double-digit scorers and the loss to Louisville had three double-digit scorers, but none of those were DeVries. In fact, those two losses were the only games DeVries has played in where he didn’t score at least 10 points.
It's clear the team needs 3-4 consistent double-digit scorers -- the more the better -- to compete in a league like the Big 12 night in and night out. However, there are only three players on the roster averaging double-digits each game -- DeVries, Amani Hansberry, and Small. Toby Okani and Johnathan Powell are the next highest scorers, both over 8 points per game but under 10 points per game.
To get to the level of success the Mountaineers have seen in non-conference play, they will need Hansberry to continue to match or elevate his levels of scoring production and another piece of the rotation -- likely Okani or Powell -- to also elevate their offensive scoring production. To achieve a victory like the Gonzaga win, having all four hit double-digits might be necessary.
Finding Another Three-Point Scoring Threat
DeVries doesn’t just add a scoring threat for the Mountaineers, but in particular he might be the best deep-range threat the Mountaineers have.
Amongst the nine Mountaineers averaging more than 10 minutes per game, DeVries has the highest three-point percentage of them all -- he shoots 47% from behind-the-arc. That type of range adds to the difficulty of controlling an offensive weapon like DeVries, and adds to the overall scoring potential of the team.
This is a place where Johnathan Powell can step up and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. He is only fifth out of the aforementioned nine players with a three-point percentage of 35% but he has converted the third-most three-pointers of any player on the team this season with 24 such made buckets -- just behind DeVries with 26 total and Small with 28 total. If Powell can add what DeVries has been able to from deep consistently, the Mountaineers might find their third big scorer without DeVries and solve the issue of needing another deep-range shooting threat.
You also have the option of mixing in designed sets for reserve Jake Auer. Auer came to WVU for his final season of eligibility following a four-year Division 2 career, and has played just 20 overall minutes this season. But he has managed to establish himself as a credible three-point shooter, going 7-of-9 from behind-the-arc in his limited opportunities for a team-high 77% three-point field goal percentage. Auer might not be the type of player who can give 20+ minutes in the Big 12, but seeing his time increase a few minutes per game to add another deep-range weapon is feasible.
Utilizing The Remaining Roster's Size As Best As Possible
One of the big concerns for WVU headed into the season was whether or not the team had sufficient size to handle a Big 12 schedule. They’ve managed to surprise just about everyone with their toughness and rebounding abilities despite being an undersized group, but part of that also was supplemented by DeVries bringing a 6'7 frame that can snag boards to the floor as a wing player.
Once again, this is a place where Powell could fill in. The freshman guard has a long 6’6 body that can create mismatches at his position, and changes the dynamic of both the Mountaineers’ offense and defense when he is on the floor. Senior forward Haris Elezovic also is a potential option to strategically add size -- he brings a ton of collegiate experience and a 6’8 frame, though he’s more of a traditional forward than a wing like DeVries. However, Elezovic has only averaged 6 minutes per game this season.
A Role Player Must Step Up
Whether it's senior center Eduardo Andre, Auer, Elezovic, freshman guard KJ Tenner, or senior guard Joseph Yesufu, one of the team's five players who average 15-or-less minutes per game will have to elevate themselves as a more consistent and dynamic weapon in one facet of the game or another. Ideally, you see two or three of those players do so in different ways to combine as a unit to make up for the loss of DeVries.
But DeVries averages the second-most minutes per game for the Mountaineers at 34.6 -- and those type of minutes with the stat line that sits next to DeVries' name make for tough shoes to fill. And while a big leap forward from some combo of Hansberry, Okani, Powell -- or even other starter and stout defender Sencire Harris -- will help, it likely won't be enough. At least one of the guys playing limited minutes also needs to add to the team's dynamic in a new way.