The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

November 28, 2011

Akron’s Marshall a concern for Mountaineers

By Dave Morrison Register-Herald Sports Writer

West Virginia begins a brutal four-game stretch tonight when the Mountaineers (3-1) host Akron (3-2) at the WVU Coliseum.

WVU also has road games at Mississippi State and Kansas State before returning home to take on Miami Dec. 10.

Akron, a former coaching stop for West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, owns the lone win over Mississippi State and boasts a front line led by 7-foot Zeke Marshall.

The McKeesport, Pa., native averages nine points and 4.2 rebounds and averages just over three blocks per game.

“And he probably changes another 10,” Huggins said. “He’s a factor. They have an exxperienced front line and they have youth, and that is a good combination.”

Akron finished 23-13 last year and lost to Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Quincy Diggs, a 6-6 forward, leads the Zips, averaging 11.2 points per game, and 6-6 Nikola Cvetinovic averages 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.

“Game in and game out, Diggs has been their best player,” Huggins said. “That’s a good front line.”

Key for the Mountaineers will be 6-9, 270-pound junior Deniz Kilicli, the former MSU Academy standout.

“Deniz has just got to get his head up and make the easy (shots) he gets,” Huggins said. “It’s not a matter of him getting open shots, he just has to make the quality shots he is getting.”

Kilicli is averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds for West Virginia.

Kevin Jones is the Mountaineers’ leader, averaging a double-double at 21.8 points and 12.3 rebounds. Truck Bryant is averaging 15.3 points and 3.5 assists and true freshman Jabarie Hinds averages 10 points, 4.3 assists and three rebounds per game.

WVU has won two straight — over Alcorn State and Morehead State — after a loss to Kent State.

“We’re getting better,” Huggins said. “We’re making rotations. We’re doing a much better job rebounding the ball. When you don’t make any rotations, it makes it really hard and allows people to get easy shots.”

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at will air on ROOT Sports (formerly Fox Pittsburgh) with Rob King and former Greenbrier East and WVU star Warren Baker on the call.

— E-mail: demorrison@

register-herald.com

Text Only
College Sports
  • 051913 KWarriors.jpg King’s Warriors take down Chaos 3-1

    Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors head coach Scott Reitnour had a busy day Saturday.

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • McCartney says he’s returning to Mountaineers

    The Twitter world was full of West Virginia University sports news Saturday, beginning with the revelation that Ivan McCartney will likely be returning to the Mountaineer football team.

    May 19, 2013

  • Harrick was greatest 2-sport coach at WVU

    The late Steve Harrick was the longest serving, most successful two-sport head coach in West Virginia University’s athletic history.

    May 18, 2013

  • Concord wastes 2-run lead in 9th, eliminated from regional

    Concord University lost a two-run lead in the ninth inning and was eliminated from the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region baseball playoffs by the Winston-Salem State Rams, 7-5 on Friday afternoon at Gene Hooks Field.

    May 18, 2013

  • Musgrave named Pitcher of the Year Finalist

    May 16, 2013

  • Concord drops NCAA Tournament opener to Millersville 5-4 in Winston-Salem

    May 16, 2013

  • Crutchfield talks about his system, recruiting, focus

    Jim Crutchfield, whose basketball program at West Liberty University is the nation’s best in NCAA Division II, insists that there’s really no secret to his team’s soaring success.
    The Hilltoppers not only lead the collegiate basketball world in scoring with an incredible 103-point average but also are No. 1 in marginal victory at 25-plus.
    “I try to stay as local as I can in recruiting,” the 57-year-old Clarksburg native said. Most of his players come from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

    May 16, 2013

  • 051613 wvu marshall ‘It’s been great for the state’

    West Virginia and Marshall are going to continue to meet on the baseball diamond. After a nearly 15-year break in the series, all involved agreed that rekindling the rivalry between the state’s two biggest schools — a series that culminated with a 6-5 Marshall victory Tuesday at Linda K. Epling Stadium — was a solid idea.

    May 15, 2013 1 Photo

  • WVU closes season against OSU

    The West Virginia University baseball team will close out the regular season this weekend against Big 12 foe Oklahoma State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., and there will be a great deal on the line.

    May 15, 2013

  • Brett Morris will walk on at WVU

    The West Virginia University basketball team will be filled with southern West Virginia flavor next season after Brett Morris announced this week that he’ll be joining head coach Bob Huggins’ program as a preferred walk-on. Morris, the Class AA all-state captain, will join Shady Spring’s Chase Connor, who will also be walking on for the Mountaineers, and Greenbrier East’s Richard Romeo, who is already a walk-on in the program.

    May 15, 2013