The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

September 28, 2009

Huggs excited about season

By Dave Morrison

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins always approaches each new season with the same zeal and zest that he always has.

But the third-year WVU coach admits that he is a little more excited about this season.

And not so much because most preseason polls and magazines have the Mountaineers listed as one of the top three or four schools in the Big East.

“I hope they’re right,” Huggins said.

Huggins was in Beckley Saturday for the coaches and supporters of West Virginia basketball programs event sponsored by Little General Convenience Stores and Mountain Eagle Distributing.

Of course, how the Mountaineers fare in the Big East and beyond will be played out this season.

No, Huggins’ enthusiasm in based on experience.

The team lost one senior from last year, Alex Ruoff, and they return most of the key ingredients of a team that was 23-12 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Back are Da’Sean Butler (17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) and Devin Ebanks (10.5 and 7.9), who make up what might be the best frontcourt in the Big East, the best basketball conference in the nation.

Back is Wellington Smith, who, along with Butler, started all 35 games last season. Also back is point guard Truck Bryant, who started 28 games after Joe Mazzulla was injured. And now Mazzulla is back, too. Super sub Kevin Jones is back.

In other words, the Mountaineers return a wealth of talent, and that doesn’t count incoming freshmen Danny Jennings, Dalton Pepper and former Mountain State Academy player Deniz Kilicli and JUCO transfer Casey Mitchell.

“You always want to be one of the ones people are talking about (as a potential conference champion, if not Final Four participant),” Huggins said. “Every year we’ve done this that was the goal, to be there at the end of the year. That’s the way we try to build the program. And we’ll keep doing it. That’s our goal.”

Butler, Bryant and Jones were freshmen last year.

And all have come back better, bigger and stronger.

“If you see Devin, Kevin and Truck, they’re so much better, and bigger, than they were last year,” Huggins said. “Devin is up to about 220 (pounds) after coming in last year at about 190-195. K.J. is up to about 250, from about 215. And Truck is in a lot better shape than where he was last year.”

Off-the-court incidents that drew both Bryant and Mazzulla suspensions — and some doubt about whether either would return — have been resolved, the coach said.

“Not only have they done everything I expected from them,” Huggins said, “but they have done everything expected from the university.”

Huggins said he didn’t know if the Big East would have the star power of last year.

“I think we’ll have more depth,” Huggins said. “I don’t know if we’ll match last year. That was one of the all-time great conferences last year.”

Huggins said Kilicli (6-foot-9, 270), who played for the Turkish National Team over the summer and was the only Mountaineer missing from summer workouts, is progressing, Huggins said.

“He’s getting close to being in shape,” the coach said. “Of course, we won’t know anything until we get in there and start coaching these kids.”

He said he intends to play everyone, and get a good barometer of just where the team is, when the Mountaineers play an exhibition game against Beckley’s Mountain State University, coached by Huggins’ friend and one of the top coaches in the NAIA ranks, Bob Bolen.

— E-mail: demorrison@

register-herald.com

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