2023-09-26 13:01:39
The West Virginia basketball roster has taken shape for next season following a wave of departures and additions. So WVSports.com takes a look at what the roster will look like and which players fit in where heading into next season.
Departing Players from 2021-22: Guard Erik Stevenson (graduation), forward Emmitt Matthews (graduation), point guard Kedrian Johnson (graduation), forward Tre Mitchell (Kentucky), center Mohamed Wague (Alabama), point guard Joe Toussaint (Texas Tech), forward James Okonkwo (North Carolina), center Jimmy Bell (Mississippi State), point guard Josiah Davis (Tennessee Tech) and forward Jamel King (Kennesaw State)
Incoming Players for 2022-23: Point guard Kerr Kriisa (Arizona), center Jesse Edwards (Syracuse), guard RaeQuan Battle (Montana State), forward Akok Akok (Georgetown), forward Quinn Slazinski (St. John’s), guard Jeremiah Bembry ( Florida State), guard Noah Farrakhan (Eastern Michigan) and forward Ofri Naveh (Israel).
–West Virginia returns only five players from last season and they combined to average just 9.4 points per game which is only 12-percent of the total production. Of course, only four of those players actually saw the floor in Seth Wilson, Kobe Johnson, Josiah Harris and Patrick Suemnick because Jose Perez was not declared eligible.
–Given the turmoil with the off-season issues that led to former head coach Bob Huggins resigning it’s impressive what the final roster looks like as the coaching staff was asked to rebuild it not once but twice.
–The biggest loss from a scoring perspective comes in the form of guard Erik Stevenson who averaged 15.4 points per game last season. That is hard to replace but the program was active in the transfer portal attempting to accomplish just that.
–The other three double figure scorers on the roster also have departed with forward Emmitt Matthews (10.2) and point guard Kedrian Johnson (11.7) graduating and Tre Mitchell (11.7) electing to transfer to Kentucky for his final season.
–The good news is while West Virginia is dealing with a lot of turnover on the roster, the coaches effectively used the transfer portal to find proven options to fill holes on the roster. And while there was a lot of turnover, the roster might end up coming out as a net positive considering that overall experience.
–Losing Johnson at point guard was a blow considering how much he had developed his game over the past couple seasons with his most productive year in his final one.Then you throw on the departure of backup Joe Toussaint to the transfer portal to rival Texas Tech. But the Mountaineers prioritized the point guard position landing Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa. The Estonian point guard averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists last season and spent three years with the Wildcats leading the Pac-12 in assists a year ago. He shot 37-percent from the field and three. A natural point guard, the Mountaineers made Kriisa a priority from the minute he entered into the transfer portal and were able to secure his first official visit. While he would take an official visit to Nebraska and had strong interest from Xavier, West Virginia was able to win the battle. As depth, the program also was able to go out and secure Florida State point guard Jeremiah Bembry. The 6-foot-6 point guard spent only season with the Seminoles where he did not see the floor due to injuries. But given his size, length and versatility he is an exciting addition for the program. Bembry averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game, showcasing his ability to affect things in a variety of ways. He will have all four years of eligibility remaining in his career as well.
–One piece that will be interesting to track is Noah Farrakhan as the Eastern Michigan transfer had already previously transferred once so he would need a waiver, which isn’t expected to happen. He is coming off a productive season with the Eagles where he averaged 12.1 points and 2.3 assists per contest and the year prior those scoring totals were 16.6 per game. He started 54 of 58 games during his two seasons in the Mid-American Conference and is a point guard that can score the basketball as well as distribute the rock. Farrakhan isn’t expected to eligible this coming year but can step into a much larger role in his second year.
–At two guard the Mountaineers will look to replace the highly productive Stevenson with Montana State guard RaeQuan Battle. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 17.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47-percent from the floor and 35-percent from three which attracted a long list of suitors following he elected to enter his name into the transfer portal. The Mountaineers were able to secure the pledge of the first-team all-Big Sky selection and added yet another strong piece to the roster. Battle is going to be depended upon to fill a major role in the back court for the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers also have other depth including Seth Wilson and Kobe Johnson to round things out.
–It was dicey for a bit but West Virginia was able to retain the services of Jose Perez following he entered into the transfer portal in July. In 2021, Perez averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game and was tabbed as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year prior to the start of this season before transferring out of that program. Retaining his services will allow him to step in at the three or two depending on the lineup and fill the vacancy left behind by Matthews. Josiah Harris also returns and seems primed to make a leap in year two while the Mountaineers also were able to go out and add Israel native Ofri Naveh to add even further depth there.
–West Virginia added two very versatile and different pieces at the four to try to fill the losses there when Tre Mitchell, James Okonkwo and Mohamed Wague all exited. Akok Akok, was a big time pull for the program there late in August. Akok, 6-foot-10, 205-pounds, entered the transfer portal following graduating from Georgetown in August where he spent only one season with the Hoyas. During that time, he started 31 total games for the Big East program where he averaged 6.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. The Egyptian has two years left and is a highly talented big that came available and fills a major need for the program in the process.Then it was Iona forward Quinn Slazinski. The 6-foot-9 forward followed his head coach Rick Pitino to St. John’s but elected to open the process and reenter the transfer portal following a few months in order to explore his options which led him to West Virginia shortly following entering the transfer portal. Slazinski is a stretch four that can spread the defense with his shooting while also showing capable skills on the glass. He averaged 11.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field prior to a season ending injury derailed the year following just seven games. The year before that Slazinski started 23 of his 33 appearances and averaged 8.4 points. The program also has the benefit of Patrick Suemnick returning for another year.
–The final major addition is at center with West Virginia adding Syracuse center Jesse Edwards. One of the top players that came available in the transfer portal this off-season, the 6-foot-11 big has one year of eligibility remaining and is coming off an impressive season for the Orange where he averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He spent four seasons at Syracuse following coming over from Amsterdam and has developed significantly over the past two. A third-team all-ACC and all-Defensive selection a season ago, Edwards is a highly athletic big who has developed his overall skill set in almost every area during his time in college. There is no question that West Virginia made an upgrade here, while Akok should be able to help.
–My projected starting five: Kriisa, Battle, Perez, Akok and Edwards.
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