The West Virginia Mountaineers basketball program will welcome a number of talented transfers into the fold and WVSports.com looks at each of those.
What are the opportunities for each this coming season and how do they fit into the picture with the basketball program?
We examine each.
2023-24 statistics: 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists
DeVries was one of the premier transfer options available this off-season after back-to-back Player of the Year honors in the Missouri Valley Conference. DeVries was in the top 35 of the country in usage and delivered, shooting 50 percent from two, 36.2 percent from three and 82.2 percent from the foul line. Those are strong numbers and his offensive rating of 109.9, which is a measure of offensive efficiency, indicates that.
He will unquestionably be one of the primary options for West Virginia this coming season and will be a major factor on the offensive end. Expect him at the four and while it will be a step up in competition, DeVries is more than ready for it. DeVries will be a starter and a critical part of any success the Mountaineers will have in year one.
2023-24 statistics: 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 44-percent from the field and 37-percent from three
Small is a proven point guard that has already experienced success in the Big 12 Conference. He possesses great size and is an effective and efficient scorer at all three levels. The talented guard can score off the bounce in the mid-range but excels shooting off the catch. He is difficult to guard and understands how to take good shots which is critical to his overall shooting percentages.
Small is a strong passer and is effective in pick and roll situations either scoring or distributing the basketball. He is a guard that is going to immediately upgrade the West Virginia backcourt as a point guard that can not only get his teammates involved but can be a major scoring option as well. He also could potentially play the two as well depending on the lineup giving the Mountaineers even more options by taking him off the ball to maximize what is on the floor at any given time.
For as much as DeVries is a critical piece, Small is every bit the same. Make no mistake about it the success Small has will dictate the success of this team.
2023-24 statistics: 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals
Okani is a strong presence on the defensive end and at 6-foot-8 has the length and athleticism that makes him an intriguing fit. But he has continued to improve his jump shot to go along displaying the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and finish. He is most comfortable in that area right now with 52-percent of his field goals coming at the rim and he is effective off ball screens.
Okani has continued to develop his overall offensive profile although he still needs to improve in some areas such as shooting off the bounce. Given his size, Okani is a plus passer with a 12-percent assist rate and gives the Mountaineers a valuable piece that can fit into the program as a seasoned option that plays with energy and effort on both ends. His presence is going to allow West Virginia to play DeVries at the four and he will provide a veteran that has a track record of success.
2023-24 statistics: 20.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 42-percent from the floor and 31-percent from three.
West Virginia needed somebody on the roster that can score the ball and Stone definitely fits that mold. He can create off the dribble and is a natural scorer that can put the ball in the basket. The graduate transfer has good size and also can effectively shoot the basketball across to space the floor.
While that total was only at 31-percent from three this past year, Stone shot 52-percent in 13 games the season before with the Titans when he was used more in a secondary role which is what he will be asked to do in Morgantown. Still, he is a scoring option that not only can generate his own points off the bounce but can play off the tandem of point guard Javon Small and wing Tucker DeVries in order to hit shots and help provide even more space for those two to operate on the court.
Stone also is an effective rebounder which makes him a strong fit for what head coach Darian DeVries wants to do especially on the defensive end of the floor to get out in transition. He will settle in as a two but could move around.
2023-24 statistics: 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 60-percent from the floor
This is an experienced option at the college level with four years under his belt and perhaps most importantly he has made improvement in each of those seasons. Andre possesses excellent size at the position and is active when it comes to rebounding on both ends of the floor as well as blocking shots.
Andre is a traditional big in the sense that he scores near the rim and has a nice mix of post moves on top of some plus athleticism to get there and finish. He isn’t going to be a primary scoring option, but can score the ball at the rim.
Over the past two years, Andre has shot 59.3-percent from the field and the left-hander gets solid positioning using his strength to finish.
Andre also is going to be effective as a screener and his ability to rebound the ball on the defensive end is a fit for what DeVries wants in order to prevent second chance opportunities. The big has played at least 21-minutes per game in each of the past two years at Fresno, but now is going to have to prove how he can hold up in the Big 12 Conference against more difficult competition.
2023-24 statistics: 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 assists and shot 35-percent from three
Yesufu is an experienced guard that has already played well in DeVries system when he was at Drake. The pairing is one that makes a lot of sense as he should be able to step in without any sort of adjustment and can provide help at the point guard spot next to what the program already has in the fold in Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small. The Mountaineers needed to find more help there and now have a pair of experienced options to go along with true freshman KJ Tenner at the one.
Yesufu played primarily point during his time with Drake but also has spent time at the two at Kansas, so he has the ability to move around if need be to get the best grouping on the floor. Yesufu is explosive with the ball and has been a solid spot up shooter throughout his career. He has hit 40-percent of his shots and 32-percent from three point-range during his time playing college basketball. The experienced guard also is very effective finishing in transition, which is a strong match for West Virginia.
Yesufu makes good decisions in ball screen situations and has displayed the ability to finish with plus athleticism for his size. He has played in a total of 119 games over the course of his career but started only 16 of those with 7 coming during his sophomore season at Drake and six last year at Washington State.
West Virginia needed to get a mature option in the backcourt and Yesufu is a strong match given the fact that he is a solid on-the-ball-defender and already understands the expectations set by DeVries. It doesn’t hurt matters that he played the best basketball of his career while with the Bulldogs.
2023-24 statistics: 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45-percent from the floor.
Hansberry is a solidly built front court option and while his game isn’t necessarily above the rim, he is a crafty and skilled forward. He has plus mobility and vision which makes him a skilled passer, a good fit for what West Virginia wants out of their big men in Darian DeVries scheme.
While he saw limited action at Illinois given older, more experienced options in front of him, Hansberry did play hard when he was on the floor and was well-thought of in the program. He can rebound the ball and has the ability to finish with both hands at the rim. At West Virginia there will be more opportunities for him and while he is more in the build of a traditional four, he is likely to see minutes at the five, too.
2023-24 statistics: 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He also shot 43-percent from the floor and 32-percent from three.
Known as defensive stopper, Harris fits the mold of what new head coach Darian DeVries wants given his plus size at 6-foot-4 and length. There were obvious ties given his connections to Chester Frazier as well, which will help with the transition to Morgantown as he begins the next chapter of his career.
Harris was able to see action in every game as a true freshman and even made seven starts but the biggest holdup for him was simply the need to fill out his frame and get stronger. That played a major role in his decision to redshirt this past season and now should be in a better position to handle that department.
During his time away from the floor, Harris bought into his improvement during the redshirt and his defense and toughness alone is going to help him find a role. The offensive side of his game needed to continue to improve along with his strength and that is something that was a focus as well. He will serve as a two guard.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A half hour or so had passed since West Virginia men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge recorded his first Big 12 win with the Mountaineers holding off Cincinnati 62-60 on Tuesday night.
Hodge expressed feeling fortunate that his team was able to overcome a late lapse where saw a six-point lead became a five-point deficit, and WVU (10-5, 1-1) avoided falling victim to a poor finish that was problematic in narrow neutral-site setbacks to Clemson and Ohio State.
Yet as is generally the case in the Big 12, there was little time to savor the result, and it was time to turn the attention to No. 22 Kansas, Saturday’s opponent for a noon tip inside Hope Coliseum.
The matchup against KU and its two-time National Champion head coach Bill Self airs on FOX.
“I have a ton of respect for coach Self and Kansas. Thankful, honestly. That would be the emotion. Thankful to be in this league,” Hodge said. “This is the third best basketball league on the planet. It’s the NBA, the Euro League and the Big 12. With that comes really good catches and really good players. More than anything, an appreciation and thankfulness. Once the ball gets tipped, it really is like your team is trying to out-execute his team and you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about any of that other than how can I help our guys execute better in these stretches and play better defense. That’s where your mind is.”
For at least one night, Hodge was able to breathe a sigh of relief after late three-pointers from both Honor Huff and Treysen Eaglestaff, the latter of which came with the shot clock winding down in a well-defended attempt out of desperation that was instrumental in helping the Mountaineers prevail past the Bearcats.
Later Tuesday night, KU (11-4, 1-1) overcame a 15-point deficit with inside 5 minutes remaining, staging one of its infamous improbable rallies at Allen Fieldhouse to defeat TCU in overtime, 104-100.
“We didn’t guard. We didn’t rebound,” Self said. “Our body language stunk for a good portion of the game. We played with different energy levels individually throughout the game. We were spectators and didn’t create activity. There were a lot of things we didn’t do the other night, but at the end of the day, we should show ourselves that we can do it, because we did it under the most intense, pressure-packed situations.
“That’s why the last 4 minutes of a game are the most important 4 minutes, because if you make a mistake, you can’t recover. Even though we made a couple mistakes in the last 4 minutes, it was still about as well-played as any stretch that we’d had during the game and when it counted the most.”
Self has been displeased with the Jayhawks’ defense over two Big 12 games, with KU allowing 181 points, including 168 through regulation.
“We just haven’t been connected on the defensive end like we were prior to Christmas,” he said.
WVU presents a quality chance for KU to rectify its defensive issues as the Mountaineers are 15th among 16 Big 12 teams in overall scoring (74.1 points per game) and scoring within Big 12 games (60.5). At 45.4 percent, WVU ranks 14th in the league in field goal percentage.
But Self knows his team must be aware at all times of Mountaineer guard Honor Huff, who leads the conference with 60 three-pointers and made 6 of 10 against UC after going 1 for 8 the previous outing at Iowa State.
Huff has at least four made threes in eight games this season as well as another in which he shot 3 of 4 from distance. Additionally, Eaglestaff is 14 for 34 from long range over the last five contests.
“They let their shooters shoot it and they have three guys that can, but two of them really can and will shoot a lot of them,” Self said. “We have to do a great job of defending the arc.”
The Mountaineers continue to be solid defensively and rank second to Houston in scoring defense among Big 12 teams at 61.5 points. WVU held Cincinnati to 22 for 62 shooting and 10 two-point field goals.
“You have to be able to play long stretches of quality basketball to win games. We were fortunate to win if I’m being really honest,” Hodge said. “Our first shot defense was good. Holding a team to [35] percent from the floor is good enough to win. [WVU’s] nine assists to 15 turnovers is not going to win you games a lot of nights. We did out-rebound them [37-33]. We got to the free-throw line. We didn’t necessarily make them at the rate we need to [7 for 13], but we made the big ones late.”
The Mountaineers will be tasked with trying to limit one of college basketball’s most feared offensive players and top pro prospects in 6-foot-6 KU freshman Darryn Peterson.
Peterson has played in only six games due to a hamstring injury and scored a career-high 32 points against the Horned Frogs, but sat out the extra session with cramping.
He is averaging 22.5 points on 50 percent shooting and has made multiple treys in all six games, while shooting better than 43 percent beyond the arc.
“He feels good. He’s full speed,” Self said.
Tre White, a 6-7 swingman, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15 points, followed by 6-10 forward Flory Bidunga (14.3 points, 9.1 rebounds) and guard Melvin Council Jr. (13.7 ppg).
WVU, which has yet to record a Quad 1 or Quad 2 victory, is 10-0 at home this season and 7-5 against the Jayhawks in Morgantown.
“In this league, you better take care of home,” Hodge said. “It’s the Big 12. Every game is going to be challenging in its own way.”
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Wisconsin has added a transfer portal commitment from former West Virginia defensive lineman Hammond Russell.
Russell played in 36 games for the Mountaineers during his career. As a senior, the 6-foot-3, 315-pound lineman posted 13.0 tackles and 2.0 sacks. For his career, Hammond has 40.0 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Russell is expected to get a redshirt for his 2022 season, in which he missed the entirety of due to a broken foot and a concussion.
A three-star recruit coming out of Dublin, Ohio, Russell chose WVU over Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Illinois, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Purdue, and more.
During his transfer portal recruitment, Russell also visited Kansas.
Russell joins a Wisconsin defensive line that’s set to return junior Charles Perkins and sophomore Dillan Johnson, among others. The Badgers also signed Junior Poyser out of Buffalo this week.
Russell is currently unranked as a transfer prospect, according to On3. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.
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