MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — When Darian “The Snake From Drake” DeVries left Morgantown and slithered his way to Bloomington, Indiana to become the new head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, all of West Virginia’s 2025 recruits – including four star recruit and top player in the state of West Virginia, Braydon Hawthorne – de-committed and left the program.
Hawthorne, who is one of the best West Virginia-born basketball players to come along in decades, has since taken official visits to Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Duke, now has several enticing offers and options. When I reached out to Hawthorne yesterday about when he expects to make a decision on where he will play next, he simply said, “Soon.”
A source close to the situation informed me recently that he didn’t feel that West Virginia is a major player in the Hawthorne sweepstakes at this time. Instead, Hawthorne seems to be in awe of playing at a big-time traditional powerhouse program like Duke or Kentucky. Hawthorne, a 6’9 190 pound forward from Beckley, West Virginia, is ranked as the #1 player in West Virginia in the 2025 class and 67th best recruit in the nation, initially chose West Virginia over offers from Ohio, Pepperdine, Old Dominion, Florida Gulf Coast, Mount St. Mary´s and several others. However, after DeVries and former Associate Head Coach Chester Frazier left the program, Hawthorne’s interest in joining the Mountaineers has waned a bit, according to sources.
What is Hawthorne looking for? Hawthorne’s decision will come down to what he values most. Does he want to play immediately and potentially become a hero in his home state? Or does he want to perhaps play less minutes as a freshman for traditionally successful programs like Kentucky or Duke? If he wants to start and play big minutes immediately, West Virginia, Pitt or Virginia Tech make the most sense. I’ve been told that although Hawthorne had a great relationship with Chester Frazier, a move to Virginia Tech seems very unlikely.
Hawthorne has NBA Dreams: Braydon Hawthorne is one of the highest risers in high school basketball and will likely end up being a five star prospect. With his combination of size and skill, he has a very real chance to play at the professional level. Considering that, Pitt might actually make the most sense. Of all the coaches involved in this coaching search, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel has the best history of developing players for the NBA. However, places like Kentucky and Duke also routinely put players in the NBA and from what I’ve been told, he was absolutely awed during his visits to both places.
Does Hawthorne Value Staying Home? If West Virginia offered similar money and a similar opportunity to develop him into an NBA player, I believe Hawthorne would pick West Virginia. Obviously there is a allure of staying home and playing for his hometown Mountaineers. However, has Ross Hodge and his staff proven that they can win big and have they proven that they can develop talent to play at the next level? Unfortunately, not yet. Hawthorne did make a trip to visit Morgantown to meet Hodge and his staff recently, so perhaps they were able to convinvce him to re-commit. Hodge and his assistants have done a tremendous job of bringing in talent early since arriving at West Virginia.
West Virginia’s chances at Hawthorne: Braydon Hawthrone is a major priority for the Mountaineers; he isn’t just the best player in the state of West Virginia by a large margin, he is also potentially a Top 50 overall player in the nation and a potential 5 star recruit. However, based on recent intel that I’ve received, I would be (pleasantly) surprised if he chooses to stay home.
