Sioux Falls, South Dakota – The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0) defeated the VCU Rams this evening, sending the Mountaineers to the Crossover Classic Finals to play Western Kentucky. Here are how all West Virginia players graded out for today’s game:
Starters:
Miles McBride – A couple of things are becoming abundantly clear with Deuce McBride: 1.) He is an outstanding offensive and defensive player, and he will be the on-court leader and go-to player for West Virginia this season. 2.) He’s not a point guard. If the Mountaineers are going to be successful, they’ll need a real point guard running the team, and unfortunately the only player on the team that is a true point guard is Jordan McCabe. McBride didn’t look great today offensively, but he played his typical tough defense and still managed to put up 12 tough points. Stats: 12 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds (4-11 FG, 1-2 3PT) Game Grade: C+, Season Grade: B
Sean McNeil – When McNeil gets hot, it’s tough to stop the Mountaineers. But he’s been very cold for most of the team’s first two games. Again, he’ll need to shoot a lot more consistently if West Virginia will compete with the best in the country. Stats: 16 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists (5-15 FG, 4-9 3PT) Game Grade: C+, Season Grade: C
Emmitt Matthews, Jr. – Matthews disappears for most of the time that he’s on the floor and when he’s not disappearing, he’s taking terrible perimeter shots that don’t have a chance of going in. He absolutely should not be in the starting lineup right now. Stats: 4 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist (1-4 FG, 0-2 3PT) Game Grade: D, Season Grade: D
Oscar Tshiebwe – Tshiebwe has shockingly regressed so far in his second season with the Mountaineers. His post game is worse, his effort and hustle is worse, he isn’t rebounding in the same way that he did last year, and he looks lost offensively right now. Stats: 11 points, 16 rebounds, 0 assists (4-9 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: C+, Season Grade: C-
Derek Culver – Look, Culver had a tremendous game, but it looked like he did it giving half effort all game. He had 23 points and 15 rebounds, but could’ve had 40 points and 30 rebounds if he was trying. Stats: 23 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists (8-14 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: B+, Season Grade: B-
Reserves:
Taz Sherman – Taz needs more minutes and more shots. He makes things happen when he’s on the court. Stats: 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist (4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT) Game Grade: B-, Season Grade: B
Jalen Bridges – Bridges played very sparingly and looks afraid on the court right now. Again, more minutes for Bridges would mean increased confidence for the freshman. Stats: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists (0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT) Game Grade: D, Season Grade: D+
Isaiah Cottrell – Cottrell got a couple of rebounds in very limited minutes after a shaky debut for the freshman. Stats: 0 points, 2 rebound, 0 assists (0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: D, Season Grade: D
Gabe Osabuohien – Another solid performance for Osabuohien off the bench. He does what he does. 6 rebounds and 4 fouls in limited minutes. Stats: 1 point, 6 rebounds, 1 assist (0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: B-, Season Grade B+
Jordan McCabe – After a terrible opening game for McCabe (0-4 3PT), he ran the team beautifully in the 2nd half of today’s game, finishing with 2 points and 5 assists. He made one poor pass and Huggins immediately benched him. McCabe didn’t see the floor again for the remainder of the game. Stats: 2 points, 5 assists, 0 rebounds (0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: B+, Season Grade: C-
Kedrian Johnson – Kedrian Johnson is off to one of the worst starts in West Virginia basketball history. An airball, a turnover, a rejected shot as time expired for Johnson so far in two games with the Mountaineers. Stats: 0 points, 0 assists, 0 rebounds (0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT) Game Grade: F, Season Grade: F
