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Morgantown, West Virginia – ESPN College Basketball Analyst and former Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico Head Coach Fran Fraschilla said what no one else in Morgantown has dared to say during West Virginia’s win over the Texas Tech Raiders last season.

Fraschilla said, “This is sacrilegious to say here in the Coliseum, but I think Miles McBride is a better defender and more complete player as a freshman than Jevon Carter was.”  Fraschilla went on to say, “Carter was a better on-the-ball defender, but McBride is such a cerebral defensive player and really a better overall defender at this point in his career.”

As a freshman for the Mountaineers last season, McBride averaged 9.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game but really started to flourish at the very end of the season when he became the go-to player for Bob Huggins.
Jevon Carter averaged 8.1 points, 1.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game during his first year in Morgantown in the 2014-2015 season, but spent most of season on the bench backing up redshirt senior Juwan State at the point guard position.  McBride also shot similar percentages as Carter from the field, three point range and the foul line.

Carter was also named to the All Big 12 Defensive Team as a Freshman; although McBride did not make the all defensive team last season, he was the best defender on perhaps the best defensive team in the country and certainly deserved to be recognized for that.

While McBride is only just beginning his college career, he is off to such an incredible start that it’s difficult to not compare him to the great Jevon Carter.  Both McBride and Carter were overlooked guards out of high school, both are hardworkers, exceptional defenders, and most importantly, they are winners.  We can only hope that McBride continues to shine and it’s very, very possible that he will equal or even surpass Jevon Carter, one of the greatest Mountaineers in West Virginia basketball history, one day.



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