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West Virginia Basketball: West Virginia Mountaineers 2015-16 Season Preview

By Michael Bonaventura

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West Virginia Mountaineers

2014-2015 Record: 25-10 (11-7, Big 12)
Postseason: NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16

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Last Season the West Virginia Mountaineers were able to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. However, it was a short lived victory in making the Sweet 16. Kentucky handled them pretty easily ending WVU tournament experience. The Mountaineers and Bob Huggins will look to do what they were able to do last season in making the Tournament, but go deeper in the NCAA.

Huggins is looking for a lot leadership from the returning three seniors and four juniors to this years team. With that, they have a lot of junior college upperclassmen who will contribute to the teams success this year.

Newcomers

F – Esa Ahmad (#64 247sports.com)
G – James Bolden (#220 247sports.com)
F – Lamont West
G – Tevyon Myers (#92 247sports.com)

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 18 vs James Madison – The first real test for the Mountaineers comes in Charleston, WV against James Madison.

With the beginning of their schedule being relatively easy, this is going to be the toughest opponent that they will take on. James Madison is a team that likes to force their opponents into turnovers. They forced their oppopnents 6.4 turnovers per-game last season.

James Madison is also adept at getting  second chance points off the offensive glass. They were able to grab 32.4 rebounds last season per game. This should be a test for the Mountaineers, as they’ve had issues in the past with getting rebounds.

Nov. 20-27 at Las Vegas Invitational – The Mountaineers have a lot of talent, but it’s young talent. They have a few upperclassmen who can lead the way, and show these young guns what WVU basketball is all about.

However, playing in a Invitational is a very tough test for any team. Even though the first two games of the Invitational are at home, they still have to travel across country for the last two games. As of right now, it’s still up in the air as to who they will be playing on the last day of the Invitational.

Dec. 17 vs Marshall – West Virginia will be in Charleston again for another game this season, however, this one will be the toughest.

Rival Marshall will be the opponent, and a rivalry is always a toss up for either team. Both school play each other tough and will come out guns blazing. The interstate rival Marshall has been constantly improving their basketball program, and this looks like it should be a great contest.

Key Players

Devin Williams – With all the hype about this junior forward from Cincinnati, Ohio with great size and power above the rim, he will be a focal point of this offense. He’s a force to be reckoned with around the rim averaging 7.2 rebounds per game last year.

Esa Ahmad – Coming out of Cleveland Ohio this big guard brings a lot of flair and flash to the team. His great pull-up jumper is so hard to guard, and he’s still got the speed and strength to make it to the basket and finish strong.

Season Outlook

The moment I’ve been waiting for, how I think West Virginia will look this season. I think they have added the pieces that they needed to in order to grow on the success that they had last season. With making it to the sweet 16, in the NCAA Tournament, they have a lot of upside to their game. They only lost two key players (Staten and Browne) and replaced them with some good young talent (Ahmad and Bolden). The only issue that I see is Bolden is likely out for the season with a injury. I would feel a little better about the season if they had all the young talent playing together and building for the feature. I look for them to make it further in the dance and surprise a lot of people in the Big 12.

Next: North Carolina State 2015-16 Season Preview

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