Big 12 Basketball: Top 15 impact players from 2020 recruiting class

11. West Virginia Mountaineers: Isaiah Cottrell

Bob Huggins spent a lot of 2019-20 running out a point guard and two swingmen every night. West Virginia Basketball had a starting line-up that included; point guard Jordan McCabe, and a pair of 6’7 players in Emmitt Mathews Jr and Jermaine Haley. As a senior Haley averaged 24 minutes a game while dropping nine points on six field-goal attempts per game.

Since Coach Huggins has been known to implement the “Press Virginia” defensive ideology, he went eleven players deep last season. That is an indication that the top-80 prospect Isaiah Cottrell will not get all Haley’s playing minutes, but his skill level says he will eclipse Haley’s stats. At 6’9, and a great wingspan, the Huntington Prep graduate is not afraid of hard work. Cottrell will provide Coach Huggins will the ability to play him at the small forward spot on offense, yet because of his prior experience at Huntington Prep, he can also guard in the paint.

Haley spent a lot of time on the weak side wing in the Mountaineers offense and would get his scoring chances off the weak side face cut, or at the top of the post after the balls wing. Cottrell is much more dangerous on both those plays, as well, Cotrell could extend to the three-point line and not just the high post, creating a different option.  Cotrell will not match the All-Freshman stats of his new teammate Oscar Tshiebwe, but he will replace Haley’s nine per game.