CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins took a gamble signing Roscoe Davis then Kevin Keatts is the croupier, the man overseeing the bet.

Keatts is the head coach of the ultra-successful Hargrave Military Academy program.

And for coaches like Huggins, plucking talent from Keatts' team is as close to a sure thing as you'll find.

Hargrave's Tigers won the 2008 national prep school championship. And in the recent NBA draft, the school had not one, but two former players selected in the first round: ex-WVU standout Joe Alexander and former Florida forward Marreese Speights. They are two more names to add to a long list of NBA players from the Chatham, Va., school.

Perhaps appropriately, Keatts was in Las Vegas this week looking for the next Josh Howard or David West. But he still has an eye on WVU's chip - Davis, who is still trying to become academically eligible.

Not too long ago, reports wrote off Davis as a lost cause. Then, in this space last week, Huggins said the 6-foot-10 forward/center had hope. Keatts backs that up.

"He has a chance,'' said the HMA coach. "When we initially took him, we thought it would take him two years [to gain NCAA eligibility]. But now he has an opportunity.

"I'd say it's 50-50. He's taking some classes this summer. We'll know in the next week or two, at least by the end of the month. But the best I can give you is 50-50.''

For WVU fans it's better than a flat line, right?

As I've said before, Davis would be a key addition. He'd not only give the Mountaineers a big man, but depth inside with the signing of Dee Proby.

"I like to call Roscoe the new breed of forward," Keatts said. "He can play inside, but also has the perimeter skills. Defensively, he can block shots.''

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins took a gamble signing Roscoe Davis then Kevin Keatts is the croupier, the man overseeing the bet.

Keatts is the head coach of the ultra-successful Hargrave Military Academy program.

And for coaches like Huggins, plucking talent from Keatts' team is as close to a sure thing as you'll find.

Hargrave's Tigers won the 2008 national prep school championship. And in the recent NBA draft, the school had not one, but two former players selected in the first round: ex-WVU standout Joe Alexander and former Florida forward Marreese Speights. They are two more names to add to a long list of NBA players from the Chatham, Va., school.

Perhaps appropriately, Keatts was in Las Vegas this week looking for the next Josh Howard or David West. But he still has an eye on WVU's chip - Davis, who is still trying to become academically eligible.

Not too long ago, reports wrote off Davis as a lost cause. Then, in this space last week, Huggins said the 6-foot-10 forward/center had hope. Keatts backs that up.

"He has a chance,'' said the HMA coach. "When we initially took him, we thought it would take him two years [to gain NCAA eligibility]. But now he has an opportunity.

"I'd say it's 50-50. He's taking some classes this summer. We'll know in the next week or two, at least by the end of the month. But the best I can give you is 50-50.''

For WVU fans it's better than a flat line, right?

As I've said before, Davis would be a key addition. He'd not only give the Mountaineers a big man, but depth inside with the signing of Dee Proby.

"I like to call Roscoe the new breed of forward," Keatts said. "He can play inside, but also has the perimeter skills. Defensively, he can block shots.''

Keatts' assistant, former Marshall guard A.W. Hamilton, said Davis has "potential through the roof."

"He has a chance to be a really, really good player,'' Hamilton said. "He just needs to put on a little weight and hit the weight room.''

"Basketball-wise, he'd be as prepared as any other incoming freshman,'' Keatts said.

The Hargrave coaches, by the way, are also looking out for Marshall. In case you forgot, Keatts is a former Thundering Herd assistant coach.

So he was happy to send guard Damier Pitts to the Herd. MU coach Donnie Jones, a former Florida assistant, once compared Pitts to ex-Gator Taurean Green, now a point guard with the Denver Nuggets.

"[Pitts is] in Huntington at summer school now,'' Keatts said. "He has a chance to be really, really good. [Pitts] has a lot of [good] qualities. He can find people, create shots and shoot very, very well.''

Keatts complimented Jones at the time of the signing and continues to this day.

"[Jones] and his staff did a great job," said the HMA coach. "[Pitts] could have gone to the SEC. I'm 100 percent sure he was offered by South Carolina. But he stuck to his commitment. I thought that was very good by the young man.''

"He'll be the best point guard to come along there in a long time,'' Hamilton said of Pitts. "He's not your typical small, water-bug guard. He can really shoot it. He's explosive. D.J. did a great job recruiting him.''

Hamilton calls Pitts "Travis Young with a chance to be a little better.''

Reach sports editor Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com