MORGANTOWN - It could be a week or a month or half a season. It could happen overnight or it could take a year or more. It's one of those things that are really unpredictable.
MORGANTOWN - It could be a week or a month or half a season. It could happen overnight or it could take a year or more. It's one of those things that are really unpredictable.
Know for certain, though, that at some point during his basketball career at West Virginia, Dan Jennings is going to put all the pieces together - an understanding of the WVU offense and defense combined with his own natural abilities and aggressiveness and raw emotion.
And when he does, watch out.
"He's got a lot to learn,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "But he's going to get there.''
Well, even in his infancy Jennings is still a pretty good guy to have around. In fact, in No. 8 West Virginia's sometimes-painful-to-watch, 83-60 opening-game win over Loyola (Md.) Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum, he was a game-changer.
With Devin Ebanks out of the lineup - and the building, for that matter - because of what Huggins termed as "personal issues'' and with the Mountaineers otherwise struggling mightily against the outmanned Greyhounds, the freshman Jennings provided just the spark needed.
Oh, there were certainly other reasons the Mountaineers won this oasis of an opener - they don't play again until a week from Tuesday in Charleston against the Citadel - including a 26-point performance from Da'Sean Butler and solid second-half shooting that erased the memory of a first half in which WVU trailed by as many as seven points.
But the lasting image will be of Jennings, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound man child, doing what Huggins recruited him to do - physically taking over and imposing his will.
Playing just 16 minutes, Jennings had nine points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and seemed to personally lift the Mountaineers out of their first-half funk with glimpses of the type of physical play in the middle West Virginia has lacked for years.
But it was as much his attitude as his play that made the difference. Take, for instance, the time out midway through the first half when Huggins was at his ranting and screaming best, which was no surprise considering that West Virginia was trailing 20-13 to a mid-major that won 12 games a year ago.
"Coach was screaming,'' Jennings said. And he knew why. "These guys are nothing compared to the guys in the Big East. We need to just go out there and kill 'em.''
And so over the course of the next 21/2 minutes, in Jennings' college debut, he blocked two shots, pulled down two rebounds and went strong to the basket with a follow shot in a 10-0 run that gave the Mountaineers the lead. They would later relinquish it and were fortunate to be tied 31-31 at halftime, but the tone had been set.
"You want kids like that on your team,'' Butler said of Jennings. "You want guys that would rather go out there and rebound and dive on the floor, would rather play defense than go out and score 30 or 40 points and doing things they can't do.''
The thing about Jennings, though - and he admits it right up front - is that he's not yet comfortable with almost anything the Mountaineers are doing as far as schemes. He's not progressed to the point that he can fit into the offense or the defense like so many of the team's other interchangeable parts, which makes it difficult for Huggins to use him at will.
"What if I knew the offense and what if I knew the motion?'' Jennings asked almost rhetorically. "Think what I could do then.''
But on this afternoon, the Mountaineers didn't need that as much as they simply needed a spark.
They got one to start the second half when their shooting (a dismal 32 percent in the first half, including 15 of 16 missed 3-pointers after Casey Mitchell made one to start the game) improved. Truck Bryant hit a couple of quick 3s and Wellington Smith another in an 11-0 run to start the second half that gave WVU the lead for good.
But it still took another dose of Jennings before the Mountaineers put things away for good. Loyola trailed just 48-42 with 131/2 minutes to play when Butler hit a jumper, then Jennings fought for three rebounds and eventually dunked on a follow. One possession later he kicked the ball out to Butler for his only assist on the day - a 3-pointer - and the game was never close again.
"Thank God he came in because the way we were playing it would have been a long week,'' Butler said. "No one else seemed like they were ready to play.''
BRIEFLY: With Ebanks out, Deniz Kilicli suspended for 20 games and Joe Mazzulla still not quite ready to return, the last thing West Virginia needed was an injury. But John Flowers left the game and went for X-rays of his foot at halftime. Huggins said the X-rays showed no broken bones.
Bryant scored 15 points and had five assists, while Kevin Jones had 14 points and seven rebounds. Mitchell scored 13 points in 20 minutes, but missed eight of 11 shots.
Huggins again said Mazzulla (shoulder) could have played, but he "didn't see any sense in pushing him.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
WVU 83, LOYOLA 60
LOYOLA (Md.) (1-1)
Player FG FT R A P
Anthony Winbush 3-6 0-1 5 2 6
MORGANTOWN - It could be a week or a month or half a season. It could happen overnight or it could take a year or more. It's one of those things that are really unpredictable.
Know for certain, though, that at some point during his basketball career at West Virginia, Dan Jennings is going to put all the pieces together - an understanding of the WVU offense and defense combined with his own natural abilities and aggressiveness and raw emotion.
And when he does, watch out.
"He's got a lot to learn,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "But he's going to get there.''
Well, even in his infancy Jennings is still a pretty good guy to have around. In fact, in No. 8 West Virginia's sometimes-painful-to-watch, 83-60 opening-game win over Loyola (Md.) Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum, he was a game-changer.
With Devin Ebanks out of the lineup - and the building, for that matter - because of what Huggins termed as "personal issues'' and with the Mountaineers otherwise struggling mightily against the outmanned Greyhounds, the freshman Jennings provided just the spark needed.
Oh, there were certainly other reasons the Mountaineers won this oasis of an opener - they don't play again until a week from Tuesday in Charleston against the Citadel - including a 26-point performance from Da'Sean Butler and solid second-half shooting that erased the memory of a first half in which WVU trailed by as many as seven points.
But the lasting image will be of Jennings, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound man child, doing what Huggins recruited him to do - physically taking over and imposing his will.
Playing just 16 minutes, Jennings had nine points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and seemed to personally lift the Mountaineers out of their first-half funk with glimpses of the type of physical play in the middle West Virginia has lacked for years.
But it was as much his attitude as his play that made the difference. Take, for instance, the time out midway through the first half when Huggins was at his ranting and screaming best, which was no surprise considering that West Virginia was trailing 20-13 to a mid-major that won 12 games a year ago.
"Coach was screaming,'' Jennings said. And he knew why. "These guys are nothing compared to the guys in the Big East. We need to just go out there and kill 'em.''
And so over the course of the next 21/2 minutes, in Jennings' college debut, he blocked two shots, pulled down two rebounds and went strong to the basket with a follow shot in a 10-0 run that gave the Mountaineers the lead. They would later relinquish it and were fortunate to be tied 31-31 at halftime, but the tone had been set.
"You want kids like that on your team,'' Butler said of Jennings. "You want guys that would rather go out there and rebound and dive on the floor, would rather play defense than go out and score 30 or 40 points and doing things they can't do.''
The thing about Jennings, though - and he admits it right up front - is that he's not yet comfortable with almost anything the Mountaineers are doing as far as schemes. He's not progressed to the point that he can fit into the offense or the defense like so many of the team's other interchangeable parts, which makes it difficult for Huggins to use him at will.
"What if I knew the offense and what if I knew the motion?'' Jennings asked almost rhetorically. "Think what I could do then.''
But on this afternoon, the Mountaineers didn't need that as much as they simply needed a spark.
They got one to start the second half when their shooting (a dismal 32 percent in the first half, including 15 of 16 missed 3-pointers after Casey Mitchell made one to start the game) improved. Truck Bryant hit a couple of quick 3s and Wellington Smith another in an 11-0 run to start the second half that gave WVU the lead for good.
But it still took another dose of Jennings before the Mountaineers put things away for good. Loyola trailed just 48-42 with 131/2 minutes to play when Butler hit a jumper, then Jennings fought for three rebounds and eventually dunked on a follow. One possession later he kicked the ball out to Butler for his only assist on the day - a 3-pointer - and the game was never close again.
"Thank God he came in because the way we were playing it would have been a long week,'' Butler said. "No one else seemed like they were ready to play.''
BRIEFLY: With Ebanks out, Deniz Kilicli suspended for 20 games and Joe Mazzulla still not quite ready to return, the last thing West Virginia needed was an injury. But John Flowers left the game and went for X-rays of his foot at halftime. Huggins said the X-rays showed no broken bones.
Bryant scored 15 points and had five assists, while Kevin Jones had 14 points and seven rebounds. Mitchell scored 13 points in 20 minutes, but missed eight of 11 shots.
Huggins again said Mazzulla (shoulder) could have played, but he "didn't see any sense in pushing him.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
WVU 83, LOYOLA 60
LOYOLA (Md.) (1-1)
Player FG FT R A P
Anthony Winbush 3-6 0-1 5 2 6
Shane Walker 7-9 0-0 5 2 14
Julius Brooks 4-5 0-0 5 1 8
Brett Harvey 2-8 5-6 1 1 9
Robert Olson 0-2 0-0 2 0 0
Tony Lewis 2-3 0-0 1 0 4
J'hared Hall 1-1 0-1 4 0 2
Jawaan Wright 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Jamal Barney 4-8 1-4 3 1 11
Brian Rudolph 2-5 0-0 2 7 4
Garrett Kelly 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Paolo Ivis 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Team 1
Totals 26-50 6-12 30 14 60
WEST VIRGINIA (1-0)
Player FG FT R A P
Da'Sean Butler 11-17 2-4 7 5 26
Kevin Jones 6-12 1-4 7 0 14
Wellington Smith 1-3 0-0 2 1 3
Darryl Bryant 3-8 6-8 2 5 15
Casey Mitchell 3-11 5-6 1 0 13
Cam Thoroughman 0-2 1-1 4 1 1
Jonnie West 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
Cam Payne 0-1 0-0 2 1 0
Dan Jennings 4-7 1-3 12 1 9
Dalton Pepper 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
John Flowers 1-4 0-1 2 0 2
Team 5
Totals 29-70 16-27 45 15 83
Halftime - Tied 31-31. 3-point goals - Loyola 2-7 (Winbush 0-1, Walker 0-1, Harvey 0-3, Barney 2-2), WVU 9-29 (Butler 2-6, Jones 1-4, Smith 1-2, Bryant 3-6, Mitchell 2-7, West 0-2, Pepper 0-2). Fouled out - Walker, Brooks, Wright. Att. - 8,316.
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