ANAHEIM, Calif. - Another game for West Virginia's basketball team. Another game with standout Devin Ebanks on the bench.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Another game for West Virginia's basketball team. Another game with standout Devin Ebanks on the bench.
After the Mountaineers' 85-62 romp of Long Beach State on Thanksgiving, though, it didn't seem to be such a big deal.
"He didn't play,'' shrugged WVU coach Bob Huggins. "He hasn't practiced.''
The secret over Ebanks continues. The "personal issue.''
"Have to see,'' Huggins said when asked when Ebanks might play. "It's a matter of making sure he's up to speed with what we're doing.''
Will he play against Texas A&M in the second round of the 76 Classic? Huggins said he'd decide as the game unfolds.
Would he have played on Thursday had the game been close?
"I never had to think about it,'' Huggins replied.
Indeed, that's because the Mountaineers were hitting on all those proverbial cylinders. Casey Mitchell had nine points, hitting three treys, in just seven minutes of playing time because of foul trouble.
"In warmups, I tried to go hard so I'd be focused,'' Mitchell said. He finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
"What [a hot Mitchell] does,'' Huggins said, "is take away from [the opponent's] pressure.''
Up and down the Mountaineer roster, West Virginia received offensive help. They didn't even need a big game from standout Da'Sean Butler, who finished with 13 points.
Backup point guard Joe Mazzulla, who said he monitors his shoulder pain "on a daily basis - and on every possession,'' didn't score much. He had but five points. But he was all over the floor, adding four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 11 minutes of playing time.
Jonnie West, 45 minutes from his home in Bel Air, entered and had a career-high 10 points.
"We knew we had to move them,'' West said of Long Beach. "We had to set our screens, make back cuts and, if we did that, we'd have layups or wide-open shots. I got a couple of good looks.''
"We were in foul trouble,'' Huggins said. "[West] has been playing well. And now he's finally at 200 pounds. He's stronger defensively.''
WVU hit 51.8 percent of its shots. Even big man Dan Jennings, a freshman, came in and made a mark, finishing with eight points and three rebounds before fouling out. Two of those points came off an emphatic slam-dunk after the Mountaineers had broken the 49ers' press.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Another game for West Virginia's basketball team. Another game with standout Devin Ebanks on the bench.
After the Mountaineers' 85-62 romp of Long Beach State on Thanksgiving, though, it didn't seem to be such a big deal.
"He didn't play,'' shrugged WVU coach Bob Huggins. "He hasn't practiced.''
The secret over Ebanks continues. The "personal issue.''
"Have to see,'' Huggins said when asked when Ebanks might play. "It's a matter of making sure he's up to speed with what we're doing.''
Will he play against Texas A&M in the second round of the 76 Classic? Huggins said he'd decide as the game unfolds.
Would he have played on Thursday had the game been close?
"I never had to think about it,'' Huggins replied.
Indeed, that's because the Mountaineers were hitting on all those proverbial cylinders. Casey Mitchell had nine points, hitting three treys, in just seven minutes of playing time because of foul trouble.
"In warmups, I tried to go hard so I'd be focused,'' Mitchell said. He finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
"What [a hot Mitchell] does,'' Huggins said, "is take away from [the opponent's] pressure.''
Up and down the Mountaineer roster, West Virginia received offensive help. They didn't even need a big game from standout Da'Sean Butler, who finished with 13 points.
Backup point guard Joe Mazzulla, who said he monitors his shoulder pain "on a daily basis - and on every possession,'' didn't score much. He had but five points. But he was all over the floor, adding four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 11 minutes of playing time.
Jonnie West, 45 minutes from his home in Bel Air, entered and had a career-high 10 points.
"We knew we had to move them,'' West said of Long Beach. "We had to set our screens, make back cuts and, if we did that, we'd have layups or wide-open shots. I got a couple of good looks.''
"We were in foul trouble,'' Huggins said. "[West] has been playing well. And now he's finally at 200 pounds. He's stronger defensively.''
WVU hit 51.8 percent of its shots. Even big man Dan Jennings, a freshman, came in and made a mark, finishing with eight points and three rebounds before fouling out. Two of those points came off an emphatic slam-dunk after the Mountaineers had broken the 49ers' press.
"I meant to play [Jennings] more against The Citadel,'' Huggins said, "but I forgot about him. He sits down at the end of the bench and that's a bad idea with me.
"He gives us someone who can block shots. We need for him to play and get better.''
All of the Mountaineers played better than in their first two games, though.
"We let a good team get going,'' said Long Beach coach Dan Monson. "Our only chance was to get them out of rhythm. We didn't do that.''
It was especially lethal for the 49ers, picked to win the Big West, because WVU's smothering defense was so effective.
"Playing for Coach Huggins, that's what I like: defense,'' Mazzulla said. "We want to come out and set the tone defensively. Take [the opposition] out of what they want to run. We did a much better job of that in the second half. That's what's going to lead us to the NCAA tournament.''
So far, so good in that regard. It was curious, though, why the Mountaineers were sluggish in Charleston against The Citadel before a packed Civic Center. In the Anaheim Convention Center, the crowd was sparse. (There was, however, a nice WVU contingent in the stands. In fact, there seemed to be more Mountaineer followers than those of nearby Long Beach.)
So why the spark? Was it because of the national prestige associated with the 76 Classic?
"I think it's that and we knew Long Beach State is a good team,'' Mazzulla said. "Watching film on them, we knew they were good and we wanted to come out and play our best game. They have some great athletes.
"Coach Huggins kind of challenged us. And we answered the call.''
The good sign for West Virginia's fans is they did so without their best player.
"We're definitely going to be happy to have Devin back when he comes back,'' said WVU forward Kevin Jones. "He's going to add another piece to the puzzle. We'll be even stronger when he comes back.''
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at http://twitter.com/MitchVingle.
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