Mountaineers Now Postgame Show: WVU Bounces Back vs. Jacksonville St.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hello everybody, welcome into the Mountaineers Now
00:12 post game show, I'm Skylar Callie
00:13 and that is Christopher Hall live from the WVU Coliseum
00:17 at the very top of the building.
00:19 But he got his steps in, but--
00:22 - Literally.
00:23 - What literally got his steps in and feeling it for sure.
00:27 But West Virginia winners in this one, 70 to 57
00:30 over Jacksonville State.
00:32 They pick up their second win of the season,
00:35 bouncing back from that disappointing loss
00:38 on Friday night to Monomith.
00:40 A quick look here at the numbers.
00:42 West Virginia shot the ball much better
00:44 than they did a couple of days ago.
00:45 51% from the field, 42% from three.
00:49 The other day it was 31 and 21.
00:52 They took care of the ball once again.
00:54 And a change in the starting lineup, Ophry Nevaeh
00:57 getting in there in place of Seth Wilson.
01:01 Only had three points on the night, six rebounds,
01:03 three assists and your team leaders in terms of points,
01:07 Quince Lazinski and Kobe Johnson.
01:09 How about that?
01:10 19 points each.
01:12 Chris, just initial thoughts from this one,
01:15 the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.
01:19 - Really, we'll start with positive.
01:22 Starting on a good note here.
01:24 Offensively, definitely more patient offense
01:28 on the offensive end.
01:29 Still struggle kind of getting out of the offense
01:33 when that first or second read isn't there,
01:37 a little bit of panic.
01:37 It happens every year around college basketball,
01:40 happens under the hug teams
01:42 and they kind of just go for a screen and force things.
01:45 They don't have really the talent.
01:47 You know, you look at Quinn with his size
01:48 and the way he can kind of handle the ball,
01:51 he's usually gonna have an advantage.
01:52 We'll have to wait to see once we enter the big 12,
01:55 but I just thought they were more so just patient.
01:59 The Monmouth game, they started off really frantic
02:03 on the offensive end, trying to push the pace.
02:05 You can see they've backed off the pace.
02:07 You know, obviously they want to keep the pace up.
02:10 Chris, once he enters the lineup,
02:12 you'll probably see them run the floor a little bit better.
02:16 He has a great vision in the open floor,
02:18 but right now I think you just gotta be patient,
02:21 play the half-court game,
02:23 get in your offense as early as you can.
02:26 Jacksonville State provided a little bit
02:29 of three-quarter-court pressure at times,
02:34 made them wind down the clock
02:35 to kind of get them in that frantic mode a little bit,
02:37 but I thought they stayed poised.
02:38 Seth Wilson came off the bench.
02:41 Isler spoke about it after the game.
02:44 You know, he didn't necessarily lose his starting spot
02:46 other than he can come into the game
02:48 and correct the mistakes on the floor,
02:50 so just trying to cycle through the lineup there.
02:54 Defensively, saw a lot of two-three zone.
02:56 Obviously, Jesse played it for four years at Syracuse,
02:59 kind of captain back there, communicator,
03:03 obviously trying to save their legs a little bit
03:05 because really you only got six guys
03:06 that are productive right now on this roster,
03:09 so there's a lot of work to be done on both ends of the floor.
03:12 They said just Jacksonville State, but it's a start,
03:16 but the first two games, they were a little frantic.
03:18 It's not what you want to see, careless with the ball,
03:20 but they're just more poised,
03:22 and I think this is something they can build up.
03:25 Yes, it's just Jacksonville State, like I said,
03:26 but this is something they can build off of,
03:28 take the positive, see how they can just slow the pace down
03:30 until they get their guys back.
03:32 Yeah, and I think you hit it right there
03:34 with the two-three zone.
03:35 Like, you're trying to save legs,
03:37 but also, too, you're trying to get guys out of foul trouble,
03:40 and when you're playing man-to-man,
03:43 you have a tendency to be out of position more.
03:45 You have a tendency to be more aggressive,
03:47 more reachy, more grabby, where you're not --
03:50 when you're sitting in that two-three zone,
03:51 you know you've got a little bit of help.
03:52 You're only guarding a certain area of the floor,
03:54 so I think that's a big part of it, too.
03:56 When you have somebody like Jesse
03:57 that's had that experience,
03:59 kind of anchoring that thing in the middle and the back,
04:02 I think that's -- it makes all the sense in the world,
04:04 especially with the depth issues that they have,
04:06 so I would expect that's probably going to end up
04:09 being the primary defense that this team plays
04:11 for much of the season, wouldn't you think?
04:15 It's a wait and see. I don't know if you're going to get by
04:17 with that a lot in the Big 12.
04:18 I'm assuming Ashley can get in the teeth of that zone,
04:21 kick it out the shooter, so I'd have to be --
04:24 Yeah.
04:25 I'd have to say about Akuk Rikuk,
04:27 if he comes back this season,
04:29 kind of what they'll be able to do.
04:31 You don't have a lot of size,
04:32 and obviously you don't have a lot of depth
04:34 in that front court, so I think it's a building base
04:38 for more zone in the future.
04:41 I don't know, like, one-three-one,
04:42 I know that was probably going to be on Ian Huggins.
04:44 He kind of incorporated within his system.
04:47 I will kind of wait and see what they can do
04:49 because once you get in the Big 12 play,
04:52 it can be gimmicky at times, but I think their best --
04:54 the best path for them on that end
04:57 is just kind of mix up defenses.
05:00 Play a little man, throw a three-two, throw a two-three,
05:03 just do kind of whatever you can,
05:04 and maybe even a triangle and two.
05:06 We'll have to wait and see what --
05:07 kind of what the scheme is, and again,
05:09 we'll have to wait and see what the roster is.
05:11 Right. Still waiting on battle.
05:13 Probably not going to make it. And again, Akuk Rikuk,
05:15 hey, he may not play. That's a serious, serious condition.
05:19 He collapsed on the floor, so I would be surprised if he's back.
05:24 You know, what doctor's going to sign off on that, really?
05:26 So we'll have to wait and see on that.
05:28 And, you know, just seeing him,
05:31 you know, we're probably looking 30, 35 minutes every game,
05:34 and we're only November.
05:38 It's a long, grueling season.
05:39 It's going to be a long grind for these guys,
05:41 and I'm sure they would like to play a lot more zone,
05:44 but, you know, if you're just starting off
05:46 with the base of two, three,
05:48 you really kind of want to not necessarily perfect it
05:50 because I don't know if you can really perfect
05:53 in such a short span.
05:54 It's not something they were really practicing this offseason,
05:56 maybe a little bit since Jesse was here.
05:59 I think that's something they're going to lean to.
06:01 I think, you know, how much success --
06:04 you know, when Bayhom and Syracuse had success,
06:06 they had a lot of lengths, especially on that forward spot.
06:09 You do have Slizinski down there.
06:11 JoJo definitely has some length,
06:14 but I just don't think they have enough big pieces
06:19 off that block to really, you know,
06:21 kind of get to that corner, shorten that a little bit.
06:25 It is just really -- it's only third game.
06:27 There's so much more that they got to improve on,
06:29 I mean, really on every aspect.
06:32 It's not that they don't have talent,
06:34 but they really have to work a lot better as a cohesive unit,
06:38 and, you know, the tournament they got coming up,
06:41 we could really get exposed here in the coming weeks
06:44 with the Thanksgiving tournament.
06:46 You got St. John's coming up as well.
06:48 So it might get ugly,
06:50 and it might only get uglier as the season goes on.
06:53 And, really, it's kind of not fair to this team,
06:56 maybe even to say that this early,
06:57 and it's probably not fair to this team throughout the year
07:00 with how many players are short right now.
07:03 So, with Ofri, just give me your thoughts on his performance.
07:06 I know he only had three points,
07:07 but he did some other things in this game,
07:10 and just the decision to put him in the lineup
07:13 and bring Seth Wilson off the bench.
07:16 Yeah, again, Seth was coming off the bench
07:18 to correct the mistakes in-game, right?
07:21 So there's going to be mistakes early.
07:24 Ofri, as far -- you know, he's just got to get his legs under.
07:28 He's quick. He's fast.
07:31 He can shoot, but he's still so young.
07:34 He plays a little while at a time.
07:37 He's got a high basketball IQ,
07:38 and he's just got to play with his feet under him.
07:40 Great vision, great team player, and Oli's right.
07:44 You know, if he stays here and is willing to stay here,
07:48 if Oli's not here, yeah, he could be a really good --
07:51 really good ballplayer in the right system.
07:53 He's, you know, put a little muscle on him.
07:56 He can shoot, great ball handler.
07:58 I would love to kind of see him get in that,
08:00 be able to do a little bit what Oren Zizinsky does,
08:03 maybe as a sophomore.
08:06 He's really got that kind of talent in basketball.
08:08 IQ. He's got a long way to go,
08:11 but what a nice addition this offseason.
08:13 Him and Quinn both.
08:14 What great grabs this summer.
08:17 Yeah, especially late in the process, too.
08:20 So, Kobe Johnson, obviously, 19 points.
08:23 This is somebody that everyone's just kind of been waiting on.
08:26 Career high, yeah.
08:29 For him to just emerge and be a part of this --
08:33 Back-to-back career high.
08:35 He had a career high in his long run.
08:37 He broke it again tonight.
08:39 Yeah. Kobe.
08:40 And, look, you know, West Virginia fans,
08:42 and rightfully so, they kind of panicked when Kerr went out,
08:44 and it does have a triple effect
08:46 with the rotation and the bench and everything,
08:50 but we all knew that with Kobe on the floor over Kerr,
08:54 you were getting a defensive upgrade.
08:56 What we thought we were going to get
08:58 was a downgrade offensively,
08:59 and in some ways, in aspects, you really --
09:02 you still are, but Kobe has played admirably
09:05 on that end of the floor. He's taken advantage.
09:07 Josh Eilert has said time and time again,
09:09 even before the Kresa suspension,
09:11 that he needs Kobe to be more aggressive,
09:14 and this is what you'd like to see here
09:16 in these first couple of games before you get down to Fort Myers
09:19 and play some of these more competitive teams.
09:22 Yeah, absolutely, and talked about it tonight
09:24 that he's going to change when Kerr Kresa comes back.
09:29 He's going to play probably the two-spot.
09:32 He's going to get really, really interesting here
09:35 in the coming weeks, so so much to do.
09:38 Wouldn't be surprised if there's more.
09:40 I don't know how many more.
09:41 Shouldn't say there's going to be a shakeup
09:43 in the starting lineup.
09:45 Wouldn't be surprised to see some pieces move there,
09:49 maybe just Seth Wilson and Ofer, because, I mean, again,
09:53 I think they only really have like six guys right now
09:55 that they can truly depend on, which is crazy.
09:58 In 2023, in today's age, you know,
10:02 you look at the roster pregame,
10:04 and, you know, Monmouth comes into town,
10:07 and they have a bigger roster than West Virginia.
10:10 Jacksonville State comes into town
10:11 as a bigger roster than West Virginia.
10:13 It's crazy, sad, all in one, and they're doing their best
10:19 to try to get some wins on the board,
10:21 and, again, hopefully, hopefully, you know,
10:23 getting three guys back still really isn't enough
10:26 for the rest of the year.
10:28 It's short with three guys coming back.
10:30 Those are three potential starters right now,
10:33 so a long way to go, one down,
10:37 what is that, 28 more to go, regular season games,
10:41 big 12 looming, a lot of tough -- a lot of tough.
10:45 I think the biggest one we're all serving tonight is Pitt,
10:47 so if that can be your best game of the year,
10:50 let it be Pitt and be happy
10:52 and hold on for the rest of the season.
10:55 Yeah, you just got to make the most of it as you can, right?
10:57 So, I mean, West Virginia,
11:00 they'll have the next six days off,
11:02 and then they'll head down to Fort Myers
11:04 for the Fort Myers tip-off and taking on SMU,
11:06 who is currently three and one.
11:09 They've beaten three nobodies, really,
11:11 and lost to Texas A&M,
11:12 so they'll take on SMU down there at 8:30 p.m.
11:17 on FS1 next Monday night, and then they will play,
11:22 I believe, the winner of Virginia and --
11:25 who's it? Clemson, maybe?
11:28 I have no idea, to be honest.
11:30 I don't have it in front of me right now.
11:34 I got to hold on to the camera since I'm up here.
11:37 I got it right here.
11:38 So they will be playing the winner of --
11:41 and you feel like, you know, this is our job.
11:43 We should know this stuff, but there's a lot going on,
11:45 all right?
11:47 Right now, it's focused on first game for West Virginia,
11:50 nothing else.
11:52 I don't think we can look ahead for them as well right now.
11:56 So you got to just take it one game at a time.
11:58 Virginia or Wisconsin.
12:00 So either way, you're going to get a tough match
12:03 up there in Fort Myers.
12:04 SMU is going to give you, obviously, a run for the money.
12:06 Yeah, I mean, that's going to be a tough game to get by.
12:10 Not real optimistic about them getting by SMU at this moment.
12:15 No, you really don't feel that way
12:17 about any team at this point.
12:19 But, hey, it is what it is.
12:21 Like you said, you can't really be mad at them.
12:23 This is the situation. It is what it is.
12:25 You got to make the best of it that you can
12:27 and just hope that as the season goes along,
12:29 you maybe get some good news medically
12:32 or in terms of eligibility,
12:35 and maybe you find a way to win some games,
12:38 get some confidence, and hang around until the end
12:41 instead of just hoping until the end of the season gets here.
12:44 So, anyways, that will do it for us here tonight.
12:47 West Virginia, again, winners over Jacksonville State.
12:51 They moved the 2-1 on the season,
12:53 and we'll be back here.
12:55 Eugene and I will be back here on Saturday night
12:58 or Saturday evening as West Virginia and Cincinnati
13:01 face off in the final home game of the football season.
13:04 It's hard to believe that's already here,
13:06 but we'll wrap that one up for you Saturday evening
13:09 between the Bearcats and the Mountaineers.
13:11 So, thank you guys for watching.
13:12 For Christopher Hall, I'm Skylar Callan.
13:14 Make sure you hit that subscribe button
13:16 on YouTube at Mountaineers Now
13:17 and give us a follow on X at the same handle.
13:21 Thank you guys for watching,
13:22 and we'll see you guys here in a couple of days.
13:24 Take care.
13:26 (upbeat music)
13:28 (upbeat music)
13:31 (upbeat music)
13:34 (upbeat music)