The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Nathan to laugh about

If if remains true that Jon Holton did not travel with the team and will not play against Kansas, then the start will again go to Nathan Adrian. It would be his fifth straight start at two different positions — remember, he started for quick healing Esa Ahmad against Kansas State — and WVU’s 3-1 stretch here pushes the record to 10-7 when the Morgantownian starts.

Bob Huggins indicated, though, that Holton would eventually return to the team and the starting lineup all at once, I think, Adrian’s surge in confidence and sense of belonging notwithstanding. He’s averaged 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds and made 14 of 22 shots and 6 of 8 3-point attempts as a starter. He was averaging 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds and had made 19 of 53 shots and 6 of 22 3-point attempts before Ahmad’s absence.

“Jaysean Paige may be our best player right now, and he doesn’t start,” Huggins said. “The great thing about our guys is they just want to win. When everything happened when Esa was hurt and Nate moved to [small forward] for one game, Jaysean came up to me and said, ‘I don’t want to start. I’m so much more comfortable coming off the bench.’

“Tarik [Philip] was the same way. ‘Coach, I just want to win.’ I don’t see Nate and Jon being any different. We’re going to do what’s best for the team, whatever that is. I honestly don’t know what that is right now.”

At the very least, tweet something nice to him.