Media gift from the Cactus Bowl: A tasteful Spector & Co. T230 Addi bluetooth speaker. One can be had for under $40. Players have it better, and rightfully so. Bowls can spend up to $550 on every player and coach a team brings to a bowl, and the Cactus Bowl doesn’t skimp after Christmas: a Fossil watch, an Ogio Excelsior backpack and a trip to the gift suite, which is underrated. It’s basically a VIP shopping spree.
The Armed Forces Bowl starts at 1 p.m., and I’ll be somewhere over west Texas on my way to Phoenix when Cal and Air Force face off. It’s the beginning of a large week here for all of us and for so many others, and it could have been monumental for the Clays.
Cody Clay, of course, is West Virginia’s tight end and a key component to a killer running game. Jordan Clay is Cody’s younger brother, and he, too, is a tight end for Air Force, which runs the ball more than any other team in the country.
Forth Worth and Phoenix are separated by one direct flight — or one 15-hour car ride — and you’d imagine mother and father, Roxanne and Chuck, are at Amon G. Carter Stadium for Air Force v. Cal and then on their way to Scottsdale for WVU v. Arizona State.
But Chuck and Roxanne will be home today, munching on pizza rolls and quesadillas, making bologna and cheese sandwiches, dipping into Roxanne’s guacamole and sipping on chocolate milk and eggnog.
Those are Jordan’s favorites, and he’ll be in the living room with his parents and their chocolate lab Sadie.
Cal’s offense is a variation of the Air Raid, and Air Force had to make room on the travel roster for players who could help simulate the Golden Bears attack in practice. Jordan’s a tight end, just like his brother, and didn’t make the cut.
“I’m going to watch and support my teammates,” he said. “It’s not my teammates’ fault I’m not going. They needed different players for the scout team and the spread offense, so they brought some faster guys. I’m bummed out I can’t go, but at the end of the day, at least I get some more time at home.”
His parents like this, too, and not simply because the refrigerator is packed and Chuck gets to enjoy some of the delicacies Roxanne hopes will help Jordan pack pounds onto his frame.
Jordan reported to campus for his third year during the summer and made it home once for just a few days for Thanksgiving after that.
Cody’s much closer to home. It’s easy for him to see his parents for a free weekend or before or after games and talk about Jordan or football or Cody’s wedding in April.
“Even though Jordan was disappointed he didn’t get to go to the bowl game, the flip side is he’s home for 17 days instead of seven,” Chuck said. “So we decided to stay home and watch the games on TV.”
We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming. I’ll touch base this evening after WVU’s practice. It’s open for 20 minutes, but at 5 p.m. local time.
Jaysean Paige has come a long way this season — we like his eFG% and TS% while his less impressive marks for efficiency and win score are likely the product of his role as the first and best option of the bench for a team that values the quantity of shots and possessions above all else — and that’s certainly a positive development for West Virginia and for the player. He seems to listen to and hear Bob Huggins, and the combination is important, because that’s why he’s driving to the basket and taking smart shots, and that could be why we see him drive more and continue to improve.
What’s interesting, though, is that Paige has made it this far after he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere in October.
The first half of the first half was the sort of thing Bob Huggins did not want to see Monday night. West Virginia was interchangeably overanxious and underwhelming. Players were running and jumping and getting out of position on defense but also shuffling and scuffling on offense.
Quizzical Eastern Kentucky was playing without its star and actually looked a threat with a 14-10 lead at the under-12 timeout.
Then two things happened:
The former put WVU back in front. The latter erupted for 15 points in a decisive 21-0 run. It was never in doubt after that, and you got very good look at the sixth man who’s eighth on the team in minutes per game is fourth in scoring with 10.7 points per game.
Paige, who didn’t score in the first run, made a layup, a free throw and four 3-pointers in the second run. He had 17 points in the first half, which was two shy of the career high he set against Stetson this season. He played just six scoreless minutes after halftime and was 0 for 1 from the floor.
“I’d like for him to drive it more,” Huggins said. “He’s far and away our best straight-line driver — far and away. I’d like for him to put more pressure on the rim.”
Paige shot 6 for 12 from the floor and 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Indicative of the season he’s having, his overall shooting percentage actually dropped to 52.9 percent while his 3-point percentage went up to 44.4 percent.
Now typically the first player off the bench for the Mountaineers, Paige scored 16 and 14 points in successive games before finishing with seven in last week’s win against Marshall. Monday was the second time he’s led the team in scoring this season and the first time in a win. He had a team-high 16 points earlier this month against Virginia.
“I’m just taking good shots, not rushing them and letting the hard work pay off with the time in the gym — nighttime, daytime, whatever,” Paige said. “I’m putting it all together and knocking the shots down.”
Huggins likes Paige. That much is obvious. But he’s starting to like his bench a lot, too, and he makes a comment to that effect, veiled as it may be, when he talks about substitution patterns and the five-for-five subbing he wants to avoid. But Paige and Tarik Phillip own property in the paint. Elijah Macon is capable of a serviceable Devin Williams impression. Nate Adrian, if nothing else, tries.
Williams is the guy on this team, but I’m not sure who’s been more consistent than Paige when it comes to energy, productivity and coachability, and I’m very sure he’s the player who has to not only sustain this, but heighten this as the schedule stiffens.
The opposition is for real the rest of the way, and it begins after a lengthy break, which is the sort of scenario that oftentimes begs for a player to rescue his teammates or to present an example to emulate in order to escape from the inevitable slog.
If we’re going to tell the story about Tony Gibson’s yet again amended contract, the details of which came to light Monday, the first day West Virginia could fulfill a FOIA request on the matter, then we should start with the prior version.
What was a three-year, $2.1 million contract wasn’t really that, even though it was that. Allow me to explain:
The last sentence of (2) is what I’m referring to. If Dana Holgorsen quit, retired or was fired or incapacitated in a skydiving accident, that third year was not guaranteed. This is not uncommon, though it’s new at WVU because the school hadn’t crafted a contract like this before last year.
What we can agree to say about Holgorsen’s job status was that it was in question earlier this month. And then it seemingly wasn’t when Athletic Director Shane Lyons popped up and propped up his football coach. Four days later — and we can assume this did not happen in a snap — Gibson had an amended contract. The amendment? The “if and only if the University’s current Head Coach is Head Coach during that time” has been deleted. Gibson’s 2017 salary is now guaranteed.
Kind of.
Continue reading…
.png)
We’ve an odd occasion tonight. There are sugar plums in the air — and ugly sweaters all over the Coliseum — and West Virginia is playing a home game hours before it breaks for the holidays. That’s … that’s dangerous, and Eastern Kentucky is no soup can, odd resume notwithstanding. (Aside: Played Kentucky closer than it played Marshall?)
The Mountaineers return to campus Dec. 26 and will practice that afternoon and then the next three days. On Dec. 29, they’ll fly to Virginia Tech and play the hard-to-read Hokies a day later.
WVU will then fly to Manhattan, Kan., after the game and spent two days on the ground before opening Big 12 play Jan. 2 against Kansas State. After that game, they fly to Fort Worth, Texas, and play TCU in its new on-campus arena Jan. 4.
That’s … that’s dangerous. The Mountaineers were wary in their planning.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to do,” Huggins said. “We were going to come back [after the Virginia Tech game], but I got convinced by the rest of the crew it was probably better if we just went to Manhattan. It’s a long time to be gone, but I think the consensus, aside from me, was probably that we could concentrate better and get more done.
“I went with the consensus. That’s a great way of saying if it doesn’t work, it’s not my fault.”
It’s going to be a test. Huggins knows the break has the potential to be a trap for his players, and he’s going to beg them after this game to get a lot of gym time during the pause and make sure they run to keep their legs. The Hokies are feisty, and their coach is going to make sure they play hard. There are easier teams to play after a break, especially on the road.
Kansas State and TCU are two of the three-worst teams in the conference, so the Mountaineers catch a break there (Kansas State plays at home Dec. 29 and then plays host to WVU. TCU plays at Oklahoma State Jan. 2 and then plays host to the Mountaineers). But six days on the road after four days away from campus is going to show Huggins a lot one way or another. The task is tall enough that WVU is just bound to have one off performance in that stretch.
All of which makes tonight’s game more important. EKU is a good offensive outfit. Forwards Jarelle Reischel and Javontae Hawks are both in the top 14 nationally in total points. Reischel averages 19.8 points per game, Hawkins averages 17.8 and forward Nick Mayo averages 12.9. Each shoots better than 53 percent from the floor. Reischel is third nationally with 91 free throws made and Hawkins is sixth with 87 baskets. EKU is No. 16 in points per game (85.7), No. 12 in shooting percentage (50.3) and No. 9 in 3-point shooting percentage (42.7).
WVU’s defense guards the 3-point line better than anyone — or has played some of the worst 3-point shooting teams; take your pick — but it also allows a high shooting percentage. The true trick, though, is turnovers. The Mountaineers are again adept at creating them and thriving off of them, but they’re been pretty generous in handing them out, too. The Colonels are No. 17 in turnovers forced per game (16.77) and No. 8 in total steals (106).
When Huggins reaches into his stocking tonight, he know what he wants to find, because he says as far as bal security goes, “we’ve taken being terrible to a new level.”
“We make passes when there’s nobody really guarding the ball or guarding the guy we’re throwing it to and we still throw it away,” Huggins said. “I think that’s the one glaring thing we’ve got to fix. Over the years here, we’ve been pretty good with it. There were years here if we had 10, that was a bunch. Now, 10 I’d be happy with. Actually, I’d be elated with 10. We’ve just got to do a better job with ball security.”
We’re secure in the post.
Continue reading…
Hi! I’m back all the way through Wednesday, then I’ll pick you up on the way to Phoenix as part of a fun trip that will take us home through Fort Worth, Texas, for the TCU game Jan. 4.
The guy above is back, which we first learned in a press release two weeks ago and then remembered in today’s post-regular season/pre-bowl news conference that, honestly, wasn’t long on news. Dana Holgorsen did say “a few” players will submit their paperwork to the NFL’s draft advisory board. Near as I can tell, there are only three players, and these are not surprises.
WVU underclassmen who we know will submit paperwork to NFL's draft advisory board: RBs Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell, CB Daryl Worley.
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) December 21, 2015
Just so we’re clear here, it is not the same as entering the draft. It’s asking the NFL for an honest answer to the question: Should I enter the draft? I know Smallwood had a nice season and Shell is a guy the league has had an eye on for a long time. I think Worley’s the one to wring hands over here. I’ve talked with folks who think he’s one of the handful of best corners available and that he’ll open eyes when teams put stopwatches and tape measures to him.
I’ll see you for the game tonight, yes?
Still taking a break, but there’s a no-less-than interesting basketball game in Charleston tonight. Possibly resurgent Marshall takes on suddenly accurate West Virginia in the likely WiFi-less Civic Center on ESPNU, which won’t have broadcasters on site.
There’s going to be a sidebar on the sideline, too, with two coaches who just don’t get along but are made to go along with a series that, if you’re asking me, has a shelf life. Just about any outcome accelerates that mindset in Morgantown, so let’s keep that in mind as we watch from start to finish and then through the press conferences.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the matchup, the participants, the outcome, the implications or whatever else comes to mind.
That’s WVU and its two halves in Sunday’s win against Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks just lost three road games inside of 72 hours and played each without their best player — and Majok Deng had 30 points and eight rebounds four games ago when ULM beat preseason Sun Belt favorite Lafayette.
It’s another lopsided victory for the Mountaineers, and it’s likely they open Big 12 play with an 11-1 record. If that’s so, are you comfortable in saying the non-conference slate was good for WVU?
(Still on vacation, but the mind churns.)
WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons Statement on Football Program | https://t.co/CSwf0jla5S
— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) December 10, 2015
So that’s that. I’m done with that, but here are a few facts:
Continue reading…
