Wednesday’s press conference featured Butler, Ebanks, Jones, WELLS and Mazzulla before Truck Bryant hopped up onto the dais. And everyone chuckled before Truck smiled and sat down.
This will definitely not surprise you, but the Mountaineers seem entirely unfazed and are borderline insulted people think this is what will keep them from … well, from winning it all.
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Abrupt ending to an otherwise historic season as WVU runs into a streaky team with a very good backcourt.
WVU coach Mike Carey gave credit to Morris and Davis, saying, “They have two guards as good as any guard I’ve seen in the Big East, especially Morris.”
In their two-game sweep through Austin, the Aztecs hardly looked like a team that should be seeded 11th in any regional. But the champions of the Mountain West Conference tournament were not assured of an NCAA berth until they beat Utah in overtime of the title game.
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Truck Bryant is out for the season and, obviously, it’s not good news for Sweet Sixteen inhabitant West Virginia. Then again, the worst-kept secret around the Mountaineers is Truck Bryant hasn’t played especially well lately. Hey, he’s tried. I don’t think he’s taken a wealth of terrible shots. He was actually pretty good Sunday. But the past six, eight, maybe 10 games haven’t been on the expected level.
And now he’s gone. Anytime you take a starter away from a legit Final Four contender, it’s big news. It led off the 11 p.m. SportsCenter last night. This is big. Awfully, unfortunately big for the Mountaineers.
Huggins wasn’t sure how he’d respond.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Honestly, the silver lining, I guess, is we’ve been through this before.”
But, it must me asked, how big is it?
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Truck Bryant is out for the year. Expect a confirmation from WVU shortly.
(Update: That didn’t take long.)
We talked about this three weeks ago and a lot has happened since then.
Butler wants to win and doesn’t mind what it takes to get there. Go back through the past few years. Is there someone else you’d want with the ball late? Along the lines, who’s been more dangerous when he got on a roll? True, there’s another side of that streaky personality, but that’s part of the ride.
OK, so what’s happened? He’s made three game-winning shots since that day and on Sunday added a putback of a missed Cam Thoroughman free throw to the list of clutch shots.
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From Buffalo to Morgantown today and then tomorrow it’s back to upstate New York and the Sweet Sixteen in Syracuse. Time is tight, but I’m assuming there are things you’d like to discuss. Fire away. I’ll handle what I can.
Meanwhile, a look at Sunday’s victory:
– Da’Sean Butler, he of the six game-winners, has a new favorite shot this season.
– Cam Thoroughman figured prominently in the key sequences of the victory.
– The Mountaineers tried to tell people they were going to be fine against the press.
About three hours away from WVU v. Missouri — remember when they nearly ruined college football by almost playing for the national title? — and we’ve covered just about everything while trying to put too much into this Big East/Big 12 thing and the full-court press. But how about a glimpse from the Missouri beat?
To wit, the Mountaineers definitely have the Tigers’ attention.
“The thing that stands out first is the layup lines and how good they look,” Zimmerman said of today’s opponent in the second round the NCAA Tournament’s East Regional at HSBC Arena. “They’ve got so many 6-8, 6-9, 240, 250, 260 guys. I mean, the kid from Turkey is a beast, animal, ripped muscles, huge chest, strong as an ox.”
– Keys? I have five. WVU’s rebounding margin, Missouri’s ability to force turnovers or bad shots or fast possessions in succession, 3-pointers, WVU’s bench scoring and handling the ball and finally the Tigers offense against WVU’s zones.
Open post, take it away.
– WVU has won seven in a row. Missouri lost three of four and a valuable player at the end of the season. What does momentum matter?
– Zaire Taylor thinks the Big East is good, but also crowded.
– The Tigers have remixed their team after Justin Safford tore his left ACL.
– WVU opponents don’t often keep up with Jones.
