MORGANTOWN — Basketball is not a game meant to be decided by numbers and projections on a piece of paper.
Still, it is difficult to look at next season’s WVU men’s basketball team and not see all the depth and experience in the wings and forwards and a gaping hole seemingly filled with a lot of questions at the guard positions.
“Yeah, it’s fair to say the guards are going to have a lot of work in front of them,” WVU point guard recruit Jordan McCabe said. “If Sagaba [Konate] and Esa [Ahmad] both decide to come back, which I hope they do, you’re looking at playing with a lot of talented guys at the [small forward], [power forward] and [center]. It’s going to be up to the guards to run with them and help lead the team.”
Konate and Ahmad have both entered their names into the 2018 NBA Draft, but neither have signed with an agent, which preserves their college eligibility and would allow them to return to school and play next season.
Their projected returns would add to a roster that also includes returning starters Lamont West and Wesley Harris and rising sophomore Teddy Allen, who showed signs of promise while averaging 7.0 points per game as a freshman.
The 2018 recruiting class also includes highly-anticipated four-star recruit Derek Culver, a 6-foot-10 forward from Warren, Ohio, as well as junior-college center Andrew Gordon. Both are expected to contribute next season.
The questions begin with the graduations of guards Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr., one of the most successful guard combinations in school history.
This is where McCabe and fellow recruit Trey Doomes enter the picture.
They were both standouts Saturday, at the Scott Brown Memorial Classic and both were named co-MVPs of the all-star game.
Doomes finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while McCabe added 19 points and seven assists.
Both are excited about the opportunity to pick up where Carter and Miles left off. Neither believe they will simply walk on campus and become the next great guards for the Mountaineers.
“That’s the thing, I think Jordan and I are both excited about the opportunity,” said Doomes, a native of Acworth, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. “But, it’s going to take a lot of work to get to where Dax and J.C. were.
“You already have a lot of good guys there in Beetle [Bolden] and Chase [Harler]. Brandon [Knapper] was hurt this year, but he can be a great player.”
McCabe, the state of Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball, in 2018, out of Kaukauna High, has been committed to WVU since the summer following his sophomore year.
He’s spent the past two years studying Carter and Miles, as well as getting to know Bolden, Knapper and Harler.
“I know people are going to miss Jevon and Dax, but [WVU] already have some great guys there ready to go,” McCabe said. “Trey and I aren’t going to just step in there and be the guy. Beetle has already accomplished so much and Brandon and Chase have a lot of talent.
“We have to get in there and just be willing to work and try to find our own way. I don’t think anybody is looking to become the next J.C. and Dax.”
