MORGANTOWN — Dan Majerle’s 14-year NBA career saw him play in the 1993 NBA Finals, an NBA All-Star game and become a member of Dream Team II.
That didn’t help many of West Virginia’s players recognize Majerle as a former NBA great. For good reason, many of West Virginia’s players were just born when Majerle was finishing his NBA career in 2002.
“Really? Well, he’s tall,” West Virginia guard Chase Harler said. “He looks like he could’ve played.”
Majerle wrapped up his sixth season as head coach of Grand Canyon with the Antelopes’ 77-63 first-round loss in the CBI to the Mountaineers inside the WVU Coliseum.
He’s won 123 games in those six years, but the moment in Morgantown meant something to the coach who played all over the world.
“This is kind of a bucket list for me,” Majerle said. “I’ve been able to coach at some great places and play at some great places. So, to be able to coach against coach [Bob] Huggins, a Hall of Fame coach, and to play in a place like this, a storied program, was a lot of fun for me.”
Routt on the break
West Virginia forward Logan Routt supplied a spark off the bench with five points and five rebounds. He also had a season-high two assists.
One of those assists came at the end of the first half, as Routt hauled in a pass from Harler, took two dribbles down the middle of the court, and found Jermaine Haley for a slam dunk to end the half.
“Logan was out on the break,” Haley said. “He threw a really good pass.”
For good measure, the former Cameron High standout also added a career-high three blocks.
“I don’t think he blocked that many shots at Cameron,” Huggins said.
Team effort
West Virginia had four players in double figures and eight players contributed in the scoring and rebounding columns.
“Well, we’re really only down to about eight or nine players, so it was good to see everybody do something,” West Virginia forward Emmitt Matthews said.
Freshman guard Trey Doomes announced he was transferring from the team on Monday. That followed Beetle Bolden and Wes Harris transferring from the team earlier this season and the dismissal of senior forward Esa Ahmad.
Junior forward Sagaba Konate has not played since Dec. 8 and is out for the season with a right knee injury.
That leaves the Mountaineers with eight scholarship players and Routt, who is a walk-on.
“If we’re going to keep having success, we’ll need to keep eight or nine guys going,” Routt said. “We don’t have much depth, so we need to keep playing as a team.”
Fewest fouls of the season
West Virginia was called for just 11 fouls, the fewest this season.
Derek Culver finished with 10 rebounds, the 14th time this season he’s had at least 10 in a game.
West Virginia will host Coastal Carolina (16-16) at 7 p.m. Monday for the chance to advance to the CBI semifinals. Like the first-round game, parking will be free at the WVU Coliseum and tickets will cost $10, with most lower-bowl seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
