MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Like trying to cram too many sofas and recliners into a one-bedroom apartment, Bob Huggins knows spacing is the major obstacle West Virginia’s offense is facing these days.
“I tell our guys all the time that we play other people and they got us spread and that’s why they can drive it on us,” Huggins said following the Mountaineers’ 86-81 victory against Rhode Island on Sunday. “We go play and it looks like the start of a roller derby match. It’s a whole bunch of people banging in to each other and falling down. It’s harder for us to spread teams out when we play two bigs.”
The two bigs are Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe, who are the main reason why the Mountaineers (7-0) are second in the Big 12 in total rebounds and lead the conference in offensive rebounds.
Neither are much of an offensive threat from the perimeter. Culver’s one 3-point attempt against Kansas in last season’s Big 12 tournament stands as the lone shot beyond the arc that either have taken.
And so it sets up the question that Huggins asked himself when he drew up the play that saw guard Jermaine Haley score near the rim with 13 seconds remaining.
“What we ran for Jermaine at the end, how do you get those bigs off the block and out of the way?” Huggins began. “The reality is, they’re not going to chase Oscar and Derek too far from the rim. How do I get them out of there?”
That could be the question Huggins asks for some time.
Play the towering duo together and West Virginia is a force on the glass with a greater chance at scoring on offensive rebounds. That also keeps the area around the rim congested.
Play them separately, which Huggins did at the start against the Rams by sitting Culver, and WVU loses its size advantage inside.
“I actually felt good about coming off the bench,” Culver said after scoring a career-high 25 points. “It allowed me to see the game from a different point of view. I got to go into the game fresh when everyone else was already a little tired.”
Huggins smiled when told of Culver’s response to coming off the bench.
“Good, I’ll sit him the next game,” he joked.
Culver’s benching, Huggins said, was more about situational play. Going with forward Gabe Osabuohien in the staring lineup kept WVU from going with Osabuohien and Logan Routt off the bench at the same time.
The flip side is Osabuohien is a better defender on the perimeter and helps WVU become a better team at defending smaller lineups.
“We thought it was the best thing to do for this game,” Huggins said. “It’s hard to play Gabe and Logan at the same time. We just don’t get any offense and we’re not as effective around the basket defensively.”
What happens when WVU travels to New York on Saturday to face St. John’s (6-2) remains to be seen.
Like many of the Mountaineers’ opponents this season, the Red Storm use a four-guard rotation with senior shooting guard Mustapha Heron leading the way averaging nearly 15 points per game.
“Honestly, I think it was all a match-up thing today,” Culver said. “I don’t think you’re going to see me coming off the bench much more.”
Tshiebwe’s offensive awareness is also a work in progress. He’s no longer the lone man in the middle like he was in high school and WVU coaches have worked with him on being in the right places when Culver has the ball on the inside.
“Derek tries to help Oscar as much as he can,” Huggins said. “I could see where Derek could get frustrated, too, because Oscar is not where he’s supposed to be in a lot of instances.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do with him in terms of understanding spacing and knowing what we’re trying to run. We clog things up so bad.”
To that effect, Tshiebwe said he constantly watches each game and continues to work on his spacing.
“I feel like I’m getting a lot better,” Tshiebwe said. “I watch all of my games and if there is something that was weak, I go into the gym and work on it. The more I play and the more I watch the game, the smarter I’m getting.”
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