MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Bob Huggins is expecting to play with a full deck this basketball season.
The West Virginia men’s basketball coach said Thursday he doesn’t expect any of his 14 players — 13 scholarship, one walk-on — to opt out for the 2020-21 season.
“I think our guys are of the mindset that we’ve got a chance to do some special things and they want to be a part of it,” Huggins said during a Zoom session with the media. “I haven’t had anybody talk about next year or anything other than this year and what we have to do to be special this year.”
Last week, the Division I Council granted an extra year of eligibility for college athletes in winter sports, giving those athletes the option of opting out over concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic without losing a season of eligibility.
The council did the same for athletes in the fall sports and the WVU football team did have one player — defensive back Kerry Martin Jr. — opt out this season.
The extra year of eligibility opens up a number of options for Huggins and the Mountaineers’ roster this season, as well as next season.
WVU has two seniors in Gabe Osabouhien and Taz Sherman who could play this season and would still be permitted to come back and play again a year later. Huggins said he would welcome both players back if they decided to play again in 2021-22.
“I don’t know who wouldn’t take Gabe and Taz back if they wanted to come back,” Huggins said. “Those are the two guys — if everything was normal, which nothing is normal — but if everything was normal those are the guys who would finish their eligibility this year. Now, they have the option to come back.
“I haven’t really talked to them about it, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t do that, unless an opportunity comes their way to go make a bunch of money in Europe. At this point in time, I don’t see that happening.”
According to the council, any seniors who wish to come back and play again in 2021-22 for the same school would not count against that school’s scholarship limit of 13 players.
For a freshman like Seny Ndiaye, who was projected to redshirt this season, he can now play this season and still be considered a freshman in 2021-22.
“We could (play him), but if you look at the guys we have inside now, obviously Derek (Culver) and Oscar (Tshiebwe) are going to eat up minutes,” Huggins said. “Gabe played a bunch of minutes a year ago. Isaiah (Cottrell) brings us something that we don’t have, which is a guy who is a lot more skilled at 6-foot-10.
“That’s two positions where we already have four guys, unless something happened where someone got hurt or sick. I don’t know why we would need another post guy.”
Juwan Staten joins coaching staff
Former WVU standout point guard Juwan Staten has joined the WVU coaching staff as a graduate assistant manager.
In three seasons with the Mountaineers (2012-2015), Staten averaged 13.4 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Since graduating in 2015, Staten played professionally in Belgium, Finland, France, Estonia and Hungary.
“He decided he wanted to come back and, one, finish his master’s degree and, two, get his feet wet in the coaching profession,” Huggins said. “We’re excited about having him. Obviously he was a great player here and he learned a lot playing over in Europe. Our guys think the world of him. He’s got a great personality and he’s been very approachable. He’s been great for us.”
Staten is working on a master’s degree in sport management.
Huggs’ thoughts on home attendance this season
Big 12 officials are still constructing guidelines as to how many fans will be permitted to attend home games this season under the pandemic.
WVU isn’t expected to host its first home game until the first week of Dec., but Huggins believes there is an opportunity to have a home-court advantage with a limited number of fans in attendance.
WVU Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Steve Uryasz, “seems to be our resident expert on that kind of thing,” Huggins said. “He has studied it and he’s been over at the Coliseum religiously working at what we need to do in the Coliseum to make it compatible with what everyone else is going to do.
“The great thing about the Coliseum is we could put 25% of the capacity in there and still have a home-court advantage.”
The Coliseum holds 14,000, so 25% would be 3,500 fans.
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