MORGANTOWN — It hasn’t exactly been a topic of discussion much with the WVU women’s basketball team, but head coach Mark Kellogg is no dummy.
He knows things — where they concern expectations of the Mountaineers — have changed dramatically.
“What a difference a year makes,” is how Kellogg began his press conference Wednesday, which marked the second day of full preseason practice for the team.
A year ago, Kellogg was the new kid on the block no one knew anything about, coming to WVU from some small Division I school in Texas in Stephen F. Austin.
The immediate expectations back then for Kellogg were simply not to flop, maybe put together a solid WNIT-type of season.
A year later?
“I think the goals and expectations, not necessarily within the program, but outside are maybe a little bit different than they were a year ago when we sat here,” Kellogg said. “A year makes a big difference, no question. We feel like we’re in a really good place.”
Once the season begins Nov. 5 against Towson, that “really good place” will be a national ranking somewhere inside the Top 20 likely.
You have to go back to 2017 to find the last time the Mountaineers began a season preseason-ranked in the top 20.
WVU did it last year with a chip-on-their-shoulders mentality, as in no one gave them much thought of being good. Certainly no one believed WVU would still be in contention for a Big 12 title heading into the final week of the regular season.
And they proved everyone wrong, going all the way to the NCAA tournament and pushing Iowa and star Caitlin Clark for four quarters before bowing out in the second round.
That us-against-everyone-else way of thinking worked. Can it still work for WVU a year later when suddenly everyone is singing its praises?
“I like the chip on your shoulder, for lack of a better word,” Kellogg began. “I think that’s us. I think that’s some of West Virginia in the past. It’s the way the state is looked at. I don’t want to lose that.
“At the same time, I want (the players) to feel like they’ve worked their you-know-whats off to have some of these expectations. We don’t want to shy away from that.”
Four starters return from last season’s 25-win team, but that doesn’t come close to covering just who these Mountaineers are.
There is a justifiable star in senior J.J. Quinerly and that Batman has a terrific Robin in point guard Jordan Harrison.
There is an emerging star in Auburn transfer Sydney Shaw, a do-it-all type of player in Kyah Watson, as well as a 6-foot-3 center who can step back and nail 3-pointers in Kylee Blacksten.
For added measure, you will hear a lot about freshmen Destiny Agubata and Jordan Thomas before the season is complete.
“The cupboard is definitely more full than it was a year ago,” Kellogg said. “We took a step, but we’re still not quite where we need to be, ultimately.”
Everyone knows what the ultimate goal is. What’s different is the outlook. Plans can go sour. A year ago, that may not have been that big of a deal. A year later, disappointment would likely follow.
“I think you can have a really good year, but maybe you set some goals and didn’t achieve them,” Kellogg said. “Are you supposed to be disappointed in that? I’m always a little hesitant on some of those team goals.
“From talking to other coaches this summer, there’s a thought we’re going to be pretty good, and we have all of these returners. I think we’ve earned that, but at the same time, we haven’t achieved anything at the level we want to.”
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