MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia’s Canadian connection of Jermaine Haley and Gabe Osabuohien added teammate Taz Sherman to their Christmas journey.
Jordan McCabe and Emmitt Matthews Jr. were on the first planes out of Pittsburgh headed toward Wisconsin and Washington following the Mountaineers 75-64 victory against Youngstown State last Saturday.
Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe didn’t even have to board the team bus following the game.
Culver spent his Christmas break with his family in Youngstown, Ohio, while Tshiebwe went back with family and friends to Sharon, Pa., which is a 30-minute drive from Youngstown.
At least for a few days, the pressures that come with a successful basketball season that is about to embark on the season’s most important game — Sunday’s trip to Cleveland to face No. 2 Ohio State (11-1) — will be nowhere to be seen.
“It’s good to get your mid away from the game for a few days,” Sherman said. “Guys get a chance to be around their teammates and their families to think about some different things for a change.”
Sherman, who is from Missouri City, Texas, — a suburb of Houston — joined Haley and Osabuohien for a trip across the border to Toronto to spend Christmas with Osabuohien’s family.
Haley, too, is from Canada, but Vancouver, British Columbia, was too far to travel for the holiday.
“We’re taking Taz across the border,” Haley said. “I told him this was going to change his life. He thinks just because Toronto is right across the border that it won’t be much different.”
“I’ll get to experience a Canadian Christmas,” Sherman added. “It should be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see what it’s like.”
Culver’s Christmas trip home was about a two-minute from the Covelli Centre. His postgame interview was filled with nothing but smiles, as he anticipated a chance to be with his family again.
“I was really bad at keeping my emotions for this game in check,” said Culver, who estimated he had at least 80 members of his family and friends at the game to watch him play. “Even in the hotel before the game, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was going to be playing in front of my whole family again. My hands were leaving sweat marks on my bed. I told myself I needed to find a way to relax.
“I don’t have to get on that bus now. I can go straight home. It’s going to feel good.”
WVU players are expected back on campus by Wednesday night and the No. 22 Mountaineers (10-1) will have three days to prepare for the second-ranked Buckeyes, who will be the ninth top 10-ranked team WVU has faced over the last three seasons.
“I think our team will make a good adjustment,” Culver said. “It’ll be good to get away for the holiday, but basketball is our craft. We understand we have some of our biggest games of the season coming up right after Christmas. I don’t think any of us will get lackadaisical and forget about what really is important.”
WVU coach Bob Huggins said he wasn’t worried about his players being away from campus for an extended amount of time — “We have a really good bunch of guys,” he said. — but he did warn them to stay away from the Christmas cookies and treats.
“I think they believe me, so when I told them that if they come back out of shape, they would be miserable,” Huggins said. “I think they believe me.”
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