MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — A late-night plane ride from Kansas City had the West Virginia men’s basketball team at the North Central West Virginia Airport on Thursday at about the same time they were supposed to tip-off against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament.
Minutes later, a bus pulled up to an empty WVU Coliseum.
Bags were unpacked. Feelings of shock and sadness had long ago been shared among coaches and players, some of whom may never wear a Mountaineers uniform ever again.
This is how the ending came for the 2019-20 season, one that had more twists and turns than a daytime soap opera with an ending no one could have imagined just days earlier.
“We got together and talked about our time here,” WVU senior guard Chase Harler told MetroNews SportsLine. “We found it kind of weird we didn’t have a say in when our career ended.”
The days and months leading up to the end saw both triumph and frustration, as the Mountaineers (21-10, 9-9 Big 12) encountered a season that saw them both on the brink of being ranked among the top teams in the country, as well as fighting at the end of the regular season just to earn a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament.
Along the way, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins rose as high as No. 6 on the all-time Division I wins list, surpassing Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith along the way. He’ll enter next season 19 victories shy of 900 for his career.
Technically, the Mountaineers’ season began with seven consecutive victories and ended with a win against Baylor, the fourth-ranked team in the nation, that prompted WVU students to rush the court in celebration. They finished the regular season ranked No. 22 in the country.
Still, there will be no trophies to hoist into the air, no banners to be hung.
There will only be the empty feeling of nothingness that came with Thursday’s decisions to cancel the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments amid the fears of causing further spread of the coronavirus that shut down the sports world in a way that even two world wars and the events of Sept. 11, 2001 could not.
“Deeply saddened the guys won’t get the experience to play in the the NCAA tournament but understand health and safety of those involved comes first,” Huggins tweeted. “To the seniors, I’m grateful and appreciate everything you’ve done for the program. To the others, we have unfinished business.”
In truth, the optimism behind the 2019-20 season began in Oct. of 2018, when Oscar Tshiebwe, a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American, chose the Mountaineers over the likes of Kentucky and Baylor.
And then a young and inexperienced WVU team ripped off wins against Oklahoma and Texas Tech in the 2019 Big 12 tournament to create even more momentum for this season.
It all began with questions, such as how would a lineup of towering big men in Derek Culver and Tshiebwe actually look on the floor?
Would junior-college recruits Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil provide a boost of outside shooting?
Would Arkansas transfer Gabe Osabuohien gain immediate eligibility from the NCAA?
Would returning players like Jordan McCabe, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Jermaine Haley improve enough to make bigger impacts?
Huggins’ thoughts entering the season: “We can make shots,” he said last September, as preseason practices were beginning. “It would be difficult to imagine that all of our guys would have off days at the same time.”
An 11-1 start saw the Mountaineers win the Cancun Challenge and beat then-No. 2-ranked Ohio State.
It also saw the introduction of WVU’s “other” freshman in Miles McBride, who came to the rescue with 21 points in that victory against the Buckeyes.
Rather than skilled shot-making, the Mountaineers built their calling card on defense and rebounds.
“We were not a very good defensive team last year,” McCabe said after WVU’s win against Pitt in November. “I think we’ve all made a greater commitment to guard. We’re stronger and faster. It has to start on the defensive end with us, or else we’re going to face the same questions as before.”
The momentum did not last forever, though, and WVU faced real adversity for the first time once they began to play road games in Big 12 play.
A loss at Kansas State on January handed the Wildcats their first win in conference play.
That turned into losses at Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor, in which WVU faced double-digit deficits.
Two consecutive road losses at TCU and Texas peaked the frustration level.
“We’ve definitely struggled,” Harler said. “When the ball isn’t going in for you, it’s harder to keep your head up. It’s harder to get back and play defense like we’re capable of playing.”
The turnaround came late with a road win at Iowa State and then the regular-season finale by knocking off the No. 4 Bears.
At that point, the COVID-19 virus was a news story being handled by politicians and medical personnel.
It began to seep into the sports world with discussions of holding conference tournaments without fans in the stands, but the games were still expected to be played.
Even during West Virginia’s pre-Big 12 tournament press conference in Kansas City on Wednesday, Huggins and his players were not questioned about the coronavirus.
The immediate sports world came to an end just a day later.
With it came an abrupt end to the college careers of Haley, Harler and Logan Routt, all of whom made their presence felt within the WVU program.
It also ended the immediate learning curve for Tshiebwe, who finished his freshman campaign just 14 offensive rebounds shy of Kevin Jones’ school record of 141 in a season.
“I felt I learned a lot this season from my coaches and teammates,” he said. “In high school, I never had to do the things that have been asked of me now. It’s been a good learning experience for me.”
Only forever unanswered questions remain. We’ll never know if Matthews would continue to show the type of play he displayed in scoring 18 points in that victory against Baylor.
We’ll never know just how much McBride and Tshiebwe would have grown in the postseason as freshmen.
And we’ll never know if the Mountaineers’ late-season surge would have continued or come crashing down around them.
The coronavirus made sure of that.
“Heartbroken,” Routt tweeted.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed for our team, our staff and all of Mountaineer Nation, particularly in light as to how our team responded so well in recent games and practices after a tough stretch of the season,” Huggins said in a prepared statement on Thursday. “However, this is a very serious matter globally and the health and safety of all involved is the priority.”
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