MORGANTOWN — Caught somewhere in between having a roster that looks good on paper but confusing on the court, Mike Carey has some major concerns heading into the 2021-22 season.
How many concerns?
“The next time you all see me, I may not have any hair,” he said.
The 19th-ranked Mountaineers will unveil its roster of both experienced players and newcomers with potential at 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPN+) in an exhibition game against NAIA-level WVU Tech.
Admission to the exhibition game is free.
“We have a lot of players, so we’re trying a lot of different combinations,” Carey said. “The chemistry isn’t there. It’s going to be a work in progress.”
WVU’s first preseason top 25 ranking since 2017 comes on the heels of returning four starters from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, while adding the No. 24-ranked recruiting class and two talented fifth-year senior transfers.
“I think we’re at a good starting point, but we obviously saw some things in our first scrimmage that we need to work on,” WVU point guard Madisen Smith said.
What kind of things? The list, according to Carey is much longer than it should be at this point of the preseason.
“We’ve got to find ways to score,” Carey said. “Our spacing is poor, our shot selection is not good.
“Breakdowns on defense continue to happen. I’m still learning with this group. I’ve got to see what the strengths are with our new players and our fifth-year seniors and try and put them in the best situation.”
Transfers Yemiyah Morris — a 6-foot-6 center from Mississippi State — and guard Ari Gray, who was Xavier’s top player last season, adds potential to a WVU lineup that was fourth in the Big 12 in scoring last season, as do highly-recruited freshmen Wynter Rogers, JJ Quinerly and Messiah Hunter.
They all add to a roster of 15 scholarship players all looking for playing time, but have yet to find a cohesive rhythm.
“If you’re asking me right now what’s our best combination, I don’t know,” Carey said. “You’ll see signs that this group is pretty good and then they’re not. Rotations are going to be very important to this team.
“Let’s put it this way, I put my best defensive team out there, but it’s not my best scoring. I’ve got to find a happy medium.”
Among the returners is forward Esmery Martinez, a preseason all-Big 12 first-teamer who was second in the Big 12 in rebounding last season, as well as forward Kari Niblack, who has started 63 games over her career.
Entering her senior season, this is the first time Niblack has experienced WVU being nationally ranked in the preseason.
“I would say we’re all just focused on one goal and one goal only,” Niblack said. “All the rankings, they’re great and everything, but it’s not going to keep us from working toward our goal.”
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