MORGANTOWN — On a night traditionally designed to look back at a player’s accomplishments over the course of four years, West Virginia fans were instead presented with the opportunity to imagine what the future might hold for the Mountaineers.
The potential nucleus of next year’s team outside of incoming five-star power forward Oscar Tshiebwe continued to take shape against Iowa State on Wednesday night. Guards Jermaine Haley and Jordan McCabe and forward Derek Culver combined for 51 points in West Virginia’s 90-75 win over the Cyclones.
The stars of West Virginia’s senior-less senior night are all expected to be back with the Mountaineers next season.
“I think the only people that thought we weren’t going to be back were people here in Morgantown and the area,” said WVU coach Bob Huggins. “Everybody else, other coaches, I think they know we’re going to get some folks and line it up.
“You’ve got to have guys that want to play together. You’ve got to have guys that want to win. You’ve got to have guys that want to share the ball. We pass the ball now. We didn’t pass the ball [earlier this season].”
The Mountaineers are effectively in their fourth different iteration since the start of the season.
There was the short-lived squad that featured Sagaba Konate as its star player before he went back on the shelf for the season. Then there was the version with Beetle Bolden as the team’s leader. That gave way to the version minus the injured Bolden but featuring serious contributions from Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris.
Once Ahmad and Harris were dismissed from the team on Feb. 11, the current version started to take shape.
“It’s not the same team,” Huggins said. “We’ve had so many different teams.”
Based on the results, that change has not been a bad thing. But for a freshman like McCabe, there was still an element of wanting to play for the absent Ahmad on what was supposed to be his final home game at WVU Coliseum.
“We know Esa isn’t here playing with us right now, but we know he’s somewhere supporting us,” McCabe said. “He’s always been that kind of guy. He’s a big brother. So in terms of not having a senior on senior night, this win was for him. Wherever he was, we know he’s supporting us. We love him to death.”
