Last Night's Game (Random Notes)
-Let us not pretend that last night's inexplicable victory over Texas was anything other than a nightmarish experience for all involved. About the only thing that the Mountaineers did right was crush the offensive boards. Limiting Texas's opportunities, especially in the overtime, put a game away that seemed comically out of reach midway through the second half.Â
-People on the Twitters were killing Jabarie Hinds, mostly because he was volume shooting but not volume making. There's no way to make 4-18 look good, especially if he's only getting to the line four times. But here's the thing about Hinds last night: he was the only guy looking to shoot. Every other player looked petrified about putting the ball up there.
-What's weird about that is WVU's offense seems like it only starts to work after getting a shot off. Once the initial shot is taken and missed, WVU's players kick into gear, going for the offensive rebound and the easier lay-up. It's the same offense as the team ran last year, when Kevin Jones was routinely expected to score 20 points a game on 10 offensive putbacks. The point then is this: who else besides Hinds was supposed to take those shots? If the answer is anybody else, then somebody has to take the leash off of those other players and let them know that they're allowed to shoot and miss too.
-Which doesn't happen. I haven't had many objections to Bob Huggins during his tenure here, but the absurdly short-leash he has for shooters has to be one of them. Dalton Pepper left the program after having his confidence shattered; Aaron Brown doesn't get on the court despite having what appears to be a competent shooting stroke. For whatever reason -maybe it's because he, like Truck Bryant, drives to the basket - Huggins lets Hinds run wild. If he'd let the other shooters do the same, the offense might flow more.
 -Of course, when we see what those others do with their offensive opportunities, it makes me wonder. Kevin Noreen - who played a wonderful game last night - ranks as one of WVU's all-time ugliest shooters, and even if that wasn't the case, he still refuses to shoot the ball. I'm not sure any player gets rid of the ball faster than he does. This is strange, as Noreen was apparently a huge scorer in Minnesota and does seem to make at least some of the shots that he takes, even if they are ugly.Â
-Fun fact: Dominique Rutledge started last night's game averaging more rebounds per game than Noreen. Rutledge plays less than Noreen. He's a senior now, so it probably isn't going to happen, but if he could manage to get his head screwed on straight (which would mean not fouling everybody on every single play), he seems like he'd be a real threat to be a real contributor.Â
-Juwan Staten sat on the bench late in the game last night after apparently refusing to do what Bob Huggins told him to do. That seems like a productive strategy for earning the trust of your coach.
-The team's next game is against a ranked Kansas State squad. I have absolutely no idea what might happen. Well, except for WVU's offense looking awful. But whether that means a win or a loss? I have no idea.Â
