West Virginia Mountaineers Basketball News: More Portal Woes, New Coach Receives Praise, and More..

Another starter hits the transfer portal, coaches and analysts praises new coaching hire Ross Hodge, and more WVU basketball news.

West Virginia’s basketball programs have been in the spotlight recently, with the men’s team missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid and launching a coaching search after Darian DeVries’ exit. Meanwhile, the women’s team wrapped up its season in the tournament.

With so much happening, some updates might have gone unnoticed. Here are key developments from the Mountaineers’ basketball scene:

 

Another WVU Starter Enters the Transfer Portal  

West Virginia’s men’s basketball team continues to be hit hard by the transfer portal.

Following Darian DeVries’ departure, his son Tucker DeVries, along with starters Jonathan Powell and Amani Hansberry, as well as reserve KJ Tenner, entered the portal. Now, guard Sencire Harris has also decided to transfer. Harris, who has two years of eligibility left, contributed 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while playing nearly 27 minutes per contest this past season.

His exit leaves the Mountaineers with only two returning players from last season’s active roster Haris Elezovic and walk-on Aden Tagaloa-Nelson, who appeared in just one game. Also still on the roster is Ofri Naveh, who redshirted last season after playing sparingly as a freshman.

 

New Head Coach Ross Hodge Receives High Praise 

West Virginia men’s basketball has found its new leader in Ross Hodge, previously with North Texas, and the hire has been widely praised.

Several high-profile college basketball figures, including Baylor coach Scott Drew and Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland who previously worked with Hodge spoke highly of his coaching ability. ESPN analyst and former head coach Fran Fraschilla also commended the hire.

Mountaineers Earn All-American Recognition  

As the college basketball season comes to a close, two WVU players, one from the men’s team and one from the women’s have received AP All-American Honorable Mention honors.

Senior guard ‘Javon Small’ was recognized for his performance in his lone season with the Mountaineers, where he led the team with 18.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. His scoring average was the highest for a WVU player since the team joined the Big 12 in 2012. Small ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring and third in assists.

On the women’s side, ‘JJ Quinerly’ capped off her four-year career at WVU with the honor. She led the team with 20.4 points per game and ranked second in the Big 12 in steals and third in scoring. Quinerly finished her career as WVU’s third all-time leading scorer with 2,017 points.

“If we had a Mount Rushmore, JJ Quinerly should be on that list,” said WVU women’s coach Mark Kellogg.

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