West Virginia’s biggest shooting problem a year ago was easy to spot. Once you strip out Honor Huff, the Mountaineers were left with a roster that didn’t generate nearly enough reliable damage from deep. Huff accounted for 49% of the team’s made three-pointers, which tells the story all by itself.
That kind of imbalance is exactly what Ross Hodge tried to fix through the transfer portal. He brought in players who can score from three-point range and do more than just stand around the arc. That matters, especially when your leading scorer took 79% of his shot attempts from downtown last season.
The new group gives WVU a far different look. Finley Bizjack, Joson Sanon, Brenen Lorient, and true freshman Miles Sadler all bring scoring ability from all three levels, while big man Mouhamed Sylla can also step outside and hit the occasional three-ball.
That upgraded shooting profile is showing up in the preseason numbers too. Basketball analytics guru Evan Miyakawa recently posted his projections for the college teams with the most elite three-point shooters on their rosters, and West Virginia is in a strong spot. The Mountaineers are tied with Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Creighton for second-most in the country with four, trailing only BYU, which has five.
The four WVU players on that list are Bizjack, Sanon, Martin Somerville, and Sadler. Miyakawa’s threshold for “elite” is a projected three-point percentage in the 90th percentile.
Sanon has already shown he can get rolling fast. As a freshman at Arizona State, he shot nearly 37% from three while playing a heavy workload as a starter.
After moving to St. John’s and settling into a bench role, his volume dipped and his percentage fell to 33.6%.
Still, the upside is obvious. In last night’s exhibition against Wheeling, he drilled three straight triples.
Somerville has a track record that points to solid range as well. He knocked down 40% of his threes as a freshman at UMass-Lowell, then hit 33% at Florida State last season. A number in the mid-30s looks like a sensible benchmark for him.
Bizjack brings the kind of shooting that can swing stretches in a hurry. He’s a career 36% shooter from deep, and he has already shown he can heat up quickly, like he did in the first half against Maryland.
Two seasons ago at Butler, he buried 42.8% of his threes while taking 5.9 attempts per game. Last season, injuries forced him into a larger role and a heavier shot load, and he still hit 34%.
With more help around him this year, it’s fair to expect his attempts to settle down from the 7.4 per game he posted a year ago, which could put him in the high 30s or low 40s.
Then there’s Sadler, who sounds like a natural fit for a team looking for more shot-making. He’s described as a bucket-getter, and while his three-point shot should keep growing as his season and career progress, he already has a smooth stroke and looks destined to become dangerous from long range.
In Other News...
West Virginias Rotation Is Taking Shape But A Key Battle Isnt Over
West Virginias preseason exhibitions have given Ross Hodge a clearer look at how his first Mountaineers rotation might settle in, and the early signs suggest a compact core is already separating itself from the pack. Hodge has leaned on a group he trusts, using the exhibitions to sort through a roster that looks deeper and more versatile than the average preseason group, while also getting a better read on which players can help in meaningful minutes once the games start counting.
Still, the picture is not fully set, because there are players on the edge of the rotation who have at least made the decision more complicated. The Mountaineers have enough pieces to mix and match, and that kind of flexibility can be a strength, but it also means the final pecking order is still being fought over behind the scenes. For a team trying to build identity early, the most interesting question may be less about who starts and more about who earns a lasting role once the roster trims down to its true eight or nine. [Read more 🡒]
Ross Hodge Sent An Early Message To West Virginias Young Frontcourt
The first real teaching moment of the Ross Hodge era arrived quickly for West Virginias young frontcourt. In an exhibition against Wheeling, freshman Aliou Dioum was whistled for a technical foul after hanging on the rim following a dunk, and Hodge made sure the message was delivered immediately on the floor. It was the kind of correction that can get lost in a preseason tuneup, but for a staff trying to establish standards early, it clearly mattered.
Dioum stayed in the game and still made his presence felt, finishing with seven points, two rebounds and two blocks in seven minutes. Even in a non-competitive setting, Hodge treated the sequence as a reminder that habits count, especially for a group of young bigs learning how to operate within the details. For West Virginia, it was a small moment with a larger purpose, the sort of baseline expectation that can define how the frontcourt develops from here. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Defensive Ceiling Looks Shakier Than Fans Wanted To Admit
West Virginias defensive profile has become harder to gloss over as the Big 12 schedule has worn on. A look at the Pro Football Focus grades and snap counts shows a unit with only a few players grading above 70, which is a pretty thin margin for error when the games get tighter and the competition gets more explosive. The struggles in that four-game stretch in conference play exposed how quickly things can slip when the back end is under pressure.
Geimere Latimer has been one of the steadier pieces, piling up a heavy snap load and holding up well overall. But the broader picture still points to a defense that has had trouble finding enough reliable play at safety, and that has left the passing game vulnerable in ways West Virginia could not afford. The question now is not whether the Mountaineers have some individual pieces to build around, but whether the ceiling of the unit is lower than many hoped heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]