MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University announced the early signings of forward Esa Ahmad and point guard James “Beetle” Bolden on Wednesday.
Ahmad, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward from Shaker Heights, Ohio, is ranked No. 43 in the class of 2015 by ESPN.com and No. 70 by Rivals.com. He averaged 26.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game as a junior and chose the Mountaineers over Ohio State, Indiana, Cincinnati, Wisconsin and a host of other power-conference programs.
“I do not know if we could have signed a better player to fill our needs,” said Huggins. “With us losing Juwan (Staten) next year, we needed to have someone who can bounce the ball and make plays. Esa is not only very good at creating scoring opportunities for himself but also at creating opportunities for his teammates. Our guys will enjoy playing with him because he is very adept at delivering the ball to open people.”
Bolden, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard from Holmes High in Covington, Ky., is a three-star prospect who averaged 20.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Bolden already is a two-time selection to the Kentucky all-state team. He held offers from Purdue, Xavier, Butler and Ohio.
“Obviously losing Juwan and Gary (Browne) leaves us a void,” said Huggins. “We think that Beetle will come in and get valuable minutes his freshman season. He has been a winner at Holmes his entire career as well as on the AAU circuit. He brings a win-first attitude to the program.
“It’s exciting to add two quality playmakers like these two. With an outstanding group of returning players, it should make for a great mix.”