WACO, Texas — Bob Huggins occasionally saw West Virginia’s big men open in the lane, but his perimeter passers didn’t.
Such was the frustration of losing his two primary point guards to injuries. With Juwan Staten dressed in a sweatsuit and Gary Browne hobbling on crutches, the Mountaineers were out-of-sync against Baylor’s zone and trailed wire-to-wire in Saturday’s 78-66 loss.
“We’ve got guys doing jumping jacks in the lane because they’re open and we don’t throw them the ball, because our guys don’t know where to look,” Huggins said. “If you know the progression of where people are supposed to come open, it makes a big difference.
“Wannie knows where guys are supposed to come open so he delivers the ball better, because he’s been out there three years.”
While Huggins hoped for the type of interior passing he saw in Tuesday’s win over Texas, it didn’t transpire. Devin Williams was held to four points while not attempting a single free throw. Elijah Macon and Jonathan Holton got most of their 16 combined points off the offensive glass.
While West Virginia prepped for Staten’s absence this week, at no point all season had the team also been without Browne. His departure after an ankle injury early in the game hamstrung Huggins.
Freshman Jevon Carter, recruited as a shooting guard, shifted to the point and played 38 minutes. Though he dazzled at times by shooting 7-of-13 from 3-point distance, Carter admonished himself for committing a team-worst five turnovers.
“I’ve just got to take care of the ball better,” he said. “I had too many turnovers that I normally don’t have.”
Carter’s 25 points were the second-most this season behind his 28 against VMI on Nov. 26, a night when Staten was feeding him passes. This time brought a bigger atmosphere, a better opponent and a less-familiar circumstance.
“I was a little stuck between when to shoot and when to pass,” Carter said. “Being a point guard, you’ve got to look to get everybody else a shot too.”
Daxter Miles played a season-high 36 minutes, finishing with 11 points and five assists. (Junior-college transfer Tarik Phillip, a pure point guard, played only 4 minutes—a telling sign regarding whom Huggins trusts to run the offense.)
Too often, Huggins sensed his freshman guards weren’t yet savvy enough.
“Dax and JC definitely haven’t been out there by themselves the way they were today,” he said.
Outside of Carter, the rest of WVU’s 3-point shooters were 1-of-11. While some of those were by design, the Mountaineers weren’t able to penetrate and create enough opportunities at the rim—as evidenced by attempting only 12 free throws.