MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It was hardly 15 minutes of fame, but Logan Routt’s contributions did not go unnoticed during West Virginia’s 98-64 throttling of American University.
“I think someone said they’ve got a parade going on in downtown Cameron right now,” coach Bob Huggins said.
You’ll recall Huggins rewarding the 6-foot-11 walk-on from Cameron High School with a scholarship this summer. It followed Elijah Macon foregoing his senior year and Derek Culver failing to qualify for his freshman one, but an upbeat story nonetheless.
“I think someone said they’ve got a parade going on in downtown Cameron right now.” — Bob Huggins after Logan Routt played 15 productive minutes off the bench
A redshirt sophomore, Routt barely appeared in the season-opening debacle against Texas A&M, playing only a single minute behind Sagaba Konate and Maciej Bender.
When Konate was benched by Huggins for the American game, Routt produced six points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, all career-highs. Within 27 seconds of entering, he even made a Konate-like block on 6-10 Jesse Little.
“He plays better in games than he does in practice,” Huggins said. “We can go two weeks and he wouldn’t block a shot in practice, but then as soon as he gets in the game he makes a heck of a block. He ran the floor good and he did a lot of very positive things.”
Once Konate climbs out of Huggins’ doghouse, Routt won’t necessarily disappear. West Virginia’s starting center was among the most foul-prone players in the Big 12, and Bender hasn’t established himself as a consistent force on either end.
“There are minutes to be had for Logan Routt,” assistant coach Erik Martin said over the summer. “When you have a 7-footer, there are minutes to be had. There aren’t a lot of minutes, but there will be situational minutes.
“Logan’s not a stiff. He can move and he’s gotten better at learning how to score the ball.”
Routt seemed fairly nonchalant about seeing his first extended action as a Mountaineer.
“It’s not like I’m a true freshman going out there all nervous and jittery. It’s my third year, so I’m basically a junior,” he said. “Nothing to really be nervous about. I was just trying to be a little gritty out there.”