Over the course of 48-plus hours in Paradise Island, Bahamas, West Virginia’s men’s basketball program did plenty to change the perception of the Mountaineers moving forward in Darian DeVries first season as head coach.
WVU played three overtime games in the Battle 4 Atlantis, defeating Gonzaga, falling to Louisville and then knocking off Arizona in the third-place game to give the Mountaineers a pair of wins over ranked foes in the eight-team event.
An entirely new team playing for an entirely new coaching staff has come together quicker than could’ve been expected, particularly when factoring in WVU being selected to finish 13th of 16 teams in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
“It says a lot about the work our guys have put in since they got on camps,” first-year West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries said. “They continue to believe in one another. I know this group feels like we still have plenty to grow into and we’re excited about that. They’re just eager to work and that’s the part we want and ask for as coaches. As a fan base, they want to see our guys compete and play as hard as they can and our guys are trying to do this every night.”
West Virginia’s starting five totaled all but 11 of the team’s 228 points in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Point guard Javon Small averaged 23.7 points and added 17 rebounds and 17 assists over the three games. He played 128 of a possible 135 minutes.
“He was incredibly good at both ends of the floor controlling the game,” DeVries said. “He’s just a winner. What I loved about him [Friday against Arizona], he recognized some other guys had it going and was a very willing passer. He’s all about the right things all the time.”
Forward Tucker DeVries drained 8-of-12 three-pointers in the win over the Wildcats and finished the Battle 4 Atlantis with 50 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
“Our entire team had a ton of grit this week,” said DeVries, a senior and two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year while playing for his father at Drake. “Three overtime games in three days, guys playing a lot of minutes, and as a whole, our group stuck together.
“Javon had two really good days the first two games and again played pretty well [Friday]. It may not have shown on the stat sheet, but he was a big part of it. It fell in my hands and I had the hot hand and a lot of other guys made some big shots for us. It was a total group effort over three days.”
Amani Hansberry, a stretch forward playing center for the undersized Mountaineers, was also a vital contributor and averaged 17 points and 7.7 rebounds in the event.
Toby Okani contributed his best game to date in a WVU uniform against Arizona with 20 points and five rebounds. Okani made 7-of-11 shots and three three-pointers.
“We moved the ball around and found the best shot at the moment,” Okani said. “We weren’t really picking for a specific shot. We were moving the ball. The ball found me and Tucker and a couple other guys and we let it rip.”
West Virginia returns home with a 5-2 record, and perhaps more importantly, a pair of recent victories to bolster a potential postseason resume.
The Mountaineers have a full week to prepare for Friday’s home matchup with Georgetown in the Big 12-Big East Battle as they look to carryover the momentum garnered from several impressive performances in The Bahamas.
“It goes back to the team and their willingness to buy in and maybe giving a few things up of their own for the good of the team,” coach DeVries said. “This group has embraced that. They accept coaching, accept trying to do everything they can to maximize not only their individual potential, but team potential. It’s something we talk about every day and something the players talk about amongst themselves every day. Over the course of time, it becomes who you are.
“You don’t get there without a great group of guys that will rally around each other through the highs and lows and continue to pull one another along, because it is a long season. When you have a group of men that are all about the right things, you end up on the positive side in terms of what you want your culture to look like.”