MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mission accomplished for West Virginia across its five-game home stand to open the 2025-26 campaign under first-year head coach Ross Hodge.
The Mountaineers have displayed a strong defensive identity, allowing no more than 65 points in a game and fewer than 60 in four contests, while featuring a different leading scorer in every game to this point.
“That speaks to the level of connectivity our guys have,” Hodge said. “They are unselfish. They know it can be different people on different nights. They know that we can get a lot better as individuals, as a team I can coach this group a lot better and we’re still learning.
“We may not ever be a finished product. I don’t know. You may run out of time. That’s the problem when you get brand new teams. You literally just run out of time with the group.”
Jasper Floyd, Honor Huff, Brenen Lorient, Harlan Obioha and DJ Thomas have each led the Mountaineers in scoring. For Thomas, a 25-point effort Monday in an 81-59 victory against Lafayette came on 11-of-17 shooting, while Huff nearly laid claim to being high scorer a second time after making eight three-pointers to finish one off the single-game program mark in a 24-point performance.
It was a strong synopsis of what the Mountaineers can offer — a team with five seniors comprising the starting lineup in every game thus far, yet also relying on a pair of freshmen — Thomas and Amir Jenkins — in reserve holes.
“These guys have done a tremendous job stepping into the fire and really embracing it,” said Huff, the team’s top scorer at 17.2 points. “It shows in the games. We’ve had problems with them as seniors in practice. We’re not as surprised as maybe some of you guys are. It’s like watching your kid grow, especially with [Jenkins]. It’s a cool experience to see them close out the game and show what they can do at this level.”
The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Thomas was plenty effective in both halves against the Leopards, scoring 11 points in the first and 14 after the break on 6-for-7 shooting.
Jenkins, a 6-2 guard, played almost 21 minutes (his most yet) and matched his point and assist total from the first four games with nine and five, respectively, while turning it over once.
“It speaks to the type of confidence me and Amir have built with coach Hodge,” Thomas said. “He believes in us and thinks we can play at this level so he can leave us out there during those times.”
WVU now prepares to play away from Hope Coliseum for the first time this season and will do so twice in less than 48 hours in the Shriner’s Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena. A matchup with Clemson awaits at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and another comes Sunday afternoon against Georgia or Xavier pending Friday results.
“Typically if you defend and rebound, you can fare well on the road. Our guys are excited for that challenge,” Hodge said. “Time will tell if we’re ready to go actually win the game, but I think we’re ready for that next part. We’ve checked off boxes along the way and the next box you have to check is seeing if you can what you do on a daily basis in practice, put it in suitcases and go on a neutral floor and play a NCAA Tournament team.”
It will mark the first time Thomas and Jenkins get a look at college basketball outside Morgantown.
“They know what they have to do. They know what’s at stake and what’s at hand,” Huff said. “They’re confident, young freshmen. Be you, just play your game and don’t think too much or do too much.”
The Mountaineers will carry a different look against Clemson and moving forward, adding to their rotation in Chance Moore, a fifth-year swingman who was required to sit for five games to start this season.
Moore’s been a double-figure scorer each of the last three seasons (two at Missouri State and most recently at St. Bonaventure) and figures to give WVU a different dynamic. At 6-6, Moore’s length and versatility allow him to guard players of multiple positions, while his athleticism and ability to slash make him a key component offensively.
“He brings another physical downhill presence. He’s a good rebounder. He has good size,” Hodge said. “He gives you some defensive versatility. You can play bigger, so you can play him at the 3 [small forward] with two forwards. Right now, when we’ve had to go smaller, we’ve had to play Morris at the 4 [power forward]. It gives you a little bit more size when you go small ball. He’s not as elite of an athlete as B-Lo [Lorient] is, but he’s another high-end athlete. He gets long rebounds, he’s a bull in transition. He gives you another downhill paint presence.”