Basketball Notebook
December 10, 2004 11:41 AM | General
December 10, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There was a good sign for the West Virginia University basketball team during Tuesday night’s 70-55 victory over winless St. Bonaventure: the Mountaineers won a basketball game comfortably without making a lot of three-point shots.
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| Mike Gansey had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double last Tuesday against St. Bonaventure.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
West Virginia shot a frigid 3 of 20 from three-point range against the Bonnies after coming into the game making almost 40 percent from three-point land. Mountaineer coach John Beilein credits willpower and determination for their winning performance Tuesday night.
“We have to be prepared for being in a situation where as a team we collectively don’t shoot the ball well like we did in the 3-for-20 performance,” he said during Thursday morning’s Big East coaches’ conference call. “There are going to be a lot of moments this year where we have to out-will, out-work and play at 100 percent with our work habits if we’re going to have a chance to stay in games.”
Beilein believes hard work and hustle can overcome a lot of physical deficiencies. And having an entire team subscribe to that philosophy can really make a difference.
“There is a personality that you try to develop,” he said. “Some are ready-made personalities when you get them the first day and some others you have to teach them that personality. The ones that aren’t there yet are moving in that direction and the ones that are there … that’s why we recruited them.”
One of those players Beilein credits with making great strides is junior center Kevin Pittsnogle, whose play this year coming off the bench has been impressive at times.
“(Kevin) did not have a charge in probably a game or a practice for two years,” Beilein said. “He is now one of our leaders in taking charges in games. That is huge when you have one center block shots (D’or Fischer) and another who takes charges. That’s a big help to our defense.”
The coach remains concerned about his team’s inability to consistently rebound the basketball, particularly on the defensive end. A much smaller St. Bonaventure team held a nine-rebound advantage over West Virginia and his team is being out-rebounded by 5.4 per game so far this year. Most alarming is the fact that West Virginia’s two centers combined for just two rebounds against the Bonnies.
“D’or Fischer didn’t have any rebounds but he blocked seven shots during that time,” Beilein said. “There were five or six shots that they threw up that he tried to block that they missed only because he was trying to block their shot. It’s very difficult for a guy to contest a shot and then get the rebound at the same time.”
Yet there are other times when Beilein admitted his inside players are going to have to become more physical going for the basketball.
“There are about six or seven times a game that we will not be aggressive or tough enough underneath the backboard. Now maybe we get one or two of those rebounds because it goes off the other guy’s hands,” he said.
“There is a small gap but we’ve got to close it and now that we’ve identified that that problem has not gone away we’ve got to learn to stick our nose in there a little further and we’re going to end up getting those rebounds.”
West Virginia will get a good opportunity to work on its rebounding Saturday against a 2-5 Coppin State team that is being out-rebounded by a margin of nearly six per game.
However, the Eagles have played a brutal early season schedule losing at Kentucky, Dayton, Texas and Oklahoma before defeating North Carolina A&T. Coppin State lost a 65-56 decision to a South Carolina State team that defeated Penn State earlier this year. Most recently, Coppin State defeated Morgan State 66-62 on Thursday.
Coach Ronald Mitchell has guided Coppin State to three NCAA tournament appearances including an upset of South Carolina in the 1997 NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh. Coppin State has had six 20-win seasons over the last 13 years.
Game time is 2 pm following the women’s game against Coppin State at noon.
Briefly:
“During exam week his brain won’t get any rest but his legs will,” Beilein said.
Gansey has been an impact newcomer so far, averaging 12.4 points and 5.2 rebounds while handing out a team-best 25 assists. Gansey possesses many attributes but perhaps his best may be his relentless playing style.
Beilein explains: “We chart how many times a guy will actually go after the backboard offensively or defensively. If there are 29 offensive opportunities for him to run full speed to the backboard he will run in there 24 or 25 times.”
The coach admits Gansey isn’t as versatile as he can be just yet because he’s still playing primarily one position.
“It’s just too much for him to try and learn two in his first true year on the team,” Beilein said. “But he’s versatile in that he can rebound, he can pass and he can shoot. He’s definitely not just a shooter, or just a passer or just a rebounder: he does all three of those things. He’s a great locker room and team chemistry guy as well.”
“In the first two years we relied an awful lot on help in order to make our defense work,” he said. “Now we’ve challenged everyone that if people don’t have to give help then they’re going to be a better defender.
“I think they have collectively worked harder on their individual defense so the team defense will be better. They trust each other and they are helping each other on mistakes and quickness mismatches.”
Sherell Sowho scored 23 for West Virginia in its 74-68 win over St. Francis, Pa., on Tuesday to improve its record to 7-0. Sowho is averaging 16.4 points per game.
Sophomore Meg Bulger is the team leader in scoring with a Big East-best average of 20 points per game. Bulger hit for her average in the St. Francis win despite playing with a sprained ankle. Senior guard Yolanda Paige also suffered a sprained ankle in the St. Francis game and both are listed as probable for Coppin State. Paige has handed out 80 assists in seven games for an average of 11.4 per game.
