Campus Connection: This Week's Notes

Brandon Watkins gets into rebound position during last Monday night's game at Texas Tech. West Virginia defeated the Red Raiders 78-67.

Norvelle Kennedy photo

I went to the NCAA website yesterday to look up men’s basketball’s national stat rankings for this week and I was quite surprised with what I discovered.

Did you realize that West Virginia currently ranks No. 1 in four different categories?

The Mountaineers are No. 1 in offensive rebounding per game (18), No. 1 in steals per game (13.1), No. 1 in total steals (196) and No. 1 in turnover margin (plus-10.7).

I’m not sure West Virginia will remain No. 1 in offensive rebounding with games coming up against some of the formidable front lines the Big 12 has to offer this year, but the Mountaineers have a legitimate shot of remaining No. 1 in those other three categories.

So, when was the last time a West Virginia men’s basketball team led the country in a major statistical area? Try never.

On several occasions West Virginia has finished No. 2 in the country in a key stat category, most recently in 2007 when John Beilein’s team finished second to VMI in 3-point field goals per game, but never No. 1.

Beilein’s Bombers also finished No. 2 in the country in 3-point shooting in 2006, that time behind Troy’s 11.9 3s per game. And four other times West Virginia teams finished second in the country in a key statistical category:

1989, 2nd, Field Goal Percentage Defense, 40.1

1959, 2nd, Points Per Game, 84.8

1959, 2nd, Points Per Game, 86.9

1952, 2nd, Points Per Game, 80.4

It's worth watching to see if West Virginia can remain No. 1 in steals, turnover margin and offensive rebounding.

Stay tuned.

***

Here are some other hoop items of note …

Did you realize the Big 12’s non-conference winning percentage (.825) is the best of any league since the 2004-05 season and only the second time ever that any league has had a non-conference winning percentage exceeding .800?

Also, did you realize that six Big 12 teams are currently ranked in this week’s top 25 – more than any other conference in the nation?

- Or that a league-record seven teams were ranked for the first time in conference history back on Dec. 22?

- Or that nine different Big 12 teams were ranked at some point during 2014?

- Or that the Big 12 is a combined 25-16 against the rest of the Power 5 conferences so far this year?

- Or that eight of the 10 Big 12 teams have 10 or more non-conference victories – the most of any conference in America?

That’s pretty good stuff …

***

There are several important Big 12 games on tap this Saturday worth keeping an eye on. The action begins at 3 p.m. ET when Kansas plays host to Texas Tech and continues with Baylor at TCU, Texas at Oklahoma State and Kansas State at Oklahoma.

The day fittingly concludes with the biggest game of all – 17^th-ranked Iowa State playing at 14^th-ranked West Virginia at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

Last year’s 25-point victory over the 11^th-ranked Cyclones was one of the better performances we’ve seen from the Mountaineers at the Coliseum. It was the most points West Virginia scored against a ranked team since Beilein’s five dropped 111 on No. 5 Wake Forest in the 2005 NCAA tournament. That took two overtimes to do, though.

Two things stick out in my mind from that Iowa State game – Remi Dibo (a name that will soon be lost to history) unexpectedly leading the Mountaineers in scoring with 20 points and Dustin Hogue’s Kung Fu kick to the chest of Kevin Noreen while attempting to grab a rebound.

This year, West Virginia has already collected a pair of road wins at TCU and Texas Tech, while Iowa State is coming off a hard-fought, 63-61 win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.

It will be interesting to see how these two teams respond on Saturday night.

I hope to see you there.

***

As expected on Wednesday night, Kansas bagged Big 12 win No. 1 at Baylor while Kansas State defeated TCU in Manhattan.

However, both games were root canals for the winners – Kansas winning by one on a couple late baskets from Wayne Selden Jr. and Kansas State barely getting by the vastly improved Horned Frogs, 58-53, in a place where it rarely loses.

Yes, it’s going to be a dogfight the rest of the way.

***

I was talking to longtime WVU assistant athletic director for communications Bryan Messerly the other day and he pointed out to me the large disparity in the number of shots West Virginia has attempted this year compared to its opponents.

Through 15 games, the Mountaineers have taken 281 more shots than the opposition, or an average of nearly 19 more per game.

That’s an unheard of stat as far as I’m concerned.

If West Virginia maintains that average throughout the rest of the season that will mean 589 more shots than its opponents over a 31-game regular season.

And that’s how a team that shoots just 43.2 percent from the floor can win 93 percent of its games.

***

The last I heard, there were still plenty of tickets available for Saturday’s WVU-Iowa State game at the Coliseum. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.

***

Count me among those in favor of Bruce Tall returning to Morgantown for a second coaching stint with the Mountaineers. It’s rare to see an assistant coach leave and then return a second time around – rare that is, unless you’ve coached here at West Virginia.

By my count Tall makes the ninth football coach to do so. Here are the others:

Steve Dunlap

Lonnie Galloway

Tony Gibson

Doc Holliday

Dave Lockwood

Dave McMichael

Desmond Robinson

Rick Trickett

There must be something about those country roads that keep bringing these guys back home!

Speaking of Tall, not only is he an outstanding coach but he’s also an underrated recruiter. Tall recruited the entire state of Ohio during his first coaching stop here at WVU working for Rich Rodriguez and it’s my guess that Dana Holgorsen will take full advantage of Tall’s Buckeye State ties this time around.

Here is a non-inclusive list of some of the Ohio players Tall brought to WVU during his first go-around: Najae Goode, Will Johnson, Joey Madsen, Julian Miller and Ryan Stanchek.

Folks, those are some pretty good football players right there.

***

Former Gov. Arch Moore, pictured here with Patti Callihan and Denny Wilson in 1972.

WVU Photographic Services photo

While the late Arch Moore’s political legacy in West Virginia is complicated at best, his love and devotion to West Virginia University was never in doubt.

Moore was a fixture at WVU football and basketball games in the 1970s and 1980s during his three terms as governor. It was common to see Moore standing on the 50-yard line ready to greet the new homecoming queen at Mountaineer Field, or the countless times he publically recognized the great accomplishments of WVU student-athletes and teams through the years.

As a high school student attending Boys State in 1985, I recall Moore once giving a very passionate (and very long) speech at the end of the week about the importance of service to your community, the need for West Virginia’s best and brightest to remain in the state and his great pride in being a Mountaineer.

I’m confident I didn’t rank among the best and the brightest in the room that afternoon, but his words clung to me and I was among those choosing to remain in West Virginia to earn a living, raise a family and help promote our state’s great virtues.

I also remember a story longtime WVU equipment manager Carl Roberts once told me that illustrated Moore’s tremendous passion and devotion to Mountaineer athletics. Moore was just beginning his first term as governor when the Mountaineers defeated South Carolina in the 1969 Peach Bowl.

His excitement was overflowing that night in Atlanta as he made his way down to a muddy field late in the fourth quarter when it was clear WVU was going to win the game.

Roberts and the rest of the football staff watched in amazement as Gov. Moore shook hands, slapped backs and congratulated players and coaches as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Moore even grabbed a towel and began wiping the mud off of some of the guys.

It was a moment of pure joy for everyone … from the top guy in the state right down to the ball boy.

There is no question Arch Moore was one of a kind!

***

Politicians and Mountaineer football have always had a symbiotic relationship throughout the years, some politicians taking on a more active role than others. Gov. Moore was among the politicians very active in supporting West Virginia University athletics.

I remember football coach Jim Carlen once telling me a story about how he pleaded with Moore to improve the state’s highway system soon after Moore was inaugurated as governor in 1969.

Carlen told the new governor that he was sick and tired of losing Bluefield boys to Virginia Tech.

I don’t know whether or not Carlen’s pleading and complaining had any bearing on things, but I do know that the state highway system dramatically improved during Moore’s three terms as governor.

And I never fail to think about Carlen’s story or Arch Moore whenever I’m driving down I-79 to Charleston or over to the Eastern Panhandle on I-68 because Arch Moore was such an enthusiastic supporter of these two major highways.

***

Sometimes I’m just like that dog that runs around in circles chasing his tail – and like that dog, I never seem to learn from it.

For years, I’ve been cautioned to stay out of the ticket business or post comprehensive lists because you will invariably always forget someone.

I’ve held true to the ticket advice, but I keep stubbing my toe whenever it comes to those lists that everyone seems to love and loathe.

Well, I missed the mark once again earlier this week when writing about the many WVU accomplishments of Parkersburg natives.

I completely forgot to include key Mountaineer baseball players such as Ed Wolfe, 1955 team captain Chris Kaltenecker, infielder Nick Zegrea, and, more recently, Eric Grimm, to my not-so-comprehensive list of prominent Parkersburgers at WVU.

This just goes to show you this old dog needs to learn some new tricks!

Enjoy your weekend!

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