Photo by: Katie MacCrory
Veteran Ahmad A Year Better Heading Into His Final Season
October 15, 2018 02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Sometimes when you turn over a new leaf, it occasionally ends right back up where it started.
West Virginia once had a baseball coach named Dale Ramsburg who used to tell his veteran players that being a year older doesn't necessarily mean you are a year better, just a year older.
In the case of Esa Ahmad, veteran Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins believes his senior forward has gotten a year better, even though the prior three years were not all that bad.
The Cleveland resident has averaged double figures his last two seasons as a Mountaineer, making the jump from 4.9 points per game as a freshman to 11.3 points as a sophomore and 10.2 points as a junior.
His career-high 27 points in West Virginia's 87-69 victory over second-ranked Kansas as a sophomore had everyone from Weirton to Welch, Martinsburg to Matewan and all points in between anxiously awaiting his junior season.
But it was delayed 16 games because Ahmad failed to meet NCAA eligibility requirements. Thus, his season-debut didn't happen until Jan. 13, 2018, at Texas Tech after West Virginia had gotten off to a 15-1 start to its season, winning 15 straight games heading to Lubbock.
With Ahmad back in the fold, West Virginia lost by one to the Red Raiders and also dropped a five-point home decision to Kansas two days later.
Neither loss was Ahmad's fault, but he felt his return kind of messed with the team's chemistry a little bit.
"I felt like we had a good thing going and me being one of the main guys, it kind of threw everybody off," he said. "They were on a winning streak, and I kind of got back and things kind of changed."
Sort of like Ahmad's body has changed this fall.
He looks vastly different, and his coach suspects being a senior has something to do with it.
"I think he realizes this is it," Huggins said. "He's done a better job in the weight room. (strength coach Shaun Brown) has done a really good job with our guys really working their cores hard. Esa's been in the gym. Esa's been in the gym more than he's ever been in the gym, and consequently, he's playing better."
"I feel different," Ahmad added. "I feel great."
He looks great, too.
"I'm just trying to watch what I eat, making sure I stay in the gym and keep it up," Ahmad added.
Despite his late start, Ahmad's junior season wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. In addition to the 10.2 points per game, he shot nearly 46 percent from the floor and scored a season-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds in West Virginia's 78-65 victory over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament.
He also had an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in the Mountaineers' 85-70 victory over Iowa State and followed that up two nights later with an 11-rebound performance in the Mountaineers' 10-point win over 12th-ranked Texas Tech.
But with Ahmad, one of Huggins' more heavily recruited players, Mountaineer fans have always expected more – more points, more soaring dunks, more rebounds … more of everything.
What his coach is seeking this year is not necessarily more, but just doing what he does well more consistently.
That means scoring 15 and grabbing five rebounds as he did against Kansas, and then following that up with say, 10 points and eight boards against TCU and Kentucky instead of going scoreless in both.
That means becoming more active on the glass and using his tremendous athleticism to complement what is shaping up to be a terrific front line for the Mountaineers.
Ahmad and juniors Sagaba Konate, Wesley Harris and Lamont West are proven frontcourt players. Then there is 6-foot-10-inch, 255-pound man-child Derek Culver, who gives the Mountaineers another massive, athletic presence in the paint.
No matter who West Virginia is facing this year, including Kansas, the Mountaineer front line is going to give people problems. They have too much size, experience and athleticism for that not to happen.
If WVU can come up with consistent play in the backcourt, and those backcourt players can get the ball to the rim, there are plenty of players capable of putting it through the basket once it gets there.
"We can all play," Ahmad said. "Everybody one through 15, no matter who we put it. I feel like we're more athletic."
The only thing this team is lacking are more senior leaders. Ahmad is the only one on the team, and he admits he's got to do more leading than he's done in the past.
"Based on the things I've been through, I'm going to try and show the younger guys what the seniors once showed me," he explained. "Just keep them on the right track and hopefully we can get a championship here."
And that starts with Ahmad keeping on the right track and remaining focused from November through March, and possibly beyond.
So far, so good.
"It's my last go around so I feel like I've just got to give it my all," he explained. "It kind of flew by. I remember playing with Jaysean (Paige) when he was a senior and Dev (Devin Williams) and now I'm a senior. I'm just trying to take everything in."
Ahmad is also going to get to play a full season for the first time since his sophomore year in 2016-17.
"(The suspension) kind of put me back a little bit. I didn't want to accept that, but it was just different," Ahmad admitted. "Coming back, these guys had already played 16 games and it was hallway through the season and it was kind of tough. I kind of put pressure on myself, so it's a new season."
A new season means a new leaf for Esa Ahmad to turn over. This time, he plans on turning it over just once … and keeping it there.
West Virginia plays its annual Gold-Blue Debut Game on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Mountaineer players and coaches will be available following the officiated 40-minute scrimmage for autographs on the Coliseum floor.
The Sweet 16 banner will also be unveiled prior to the scrimmage.
WVU will face Penn State in a charity exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 3, that will be televised locally, and then the Mountaineers will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Coliseum against Buffalo, winners of 27 games last year.
That game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
West Virginia once had a baseball coach named Dale Ramsburg who used to tell his veteran players that being a year older doesn't necessarily mean you are a year better, just a year older.
In the case of Esa Ahmad, veteran Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins believes his senior forward has gotten a year better, even though the prior three years were not all that bad.
The Cleveland resident has averaged double figures his last two seasons as a Mountaineer, making the jump from 4.9 points per game as a freshman to 11.3 points as a sophomore and 10.2 points as a junior.
His career-high 27 points in West Virginia's 87-69 victory over second-ranked Kansas as a sophomore had everyone from Weirton to Welch, Martinsburg to Matewan and all points in between anxiously awaiting his junior season.
But it was delayed 16 games because Ahmad failed to meet NCAA eligibility requirements. Thus, his season-debut didn't happen until Jan. 13, 2018, at Texas Tech after West Virginia had gotten off to a 15-1 start to its season, winning 15 straight games heading to Lubbock.
With Ahmad back in the fold, West Virginia lost by one to the Red Raiders and also dropped a five-point home decision to Kansas two days later.
Neither loss was Ahmad's fault, but he felt his return kind of messed with the team's chemistry a little bit.
"I felt like we had a good thing going and me being one of the main guys, it kind of threw everybody off," he said. "They were on a winning streak, and I kind of got back and things kind of changed."
Sort of like Ahmad's body has changed this fall.
He looks vastly different, and his coach suspects being a senior has something to do with it.
"I think he realizes this is it," Huggins said. "He's done a better job in the weight room. (strength coach Shaun Brown) has done a really good job with our guys really working their cores hard. Esa's been in the gym. Esa's been in the gym more than he's ever been in the gym, and consequently, he's playing better."
"I feel different," Ahmad added. "I feel great."
He looks great, too."I'm just trying to watch what I eat, making sure I stay in the gym and keep it up," Ahmad added.
Despite his late start, Ahmad's junior season wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. In addition to the 10.2 points per game, he shot nearly 46 percent from the floor and scored a season-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds in West Virginia's 78-65 victory over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament.
He also had an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in the Mountaineers' 85-70 victory over Iowa State and followed that up two nights later with an 11-rebound performance in the Mountaineers' 10-point win over 12th-ranked Texas Tech.
But with Ahmad, one of Huggins' more heavily recruited players, Mountaineer fans have always expected more – more points, more soaring dunks, more rebounds … more of everything.
What his coach is seeking this year is not necessarily more, but just doing what he does well more consistently.
That means scoring 15 and grabbing five rebounds as he did against Kansas, and then following that up with say, 10 points and eight boards against TCU and Kentucky instead of going scoreless in both.
That means becoming more active on the glass and using his tremendous athleticism to complement what is shaping up to be a terrific front line for the Mountaineers.
Ahmad and juniors Sagaba Konate, Wesley Harris and Lamont West are proven frontcourt players. Then there is 6-foot-10-inch, 255-pound man-child Derek Culver, who gives the Mountaineers another massive, athletic presence in the paint.
No matter who West Virginia is facing this year, including Kansas, the Mountaineer front line is going to give people problems. They have too much size, experience and athleticism for that not to happen.
If WVU can come up with consistent play in the backcourt, and those backcourt players can get the ball to the rim, there are plenty of players capable of putting it through the basket once it gets there.
"We can all play," Ahmad said. "Everybody one through 15, no matter who we put it. I feel like we're more athletic."
The only thing this team is lacking are more senior leaders. Ahmad is the only one on the team, and he admits he's got to do more leading than he's done in the past.
"Based on the things I've been through, I'm going to try and show the younger guys what the seniors once showed me," he explained. "Just keep them on the right track and hopefully we can get a championship here."
And that starts with Ahmad keeping on the right track and remaining focused from November through March, and possibly beyond.
So far, so good.
"It's my last go around so I feel like I've just got to give it my all," he explained. "It kind of flew by. I remember playing with Jaysean (Paige) when he was a senior and Dev (Devin Williams) and now I'm a senior. I'm just trying to take everything in."
Ahmad is also going to get to play a full season for the first time since his sophomore year in 2016-17.
"(The suspension) kind of put me back a little bit. I didn't want to accept that, but it was just different," Ahmad admitted. "Coming back, these guys had already played 16 games and it was hallway through the season and it was kind of tough. I kind of put pressure on myself, so it's a new season."
A new season means a new leaf for Esa Ahmad to turn over. This time, he plans on turning it over just once … and keeping it there.
West Virginia plays its annual Gold-Blue Debut Game on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Mountaineer players and coaches will be available following the officiated 40-minute scrimmage for autographs on the Coliseum floor.
The Sweet 16 banner will also be unveiled prior to the scrimmage.
WVU will face Penn State in a charity exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 3, that will be televised locally, and then the Mountaineers will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Coliseum against Buffalo, winners of 27 games last year.
That game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
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