MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - One came here with his eyes wide open, the other with his mouth never shut, and both are going to leave as two of the most unforgettable players in school history.
 
What Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr. have meant to Bob Huggins' West Virginia University men's basketball program goes far beyond the points, the assists, the rebounds and the steals these two have made during their four seasons in Morgantown.
 
If you simply focus on their stats you'll completely miss the bigger point with these two guys.
 
What they have done during their outstanding four-year careers at WVU has once again made the Coliseum the place to be, the way it once was back in 2010 when Da'Sean Butler, Wellington Smith, Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones, Joe Mazzulla and Truck Bryant were making their run to the Final Four.
 
More than 12,000 fans per game came out to watch those guys win 31 games and get the Mountaineers to within two victories of college basketball's ultimate prize.
 
And these days, the Coliseum is packed to the rafters each night to watch Carter, Miles and their teammates perform. There is a school about 75 miles up the road that would gladly take one-fifth of what the Coliseum draws these days.  
 
But five years ago when the 2013 season happened, a lot of people in the college basketball world began wondering if one of the game's winningest coaches had finally lost his mojo.
 
His record dipped to 13-19 that year and following another disappointing campaign in 2014 that saw the Mountaineers finish with a whimper in the opening game of the NIT, the whispers turned into outright concern.
 
Thirty-five losses in two years were not something people were used to seeing from Bob Huggins' basketball teams. Then came high-profile guards Eron Harris and Terry Henderson announcing their departures in rapid-fire succession.
 
Where was the program headed now, Mountaineer fans wondered?
 
But Huggins, as he has done so many times before, hit the reset button and after visiting old friend Kevin Mackey, he decided to adopt a full-court pressing style similar to the way Nolan Richardson's Arkansas teams once played in the early 1990s.
 
What he needed was some different players to make it work. The ones he had in 2013 and 2014 couldn't (or wouldn't), so the departing guys gave him the room on his roster to find replacements who could.
 
He got two junior college guards, Tarik Phillip and Jaysean Paige, and two high school guards, Daxter Miles Jr. and Jevon Carter, to go with the guards Juwan Staten and Gary Browne already in the program. All six, including the two high school guys, had the athleticism, the toughness and the moxie to pull it off.
 
"I knew JC could (press)," Huggins said last Friday. "That's how they played in high school. Dax is as good an athlete as we've had here. When you're that athletic and you can run and jump and move your feet the way he can you're going to be pretty good at it."
 
Carter and Miles were part of the group that formed what is now known as "Press Virginia."
 
The press led to a dramatic eight-win improvement and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 2015. And WVU's two precocious freshmen played important roles during that 25-win season - especially Miles Jr., a Baltimore native who was confident enough to appoint himself a starter whenever Huggins asked for five players to go out on the floor during the team's preseason practices.
 
Miles Jr. ended up starting all 35 games, including the Sweet 16 contest against Kentucky when he drew the ire of Wildcat Nation for guaranteeing UK's 36-game winning streak was going to end.
 
It didn't end that night in Cleveland, and sportswriters from New York City to Los Angeles circled Miles' locker afterward like sharks in a pool of blood to talk to him about it, but he did turn out to be correct. It just so happened that Wisconsin took care of Kentucky two games later in the Final Four, one game after Notre Dame almost did it in the Elite Eight.
 
But Dax learned a valuable lesson that weekend and these days he leaves the guaranteeing to others.
 
"You talked to Dax back then and he wouldn't shut up and you'd talk to JC and you couldn't get a word out of him," Huggins recalled. "Now, four years later, it's entirely the opposite. JC never shuts up and Dax won't talk."
 
That is until both of them get on the floor and they let their games do the talking. What these two have accomplished during their four-year careers is only matched by some of the greatest winners in school history.
 
Ask yourself this question: When was the last time a West Virginia men's basketball team wasn't ranked in one of the two major polls?
 
That would be the first few weeks of Dax's and JC's freshman seasons. The only players who can claim longer stretches in the top 25 coincide with the two greatest players in school history - Rod Hundley and Jerry West.
 
Both of those guys, by the way, have statues sitting outside the Coliseum.
 
Only two from the same class have won more games (Da'Sean Butler and Wellington Smith) and only five others (Cam Thoroughman, Jonnie West, John Flowers, Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant) have played on four straight NCAA Tournament teams.
 
Carter and Miles have taken part in 95 wins together (Carter has 100) and will play in their fourth March Madness next month.
 
"That speaks to them being on some pretty good teams," Huggins said.
 
Or, looking at it another way, it speaks to them being responsible for West Virginia having some pretty good teams.
 
Carter is the first player ever from a Power 5 conference program to score more than 1,500 points, hand out 500 assists, grab 500 rebounds and produce 300 steals. That's what "Press Virginia" can do for a player perfectly suited to playing Huggins' frenetic style.
 
"Style of play has helped that," Huggins admitted. "But the amazing thing to me is him getting 500 rebounds. For a guard to get 500 rebounds, that's a bunch of rebounds. The assists a lot of people can do. The points a lot of people can do but the steals, I don't think a lot of people can do that. He's been a special player. I just hope he's appreciated for what he has accomplished."
 
Miles Jr., too.
 
Daxter's career numbers are not too far off JC's - 1,189 career points, 311 career rebounds, 225 career assists and 167 career steals. He's had a hand in a lot of big victories for West Virginia these last four years heading into Monday night's game against Texas Tech.
 
Remember that incredible tip-in basket he got against the Red Raiders in overtime to help the Mountaineers to a double-overtime victory last year, or the Iowa State game when he poured in 23 points in a win West Virginia sorely needed?
 
Or those 10 rebounds he grabbed in last year's Sweet 16 game against Gonzaga, including the offensive rebound that he kicked back out to Carter for a potential game-tying 3? Plus, don't forget the game he had recently at Kansas by scoring 22 points in a game WVU almost won at Allen Fieldhouse.

"Dax has helped us win a lot of games," Huggins said.
 
Carter, the national defender of the year last season and a good bet to repeat this season, could also become the first player in Big 12 history to be named to the league's all-defensive team four straight years.
 
The Maywood, Illinois, resident is going to go down as one of the most honored players Huggins has had at WVU.
 
"Kevin Jones is the most decorated player that I've ever had here and I think there was some research done that he was the most decorated West Virginia basketball player since Rod Thorn," Huggins pointed out. "I would think JC could fall in line with that because he was the national defensive player of the year and he's gotten more face time.
 
"Those people that win those awards generally get a lot of face time."
 
Both of them have had a lot of face time going all the way back to their first season playing together in 2015. Since then, they've brought a lot of joy to Mountaineer fans from Weirton to Welch, Martinsburg to Matewan and all points in between.
 
On Monday night, everyone from Weirton to Welch, Martinsburg to Matewan and all points in between will get one more chance to celebrate their fabulous careers when they make their final WVU Coliseum appearance against Texas Tech.
 
It will be an emotional walk down the carpet for Jevon, Dax and their families to meet West Virginia's grizzled old ball coach waiting at the other end to give them another bear hug. He's been known to wipe back a tear or two during these Senior Nights, by the way.
 
Huggins, more than anybody, understands what these two guys have meant to West Virginia basketball. If anyone else needs a reminder, just think back to those two lost seasons in 2013 and 2014 before they got here.
 
"They've had great careers," Huggins said. "Those two guys, to a large degree, are responsible for getting this back on track. And they're not just really good basketball players but they're also really good people. They're active in the community. They're both good students.
 
"They've both had no issues - absolutely zero issues socially, academically or athletically."
 
Tip time for Monday night's Texas Tech game is 9 p.m. but be sure to get to your seats by 8:45 when Dax and JC are honored.
 
Also, the first 7,000 fans will receive a special poster commemorating the occasion, presented by Little General stores.
 
ESPN2 will televise the game nationally and the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's pregame coverage will begin at 8 p.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app TuneIn.