Campus Connection: Our Weekly WVU Sports Notebook
March 02, 2018 03:01 PM | Women's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - No Uber rides to New Jersey for us this weekend, but we will take you on a little spin around campus in our weekly notebook, presented by Pan Am, which hasn't flown a single airplane in more than 20 years!
In fact, the airline when bankrupt in 1991, two years after Major Harris last played for the Mountaineers.
And now, on to this week's notebook …
It's tournament time for the West Virginia University women's basketball team. The Mountaineers have lost two in a row heading into Saturday's Big 12 quarterfinal game against third-seeded Oklahoma State, which defeated WVU, 79-69, in Morgantown last Saturday.
Light Saturday evening programming will enable the game, scheduled to tip at 9:30 p.m. ET, to air in its entirety locally on AT&T Sportsnet.
West Virginia (20-10) is clearly on the outside looking in for this year's NCAA Tournament, but if you recall, the Mountaineers were in a similar position last year and ended up winning the league tournament and earning the at-large bid.
A victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday would certainly move them closer, as would a semifinal-round win over No. 2 Texas, which will meet the winner of Iowa State-Texas Tech on Saturday.
Tournament favorite Baylor has now become a little more vulnerable with the ACL injury suffered by point guard Kristy Wallace in the second quarter of Monday night's game against West Virginia.
Wallace was averaging 13.1 points and five rebounds per game for the Lady Bears, ranked third in the country this week.
West Virginia has little sympathy for Baylor's plight after having to endure an entire season without its best player, Tynice Martin, who could have easily meant four or five more wins for the Mountaineers this season.
With Martin out, that has enabled senior forward Teana Muldrow to blossom into one of the best players in the country. The 6-foot-1-inch senior forward is third in the Big 12 in scoring (19.6 ppg.) and fourth in rebounding (8.9 rpg.) heading into this weekend's tournament.
She also was recently named one of five finalists with the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, which will be announced during the women's Final Four in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, March 30.
The four other semifinalists are Connecticut's Gabby Williams, Florida State's Shakayla Thomas, Missouri's Sophie Cunningham and Tennessee's Jaime Nared.
Speaking of awards, Jevon Carter is one of three finalists for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award, presented by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine in recognition of its Male Athlete of the Year.
The other two finalists are Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State football player, and Justin Zhang, University of California, San Diego men's tennis player.
The male and female recipients will be featured in the April 5, 2018 edition of Diverse.
JC is also still alive for three other major awards: The John R. Wooden National Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy point guard of the year and the Senior CLASS Award.
The Big 12 will announce its major award winners on Sunday. Carter, the Big 12 and national defensive player of the year last season, can become the first player in Big 12 history to make the all-defensive team four straight years.
West Virginia is down to five scholarship defensive linemen for spring football drills this year, but the Mountaineers will have three talented freshmen coming aboard when Dante Stills, James Gmiter and Tyrese Allen enroll in school later this summer.
Veteran defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said on Wednesday they are actively pursuing defensive linemen and would like to bring in another one or two before the start of fall camp in August.
He pointed out that they have been able to come up with some late additions that helped in recent years such as Gardner-Webb defensive end Shaq Riddick and Iowa defensive back Maurice Fleming.
Going even farther back, Michigan transfer Ryan Mundy played a big role on WVU's Fiesta Bowl championship team in 2007.
"We missed out on a few guys and right now we've got a few spots on defense where we can go get some grad guys if need be," he said. "The door is not shut on who may be out there in the fall."
Gibson said they are still hunting for another corner as well.
"We didn't get Fleming until May so there are guys that pop up at times, so if we can go get one we will," he said.
The one area of the defense Gibson feels really good about is linebacker, especially when David Long Jr. returns to the field and is paired with Dylan Tonkery in the middle. Gibson believes he is going to have a terrific play-making tandem in those two.
Without Long and Exree Loe, who is also being held out this spring, Gibson has plenty of scholarship guys manning the three linebacker positions, and he expects keen competition at all three spots.
It looks like Tavon Austin might be looking for a new team, based on what is being reported out in Los Angeles. The former first-rounder's touches decreased significantly once current coach Sean McVay took over for Jeff Fisher.
McVay traded for former Buffalo wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods last year and used Austin primarily as a third-down back and gadget player.
In 2015, the former Mountaineer All-American had nearly 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns for the Rams.
He is due a $5 million roster bonus later this month.
Bob Huggins said Thursday he can envision a scenario where nine Big 12 teams get into this year's NCAA Tournament.
Seven are solidly in the tournament, with Texas still hanging on as the eighth team. Depending on how things shake out Saturday and then next week in the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma State is not out of the picture either. The Cowboys have some exceptional victories this year and are now 17-13 with one regular season game remaining.
"Who is not getting in? Iowa State, obviously, has had a rough year with all of the injuries and everything and Steve (Prohm) has done a terrific job of fighting everything that he's had to fight this year, but the nine other teams, how do you know?" Huggins said. "I think it depends on which teams are playing better in the (Big 12) tournament or Saturday. Maybe teams that some people had on the bubble beat some teams that are definitely in."
That is what Huggins is guarding his team against early Saturday afternoon against Texas, which is fighting for its postseason life. The Longhorns need some quality wins and beating 20th-ranked Wet Virginia in Austin would count as one.
"They're saying this is their play-in game to the NCAA Tournament," Huggins said.
Mike Kinney of NJ.com recently unveiled the top 30 prep big men in New Jersey of the last 30 years and former Mountaineer standout Da'Sean Butler came in No. 12 on the list.
The Bloomfield Tech product scored more than 1,000 points during his prep career and was a Star-Ledger Group 1 first team all-state choice in 2006.
He doubled that scoring total in college, producing 2,095 career points during his outstanding four-year career at WVU.
West Virginia women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown is going to have to get her husband, Joe, busy expanding the family rec room to accommodate all of the awards she has been winning lately.
On Saturday, she will add West Virginia Soccer Association (WVSA) Hall of Fame to her mantle. Izzo-Brown has made significant contributions to soccer in the Mountain State, dating back to her first season as an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan in 1993 and continuing with her current 22-year run at West Virginia that includes 18 straight NCAA appearances.
Nikki was also instrumental in getting West Virginia's Olympic Development Program off the ground and has been a longtime supporter of youth and club soccer in the state.
Congratulations Nikki!
And finally, we received an email earlier this week from John Sacco informing us that three former West Virginia University standouts are part of this year's Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
They are Washington High track and field standout Mike Mosser, Washington High volleyball star Nancy Merkle and Waynesburg High product Lee Fritz.
Mosser was the nation's top miler for WVU in 1972 who easily ranks among the finest athletes in school history. Mosser won the NCAA 1,000-yard indoor title at Cobo Arena in Detroit to become the first national champion in school history.
Mosser just missed qualifying for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team in the 800-meter run and participated in some of the most memorable events that year, including the Martin Luther King Freedom Games, which later became known as the "Dream Mile" and featured the return of Olympian Jim Ryun and his bid to challenge the world's No. 1-ranked miler Marty Liguori.
Mosser, a 1993 WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee, led that race at the halfway point.
Merkle was a two-time second team All-Atlantic 10 performer for longtime WVU volleyball coach Veronica Hammersmith in 1984-85, leading the Mountaineers to records of 23-13 in 1984 and 25-14 in 1985.
And Fritz, a center fielder for coach Greg Van Zant, was twice named to the All-Big East first team in 2004 and 2005 after being named to the second during his sophomore season in 2003.
Fritz's best season came during his sophomore year in 2003 when he hit .407 in 54 games. He batted a team-best .379 with 45 RBI in 53 games as a senior in 2005.
Congratulations to all three!
Enjoy your weekend.
In fact, the airline when bankrupt in 1991, two years after Major Harris last played for the Mountaineers.
And now, on to this week's notebook …
It's tournament time for the West Virginia University women's basketball team. The Mountaineers have lost two in a row heading into Saturday's Big 12 quarterfinal game against third-seeded Oklahoma State, which defeated WVU, 79-69, in Morgantown last Saturday.
Light Saturday evening programming will enable the game, scheduled to tip at 9:30 p.m. ET, to air in its entirety locally on AT&T Sportsnet.
West Virginia (20-10) is clearly on the outside looking in for this year's NCAA Tournament, but if you recall, the Mountaineers were in a similar position last year and ended up winning the league tournament and earning the at-large bid.
A victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday would certainly move them closer, as would a semifinal-round win over No. 2 Texas, which will meet the winner of Iowa State-Texas Tech on Saturday.
Tournament favorite Baylor has now become a little more vulnerable with the ACL injury suffered by point guard Kristy Wallace in the second quarter of Monday night's game against West Virginia.
Wallace was averaging 13.1 points and five rebounds per game for the Lady Bears, ranked third in the country this week.
West Virginia has little sympathy for Baylor's plight after having to endure an entire season without its best player, Tynice Martin, who could have easily meant four or five more wins for the Mountaineers this season.
With Martin out, that has enabled senior forward Teana Muldrow to blossom into one of the best players in the country. The 6-foot-1-inch senior forward is third in the Big 12 in scoring (19.6 ppg.) and fourth in rebounding (8.9 rpg.) heading into this weekend's tournament.She also was recently named one of five finalists with the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, which will be announced during the women's Final Four in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, March 30.
The four other semifinalists are Connecticut's Gabby Williams, Florida State's Shakayla Thomas, Missouri's Sophie Cunningham and Tennessee's Jaime Nared.
Speaking of awards, Jevon Carter is one of three finalists for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award, presented by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine in recognition of its Male Athlete of the Year.
The other two finalists are Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State football player, and Justin Zhang, University of California, San Diego men's tennis player.
The male and female recipients will be featured in the April 5, 2018 edition of Diverse.
JC is also still alive for three other major awards: The John R. Wooden National Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy point guard of the year and the Senior CLASS Award.
The Big 12 will announce its major award winners on Sunday. Carter, the Big 12 and national defensive player of the year last season, can become the first player in Big 12 history to make the all-defensive team four straight years.
***
West Virginia is down to five scholarship defensive linemen for spring football drills this year, but the Mountaineers will have three talented freshmen coming aboard when Dante Stills, James Gmiter and Tyrese Allen enroll in school later this summer.Veteran defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said on Wednesday they are actively pursuing defensive linemen and would like to bring in another one or two before the start of fall camp in August.
He pointed out that they have been able to come up with some late additions that helped in recent years such as Gardner-Webb defensive end Shaq Riddick and Iowa defensive back Maurice Fleming.
Going even farther back, Michigan transfer Ryan Mundy played a big role on WVU's Fiesta Bowl championship team in 2007.
"We missed out on a few guys and right now we've got a few spots on defense where we can go get some grad guys if need be," he said. "The door is not shut on who may be out there in the fall."
Gibson said they are still hunting for another corner as well.
"We didn't get Fleming until May so there are guys that pop up at times, so if we can go get one we will," he said.
The one area of the defense Gibson feels really good about is linebacker, especially when David Long Jr. returns to the field and is paired with Dylan Tonkery in the middle. Gibson believes he is going to have a terrific play-making tandem in those two.
Without Long and Exree Loe, who is also being held out this spring, Gibson has plenty of scholarship guys manning the three linebacker positions, and he expects keen competition at all three spots.
***
It looks like Tavon Austin might be looking for a new team, based on what is being reported out in Los Angeles. The former first-rounder's touches decreased significantly once current coach Sean McVay took over for Jeff Fisher.
McVay traded for former Buffalo wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods last year and used Austin primarily as a third-down back and gadget player.
In 2015, the former Mountaineer All-American had nearly 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns for the Rams.
He is due a $5 million roster bonus later this month.
***
Bob Huggins said Thursday he can envision a scenario where nine Big 12 teams get into this year's NCAA Tournament.Seven are solidly in the tournament, with Texas still hanging on as the eighth team. Depending on how things shake out Saturday and then next week in the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma State is not out of the picture either. The Cowboys have some exceptional victories this year and are now 17-13 with one regular season game remaining.
"Who is not getting in? Iowa State, obviously, has had a rough year with all of the injuries and everything and Steve (Prohm) has done a terrific job of fighting everything that he's had to fight this year, but the nine other teams, how do you know?" Huggins said. "I think it depends on which teams are playing better in the (Big 12) tournament or Saturday. Maybe teams that some people had on the bubble beat some teams that are definitely in."
That is what Huggins is guarding his team against early Saturday afternoon against Texas, which is fighting for its postseason life. The Longhorns need some quality wins and beating 20th-ranked Wet Virginia in Austin would count as one.
"They're saying this is their play-in game to the NCAA Tournament," Huggins said.
***
Mike Kinney of NJ.com recently unveiled the top 30 prep big men in New Jersey of the last 30 years and former Mountaineer standout Da'Sean Butler came in No. 12 on the list.
The Bloomfield Tech product scored more than 1,000 points during his prep career and was a Star-Ledger Group 1 first team all-state choice in 2006.
He doubled that scoring total in college, producing 2,095 career points during his outstanding four-year career at WVU.
***
West Virginia women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown is going to have to get her husband, Joe, busy expanding the family rec room to accommodate all of the awards she has been winning lately.On Saturday, she will add West Virginia Soccer Association (WVSA) Hall of Fame to her mantle. Izzo-Brown has made significant contributions to soccer in the Mountain State, dating back to her first season as an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan in 1993 and continuing with her current 22-year run at West Virginia that includes 18 straight NCAA appearances.
Nikki was also instrumental in getting West Virginia's Olympic Development Program off the ground and has been a longtime supporter of youth and club soccer in the state.
Congratulations Nikki!
***
And finally, we received an email earlier this week from John Sacco informing us that three former West Virginia University standouts are part of this year's Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
They are Washington High track and field standout Mike Mosser, Washington High volleyball star Nancy Merkle and Waynesburg High product Lee Fritz.
Mosser was the nation's top miler for WVU in 1972 who easily ranks among the finest athletes in school history. Mosser won the NCAA 1,000-yard indoor title at Cobo Arena in Detroit to become the first national champion in school history.
Mosser just missed qualifying for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team in the 800-meter run and participated in some of the most memorable events that year, including the Martin Luther King Freedom Games, which later became known as the "Dream Mile" and featured the return of Olympian Jim Ryun and his bid to challenge the world's No. 1-ranked miler Marty Liguori.
Mosser, a 1993 WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee, led that race at the halfway point.
Merkle was a two-time second team All-Atlantic 10 performer for longtime WVU volleyball coach Veronica Hammersmith in 1984-85, leading the Mountaineers to records of 23-13 in 1984 and 25-14 in 1985.
And Fritz, a center fielder for coach Greg Van Zant, was twice named to the All-Big East first team in 2004 and 2005 after being named to the second during his sophomore season in 2003.
Fritz's best season came during his sophomore year in 2003 when he hit .407 in 54 games. He batted a team-best .379 with 45 RBI in 53 games as a senior in 2005.
Congratulations to all three!
Enjoy your weekend.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballJohn Neider | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Zac Alley | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Mountaineer Invitational Recap
Thursday, April 16
