Friday, November 22
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Boston University
WVU’s Bench One Player Deeper For Friday’s BU Game
November 21, 2019 08:10 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Bob Huggins' bench is one player deeper now that Gabe Osabuohien was granted immediate eligibility yesterday.
Osabuohien (pronounced Oh-sah-boy-in) appeared in 54 games during his two seasons at Arkansas where he was used primarily as a defensive stopper.
Last August, Osabuohien and new Razorback coach Eric Musselman agreed to part ways and as soon as it was known Osabuohien was leaving, his phone began blowing up.
The forward said his AAU coach, Ro Russell, helped steer him through the process.
"He helped take all of the calls from different schools that were interested," Osabuohien said.
Russell also made a few calls, including one to West Virginia.
"We got called by his AAU coach and then (assistant coach) Larry (Harrison) followed up on it," Huggins said. "We were told they would do everything to try and help him be eligible this year, and we felt like we needed another big, and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
"It was the right thing to do regardless, even if he couldn't play. Having him for two more years after this certainly would not have been a bad thing," Huggins said.
But his patience paid off when he got a thumbs-up from WVU compliance director Preston Wages at practice yesterday.
"I think Chase (Harler) or one of the guys saw it, and they started jumping around and celebrating," Huggins said. "They were all really excited for him and he was obviously real excited."
Osabuohien averaged just 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds during his two seasons at Arkansas, but you have to look beyond the stat sheet to understand the immediate value he brings to this year's team.
First of all, he's got two year's-worth of SEC experience so he knows how to prepare for difficult basketball games on a nightly basis.
He's also probably the best on-ball defender of West Virginia's bigs, which gives Huggins another option instead of immediately sizing down with small forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. when he needs somebody more mobile to guard bigs who can bounce it.
That will allow Matthews to remain on the perimeter where he is most effective.
Now, Huggins can use Derek Culver, Oscar Tshiebwe, Logan Routt and Osabuohien to play the four and five spots.
"Those are probably the four guys that are going to play those two positions," Huggins said. "Maybe Emmitt on occasion, but not like it looked like we were going to have to."
Huggins believes Osabuohien can also be a more productive scorer at West Virginia by simply getting on the glass.
"He ought to get four points a game off the offensive glass," Huggins said. "I think he can score for us. I don't know if anybody is going to score a bunch of points because we've got a lot of guys who can score.
"(Osabuohien) gives us something I don't think we have – he will be our best big defending on the perimeter," Huggins said. "I think when people go small he's a guy with size who can still go out and guard smaller guys."
"I think I fit in pretty good because I'm a lot different than them at my size with what I can do in guarding," Osabuohien added. "I feel like I have a different passing element, and I feel like I can guard one through four."
Osabuohien said the defensive culture Huggins has established at West Virginia is very similar to what he was used to at Arkansas when Mike Anderson was coaching the Razorbacks.
Osabuohien's AAU coach also told him to expect to be coached hard, which he welcomes.
"He told me if I do what I'm supposed to do I'm going to have a good career here, which is what I plan on doing," Osabuohien said.
West Virginia (3-0) returns to the court on Friday night to face 3-2 Boston University in the continuation of the Cancun Challenge. The Terriers are coming off an impressive 78-70 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night.
BU is led by athletic 6-6 sophomore guard Walter Whyte, who is averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Boston made nine 3s against South Carolina and held its own on the glass against the Gamecocks.
BU's other victories this year have come against New Hampshire and SUNY Poly while its two losses are to Northeastern and Vermont.
Friday's game played at the WVU Coliseum will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised locally on Nexstar with Dan Zangrilli, Warren Baker and Amanda Mazey handling the call.
Stations in West Virginia carrying the telecast include WBOY (Clarksburg), WOWK (Charleston), WTRF My Ohio Valley (Wheeling) and WVNS ( Beckley).
It will also be available to everyone for free on WVUsports.com.
Osabuohien (pronounced Oh-sah-boy-in) appeared in 54 games during his two seasons at Arkansas where he was used primarily as a defensive stopper.
Last August, Osabuohien and new Razorback coach Eric Musselman agreed to part ways and as soon as it was known Osabuohien was leaving, his phone began blowing up.
The forward said his AAU coach, Ro Russell, helped steer him through the process.
"He helped take all of the calls from different schools that were interested," Osabuohien said.
Russell also made a few calls, including one to West Virginia.
"We got called by his AAU coach and then (assistant coach) Larry (Harrison) followed up on it," Huggins said. "We were told they would do everything to try and help him be eligible this year, and we felt like we needed another big, and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
"It was the right thing to do regardless, even if he couldn't play. Having him for two more years after this certainly would not have been a bad thing," Huggins said.
But his patience paid off when he got a thumbs-up from WVU compliance director Preston Wages at practice yesterday.
"I think Chase (Harler) or one of the guys saw it, and they started jumping around and celebrating," Huggins said. "They were all really excited for him and he was obviously real excited."
Osabuohien averaged just 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds during his two seasons at Arkansas, but you have to look beyond the stat sheet to understand the immediate value he brings to this year's team.
First of all, he's got two year's-worth of SEC experience so he knows how to prepare for difficult basketball games on a nightly basis.
He's also probably the best on-ball defender of West Virginia's bigs, which gives Huggins another option instead of immediately sizing down with small forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. when he needs somebody more mobile to guard bigs who can bounce it.
That will allow Matthews to remain on the perimeter where he is most effective.
Now, Huggins can use Derek Culver, Oscar Tshiebwe, Logan Routt and Osabuohien to play the four and five spots.
"Those are probably the four guys that are going to play those two positions," Huggins said. "Maybe Emmitt on occasion, but not like it looked like we were going to have to."
Huggins believes Osabuohien can also be a more productive scorer at West Virginia by simply getting on the glass.
"He ought to get four points a game off the offensive glass," Huggins said. "I think he can score for us. I don't know if anybody is going to score a bunch of points because we've got a lot of guys who can score.
"(Osabuohien) gives us something I don't think we have – he will be our best big defending on the perimeter," Huggins said. "I think when people go small he's a guy with size who can still go out and guard smaller guys."
"I think I fit in pretty good because I'm a lot different than them at my size with what I can do in guarding," Osabuohien added. "I feel like I have a different passing element, and I feel like I can guard one through four."
Osabuohien said the defensive culture Huggins has established at West Virginia is very similar to what he was used to at Arkansas when Mike Anderson was coaching the Razorbacks.
Osabuohien's AAU coach also told him to expect to be coached hard, which he welcomes.
"He told me if I do what I'm supposed to do I'm going to have a good career here, which is what I plan on doing," Osabuohien said.
West Virginia (3-0) returns to the court on Friday night to face 3-2 Boston University in the continuation of the Cancun Challenge. The Terriers are coming off an impressive 78-70 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night.
BU is led by athletic 6-6 sophomore guard Walter Whyte, who is averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Boston made nine 3s against South Carolina and held its own on the glass against the Gamecocks.
BU's other victories this year have come against New Hampshire and SUNY Poly while its two losses are to Northeastern and Vermont.
Friday's game played at the WVU Coliseum will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised locally on Nexstar with Dan Zangrilli, Warren Baker and Amanda Mazey handling the call.
Stations in West Virginia carrying the telecast include WBOY (Clarksburg), WOWK (Charleston), WTRF My Ohio Valley (Wheeling) and WVNS ( Beckley).
It will also be available to everyone for free on WVUsports.com.
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