Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Cottrell’s Return To the Court Gives Mountaineers More Shooting Options
October 18, 2021 05:22 PM | Men's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Do you remember the two-man game West Virginia played with Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey 15 years ago?
If you recall, the 6-foot-11 Pittsnogle was the stretch-five who could spread the floor by shooting 3s, creating the space that enabled the slashing 6-foot-4 Gansey to operate around the rim.
That was considered cutting-edge stuff back then, having your tallest guy scoring away from the basket to create more room in the paint for a much smaller player. Now, it's a pretty common deal if you've got a big who can consistently make shots from behind the arc.
Well, West Virginia might have one again this year in 6-foot-10 Isaiah Cottrell, a former ESPN 100 recruit whose freshman season in 2020 ended prematurely with an Achilles tendon injury suffered against Northeastern.
Cottrell gave the Mountaineers 11 solid minutes in a close loss to No. 1-ranked Gonzaga in Indianapolis, and a couple games later, he knocked down a couple of important outside shots in a tough home victory against North Texas.
Then, just when it looked like his minutes were about to increase significantly right around the time Oscar Tshiebwe announced he was transferring to Kentucky, Cottrell tore his Achilles while attempting to set a screen near the free throw line against the Huskies.
That type of injury normally requires a 12-month rehab, but Cottrell did it in just seven.
"I did rehab probably five, six days a week for two hours a day," Cottrell said last week. "I was surprised it only took seven months, and I haven't had any hiccups since."
Coach Bob Huggins was also surprised when he saw how well Cottrell was moving around on the court this summer.
"I thought he would be real ginger with it, but he was out there running up and down, jumping, and he hasn't shown any sign of favoring the other leg or whatever," Huggins said. "From the beginning he's been ready to go."
When Cottrell is on the floor, he gives the Mountaineers a completely different five-man than the one we've watched the last three years with Derek Culver patrolling the paint.
Isaiah is not that type of player, which is fine with Huggins.
"They're letting me play the way I play," Cottrell said. "They're not trying to have me be somebody else or be anything I'm not. That definitely helps me a lot. They're giving me the confidence to be myself out there and do the things I can do to help the team."
Yes, Isaiah will be asked to do some more rebounding than he did in the past, and, yes, he will have to be able to play a little more assertively on the defensive end of the floor guarding the post, but not at the expense of the things he does well - namely shooting the basketball.
"He's shot the ball well from the perimeter, I mean really well," Huggins admitted. "He shot a couple (recently) from 3 that didn't even move the net. He's got to rebound it better and some other things, but offensively, he's really shot it well for us."
Cottrell admitted shooting was all he could do for the first three months of his rehab while his foot was in a boot.
"We'd be on road trips or doing rehab in general and there would be a lot of times when I was on the court shooting. I couldn't jump, run or do any pullups, so I would just shoot 3s standing still and my range increased," Cottrell explained of his expanded shooting range.
If Huggins chooses to play a three-guard backcourt with Taz Sherman, Sean McNeil and either Kedrian Johnson or Malik Curry at the point, Jalen Bridges at the four and Cottrell at the five, that's five different guys capable of stretching the court on the floor at one time.
When was the last time West Virginia could play that way? Naturally, when Pittsnogle was still Pittsnogling people.
Maybe today other teams will be getting Cottrelled!
"I think they're going to have to guard all of those guys," Huggins pointed out. "We had guys before that they didn't have to guard, so they could kind of leave somebody in the lane and protect the basket. I don't know that they'll be able to do that now."
When Cottrell is on the floor and he takes the big away from the basket, that now gives Sherman or Bridges a clear path to put the ball on the floor and take it to the rim. Curry, who averaged better than 15 points per game last year at Old Dominion, got a lot of points that way last season. If Cottrell and J.B. are both taking bigs away from the glass, it will be basically similar to what Curry faced in Conference USA games last season.
If either Gabe Osabouhien, DePaul transfer Pauly Paulicap or FIU transfer Dimon Carrigan is in the post with four other outside shooters on the floor, when the ball gets to them near the basket they will only have to score against the man guarding them instead of an extra defender or two.
That means the offensive spacing issues that West Virginia dealt with at times last year now vanishes, provided they can pass the ball.
"If we try to play J.B. to basically guard a four, and with Isaiah being able to go out there and make shots, it's really going to spread defenses if all of that comes to fruition," Huggins admitted.
It looked pretty good last Friday night when the Gold team rallied in the second half to defeat the Blue 74-57 in the Gold-Blue Debut. Cottrell had 16 points on seven-of-nine shooting, including one-of-two from 3 point range.
Bridges led everybody with 21 points, with five of his field goals being 3s.
Using Cottrell and Bridges together with three other perimeter shooters could be West Virginia's best scoring solution, but it is by no means Huggins' only alternative.
If this group is getting exposed defensively, or is struggling to rebound, Huggs can always go with Paulicap, Carrigan or the always-dependable Osabouhien, who makes up for his lack of size with a never-ceasing motor and exceptional basketball smarts.
When it comes to intangibles and moxie, Osabouhien is the one player you want on the floor.
If Huggins needs a post stop, he might even choose to play sophomore Seny N'diaye in certain situations. Sophomore Taj Thweatt is yet another possibility, giving Huggins several different options near the basket if he needs it.
That was certainly not the case for John Beilein 15 years ago in 2006 when Pittsnogle was bombing away. If Kevin struggled on the defensive end to get stops or rebounds, the stops and rebounds simply didn't happen.
Therefore, don't expect Isaiah Cottrell to go out there and make up for Derek Culver's rebounding this year. It might end up being five different guys each grabbing two more boards than before, or maybe 10 different guys each grabbing just one more than they had to last year.
Or, better yet, perhaps they won't need to grab as many rebounds at all. After all, you don't have to go and rebound the shots you make.
If you recall, the 6-foot-11 Pittsnogle was the stretch-five who could spread the floor by shooting 3s, creating the space that enabled the slashing 6-foot-4 Gansey to operate around the rim.
That was considered cutting-edge stuff back then, having your tallest guy scoring away from the basket to create more room in the paint for a much smaller player. Now, it's a pretty common deal if you've got a big who can consistently make shots from behind the arc.
Well, West Virginia might have one again this year in 6-foot-10 Isaiah Cottrell, a former ESPN 100 recruit whose freshman season in 2020 ended prematurely with an Achilles tendon injury suffered against Northeastern.
Cottrell gave the Mountaineers 11 solid minutes in a close loss to No. 1-ranked Gonzaga in Indianapolis, and a couple games later, he knocked down a couple of important outside shots in a tough home victory against North Texas.
Then, just when it looked like his minutes were about to increase significantly right around the time Oscar Tshiebwe announced he was transferring to Kentucky, Cottrell tore his Achilles while attempting to set a screen near the free throw line against the Huskies.
That type of injury normally requires a 12-month rehab, but Cottrell did it in just seven.
"I did rehab probably five, six days a week for two hours a day," Cottrell said last week. "I was surprised it only took seven months, and I haven't had any hiccups since."
Coach Bob Huggins was also surprised when he saw how well Cottrell was moving around on the court this summer.
"I thought he would be real ginger with it, but he was out there running up and down, jumping, and he hasn't shown any sign of favoring the other leg or whatever," Huggins said. "From the beginning he's been ready to go."
When Cottrell is on the floor, he gives the Mountaineers a completely different five-man than the one we've watched the last three years with Derek Culver patrolling the paint.
Isaiah is not that type of player, which is fine with Huggins.
"They're letting me play the way I play," Cottrell said. "They're not trying to have me be somebody else or be anything I'm not. That definitely helps me a lot. They're giving me the confidence to be myself out there and do the things I can do to help the team."
Yes, Isaiah will be asked to do some more rebounding than he did in the past, and, yes, he will have to be able to play a little more assertively on the defensive end of the floor guarding the post, but not at the expense of the things he does well - namely shooting the basketball.
"He's shot the ball well from the perimeter, I mean really well," Huggins admitted. "He shot a couple (recently) from 3 that didn't even move the net. He's got to rebound it better and some other things, but offensively, he's really shot it well for us."
Cottrell admitted shooting was all he could do for the first three months of his rehab while his foot was in a boot.
"We'd be on road trips or doing rehab in general and there would be a lot of times when I was on the court shooting. I couldn't jump, run or do any pullups, so I would just shoot 3s standing still and my range increased," Cottrell explained of his expanded shooting range.
If Huggins chooses to play a three-guard backcourt with Taz Sherman, Sean McNeil and either Kedrian Johnson or Malik Curry at the point, Jalen Bridges at the four and Cottrell at the five, that's five different guys capable of stretching the court on the floor at one time.When was the last time West Virginia could play that way? Naturally, when Pittsnogle was still Pittsnogling people.
Maybe today other teams will be getting Cottrelled!
"I think they're going to have to guard all of those guys," Huggins pointed out. "We had guys before that they didn't have to guard, so they could kind of leave somebody in the lane and protect the basket. I don't know that they'll be able to do that now."
When Cottrell is on the floor and he takes the big away from the basket, that now gives Sherman or Bridges a clear path to put the ball on the floor and take it to the rim. Curry, who averaged better than 15 points per game last year at Old Dominion, got a lot of points that way last season. If Cottrell and J.B. are both taking bigs away from the glass, it will be basically similar to what Curry faced in Conference USA games last season.
If either Gabe Osabouhien, DePaul transfer Pauly Paulicap or FIU transfer Dimon Carrigan is in the post with four other outside shooters on the floor, when the ball gets to them near the basket they will only have to score against the man guarding them instead of an extra defender or two.
That means the offensive spacing issues that West Virginia dealt with at times last year now vanishes, provided they can pass the ball.
"If we try to play J.B. to basically guard a four, and with Isaiah being able to go out there and make shots, it's really going to spread defenses if all of that comes to fruition," Huggins admitted.
It looked pretty good last Friday night when the Gold team rallied in the second half to defeat the Blue 74-57 in the Gold-Blue Debut. Cottrell had 16 points on seven-of-nine shooting, including one-of-two from 3 point range.
Bridges led everybody with 21 points, with five of his field goals being 3s.
Using Cottrell and Bridges together with three other perimeter shooters could be West Virginia's best scoring solution, but it is by no means Huggins' only alternative.
If this group is getting exposed defensively, or is struggling to rebound, Huggs can always go with Paulicap, Carrigan or the always-dependable Osabouhien, who makes up for his lack of size with a never-ceasing motor and exceptional basketball smarts.
When it comes to intangibles and moxie, Osabouhien is the one player you want on the floor.
If Huggins needs a post stop, he might even choose to play sophomore Seny N'diaye in certain situations. Sophomore Taj Thweatt is yet another possibility, giving Huggins several different options near the basket if he needs it.
That was certainly not the case for John Beilein 15 years ago in 2006 when Pittsnogle was bombing away. If Kevin struggled on the defensive end to get stops or rebounds, the stops and rebounds simply didn't happen.
Therefore, don't expect Isaiah Cottrell to go out there and make up for Derek Culver's rebounding this year. It might end up being five different guys each grabbing two more boards than before, or maybe 10 different guys each grabbing just one more than they had to last year.
Or, better yet, perhaps they won't need to grab as many rebounds at all. After all, you don't have to go and rebound the shots you make.
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