Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers Face Bowling Green Friday in Charity Exhibition Game
October 27, 2022 05:52 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – We will be getting our first opportunity to watch West Virginia play another team on Friday night when the Mountaineers face Bowling Green inside the WVU Coliseum in a charity basketball game to benefit the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund.
Last Saturday, the Mountaineers had a closed scrimmage against Dayton at Bethany College.
"The Dayton scrimmage was good for us," veteran Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins said Thursday afternoon.
Although Huggins didn't get too much into specifics about the scrimmage, what we were able to extrapolate offered a glimpse into where his team sits 11 days away from their season opener against Mount St. Mary's on Monday, Nov. 7, at the Coliseum.
One, his team played primarily man defense against a Flyers team that begins this season ranked 24th in the AP poll.
Two, forwards Trey Mitchell (foot) and Patrick Suemnick (knee) didn't suit up for the scrimmage and will not play tomorrow night while they continue to recover from preseason injuries.
And three, guard Joe Toussaint demonstrated against Dayton that West Virginia has another tough, on-the-ball defender to go with senior point guard Kedrian Johnson.
"I thought in the Dayton game, (Toussaint) might have been the guy walking out of there who played the best of anybody there," Huggins said.
Toussaint, an Iowa transfer, was once a finalist for New York's Mr. Basketball and is the all-time leading scorer at Cardinal Hayes High in New York City. One recruiting service had him rated as the fifth-best player in the state, and his three-year career with the Hawkeyes was good, although not great.
He averaged a career-best 6.5 points per game as a freshman but scored at a 4.3-points-per-game clip last season before deciding a change of scenery was needed. So far, so good for Toussaint at WVU, according to Huggins.
"He really works hard," the coach said. "He's very receptive to coaching and his shot has improved dramatically because he's put a lot of time in. His mechanics are better, and he's got that toughness to him and some size – not height, but strength."
Toussaint is sharing time at point guard with Johnson, but Huggins indicated the two were pretty good defending the ball when they played together in the scrimmage. However, he's apprehensive about doing that too much during the season because they play the same position.
"I have a problem with one of them getting into foul trouble and not having a sub to put in, so playing them together I think we can do that for a short period of time, but I would rather have both of them at the end of the game," Huggins explained. "They both have really good ball security; they can make free throws and they're strong with the ball."
In addition to Suemnick and Mitchell, Huggins said senior forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. has been dealing with a shoulder issue while sophomore guard Seth Wilson has been bothered by a sore wrist.
Wilson and Kobe Johnson are much-improved players, the coach says, and Huggins listed Johnson as the team's most versatile player.
"Seth has played much, much better than he did a year ago, and Kobe is a guy who can do a lot of things," he said. "We played him a little bit at backup point guard a year ago and I think he can do that. He can play the two spot and he can play the three. His dad was a basketball guy and there is a lot to be said for growing up in a house where basketball is important."
That seems to be the case with a lot of these guys. So far, Huggins has been pleased with their work ethic and willingness to come in on their own and spend extra time improving their individual games.
Tomorrow night, Huggins believes Bowling Green will push the basketball and challenge his team's ability to defend in transition.
The Falcons, picked to finish ninth in the MAC preseason poll, have a lot of new faces on their roster this season, but do return former all-state guard Kaden Metheny from University High in Morgantown. Metheny helped University to a state title and won the Bill Evans Award as West Virginia's top player in 2020.
"(Metheny) really pushes the ball, he's got good floor vision and he's a good shot maker," Huggins said. "I think their strength is how well they shoot the ball.
"It's different than what we experienced against Dayton," he added. "Dayton runs a lot of different things, and they rely a lot on perimeter shooting, as does Bowling Green, but Bowling Green will penetrate and pitch more than just flair screens and those kinds of things."
Huggins reiterated tomorrow night's game will be good for his team, and a good game for Mountaineer fans in town for Saturday afternoon's homecoming game against TCU to watch on Friday night.
"I think this one tomorrow will be good for us, and then we have four more games before we head out west (to play in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament)," he said.
A 7 p.m. tipoff has been established for the game, to be televised on Big 12 Now. The Mountaineer Sports Network with Tony Caridi and Jay Jacobs will cover the game on the radio.
Tickets are priced at $15 or $10, depending upon seat location.
This is the fifth charity exhibition game since the NCAA first allowed them during the 2017 season. West Virginia previously faced Albany, Penn State, Duquesne, and Akron in a regulation, 40-minute game.
Gates will open 90 minutes prior to tip off.
Last Saturday, the Mountaineers had a closed scrimmage against Dayton at Bethany College.
"The Dayton scrimmage was good for us," veteran Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins said Thursday afternoon.
Although Huggins didn't get too much into specifics about the scrimmage, what we were able to extrapolate offered a glimpse into where his team sits 11 days away from their season opener against Mount St. Mary's on Monday, Nov. 7, at the Coliseum.
One, his team played primarily man defense against a Flyers team that begins this season ranked 24th in the AP poll.
Two, forwards Trey Mitchell (foot) and Patrick Suemnick (knee) didn't suit up for the scrimmage and will not play tomorrow night while they continue to recover from preseason injuries.
And three, guard Joe Toussaint demonstrated against Dayton that West Virginia has another tough, on-the-ball defender to go with senior point guard Kedrian Johnson.
"I thought in the Dayton game, (Toussaint) might have been the guy walking out of there who played the best of anybody there," Huggins said.
Toussaint, an Iowa transfer, was once a finalist for New York's Mr. Basketball and is the all-time leading scorer at Cardinal Hayes High in New York City. One recruiting service had him rated as the fifth-best player in the state, and his three-year career with the Hawkeyes was good, although not great.
He averaged a career-best 6.5 points per game as a freshman but scored at a 4.3-points-per-game clip last season before deciding a change of scenery was needed. So far, so good for Toussaint at WVU, according to Huggins.
"He really works hard," the coach said. "He's very receptive to coaching and his shot has improved dramatically because he's put a lot of time in. His mechanics are better, and he's got that toughness to him and some size – not height, but strength."
Toussaint is sharing time at point guard with Johnson, but Huggins indicated the two were pretty good defending the ball when they played together in the scrimmage. However, he's apprehensive about doing that too much during the season because they play the same position.
"I have a problem with one of them getting into foul trouble and not having a sub to put in, so playing them together I think we can do that for a short period of time, but I would rather have both of them at the end of the game," Huggins explained. "They both have really good ball security; they can make free throws and they're strong with the ball."
In addition to Suemnick and Mitchell, Huggins said senior forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. has been dealing with a shoulder issue while sophomore guard Seth Wilson has been bothered by a sore wrist.
Wilson and Kobe Johnson are much-improved players, the coach says, and Huggins listed Johnson as the team's most versatile player.
"Seth has played much, much better than he did a year ago, and Kobe is a guy who can do a lot of things," he said. "We played him a little bit at backup point guard a year ago and I think he can do that. He can play the two spot and he can play the three. His dad was a basketball guy and there is a lot to be said for growing up in a house where basketball is important."
That seems to be the case with a lot of these guys. So far, Huggins has been pleased with their work ethic and willingness to come in on their own and spend extra time improving their individual games.
Tomorrow night, Huggins believes Bowling Green will push the basketball and challenge his team's ability to defend in transition.
The Falcons, picked to finish ninth in the MAC preseason poll, have a lot of new faces on their roster this season, but do return former all-state guard Kaden Metheny from University High in Morgantown. Metheny helped University to a state title and won the Bill Evans Award as West Virginia's top player in 2020.
"(Metheny) really pushes the ball, he's got good floor vision and he's a good shot maker," Huggins said. "I think their strength is how well they shoot the ball.
"It's different than what we experienced against Dayton," he added. "Dayton runs a lot of different things, and they rely a lot on perimeter shooting, as does Bowling Green, but Bowling Green will penetrate and pitch more than just flair screens and those kinds of things."
Huggins reiterated tomorrow night's game will be good for his team, and a good game for Mountaineer fans in town for Saturday afternoon's homecoming game against TCU to watch on Friday night.
"I think this one tomorrow will be good for us, and then we have four more games before we head out west (to play in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament)," he said.
A 7 p.m. tipoff has been established for the game, to be televised on Big 12 Now. The Mountaineer Sports Network with Tony Caridi and Jay Jacobs will cover the game on the radio.
Tickets are priced at $15 or $10, depending upon seat location.
This is the fifth charity exhibition game since the NCAA first allowed them during the 2017 season. West Virginia previously faced Albany, Penn State, Duquesne, and Akron in a regulation, 40-minute game.
Gates will open 90 minutes prior to tip off.
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