Huggins Considering Tinkering with the Rotation

West Virginia may have a new starting lineup when they tip-off against Oklahoma State

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is looking to shake things up a bit after losing the last three games. The Mountaineers had a tough stretch of having to face two of the top three teams in the country, nonetheless, the man at the helm thinks it might be time for a change.

“I mean, we’ve pretty much had the same starting lineup all year,” said Huggins, “It could be time for a change. See if that helps. We’re probably playing guys too much that shouldn’t play as much as their playing and probably not playing guys enough that should be playing more.”

One player he continued to bring up was guard Taz Sherman, who is coming off a career-high 20 points in the loss to No. 1 Baylor on Saturday.

“We got to score the ball and Taz, obviously, has shown he can score the ball,” said Huggins.

“He’s played really well in practice. He’s been our best perimeter player in practice, without a doubt.”

“He’s getting better. He wants to get better,” added Huggins. “Nobody’s got better that didn’t want to, and he wants to. And he listens, and he’s trying to absorb everything he can absorb.”

Taz has played 20 plus minutes twice since the start of the Big 12 schedule and both times he reached double figures.

West Virginia has struggled to find consistency on the offensive end of the floor, especially on the road, but they continued to win find ways to win at home. However, they've just never been able to get over the hump. Whether it was taking a lead on the road late in the game or closing the door against a top-rated team such as Kansas, where they led most of the game, the Mountaineers couldn’t get past that threshold of being a great team.

Nonetheless, Huggins didn’t see a reason to tinker with the lineup.

“I think the biggest thing is I didn’t want them to panic,” stated Huggins. “We’ve lost three in a row but come on, I mean, we’ve lost three in a row to three awfully good teams. An Oklahoma team that plays extremely well at home and they’re talented. They’re not a middle of the pack talent team. They’re an upper-echelon talent team and then, obviously Kansas and Baylor. I just don’t want our guys to go into a state of panic and particularly their youth. I think we may need to make a few changes just to kind of make it a little more refreshing for the guys coming in, and honestly, Taz deserves to play.”

Of course, we don’t know exactly what changes will be made, if any. If Taz starts, who sits? The Mountaineers had one more practice to figure out who will see more playing time and may get the starting nod, but right now, Huggins just wants to win.

“We’re going to try to do what’s best and try to win,” said Huggins. “I could care less if we play big or we play small. In the 40 something years I’ve done this I think we’ve played about every which way there is to play. And I think we’re past the point where, you know, worry about somebody’s feelings. All of our feelings are hurt, we lost three in a row. If your feelings aren’t hurt now, then shame on you.”

This could be a game where fans can expect the unexpected. Huggins said, “There’s nothing off the table,” in reference to lineups but in typical Huggins fashion, he jokingly said you won’t see forwards Oscar Tshiebwe or Gabe Osabuohien running the point.

If there's change, it might be the wake-up call the Mountaineers need after seemingly going through the motions on the road and failing to close out Kansas at home.

West Virginia hosts Oklahoma State at 7:00 pm on ESPN 2.