Huggins Hesitant to Fill Final Scholarship

Recently, sophomore guard Brandon Knapper decided to move on from the West Virginia Mountaineers and went to Eastern Kentucky to play under his former prep school (Hargrave Military Academy) coach A.W. Hamilton leaving a scholarship open for 2020-21 season.

“We’re actually in great shape,” said Huggins. “I mean, there’s probably very few people that have the number of guys coming back, returning, that we have. We signed three guys (Junior college transfer guard Kedrian Johnson, forward Taj Thweatt, and Isaiah Cottrell) early and they all have done really well. They’ve all done well academically. They’re all chomping at the bit to get here and get started. So, the three seniors that we lost, they were already replaced.”

“Brandon Knapper decided to transfer and so, we have one scholarship. So, we’re kind of sitting here twiddling our thumbs basically. I mean, we’ve been talking to people, obviously. We’ve been talking to people through the internet.”

Huggins doesn’t seem eager to fill the final and 13th spot and rightfully so. This Mountaineer group was on the cusp of breaking into the AP top 10 after a big win over then second-ranked Ohio State before the start of conference play.

West Virginia was 7-3 and third in the Big 12 standings heading into Norman, OK, but what became a glaring issue, the Mountaineers were upset on the road by the Oklahoma Sooners and lost the next five out of six games prior to the team rallying around one another and getting just their second conference road win in two years at Iowa State.

Then, the Mountaineers finished the regular season with a statement and convincing win over No. 4 Baylor in what unfortunately became the final game of the year after the Big 12 and the NCAA cancelled its postseason tournaments due to COVID-19. West Virginia ended the season ranked No. 24 in the AP poll and the coaches poll.

“I think with us it's important that if we take another guy that he fits, and we take another guy that can come and help this group, that we have, achieve their goals because they’ve been a great group,” said Huggins. “I mean, they’ve been terrific on and off the floor and they’re really excited about being able to get back. They enjoy being around each other and enjoy being at West Virginia. So, we’re not facing a lot of other things people are.”

“We have an opportunity, I think, to select for the first time in a long, long time,” later added Huggins. “We can kind of sit here and look at who’s available and see if they fit. I don’t want to bring anybody in that doesn’t fit because we got a group right now. And, I don’t want to bring somebody in that doesn’t fit that doesn’t work and doesn’t work with our guys.”

The unusual downtime for Huggins and the comfortability with his roster might have him anxious to get outdoors because he described the hunt for the final scholarship with a fishing analogy.

“Well, it’s kind of like fishing, you know. I mean you go out there fishing and if you catch a really good crappie, you’d probably keep him,” said Huggins. “If you catch a really good largemouth or smallmouth or walleye but if the ones that are you catch aren’t very good, you kind of just toss them back in and tell them to ‘grow up’.”

“I’m not concerned about it because if we don’t, we don’t,” said Huggins. “I mean, we’re not going to be able to play 13 guys anyway, so let’s be honest. In a lot of ways, it makes our decisions a little easier. We’re going to, obviously, if something kind of falls in our lap which we’ve had some people. I just want to make 100% sure they fit in. “I don’t know how you get a better situation than we have right now.”

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