Projecting WVU's Starting Five for the 2022-23 Season

Looking at who may be in the Mountaineers' starting lineup.

West Virginia basketball returns to action Friday night inside the WVU Coliseum as the team hosts its annual Gold-Blue Debut. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EST. With this being the start of a new season, I threw together who I believe will be in the Mountaineers' starting five this season.

PG Kedrian Johnson

Iowa transfer Joe Toussaint will see some time at the point as well, but Kedrian Johnson is the most experienced player on the roster and is a defensive menace. He has tremendous speed, which allows him to be aggressive defensively. If he overplays an action, he can quickly adjust and get back in front. Offensively, he should take a leap. There were a few games last year when Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil went silent, Johnson carried the load by attacking the basket and getting to the foul line. 

SG Erik Stevenson

He may not play the same position, but Erik Stevenson will have the same impact on the floor as Gabe Osabuohien in terms of his leadership and toughness. He's a hard-nosed, physical player that plays with maximum effort all the time. Stevenson has been through it all having played for three other schools prior to transferring to West Virginia. That experience will go a long way in helping some of the younger guys find their footing at the collegiate level. 

SF Emmitt Matthews Jr.

Welcome back, Emmitt! Bob Huggins mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Matthews will primarily and maybe exclusively play the three. In his first stint at WVU, he played the four some. He's made some huge jumps offensively and fixed his shooting motion during his time at Washington. He'll be the steady hand on the court when the first signs of adversity arrive. 

PF Tre Mitchell

Mitchell is the most athletically gifted talent on this roster, in my opinion. He has the ability to stretch the floor and shoot the three-ball at a high clip in addition to finishing in the paint. He has some positional versatility as well, so if Huggins needs him to play the five, he's more than capable. 

C Jimmy Bell Jr.

"He's impossible to move," Bob Huggins said in a recent press conference. The Mountaineers have had some talented bigs over the years, but Bell is unique. He clogs up the lane and can bully his way to the bucket on the offensive end. At 6'10", 285 pounds, he gives WVU a physical presence inside - something they clearly lacked a year ago.

Bench

G Joe Toussaint, G Seth Wilson, G Kobe Johnson, G Josiah Davis, F Jamel King, F Patrick Suemnick, F Josiah Harris, F James Okonkwo, F Mohamed Wague

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