Stock Up, Stock Down: Tournament Resume, Leadership, the Big Man + More

Disaster. An absolute disaster was what that was last night in Morgantown. West Virginia fell to last-place Utah at home, dropping their record to 16-10 (7-6) on the season.

As always, it's time to update the WVU basketball stock report.

Stock Up: Amir Jenkins

Really, the only bright spot of the night. The true freshman may have only had four points on the night, yet he brought the energy on the defensive end, particularly in the second half when the Mountaineers finally woke up and made their run to get back in it. Offensively, he has a long way to go. If that part of his game comes along, he'll be a high-level two-way player.

Stock Down: NCAA Tournament Resume

Yeah, man, it's cooked. There's no coming back from a home Quad 3 loss this late in the season. Winning out the final five games and making a run in the Big 12 Conference tournament won't even get the job done at this point. They're going to have to cut down the nets in Kansas City to get in. What's most concerning is the lack or urgency. They knew they absolutely could not afford to lose this game and the effort in the first 25 or so minutes looked like a team that had 20 games left to be played.

Stock Down: Leadership

Piggybacking off the last thing I just mentioned, someone needs to step up and take command of the group on the floor with their voice. Remember the Jevon Carter days, where he would lay into someone if the energy wasn't what it needed to be? That's what's missing from this team, among many other things. Just because this roster isn't as talented as others doesn't mean it still can't win games. A game like this should have never happened. If someone stepped up and called out the energy in the first half (aside from Ross Hodge), we may be having a different conversation right now.

Stock Down: Harlan Obioha

I figured last night would be a game where Obioha could go for 10 and 7 or somewhere in that ballpark. Utah lacked size and strength in the post, but you wouldn't know it by watching last night's game. Yes, Obioha got into foul trouble early and had to be careful, but even before that became a serious issue, he couldn't carve out space underneath on either end of the floor. How a 7-foot, 270+ pound guy can't control the paint against someone who is 6'9", 245 lbs is beyond me.