Turning the Corner? Huge Steps Taken by WVU's Young Stars Amani Hansberry & Jonathan Powell

On most nights, Javon Small is asked to be the guy to make things happen for West Virginia, and while he was still very much involved in Wednesday's win over Cincinnati, it was the young bucks who stepped when Darian DeVries needed them most.

Big man Amani Hansberry did a terrific job on the glass, snatching up 13 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end of the floor. Those second chance opportunities played a massive part in the Mountaineers getting the win. Not only did he display maximum effort, but he made the right reads more often than not after pulling in the rebound.

As ESPN color analyst Fran Fraschilla stated last night during the broadcast, it was a game where he was growing up right before your very eyes. Every time West Virginia needed a big rebound, shot, or action to create a basket, Hansberry had his fingerprints all over it.

Feb 19, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Amani Hansberry (13) shoots over Cincinnati Bearcats guard Josh Reed (10) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

He finished the night with 17 points to go along with his 13 boards, officially recording his second double-double as a Mountaineer. There have been a number of other games where he came close to reaching that feat, but this was without a doubt his best game because of how crucial each of the plays he made were to securing a much-needed win.

The other piece of the puzzle was true freshman Jonathan Powell, who recorded 12 points and nine rebounds - an impressive stat for a 6'6" guard/wing.

"What I loved about it, and we tell him all the time too is just keep shooting because he was 0-5 for at the time, to have the courage to still say, ‘I got the confidence to still shoot this sixth one,’ when it was a huge shot and then he hit another after that," Darian DeVries said. "We needed it at a critical time there, and what a big shot by him for a freshman to step up and have the confidence to still do that on a tough shooting night, I thought it said a lot."

Powell did make things interesting toward the end of the game, but he had some help, including from Hansberry. He missed the front end of a one-and-one while West Virginia was up nine with 15 seconds to go, somewhat opening the door for Cincinnati to scramble and make something happen. Every bit of the chaos that happened after that can be blamed on the inbounders - Hansberry and Joseph Yesufu.

Nevertheless, WVU left the Coliseum victorious and may have found some answers offensively with the steps that Hansberry and Powell took last night. To secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, they absolutely need those two to continue to be playmakers to draw a little bit of attention away from Javon Small.

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