Coaching? Personnel? Both? What Was West Virginia's Main Problem This Season?

With Tuesday's disappointing and embarrassing loss to Kansas State, West Virginia has just one path left to make the NCAA Tournament — win the Big 12 Conference tournament next week.

Considering that's quite the long shot, it'll almost certainly be another year of the Mountaineers sitting at home and watching the dance, marking the third straight season where that's been the case. The difference is that this year, WVU will likely try to continue playing, perhaps in the College Basketball Crown out in Las Vegas.

Still, it's something no one wants, including those inside the program.

So, what went wrong this year? Was it personnel? Coaching? A little bit of both?

Honor Huff — WVU Athletics Communications

Let's start with the personnel.

I've mentioned this numerous times throughout this season, and during this recent stretch of games, it's proven to be true. West Virginia has way too many one-dimensional players on the offensive end. 81% of Honor Huff's field goal attempts come from beyond the three-point line. 85% of Chance Moore's attempts come inside, largely in the paint. 98.9% of Harlan Obioha's are twos. And Amir Jenkins shoots just 24% of his shots from range. I could go deeper, but you get the point.

The other obvious issue is that there are some overly passive players on the roster, such as Obioha, Jenkins, and even Jasper Floyd. The big man hardly ever looks at the basket and tries to power his way to the rim. He's constantly and immediately looking for someone to get the ball to as soon as he gets it. Both Floyd and Jenkins, more so the freshman, have a tendency to drive it to the paint and then back it right back out, leading to nothing.

The bench isn't deep, but that's to be expected in year one.

The biggest issue with the construction of the roster is that Honor Huff and Treysen Eaglestaff were expected to be the top two scoring options, when in reality, they don't have the skillset to be that in this league. You need to have a true three-level scorer to have a chance, similar to what Javon Small was a year ago.

There are a bunch of issues with the roster, and I expect much of that to be fixed this offseason when they aren't playing from behind the 8-ball in the transfer portal.

Now, the coaching.

Ross Hodge — WVU Athletics Communication

The offense has been atrocious all year long, and while there are only so many things you can do, I think everyone would have expected Hodge to figure something out with this group as opposed to it getting worse as the season moved on. Only he knows if this is a huge personnel/fit issue. If it's not all that, then bringing in another assistant to help coordinate the offense could be a smart move, although I wouldn't expect it to happen.

My biggest criticism of Hodge this season is his continuing to trot out the same starting lineup every game when slow starts have been a thorn in this group's side. It doesn't guarantee a change in the opening minutes, but it doesn't hurt to try, right? When Amir Jenkins and Chance Moore are in the game, the pace tends to pick up a hair, and perhaps that's exactly what they need to create a better sense of urgency to open things up.

Beyond that, I don't see any issues with his lineup rotations or substitution patterns. Just the stubbornness of running out the same five to start the game.

Defensively, it's everything you expected you would get, which is a positive. The Mountaineers are inside the top five nationally in scoring defense and the top 40 in opponent field goal percentage. It would be extremely alarming if that end of the floor was a major issue as well, because that's his bread and butter.

Not having this group ready to play against two poor teams in Utah and Kansas State is a problem. Only he and his staff know what led to those flat outings and how to fix it. Playing down to the level of their competition can't happen in year two if they want to take a sizable step forward.

Ross Hodge can be successful in Morgantown, but it's going to take a better roster and some tweaks to the offensive philosophy.