WVU Targeting Several Players in the Transfer Portal
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Having sustained success as a head coach means you have the ability to adapt to the game. West Virginia's Bob Huggins has been able to do that in nearly 40 years as a head coach which is why he holds 916 wins and a pair of Final Four appearances.
Huggins admitted that he and his staff didn't do a good job of recruiting out of the transfer portal a year ago and that it has to be a priority for them this offseason.
"We didn't do very well in the portal," Huggins said. "We've got people watching it every day. I kind of favor the idea of having guys here. I don't really want to have one-year guys or certainly not very many one-year guys. But you're not going to win with 13 freshmen."
The transfer portal has become a staple in college athletics over the past year or so and in order to remain competitive, coaches are going to have to use it to their advantage. The Mountaineers have already begun hitting the recruiting trail, offering several players in the portal, at the JUCO ranks, and even high school talent. With only five players set to return as of today, WVU has no choice but to dip their toes in the portal.
Who are they going after? Here are five players that they have either offered or have reached out to.
G Justin Hill (Longwood)
Justin Hill played a big part in Longwood winning the Big South Conference tournament, punching a ticket to the big dance. In Longwood's opening round loss to No. 3 seed Tennessee, Hill notched 13 points on 4/12 shooting (3/6 3 FG) and also recorded two assists, two rebounds, and four steals. Although Hill is not the biggest guard out there checking in at just 6", 185 lbs, he makes up for it with his toughness and his aggressiveness. On the season, Hill averaged 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals. Hill will have three years of eligibility remaining.
G Jaelin Llewellyn (Princeton)
West Virginia landed a hidden gem in the portal last year snagging Malik Curry out of Old Dominion. Huggins and co. need to find another guard that can bring the same impact to the game as Curry did, presumably off the bench. Insert former Princeton guard, Jaelin Llewellyn.
Llewellyn was actually heavily recruited out of high school as a consensus four-star prospect, holding offers from Cincinnati, Clemson, Creighton, Florida, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Providence, Stanford, Tennessee, UNLV, Virginia, and Wake Forest. After spending the first four years of his career at Princeton, he's ready to make the jump to Power Five basketball.
Although the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 season due to COVID, Llewellyn will only have one year of eligibility remaining. For his career, he is averaging 14 points, 2.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. He's a streaky three-point shooter (32%) but is more of a downhill player, similar to Curry.
G Ledarrius Brewer (East Tennessee State)
Brewer has one year of eligibility remaining and is reportedly very interested in West Virginia. He actually got his start at Southeast Missouri State where he played two seasons and averaged 13.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. During his time at ETSU, Brewer picked up his scoring a notch, averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and shot 36% from three. His best value might be his play on the defensive end. His length gave a lot of teams issues in the Southern Conference and would likely do so in the Big 12 as well. He averaged 1.2 steals and even had 0.5 blocks per game.
G Will Richard (Belmont)
After just one year at Belmont, the young Belmont guard Will Richard hit the transfer portal. As a true freshman, Richard averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.8 assists, and 0.8 blocks per game. He started 32 of the team's 33 games on the year and helped the Bruins to a 25-8 record. Richard will have three years of eligibility remaining.
C Fardaws Aimaq (Utah Valley)
It's no secret that the Mountaineers need help in the frontcourt. With Isaiah Cottrell in the transfer portal, they lose the ability to really stretch defenses because they have to respect his ability to shoot the three-ball. Adding Aimaq would go a long way in replacing Cottrell. He averaged 18.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game this season at Utah Valley and shot 43% from three-point land en route to being named the Player of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference. The 6'11", 245-pound big man has two years of eligibility remaining.
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