Initial Thoughts on West Virginia's Dominating Exhibition Win Over Charleston

Rapid reactions to West Virginia's win over Charleston.

West Virginia University forward Tucker DeVries / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Friday night went about as well as it possibly could have for first-year West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries as the Mountaineers took down the Charleston Golden Eagles, 94-61, in an exhibition game.

As tonight's game unfolded, I jotted down a few things that stood out to me.

Bigger rotation?

This was just an exhibition, but you can still tell which guys will likely be ready to make an impact this season. And I'll admit, I think the number is much higher than I initially thought. I see nine guys for sure playing, possibly 10.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the true freshmen which is what had my expectations so low. They'll have to continue to get stronger of course, but they can play.

Javon Small might be All-Big 12 caliber

Small is incredibly quick off the dribble. Tucker DeVries will be the Mountaineers' first option but Small is a close second. He does a great job of putting pressure on the rim and can finish strong, as evidenced by that miraculous layup he had in the first half.

Aside from shooting the ball, the Oklahoma State transfer runs the offense extremely well and isn't afraid to put his nose in there to wrestle for rebounds. He very well could be one of the best guards in the league and that's not an overreaction considering he's already proven it.

Defensive intensity is impressive

It wasn't picture-perfect, but you could tell how much pride this team takes in its effort on the defensive end of the floor. They may not have the most size, but their length is going to be problematic for some teams.

For a group that hasn't played a whole lot of basketball together, the togetherness on the defensive end is encouraging.

Jonathan Powell could be special

I don't know when it's going to happen, it could be as early as 2025, but Jonathan Powell has the look of a star in the making. I'm not going to get into making any sort of lofty predictions since it's only one game, but don't be surprised if he's one of the key building blocks for Darian DeVries.

Pushing the pace

We had heard all preseason from the players and coaching staff that the hope is that they'll be able to play with tempo and use their athleticism to their advantage. Again, they lack size, but they do have the bodies to play at an incredibly fast pace and tire out opposing teams.

I'm not sure if this is the type of style DeVries will recruit to or if it's just what this team does best, but either way, it'll be a fun brand of basketball to watch.

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