Thoughts on West Virginia's AP Top 25 Preseason Ranking
Earlier this week, the AP preseason Top 25 was released with the Mountaineers coming in at No. 15. This puts them in front of the likes of North Carolina (16th), Arizona State (18th), Florida State (21st), and Michigan (25th). When you look at some of the teams ahead of West Virginia like No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 12 Tennessee, and No. 8 Illinois, you can make the argument that maybe the Mountaineers should be a bit higher.
West Virginia has one of the most, if not the most, feared frontcourt duo in the country with Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe and is a duo that might turn into a three-headed monster by season's end with true freshman Isaiah Cottrell. You pair that with what appears to be a much better shooting team according to head coach Bob Huggins and all of a sudden you have a legit Final Four contender with this team.
Last month, Huggins talked about the improvement he has seen from his guys and followed it up with a bold statement. "This is the best roster we've had since 2010, there's absolutely no doubt," Huggins said. "We got more guys that can make shots, we've got athleticism, we've got size, this as good of a group as we've had since 2010."
When you look at this team, you see a ton of depth at each and every position. You look at guard and you have guys returning with experience such as Jordan McCabe, Miles McBride, Taz Sherman, Sean McNeil, and then you add in JUCO transfer Kedrian Johnson into the mix and it's as deep as West Virginia has been in the backcourt since maybe 2014-15.
So with the extreme amount of depth that West Virginia has, is being ranked 15th in the preseason poll too high, too low, or just about right?
To me, I think it's about right on the money. I projected they would be in the 17-18 range, but 15 makes sense and I don't think you can go much higher at the start of the season. Despite all the talent that returns and the improvement Huggins has seen on the offensive end, it hasn't been proven in a game situation. What folks remember most about this team from a year ago is that they were a tough, defensive-minded team that rebounded the ball well and couldn't buy a bucket to save their life. If they can prove the "they can't shoot" narrative wrong in 2020-21, you'll start to see a lot of people jump on the Mountaineers' bandwagon in the national media.
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