West Virginia Disrespected in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Hoops Rankings

The Mountaineers not getting respect from ESPN in early rankings

As you are well aware, the West Virginia basketball season came to an abrupt end with concerns of COVID-19 continuing to spread around the globe. The Mountaineers were playing some of their best basketball, having won the final two games of the regular season over Iowa State and No. 4 Baylor. 

Unfortunately, we will never know how far the Mountaineers would have went in the 2020 NCAA tournament, but there is hope that the team will be able to build off this past season to prepare for a deep run next year.

Over the weekend, ESPN released its way-too-early college basketball rankings for the 2020-21 season with West Virginia checking in at No. 24. This is a tad shocking, considering Bob Huggins' squad virtually returns everyone and will be adding Isaiah Cottrell, Kedrian Johnson, Taj Thweatt and Jalen Bridges to the fold. A lot of this may have to do with the uncertainty of who will actually return or leave early for the professional ranks, i.e. Oscar Tshiebwe, Derek Culver. No, neither one is ready for the NBA, but several Mountaineers in recent years have left early who were nowhere near ready for the next level (Devin Williams, Elijah Macon). 

This ranking is likely to be much higher by the time the season nears a little closer or it could drop them out of the rankings depending on any departures.

What do you think of West Virginia's No. 24 ranking? Is it too high? Too low? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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