West Virginia Has a Small Problem on Its Hands

The Mountaineers must find a way to get Javon Small more freedom.

Schuyler Callihan | Feb 12, 2025

Feb 11, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) shoots a three pointer over Brigham Young Cougars guard Dallin Hall (30) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images / Ben Queen-Imagn Images

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West Virginia Mountaineers

Javon Small is front and center of every team's scouting report when playing West Virginia, and it's fairly obvious as to why. He's an elite three-level scorer, and the Mountaineers don't have one consistent reliable scorer that teams have to worry about.

After pouring in 27 points in the upset of then 2nd-ranked Iowa State, Small has been face guarded and then double-teamed virtually every time he touches the ball. More often than not, he'll still find shots and rack up points, but last night, BYU frustrated him. The Cougars limited him to just nine points on 2/4 shooting from the field, with only one shot going up in the second half.

Feb 11, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) dribbles while defended by Brigham Young Cougars forward Mawot Mag (0) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images / Ben Queen-Imagn Images

"We always love to get Javon more shots," WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. "I mean, we tried a lot of different stuff to try and free him up – we weren’t able to get him free but, again, if he’s able to get nine assists that says he’s doing a good job of making the plays that are available because of how they are guarding him. So, that’s just part of it. He’s done a good job the last two games of eight assists, nine assists. We shot 57% in the second half. I thought offensively, we made all the right plays from that perspective."

While DeVries is right in saying Small made the plays given to him, I'd argue he could have been a little more selfish at times and just attacked the rim. It would be inaccurate to say Small passed up open looks, but he could have forced the issue on a handful of possessions.

Shot selection hasn't been great all season, with certain guys taking shots they have no business taking. You can, however, live with Small forcing up a handful of heavily contested shots even if they are low-percentage looks. He's your guy. You'd rather lose with him going 1/5 or 1/6 in the second half than him putting up one shot and dishing out four assists.

Feb 5, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) speaks with West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

This will be how teams defend Small moving forward until a consistent second scorer emerges. We've seen flashes here and there from Jonathan Powell, Amani Hansberry, and even Joseph Yesufu off the bench, but none of them have been able to do it on a night-in, night-out basis.

DeVries can only do so much to get Javon going, and he can only do so much himself to get free and score it. It's going to take others around him stepping up their offensive game to open up the floor, giving the Big 12 Player of the Year candidate the necessary room to operate. Failing to do so could be the direct cause of West Virginia missing the NCAA Tournament.

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