Post by elp525 on Aug 8, 2011 5:36:05 GMT -5
August 7, 2011
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - When he committed to play basketball at West Virginia, Aaron Brown had no idea his first road trip would be to Italy.
Keaton Miles and Gary Browne, on the other hand, knew from the start what was in store for them.
Surprise or not, though, all of them - as well as the rest of the Mountaineers - know full well the value of the excursion that begins today.
"It's definitely a privilege to be able to go overseas, work on your craft, get better individually and get better as a team,'' said Brown, a 6-foot-5 forward from Darby, Pa. "I didn't even know about the trip when I committed. I found out about two months later. What a way to start my college career.''
The team leaves today and will spend two weeks abroad, playing a handful of exhibition games, practicing and doing some sightseeing. With a roster that consists of just four veterans and the rest newcomers, it is a perfect opportunity for coach Bob Huggins to get a jump on the season.
And that's invaluable because trying to mold all of these new faces into a cohesive unit is going to take as much time as possible.
"But I think we can do it,'' Brown said. "We all have something different with our games. Once we put that together on the floor, we'll be fine. But it takes time. This gives us more time.''
Most of these newcomers know what a challenge it is to try and mesh all these new faces into a cohesive unit and that the track record of teams attempting to do so is not particularly good. It takes time.
But more than the added time that West Virginia is afforded with the trip to Italy, Miles figures the Mountaineers have another big advantage on their side.
"We can be different because of coach Huggs,'' said Miles, a 6-6 forward from Dallas. "He has a history of making things happen.''
In addition to Brown and Miles, the other freshmen on the trip are Browne, a 6-1 guard from Puerto Rico; 6-11 center Pat Forsythe and 6-8 forward Tommie McCune. Dominique Rutledge, a 6-8 junior college transfer, is the other newcomer on the trip. He has been rehabilitating a knee injury but is expected to play some.
They join holdovers Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant, Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Noreen.
Transfers Juwan Staten and Aaric Murray are enrolled in school, but are ineligible to go on the trip as transfers who must sit out the coming season.
That leaves only Jabarie Hinds, a freshman point guard who has not yet enrolled and won't make the trip. But Huggins has repeatedly said he expects Hinds to be enrolled for the fall semester and eligible to play.
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - When he committed to play basketball at West Virginia, Aaron Brown had no idea his first road trip would be to Italy.
Keaton Miles and Gary Browne, on the other hand, knew from the start what was in store for them.
Surprise or not, though, all of them - as well as the rest of the Mountaineers - know full well the value of the excursion that begins today.
"It's definitely a privilege to be able to go overseas, work on your craft, get better individually and get better as a team,'' said Brown, a 6-foot-5 forward from Darby, Pa. "I didn't even know about the trip when I committed. I found out about two months later. What a way to start my college career.''
The team leaves today and will spend two weeks abroad, playing a handful of exhibition games, practicing and doing some sightseeing. With a roster that consists of just four veterans and the rest newcomers, it is a perfect opportunity for coach Bob Huggins to get a jump on the season.
And that's invaluable because trying to mold all of these new faces into a cohesive unit is going to take as much time as possible.
"But I think we can do it,'' Brown said. "We all have something different with our games. Once we put that together on the floor, we'll be fine. But it takes time. This gives us more time.''
Most of these newcomers know what a challenge it is to try and mesh all these new faces into a cohesive unit and that the track record of teams attempting to do so is not particularly good. It takes time.
But more than the added time that West Virginia is afforded with the trip to Italy, Miles figures the Mountaineers have another big advantage on their side.
"We can be different because of coach Huggs,'' said Miles, a 6-6 forward from Dallas. "He has a history of making things happen.''
In addition to Brown and Miles, the other freshmen on the trip are Browne, a 6-1 guard from Puerto Rico; 6-11 center Pat Forsythe and 6-8 forward Tommie McCune. Dominique Rutledge, a 6-8 junior college transfer, is the other newcomer on the trip. He has been rehabilitating a knee injury but is expected to play some.
They join holdovers Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant, Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Noreen.
Transfers Juwan Staten and Aaric Murray are enrolled in school, but are ineligible to go on the trip as transfers who must sit out the coming season.
That leaves only Jabarie Hinds, a freshman point guard who has not yet enrolled and won't make the trip. But Huggins has repeatedly said he expects Hinds to be enrolled for the fall semester and eligible to play.
