College basketball 2017-18 preseason Top 25
By Chris Stone
No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers
Notable departures: Nathan Adrian, Elijah Macon, Teyvon Myers, Tarik Phillip, Brandon Watkins
Notable returnees: Esa Ahmad, Jevon Carter, Sagaba Konate, Daxter Miles, Lamont West
Notable newcomers: Teddy Allen, Derek Culver, Wesley Harris, D’Angelo Hunter, Brandon Knapper
2016-17 was the season of coming up just short for the West Virginia Mountaineers (Note: West Virginia fans feel free to skip to the second paragraph). There was Anthony Livingston’s last-second 3-pointer that sealed an overtime loss at Texas Tech, Jordan Woodard’s heroic performance to give Oklahoma the upset in Morgantown, a furious Kansas comeback in the closing minutes at Allen Fieldhouse and a calamitous final possession against Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. The Mountaineers will hope that history does not repeat itself in 2017-18.
Several rotation players, including Nathan Adrian, Elijah Macon, Teyvon Myers, Tarik Phillip and Brandon Watkins, won’t be around to find out, but West Virginia does return perhaps the country’s most underrated player in point guard Jevon Carter. The 6-foot-2 senior led the team in scoring and assists last season while finishing second in rebounding. Carter made major strides in terms of efficiency last season as well. After shooting just 31.0 percent from behind the arc during his first two seasons, the former 3-star recruit canned 38.9 percent of his 3s as a junior. Carter will be a legitimate All-American candidate if he maintains that accuracy as a senior.
In addition to Carter’s consistency, young players like Sagaba Konate and Lamont West will be expected to take a jump this season as the team’s luck hopefully swings the opposite way this season.
Read our full West Virginia preview here.