I know most of you reading this were hoping to watch West Virginia in the Final Four which comes up later today in Houston. 

 

Unfortunately, the upset loss last week in the NCAA tournament has us looking ahead to next season. Let's take an early look at some questions facing the team next season.

 

Who replaces Devin Williams?

 

What had long been rumored came to fruition earlier this week. Devin Williams announced he was foregoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft. 

 

Bob Huggins said earlier this week on the Northside Automotive Statewide Sportsline that his hope was that Williams would still return to WVU. Williams has not signed with an agent according to Huggins, so the option to return after “testing the waters” remains. 

 

Williams finished second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game (just .4 points per game behind Jaysean Paige), averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game and picked up second team all-Big 12 honors. 

 

That's a big void to fill. Especially from the rebounding perspective. One of West Virginia's big advantages over the past two seasons has been on the glass. Especially, the offensive end.

 

The departures of both Williams and Holton mean a team that was second in the country in offensive rebounding last season, will begin next year without two guys who accounted for 42% of its offensive rebounds.

 

Who's up next? Elijiah Macon is the first name that comes to mind. He has the size and experience to be a guy that can step in and out up numbers. Is he ready?

 

Who takes the Holton role? That's a tougher question to answer. You have Nate Adrian returning so that cushions the loss of Holton to some extent.  But, in West Virginia's system you need two guys in that role. Who will it be? 

 

Does Esa Ahmad have a breakout season next year?

 

The talented freshman started every game he appeared in for WVU this season. It doesn’t take an NBA scout to see that Ahmad has great skill. The way he runs the floor, passes the ball and can shoot it, make it easy to see why he was so highly thought of coming out of high school.

 

You saw glimpses of how good he can be offensively during games at Iowa State and the first few minutes of the NCAA Tournament game against Stephen F. Austin when he had 10 points in just 18 minutes of action.

 

The question around Ahmad is how big of a leap does he take from this freshman year to his sophomore season? Will it be big enough to go from a complimentary piece to the main scoring option?

 

Juwan Staten was the go-to guy offensively two years ago. Jaysean Paige filled that role most games this year. Can Ahmad be that guy next year? When West Virginia needs a bucket, is Ahmad ready to be the player who gets it? 

 

Point Guard

 

There was no secret finding someone to replace Juwan Staten was going to be difficult. Bob Huggins talked all pre-season about the challenge of running the offense with no true point guard. Ultimately, the lack of a true distributor at the point may have been WVU’s undoing this year.

 

The team never did get its turnover issues resolved and much of that falls on the shoulders of the point guard (or point guards in WVU's case). 

 

In the loss to Stephen F. Austin, WVU turned it over 22 times. West Virginia turned it over less than 10 times, only twice during the entire Big 12 season. For a team so dependent on turning the opponent over, giving many of those extra possessions back is a recipe for disaster. Cutting down on turnovers offensively has to rank has one of the top priorities for West Virginia heading into next season. 

 

It was also clear, Jevon Carter’s offensive game was hurt this season by the move to point guard. Carter struggled shooting all year, finishing only 31 percent from three point land and only 38 percent from the floor overall.

 

You’ve seen what he is capable of offensively as a freshman and recently against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament when he connected on six of nine from three and finished with 26 points. Getting Carter to the point where he is a consistent outside shooting threat is critical for the team next year.

 

Can another player emerge at the point guard position and allow Cater to move back to the "two" guard?

 

That player could be James ‘Beetle’ Bolden. Bolden injured his knee in the preseason last year and was forced to sit out the entire 2015-16 season. Before the injury, the coaches were praising Bolden’s quickness and skill set.

 

Can he return to that form following the injury? Can he break into the lineup and get enough minutes to at least spell Tarik Phillip at the point? 

 

If the answer to both questions is yes, Carter could spend the bulk of his time off the ball, freeing him up to concentrate on scoring rather than having the burden of running the offense.

 

Even with Williams' departure, this is a West Virginia team that could still be very good next year if the questions above get answered. Keep in mind, this is a West Virginia team that won 51 games over the last two years. It's not as if a complete overhaul is necessary.

If Devin Williams had returned, the Mountaineers would have surely been a preseason top 10 team. 

 

Now, you have some holes to fill. Chances are expectations will be lowered nationally because the narrative will most likely focus on the loss of Williams and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, Jaysean Paige. Lowered external expectations might not be the worst thing in the world for this team. Historically, WVU seems to do pretty well flying under the radar.

 

The Big 12 was very senior-laden last year. The top six teams in last year’s preseason Big 12 poll all returned at least four starters. That won’t be the case next year. Most teams in the league will be in the same position as WVU will be to start the season.

 

Only three players on last year's first two all-Big 12 teams return. The league should wide open once again. Well, as wide open as a league can be when one team (Kansas) has won 12 consecutive league titles. But, you get my point.

 

Coaches like to preach "next man up." Next year will be a great opportunity for someone on West Virginia's team to show that is more than just a slogan. 

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Devin Williams, while Coach Bob Huggins is shown in the second picture. Point guard Jevon Carter is shown in the third photo, while Carter, far right, is joined by returning players Daxter Miles, Jr., left and Elijah Macon in the bottom picture. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.