Like Christmas In November

By all accounts, this is one of the most -- if not THE most -- talented group of recruits signed by any Mountaineer basketball coach. In fact, Scout.com has this class ranked as the 17th best class in the country, only behind Georgetown and Louisville in the Big EAST and besting schools such as Duke, Maryland, Syracuse, and UConn. Pretty heady stuff for a coach not yet in his first full year of recruiting. Just imagine what CBH will be able to do in 2009 (or 2010, where he's already secured Poca's Noah Cottrill).

Here is a run-down of the three signing day commitments:

Kevin Jones, SF (6'7", 210 -- Mount Vernon, NY)

Jones is by far the coup of this class, not only for his talent but for how the commitment was secured. WVU overcame stiff competition from both Pitt and Indiana in a battle that went down to the last minute. Indiana's cause was hurt by recruiting violations and staff turnover. Pitt, on the other hand, was flat-out beaten by CBH and his staff. Jones, a tweener forward known for his athleticism, averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior at Mount Vernon High School, earning his ranking as a top 50 recruit by both Scout and ESPN.

Roscoe Davis, PF (6'10", 220 -- Chatham, VA)

Davis, one of the most-sought after big men remaining on the board when he committed, made his initial pledge to the Mountaineers on October 22. Originally a Kansas State pledge, Davis was also offered by the Pitt Panthers (seems a recurring theme to best Pitt this year in recruiting). Roscoe is currently completing his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy in a move to ensure qualification with the NCAA.

Darryl "Truck" Bryant, PG (6'1", 180 -- Bronx, NY)

We previously (briefly) profiled Bryant on WBGV back when he made his initial verbal commitment. Since then, the stock on Bryant has risen, impressing at each tournament he has appeared. Bryant is a slashing point guard who will add depth to both a shrinking PG lineup (graduation of Darris Nichols after this year) and a new up-tempo style of play.

Not only has WVU added three very good prospects to the roster, but two of those prospects add much-needed support to the front-lines. Huggins has been notoriously good about getting the best of players in the 6'6"-6'10" range, and should do the same with Jones and Davis. The kicker is that all-three seem to be high character guys, with Jones leading the way. With Huggins record at Cincinnati, at least some in the WVU community must be holding their breath to see what type of player Huggins brings to Morgantown. If the 2008 class is any indication, those fears can be put to rest.

Kevin Jones Is A Mountaineer

As broken by Stiles in the previous post, Kevin Jones, a 6-7 forward from Mount Vernon, NY has signed his letter of intent to play for the Mountaineers. Jones, considered a 4-star and top 50 recruit by most publications, chose the Mountaineers over a bevy of big-time schools. According to Scout.com, Jones turned down offers from Indiana, Pitt, UConn, Ohio State, and Syracuse.

Don't believe me that KJ is a big-time player? Just consult his own website.

NOTE: Look for a full account of the early signing period in tomorrow's edition of WBGV.

Yes!

From ESPN Recruiting blog:

Anyone questioning whether Bob Huggins can take West Virginia to the highest level needs to look at his latest recruiting accomplishment. Just a month ago, the Mountaineers were hardly considered as a possible school for multi-talented 6-7 forward Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon, N.Y.). Today, Jones sent his signed letter of intent to West Virginia. Jones, rated No. 42 nationally by ESPN, chose the Mountaineers over Pittsburgh.

His signing gives West Virginia three ESPN 150 rated recruits and should elevate their class into the top 25. Earlier, Indiana was considered one of the favorites for Jones. However, with its recent recruiting violations and the resignation of assistant coach Rob Senderoff, a New Yorker who was the Hoosiers primary recruiter for Jones, its chances were definitely hurt.

The West Virginia class now includes No. 97 rated, 6-2 G Darryl "Truck" Bryant (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond) and rapid-rising big man, No. 103 rated, 6-10 C Roscoe Davis (Chatham, Va./Hargrave Military Academy). -- Bob Gibbons

Quick Hitter...

...errr wrong sport. Quick shot...

From an ESPN chat:

Ben Lilly(annapolis,md): Can you give me a quick summary of how Bob Huggins is doing on the recruiting trail?

John Carroll: They already have commited Darrell "Truck" Bryant out of NYC, a high level guard. He was able to break into New York area to get him which is very impressive. He is also involved with a lot of quality basketball players in a very short time. He had the top recruiting class at Kansas St. So no one should be surprised that they are already involved quality players. They are not always going to be involved with the best players, but they will have hard-nosed tough guys, who Huggins know he can win with. Some of the players they are currently involved with include Terrell Pryor, a 6'6 wing player out of PA, who may play football and basketball in college. They are involved with 6'9 C/PF Xavier Gibbson out of Alabama. As well as 6'7 PF Quintrell Thomas out of St. Pats in NJ. They are also involved with the Morris twins, who decommited from Memphis (both are 6'9) and Terrance Jennings. So these are some very good players. And they have been on the trail of underclassmen, and have a commitment from a local point guard in the class of 09 named Noah Tottrill from Polka WV. So they are working hard from the class of 09, and they already have a commitment from a very good in-state guard.

What A Cool Name

Before we get started in the Marshall destruction in earnest tomorrow, we thought we might give you a look at QB Star Jackson from Lake Worth, FL. Star is the #9 ranked QB in the nation according to Scout.com and was in Morgantown for an official visit this past weekend.

Unfortunately, rumors have him a lock to Alabama, but I firmly believe that once we get a recruit into Morgantown and have him see the greatest offense in the country, any mind can be swayed.

The Next Chad Johnston...err, Vince Young?

Terrelle Pryor is on everyone's radar...and why shouldn't he be? At 6-6 and 210 lbs., Pryor is one of the sickest athletes in this upcoming class. He is the #1 rated QB in all-the-land (according to Scout.com). And because Pryor is a real go-getter and wasn't happy with just being good at one sport, he decided to become the #8 ranked shooting guard in America. Color me impressed.

The bad news? He's from western Pennsylvania -- Jeannette to be exact. This puts him squarely within the borders of Dave Wannstedt's "iron curtain."

(Pause for laughter.)

Luckily for WVU, Pryor is a free-market capitalist who doesn't believe in outdated bastions of communism, such as the iron curtain. Because of this, Pryor long ago eliminated Pitt from the running for his dual-sport services. Where is WVU, you may ask? In the top 7. It's not going to be an easy road, but does anyone want to bet AGAINST the best tag-team (CRR and CBH) since The Bushwackers? I wouldn't.




PS: The video ends at 1:44 but the music keeps going. The best I can tell you is sit back, relax, and enjoy the melodic musical stylings of Fort Minor. Holla.

Depth a Luxury for Snyder, Talent Not

Herald-Disptach: Depth a new luxury for Snyder

Those folks in Huntington sure are an optimistic bunch. The newest ray of light comes in the form of competition at every position across the Marshall lineup. Nevermind the fact that there is the same competition down the road at Wayne County High School.

Here are a few excerpts from Anthony Hanshew's article...

Marshall University's third-year head football coach obviously is pleased with the recent talent upgrades to the program, a sentiment he shared during Friday's Football Media Day at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Coordinators Larry Kueck and Steve Dunlap echoed Snyder's take at the media day podium, saying veterans simply can't assume starting roles.

The veterans weren't any good, so this is probably a good thing. The term "returning starter" in Huntington is a definite negative.

"Kids aren't dumb," Snyder said.

They are at Marshall.

"You try to sell what you have, and we tried to sell competition but we were down numbers -- huge numbers. And we're still down a little bit, but it's a far cry from where it was."

Marshall went 4-7 in 2005 and 5-7 in 2006. In 2007, College Football News has predicted a record of 6-6, including a win over Colonial Athletic Association powerhouse New Hampshire. You're actually right where you were before.

No one on Snyder's coaching staff is complaining about too many players at too many positions.

Thank you Cpt. Obvious. I doubt even Mack Brown or Jim Tressel could even say that with a straight face.

"We've got more competition here than we've had the last several years," said Kueck, the Thundering Herd's veteran offensive coordinator. "We're still not where we're going to be, (but) offensively this was a tremendous recruiting class."

"Now when you start stacking those recruiting classes, you've got a chance to really build a football program here."

Now, I am not one to put a whole lot of faith in recruiting rankings. But just to bring down Larry Kueck's excitement level a little bit, last year's class at Marshall was ranked 71st by Scout.com. Just to give you an idea how bad that is, both Duke and Troy tied for 64th. Baylor almost snuck into the top 50 at 52nd. So if Kueck is talking about stacking 71st ranked recruiting classes, the football program he is building looks to be Temple...which was just behind Marshall with the 75th ranked class.

A Basketball Player Named Truck?

Coach Bob Huggins (if you would prefer to shorten it to a pointless acronym, CBH) has scored his first commitment for the class of 2008. Darryl "Truck" Bryant is a slashing PG from St. Raymond's in the Bronx...but from the looks of the gym in the video, he is taking Jimmy Chitwood off the dribble.

Trust me when I say that this is the best video I could find on our new man Truck.